Home Design & Co: New York Kitchen & Bath Remodeler

Reviews and Ratings Customer feedback summary: 1. EDITS: I'm adding this information in response to the company's response. I haven't changed the rating or the original review. The response from the company concerning the washing machine is incorrect. The original plans provided for piping in the wall between apartments. The architect rejected those plans and stated that the pipes could not be installed in the demising wall. The plans were revised and the company agreed to comply. John's team went ahead and drilled into the wall anyway. It is wrong to say that the plans didn't specify where the washing machine was to be installed. The plans wouldn't have been approved by the building if they didn't. The statement "once the situation was brought to our attention" is an example of attempting to hide from responsibility. There was nothing to bring to the company's attention -- the company knew of the situation immediately because it drilled through the wall. John did not notify me directly. I only found out after the neighbor contacted me. The payment schedule was indeed laid out in advance. John and Louise sought payment more quickly than agreed. There were numerous other issues in the project. I have no desire to set out the issues in full, in public, on the internet. I simply want other people to have accurate information. * * * ORIGINAL REVIEW: I'm somewhat surprised by the almost uniform 5-star reviews. Two of my friends and I used John. While the work was mostly good, it certainly wasn't 5-star. In my case, I hired John to do work in my coop. I agreed a price with him in advance and a payment schedule: 25% upfront, 25% on starting, 25% halfway through, and 25% at the end. The project was expected to last 2 months. After 10 days, Louise asked me to pay the 25% for the halfway completion. This was completely inappropriate. The worst thing that happened with John was the installation of a washing machine. We had clear instructions from the building that there was to be no drilling in walls. Therefore, the pipes had to sit on top of the walls. The plans said this. When John's team came to install the washing machine, they ignored the plans. They drilled through the wall into my neighbor's apartment. John did not contact me to tell me: I found out from my neighbor, who was livid. Louise called it a "blemish." John refused to accept any responsibility, blaming someone else. There were other issues that should not have happened, including sending non-English speaking staff to do work, who could not communicate with me and promptly drilled in the wrong place. (This was also a violation of the building rules.) There were also further requests for untimely payment, and unnecessarily expensive proposed change orders. At the end of it, I got a renovated apartment. John repaired the damage his team had caused to the neighbor's apartment. No one expects a renovation to go perfectly. Because, after a lot of unnecessary stress, I did get what I wanted, I will give the job 3 stars.