Apple Remodeling and Home Improvements, Inc

I had this company remodel my kitchen 6 years ago. They did what appeared to be an OK job. Six years later, one of the cabinets they installed just fell off the wall with no warning. Looking at the 4 (!) screws they used to hold a double cabinet to the wall, I could see only drywall as if they were never even anchored in any wood at all. When I called the company, the first time, they said they'd have someone call me back. When I finally got someone to answer the phone four days later, they stated that they were a new company with a different name that just happened to have the same phone number. Of course this is a lie, since they had answered to Apple Remodeling the first time I called.

The carpentry and painting went well but caulking did not seal around portions of the bay window. More caulk was added on a return trip but still did not cover the gaps. When a supervisor called later for the final payment (cost now over $700), I said I would pay after the caulking was completed. He said I would get a return call to schedule and I said fine, the caulk gun will be left on the back porch. No one ever called again or returned again. The quality, responsiveness, punctuality and professionalism of the sub-contract crew was good; it was the quality of the caulking and responsiveness of general contractor management that did not measure up. <br /> We have since had the house caulked and repainted by a painting company. <br />

I was very pleased with them and they did an excellent job. The house looks good and it had to be approved by our architectural committee. It was a good price for the job.

Eventually it turned out fine but the work took longer than it should have.  Communication was also an issue with them. The management was responsive to the issues.

They helped me install a sump pump. They were here for a few hours.

I was very disappointed with this company, they tried to make a small deal into a big one. I will not use this company again.

It didn’t cost me anything because they came to fix the original job. The second time around, it was well done. They used the appropriate materials so it worked out much better.

The first time the deck was done, it didn’t hold up well. I had to call again about four months later because the staining and protector had worn away. So they came out and redid it. The price seemed good. They were very responsive, got somebody out pretty quickly. It seemed like it was going to be okay but it ended up not lasting but they fixed it.

The salesman assured us we would be completely happy with our remodeled master bedroom shower.  This was completely false.  From the beginning we should have known, but were complete novices to the action of remodeling, except that we wanted a particular type of shower pan that had come highly recommended and yet we allowed ourselves to be talked out of that. If you know what you want and why, never allow yourself to settle for something else.  We were told verbally that really b/c they did quality work that the warranty was for 'as long as we lived in the house.' The price paid was way too much for the finished product.  The job was not started nor finished on time.  The first time we were told the shower was completed, I cried and had written a letter long email to the company and person doing the installation with a list of all the things that were wrong with the shower.  When the company representative came out, they said I had to work with the person they had doing the job.  They had subbed it out.  It was clear that the company was not going to make a difference.  As it turned out, the person doing the job said he wanted us to be satisfied, redid almost 80% of the job and due to the long delays and realization that the shower was never going to turn out as it once was envisioned, we decided to "let it go."  I really don't feel that  the company cared one way or another.  I would not recommend this company.  It turned out that the company was being restructured and did not really have a business office.  Cell phones were being used all the time and the person who was managing the billing was inaccurate in even keeping track of what payments had been made due to the contract due dates and what was the actual balance.  We have had leaks and had to re-grout and re-caulk in only 18 months. <br />

Beware of which subcontractor you get. <br /> Purchased Angie's List Deal $299 for 8 hours of general contractor work. Scheduling initial appointment went fine. Met with Jim, walked around house and showed him the work I needed performed. He pointed out some other projects (separate from the deal) and offered a quote. I declined the other projects and Jim said he'd have his subcontractor contact me. <br /> A month went by and I never heard from the subcontractor, so I contacted Jim again. He apologized and said he'd have the subcontractor call me. A few weeks later, still no contact, I call Jim again. Now I get the sub's phone number. I call the sub and he tells me he's booked up right now, but could come out in a month. Month came and went and never heard from him. Tried calling his number a few times but he doesn't answer now. <br /> As the Angie's List deal is nearing its expiration date, I contact Jim again telling him I need to have someone come out or I need to get a refund from Angie's List. Jim gives me the number for a different subcontractor. New sub can come out in 1 week, although he runs into a scheduling conflict so he reschedules for a week +3 days. New sub (and assistant) arrive on reschedule date. I provide the new siding and roofing nails, he brings the ladder, the hammer and the tin snips. <br /> In the end, the work was fine but the months of trying to get someone to show up was a headache. <br />

unknown

The price was totally different from what was list on Angies List. I pointed this out to the project manager he said the price on was incorrect because the price is was based on a kitchen smaller than mine.  The service was marginal and the worker were either late or didn't show on several times.  When I tried to contact the main office to get some repairs made they were unresponsive after they received full payment.  It took several months to get the repair taken care of.  One time I was talking to one of the manager's and he was very rude and I reported him.  I received a call from another manager standing that he was sorry for the way the manager spoke to me.  I will never use this contractor again. <br />

I have to have the bricks in the front replaced again,  because they are uneven and slant into the house. Water pools. Tried to get new screen door installed and brick work was so uneven that they couldn't get the door in correctly. Brick pointing in back is a mess. Have to have someone repair that too. Wow. <br />

It was easy to communicate with the company, scheduling was simple, and they showed on time.  However, they didn't really provide us with a lot of ideas or advice on how to approach the project so we opted not to use the company for the job.

It was ok. They were very good at responding to my calls but there was nothing too special about it. I had him do some floor baseboard molding along my kitchen.

Needed some handyman jobs outside and in, including a built-in bookshelf. Took forever to get in touch with someone to schedule an appointment. Foreman told me they don't usually cover my area, but sent an associate who works for Apple to do the job. Everything seemed at first okay until loud, upsetting arguments broke out with the associate and the workers he was hiring to do the jobs. Turned out he was hiring 7-11 workers against company policy and not paying them as agreed. First carpenter quit. Painting jobs were okay but workers smashed an aluminum window casing with ladder, but I didn't see it until after they left. Didn't install the sink properly, I had to finish the job. The labor disputes were so intense and scary we told them to leave and we would finish the job. We just wanted them out of our house. To top it off, associate asked to be paid for the rental of the power wash machine, which we never agreed. Awful experience.

There is very little good to say about our experience with Apple Remodeling. Our project was straightforward: removal of an old deck and construction of a new, partially-screened one. We signed the contract on December 30, 2012, demolition began in early March 2013, construction in late March, and the work was finally completed in mid-September 2013. Delays were caused by: <br /> -- not following proper permitting procedures <br /> · Electrical work that was required by code was never included on the original permit, so inspections were <br /> repeatedly failed and time was wasted. <br /> -- not following proper hiring procedures <br /> · A subcontractor hired someone without a background check, and this person, who had an extensive criminal record and was on probation at the time, repeatedly broke into our home and stole money and jewelry before we caught him on camera and had him arrested. <br /> -- lack of communication with inspectors <br /> ·  Inspections had to be rescheduled multiple times since required paperwork was not present. <br /> -- lack of communication with us <br /> ·  Days would go by with no one showing up to work on the project, and no one letting us know why. Sometimes they were waiting on permits or inspections, sometimes on supplies, sometimes they were called to other jobs, sometimes the foreman was out sick?we never knew anything until we finally called to find out why no work was being done. <br /> · The original specs on the job were missing many details about materials to be used. We would get to a certain stage of the project, at which point the foreman would say, for example, ?What do you want for the ceiling?? and we?d then have to start the <br /> process of understanding our options and making decisions, only after which could supplies be purchased and the ceiling installed. All of these details should have been worked out at the time of contracting. <br /> -- lack of communication with subcontractors <br /> ·  Almost every time we spoke with the subcontractors, we heard, ?No one told me that.? The rest of the time it was, ?Didn?t they tell you that?? <br /> -- shoddy work that had to be torn down and re-done <br /> · At almost every stage of the project, something was done wrong, or not up to code, or just of lousy quality: <br /> o  Porch beams were not level the first time <br /> o  Ceiling was installed pre-inspection, and had to be taken down so the inspector could see the <br /> underside of the roof, then re-installed <br /> o  Steps were constructed two feet narrower than indicated on the plans, so railings and steps had to be <br /> dismantled and reconstructed. <br /> o  Initial screening job was inferior and had to be re-done <br /> o  Gutters and downspouts had to be replaced with a larger size to accommodate rainflow from the roof <br /> o  Final punch list instructions were ignored, requiring a second trip to finish everything as we had requested <br /> -- turnover among the workers on site <br /> · In addition to the one who ended up in jail for stealing from us, there was one dismissed for claiming hours on the job that he hadn?t actually worked, and a third excused so that the other one wouldn?t have to keep re-doing his inadequate work. <br />   <br /> Then there was the incident where they disconnected our downspout during construction, and left it to empty along the side of the house during a huge summer rainstorm, causing major flooding in the basement. And the dozens of nails and screws left lying around the deck area all summer, creating a hazard for our children. <br /> We were assured that there would be Apple management present throughout the job to monitor progress, but we never saw anyone other than the subcontractors on site from signing of the contract until the final inspection, and I suspect only then because by that time both the foremen had either been fired or quit because of their own problems working with Apple. <br /> A few of the people actually doing the work were good at what they did and were honestly trying to do their best for us. We are, in the end, 95% happy with the deck itself, though very disappointed that, despite the fact that the job should have been <br /> complete by April, it wasn?t usable during the entire spring and summer seasons. The Apple management, however, has done no more than the bare minimum, and has given no indication that they care whether we end up as satisfied customers or with a quality product. <br /> Follow up, May 2014 <br /> I have postponed posting this review in the hope that Apple might redeem itself slightly, but clearly that?s never going to happen. Over the winter the shower tiles also installed by Apple last summer started to separate from each other and needed to be re-grouted. Since Apple had given us a lifetime warranty on their work, we called despite our misgivings. A new subcontractor was sent to fix the problem. We had explained directly to him what the problem was, and that it was with the <br /> shower in the master bathroom. He came and did the work when we weren?t home, but when we arrived we found he had re-caulked the fixtures in our hall bath, rather than doing the work needed in the master bath. I won?t go into his explanation of why he couldn?t manage to locate our master bathroom; suffice it to say he was quite embarrassed. He had to come a second time to do the work we?d asked for. <br /> The other thing we?ve been waiting for Apple to do is to re-paint the floor of the deck which they left in a mess in the process of finishing the job last fall, and to fix some of the screening that had come loose almost immediately after being installed. <br /> We didn?t expect this to get done over the winter, but this is a small task that can be done at any time without needing access to inside the house, and we are still waiting. Despite the lifetime warranty, if anything else goes wrong with the deck or the bathroom, we?d rather spend the money to have someone else take care of it professionally and competently than go back to Apple. <br /> <br />

The work itself was good, great in fact. It was the communication with the contractor that was difficult at times. The work took much longer than expected, and resulted in us moving one week later than anticipated. <br />

unknown

At the end of the day, the deck was done fairly well and the guy doing the work was competent and professional. I was back and forth a couple of times with Apple to schedule it, and was given the number of the guy who would do the work, who later turned out to be (from what I gathered) a handyman that subbed out to Apple. Although he did a nice job, it did not strike me as a very professional operation. Although it has been two years since then (sorry about not reviewing sooner!), so I can't speak to any improvements since then, I would probably not contact them again. <br />

It was an average experience.  The company arrived on time and did the work as promised.

Everything turned out well.  They worked efficiently, worked around our schedule, and always arrived on time.  They did a great job, too, and we have had no problems with their work.

It was a very good price. They got it done and got it done right. They did very well with clean up and used a magnetic device to pull up all the nails.

There was damage due to shifting in one of the smaller bedrooms and they took care of it very well.  A full painters took care of the damage.  The deal did not include ceilings.  I was very impressed and there were no problems with scheduling.

.