Bath & Kitchen Works LLC

The bathroom is beautiful, but they just finished it on December 19. They put me off and off and off and off. But they did a great job when they finally got here. They completed it very well, within a week. The guy told me that he just sold too many big deals. That happens a lot. Then, the big deal expired in September and then, he got all the fall stuff. I was just sort of last in the queue, I think. It was very frustrating. Once they scheduled it, they still showed up a day late. People should know that they take a long time. They did a beautiful job. One of the things I actually appreciated, although others might not, was, they took me to shop for the stuff. That was very helpful because I've never done this before. I didn't know what was good and what was bad. The service was fine. It's just that I was beginning to suspect that they were fraudulent because they had scheduled it and rescheduled it so many times. Probably six times, they gave me a date, and then, two days before, they called me and said they couldn't make it. It was a mistake. But, it certainly shows that he is not very good at managing his workload.

We had a good initial meeting and discussion about remodeling the kitchen, which is relatively small.  We liked the concept and contracted to perform the work. We also insisted on acquiring the required county permits and passing inspections.  We made a special effort to raise the height of one kitchen window using another contractor so that the counters could be reconfigured.  We expected work to start in mid-July; but work did not actually start until the end of the month with several design <br /> choices remaining despite our requests to choose counter tops, back splash, etc. When making the choices the project manager was reluctant and combative about nearly every choice and was removed.  The contractor was not fully familiar with the county permit process resulting in some delays in getting the permit. The people performing the work were professional, polite, and provided quality work for the most part with some tasks requiring minor rework to satisfy county inspectors. The cabinets arrived and were stored on our porch for weeks while other work went on sporadically. We had planned to use the <br /> porch with a microwave and other amenities during the renovation and that was difficult and sometimes impossible. Without our knowledge or approval, when the base cabinets were installed, they had substituted a larger all-drawer for a cabinet with doors and one drawer.  As a result, the cabinet going into the corner changed and had a door opening too small to use the corner cabinet as we had agreed upon during the design. Replacement cabinets at the design specifications were ordered and installed. However, the contractor wanted us to pay for the new cabinets that he ordered and we had to refuse to pay for his <br /> mistake.  We insisted on the ones that we initially wanted. When we asked about using the blind corner space, we got virtually no support, and we had to find a unit to use in the blind corner cabinet to maximize its use, even though we were told that it would be usable. The old kitchen had soffits above the cabinets.  The new design removed the soffits and the cabinets go to the ceiling.  The two windows, however, go to about six inches from the ceiling.  The contractor had not accounted for this in the design and planned to put cabinets above the windows.  When it became apparent that plan would not work (even though the materials were on-hand), he asked if we had changed the windows.  Of course, we had not done anything to change the top of the windows, and we decided that leaving the walls open over the windows would still work in the design.  The black granite counter tops were installed and one seam was poorly done.  When they came back to fix it, they did something to the granite on both sides of the seam that dulled it.  After several visits and the contractor bringing in another granite contractor, they assessed that the problem cannot be fixed and the two pieces of granite have to be replaced.  We are waiting for that to happen. When they installed the upper cabinets, the doors for the upper corner cabinet were not correct and several weeks passed waiting for them.  When they finally came, everything was not included so that they operated, and the doors were put <br /> in place but could not be used for weeks.  The replacement doors came about two weeks ago, but the installers could not get them to work correctly on the cabinet. They said the cabinet was not installed correctly the first time and needed to be done again. We are waiting for that fix, and something to be done to fix the bottom of another base cabinet that seems to have been damaged in the installation. Overall, we are concerned about damage to our back splash tiles and floor as they do the corrections and finishing work. <br /> On another note, we constantly had to email to get information about what was happening and when work would be done .Even so, the contractor said people will be at the house to do work, and then no one showed up. They left a huge pile of trash on our deck for the whole summer.  He told us that materials would be taken away.  Eventually they were, but we lost the use of our deck for the summer.  He had excuses and blamed others constantly. <br /> They did do some work on the corner cabinet but only installed two of three hinges that the doors are built to use. The floor of the corner cabinet is not flush with the other cabinet unit. The door is not hung correctly but is crooked compared to the cabinet. The front of the cabinet was scratched/marred when they worked on it.  To fix the problem with the cabinet next to the stove, they caulked/used some adhesive to push the broken pieces into the floor. It is not a permanent or professional -looking fix. We tried to have a follow-up discussion and could not get a commitment to come talk.

<p>My initial impression was that the company was very prompt and professional.  I called to setup an appointment for an estimate to remodel my kitchen.  JW Kim, the owner, came out on a Saturday and by Tuesday I was introduced to the Project manager (PM) Sean and was shown a nice 3d design and estimate.   I was told the cabinets would take about 4 weeks to arrive and during the wait time we would choose the flooring, backsplash tile, and granite countertops.</p> <p>My impression of the company and the owner changed.  He didn?t follow through on things he said he was going to do while we waited the 4 weeks for the cabinets to arrive.  </p> <ol> <li> <p>Incomplete 3d design documents were sent.  It took several weeks and many emails request to receive the final drawings.</p> <p>Different cabinet in the design document than the Cabinet that was selected. Owner apologized and explained that he had accidently left in cabinet from previous customer.</p> <p>Owner/PM  made no time to select countertop as promised</p> <p>Owner/PM  made no time to select backsplash as promised</p> <p>Flooring was successfully selected, but it took 3 weeks to get them to an appointment to do so.</p> <p>I selected flooring that was over allowance.  I was told I would receive the cost of the difference the same day. A week later I had to contact to get the additional cost.</p> <p>Once I received the additional cost of the flooring, I noticed their square footage was off by an extra 100sqft. It took about 10 days and several emails to get it resolved. The PM stop communicating with me around this time, but the JW apologized saying it was his typo. </p> </li> </ol> <p>Once the flooring issue had been resolved, JW told me to contact him with any issues and not the PM until the remodel actual starts. He told me not to worry about the flooring because he only needed a week to get it. What he didn?t tell me was that the PM had quit and that he had no idea what flooring I had selected.  </p> <p>It was now time for the cabinets to arrive and I had to contact them several time to get any status.  JW told me that one of the cabinets was on backorder and it should be here soon.  He put me off for a couple weeks with those explanations.  What he didn?t tell was that he had not ordered the cabinets because he didn?t have anyone available to actually do the remodel in the timeframe he promised.  When I pressed for a different timeframe other than ?soon?, he admitted he couldn?t start my project for another 4 weeks.  At this time I started looking into what action I needed to take to terminate this contract and get me down payment back.  JW was apologetic and offered to absorb the cost of the flooring that was over the allowance and upgrade granite countertop.  He also put in writing a guarantee of when the remodel would start and stop along with a monetary penalty.  He also promised that he would be straight-forward with me in the future.  (At the time he was making these promises, he was withholding the information that the PM had quit and he didn?t have my floor details)</p> <p>The project started and stopped without penalty, but JW was not straight-forward and I have little trust in anything he said.  My cabinet came with soft close drawers and doors.  JW tried to convince that he had purchased those for the doors and added them as no extra cost.  This was a lie as they came standard with the cabinets I selected. When the work started he said it would take 2.5 weeks. It took an entire month to complete.  One person did all the work.  He was good at some things and terrible at other.  JW tried to blame others for every mistake.  He even blamed me for choosing flooring that was difficult to install and glass tile that was difficult to cut.  </p> <p>Toward the end he told me he was closing FNC business down<strong>.  Unfortunately, he opened a new business under a new name and it now advertising on Angie?s list once again</strong>. </p> <p>I could go on and on about how dishonest JW Kim is, but there is not enough space.  The one thing I would do over is never do business with any company that is ran by JW Kim.  Unfortunately this also means that I am not going to continue to do business with Angie?s list since it is way too easy for dishonest businesses to operate without penalty on Angie List.  I had thought they had better safe guards in place.  </p> <br />

unknown

They were on time, friendly and professional. They did great work. I'm very satisfied with the service provided.

<p>Signed up for Big Deal right before offer expired in February.  Nervous about paying 10K up front but did it anyway.  Job started and completed in June as I was at the end of the list.  Kitchen size and some complications added 3K more.  Very skilled workers who know their business resulted in a vastly improved kitchen.  Both the floor and plumbing needed improvement and FNC was equal to the challenge.  Very happy with flooring and granite countertop as I selected these.  Sink, faucet, and cabinets selected by FNC after discussing what was wanted.  These installed products were good.  Overall, the project turned out well, but I can't give a higher rating due to the slow start and associated angst that created after spending a substantial sum.  The start date was initially planned for April, so the delay made me worry (unnecessarily as it turned out).       </p> <p> </p> <br />

This has been a terrible contracting experience.  Really terrible.  I contacted them about their "Big Deal" kitchen remodel in March.  After a number of rescheduled start dates they eventually began work in early June.  JW initially said the work would take 4-6 days.  It's now nearly September and I'm still waiting for a finished kitchen. <br /> Details are below, but to save you some reading, communication and punctuality have been absolutely terrible.  Project oversight has been really poor.  Attention to detail has been poor.  The cost wasn't excessive, but I'd pay more to avoid all the issues I've had with this job.  <br /> I don't even know where to start with how frustrating an experience this has been.  JW started off well enough once we signed a contract.  He seemed attentive and eager to get started.  He initially responded to emails relatively promptly and stopped by a number of times to make sure the plans were what we wanted.  He even met us at the granite yard to help pick out granite for the countertops.  Everything changed once the work actually started.  The PM he said would be leading the work, Sean, has been to the house three times since the initial start.  He has played virtually no role at all in managing the work.  I never even received contact information for him so I had no idea how to contact him.  JW himself stopped by quite a few times, but usually only after an angry phone call from me about something being wrong.  The people who came by to do the demolition and tiles were clearly subcontractors, which wasn't necessarily bad.  They were nice enough, but over the course of 10 or so work days in the house, they showed up on time once. Yes, only once.  They repeatedly showed up late, not at all, or with no notice.  That's really disrespectful, unprofessional, and annoying.  This caused repeated delays in the project.  The guy who did the cabinets was very good.  Great attention to detail, but he spoke very little English, which made communication difficult.  There were a number of things I told JW that I wanted done that he failed to tell the cabinet guy, so I tried, largely in vain, to tell him what I wanted.  We needed translation from JW to figure a number of things out, which of course caused more delays.  The granite installers were also nice guys, but they incorrectly measured one wall so the sink hole in the granite was dramatically off-center.  I called them on their error and they agreed to fix it at no cost to me, but I had to call them on it, and they should have measured it correctly the first time.  This caused  yet another delay.  For the tile backsplash, JW himself measured the surface area and told us it would be 30 square feet.  I ordered specialty glass tile and added 5 extra feet to be safe.  When the installers put the tile in, it was clear the measurements were off by over 15 square feet, but the tile distributor I ordered from didn't have any more of the tile in stock.  This caused another significant delay because we had to find some new tile.  The tile backsplash installation itself was really not good at all.  In cutting the glass tiles, the installers repeatedly caused chips in the tiles along the cut lines that look terrible now that the grout is in, but fixing it at this point would be a huge headache.  <br /> Throughout the job, I repeatedly had to remind JW of things that needed to be corrected that we'd discussed previously.  I'd tell him about things being wrong, he'd have someone come over to work on those things the next day or a few days later, but they'd show up late, unannounced, with the wrong tools to do the job, or with no idea that they were supposed to be fixing the things I'd told JW about.  So many things went poorly with the initial work done on the place that JW had to hire another outside subcontractor to come by to finish up major parts of the job.  They were great.  They fixed the majority of the major issues in one day of hard work.  However, there are minor issues that still need to be addressed and it's been nearly a month since I've requested the work be done and I'm still waiting.  The main unresolved issue at this point is that the tile installers cut a tile too short so when I open one of the cabinet doors, the glass from the tile cuts the door.  I've been waiting over a month for a replacement door and for the tile to be cut properly so it doesn't cut the door anymore.  Not only have I been waiting, but communication with JW has been nearly impossible. <br /> Throughout this months-long ordeal, I've repeatedly attempted to get in touch and stay in touch with JW.  Communication with him and the mysterious PM Sean has been TERRIBLE.  JW consistently fails to reply to emails or text messages.  He has also consistently failed to follow through on commitments to keep me informed of developments during the many, many, many delays caused by his and his team's poor work and poor planning.  He'll email and say something like "Oh yeah, I'll check on that and let you know the status on Monday."  By Wednesday I haven't heard from him so I email or text and hear nothing.  On the occasions when I call, he'll usually answer, but he consistently makes excuses about why he wasn't able to communicate.    <br />

For the work that was done on the upstairs bathroom, it failed inspection in Falls Church City and had to be completely demolished and redone. <br /> He recommended a sub-par "master" plumber whose work had to be completely torn out and redone. <br /> The contractor never collected the proper permits for the work they were doing until my husband went with the contractor himself to the City permits office. <br /> We had to buy many of the materials ourselves to ensure anything could get done. <br /> We have provided the contractor with a detailed, reconciled list of what we believe we owe him for the demolition and any work that was completed.  We are requesting repayment of $35,000 of the funds that he collected from us.  We gave him 1 month from the time we asked him to stop work to repay our funds. <br /> We have no re-payment from the contractor. <br /> I am not making my review public at this time, because I would like assistance from Angie's List to recover our funds from this contractor.  We found this contractor through the Angie's List site.  Please let us know how we can proceed. <br /> <br /> <br />

<ul> <li>I really love my new kitchen! This is the second time working with FNC and my home looks brand new now. Everything went smoothly within a good budget. They worked promptly on a schedule and kept the place clean. They have a great resource on contractors and have good technical knowledge which helped me a lot on making decisions. They walked through every possibilities of design options and changes. I enjoyed working with this team. I already recommended FNC to all my friends too!</li> </ul>

Do not hire these people- they are clueless!  Slow to start, said job would be done in 7-10 days but took over 3 weeks which included Saturdays which was very annoying.  I believe subcontractors were used: first one guy by himself doing drywall and tiles, took over 2 weeks.  Some days I checked the progress and maybe 2 or 3 tiles were laid that day.    <br /> Then there was another guy connecting the fixtures whose English was very poor also.  There were many things they did not do according to the contract and most of the work they did has to be ripped out and done again.  They did major damage to a vanity cabinet that cost over $1000 and threw away a shelf belonging to that cabinet!  Only a total idiot would do such a thing.  The sink  faucet is leaking, bathtub faucet is also leaking, shower drain not properly sloped so water pools in the shower, width of shower walls differs on top and in bottom. Then the day after they finished when I had noticed the leaks I asked JW Kim not to come to my house for payment as had been planned as I wanted to have the plumbing checked independently but he showed up anyway - he came to the front door and the other guy came to the back door-such threatening behavior!    So I paid under duress but I am not done with them yet.. These people are operating in DC without ANY license.  I seriously doubt if they have any license other than a home improvement license anywhere else either.  This is my second such experience on Angies List, I would be very cautious about using this list from now on.  It seems to be a mere marketing device for construction firms and I question the credibility of some of these reviews. <strong>License information on this list is not to be trusted!  </strong>

Excellent. FNC was prompt in their response and scheduling once we obtained the tile to be installed. On the day of installation, the installer double-checked with us before laying the first tile or cutting any tiles, which was important since the alignment we wanted was slightly different than a basic installation. They protected the walkways into the kitchen and where they were working, and covered all the counter surfaces and the cooktop where the work was taking place. They did not rush the installation and did not try to grout the same day as laying the tile. (Warning, that's the cheap way to do it, so if others say it can be done that way, buyer be warned.) They cleaned up between workdays and relaid all the floor/counter protection on return. The grouting went as smoothly as laying the tile and we are delighted with the installation. Only recommendation is to check with them in advance if extenders will be needed for any electrical outlets. FNC is very upfront that they don't do the electrical work, so if you're not comfortable installing these yourself, you'll want to arrange for an electrician to do so. The extenders are available (and inexpensive) from a local hardware store or online retailers such as Amazon, but you need to know in advance. <br /> Overall, we heartily recommend FNC and expect to be using them for other tile work in our home. <br />

<p>I requested for remodeling a bathroom. I've got a few different quotes and consultations but I finally decided to go with FNC kitchen and bath. They were very professional and timely. Also the finish was good with nice details. The project manager always followed up with me on every working progress and the designer knew what I exactly wanted and came up with a great design. They worked hard to get the best result. Now, I'm so happy with the complete new look of my bathroom. I highly recommend FNC Kitchen and Bath.</p>

All went fine.  No particular issues.  Contractor asked for small increase over the advertised price, due to there being two layers of tile on the existing floor.  Price seemed to be fair.  Workers were courteous, and showed up when they said they would.  Tile installation came out looking very good. <br />

He pulled out all the cabinets,pull down the old backsplash, and cut a hold in my wall. His employees were very good but the work took double the time than expected and it started late than expected. It was suppose to start in May and we did not get going until June time frame. The cost was very nebulous. He continue to indicate that we owe him more money when we provided him money on top of the coupon rate for some upgrades to our kitchen. We never really got a break down of the cost and we are still awaiting to do a few additional final things before we do the walk through with him. His employee was focused and had a great amount of attention to detail but we never seen the major employer or his PM that was suppose to be managing the job. We only interacted with the company via phone call to answer machines back and forth. Also we had to research everything and text the pictures to the company. Their people never came out to the store with us or provide us some guidance for what to purchase other than point us to Home Depot or a whole sale place for material for our kitchen. <br /> <br />

unknown

<p>The demolition and floor work went well. The contractor was two weeks late in starting the job. He claimed the weather was the hold up. However it was my experience that promised times for completion were seldom kept. They promised to show up on certain days and either arrived late or not at all. I had the feeling they were sending my crew to start other jobs they had. With that said when the work was finished it was done right and came out looking like I had hoped. So over all I was satisfied. The tradesmen they employ do the job right and the job did come in at the agreed to price. So if your not in a hurry or have a deadline you have to meet I would recommended them because when it is finished you will have a good job done.</p> <br />

They were punctual and the estimated time of completion was accurate. Carlos did the actual work and was wonderful. Carlos ' work is very precise and makes sure all work is completed perfectly. <br />

unknown

unknown

Everything has turned out great. They were very prompt, courteous, and professional craftsmen. If they were delayed, they would call to let us know, and they worked closely with us on the whole project. Update 9.18.15: no follow up, what you see is what you get and no written warranty. There is still caulking to be done and a cabinet door needs to be replaced.

unknown

<p>Purchased a "big deal" for tile backsplash installation.  JW reached out almost immediately to schedule a consultation.  He and Sean showed up on time and were very friendly.  We learned that what we wanted done would require a bit of an upcharge due to the multiple types of tile we wanted installed and the pattern.  Also asked that they replace the trim around the window.</p> <p>A date was set, however there was a mix-up by FNC and we had to reschedule for a later date.  2nd date arrived and the crew showed up on time.  One gentlemen spent all day doing the tile work.  Finished product looks good and I would call upon FNC again.</p> <br />

I bought an Angie's List deal for tile installation by FNC. It looked like a very simple job at first, but ended up requiring a lot of leveling and trim work (because of the way the previous tile had been installed years earlier). The gentleman from FNC did a beautiful job and clearly took pride in his work. The finished floor (it's an entryway) looks wonderful. Because of the issues FNC ran into, the job took two full days (one of which was a Saturday) to complete. But FNC was professional throughout, with managers checking on the work as it progressed and making sure the work was being done to my satisfaction and as expeditiously as possible. I couldn't have been happier with FNC's work and responsiveness. <br />

unknown

I hired JW from FNC to complete my kitchen and bathroom renovation and had Sean as the project manager for the project. Overall, I was very pleased with the work this company provided. <br /> JW came out for an estimate and gave me pretty cool 3D kitchen design. There was a decent amount of back and forth communication via texts/phone calls/emails on the 3D kitchen and bathroom design (i.e. type and color of cabinets, size of cabinets, overall layout, etc.). Always within hours (if not minutes) JW was quick to respond. The estimate was extremely professional, easy to read, and broken down nicely into line-item buckets.  <br /> The project started and finished on time and on budget. There were a few minor hiccups along the way, but nothing extremely major. Even with the minor hiccups, Sean and his crew were quick to come to resolutions and to remedy the issue at hand. For example, the bathroom sink faucet was not properly installed and became very loose and unaligned after about a week of use. I let Sean know what the issue was and he was out to fix it the very next day. <br /> If I had to do it all over again I would:  <br /> 1. Spend more time picking out granite colors. (I went to the granite yard with JW and Sean. I am happy with what I have, but in retrospect would like to have spent more time viewing the different options available).  <br /> 2. Investigate different cabinet options. (Once again, happy with what I have, but I am not totally convinced this is the quality of cabinet I was looking for).  <br /> 3. I should have asked to have painting be included in the project. (The renovation project is "complete", but I still have to clean-up the walls and paint them. It would have been nice if I had included this piece in the project).  <br /> 4. Spend more time reviewing the kitchen layout options. (I am thinking back on it now that it may have been better to have the kitchen in an "L" shape with a small bar/counter area.) <br /> Like I mentioned previously, overall I was very pleased with the work this company provided. I really got the feeling that FNC took pride in their project. Because of this, I would not hesitate to hire them again for a future project and would highly recommend their services to others, thus the "A" rating. :) .  <br /> <br /> <br />