We hired Home Bud to finish our basement in late 2005, and it was a complete disaster. The sales rep was very professional, from a clean logoed vehicle, to branded paperwork, and a good pitch. However, the worker who arrived was best described as a slob. He was significantly overweight, had bad knees, and had to navigate the stairs to our basement many times a day.
Late morning he would head out to his truck for lunch. And to read a book. For three hours. Every. Day. From about 11 am to 2 pm he would read while we were in the house wondering why work wasn't being done.
When it came time to frame the walls he made an arbitrary decision to move a kitchen wall six inches, even though we had already purchased the cabinets. We only learned about the move when we were checking his work at the end of the day.
Drywall with these guys is an adventure in disappointment. They insisted on using nails, not screws, to attach the drywall. Not surprisingly, the nails popped out soon after. Their plastering work is most charitably described as "artistic" because of the variety of texture and the use of lines and waves ... but that's exactly the opposite of what you want.
The worker (calling him a contractor would be an insult to all skilled contractors) wielded a drywall knife like a hamfisted 3-year-old. Holes cut for outlets were oversized by 2+ inches on either side of the plugs.
Probably the worst part was that the guys Home Bud sent into our home refused to speak with my wife or to even acknowledge that she was talking. When I was out of the house during the day they would just ignore her until she brought my brother downstairs - at which point they would gladly speak to him.
They hung doors in the new rooms that were cut to odd sizes, with doorknobs at varying heights. This honestly felt like a first time DIY job.
When I documented shortcomings (gaps in drywall, puckered plaster, gaping holes around outlets) the project manager determined that they "could clearly not satisfy [me]" so they stopped coming. It didn't stop them from cashing the cheques, though.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $10,000.00