annabanana
New member
Anyone have a good one they can recommend? Need some work done in the house. Potentially converting a tandem garage into a room and some other work. Thanks in advance.
General Contractor Rec's
- Thread starter annabanana
- Start date
ps99472
New member
Just used this guy for some small fixups/drywall in the house.. but he usually builds houses/add on/garages..
MecoeL Construction, owner is Kelvin Lee, (562) 991-4146
He's Korean, decent guy, not chatty but works hard. He put in new drywall underneath my kitchen sink, had to tap a new water line to the fridge , put in some new toe kicks, installed garbage disposal/faucet/dishwasher/dining room chandelier and also re-caulked two tubs and a shower.
He took his shoes off when he went upstairs without being told.
Price wise, he was the lowest (I know you should always be wary of the lowest bid) but we were running out of budget and he built a house for a friend of a friend (if he can handle a house, he should be able to handle kitchen problems).
He did the work in about 3 days, worked average 8 hours per day, the first day he didn't take a break, was a little worried. We had to buy lunch for him the next time to force him to rest a bit. His motto is "I'm in a zone, focused, and I just keep going"..funny
Oh, he does have other projects, so he stretched out my 3 days over a week. He didn't take payment until all was done, didn't ask for any down. Came out to be around $30/hr for all the work he did in the house. I would use him again for future projects.
Overhead him quoting hardwood install at $2.50 per sq ft.. hmmm.. I could've gone with him, buy the wood myself and have him install.. Would've been savings over Venetian.
MecoeL Construction, owner is Kelvin Lee, (562) 991-4146
He's Korean, decent guy, not chatty but works hard. He put in new drywall underneath my kitchen sink, had to tap a new water line to the fridge , put in some new toe kicks, installed garbage disposal/faucet/dishwasher/dining room chandelier and also re-caulked two tubs and a shower.
He took his shoes off when he went upstairs without being told.
Price wise, he was the lowest (I know you should always be wary of the lowest bid) but we were running out of budget and he built a house for a friend of a friend (if he can handle a house, he should be able to handle kitchen problems).
He did the work in about 3 days, worked average 8 hours per day, the first day he didn't take a break, was a little worried. We had to buy lunch for him the next time to force him to rest a bit. His motto is "I'm in a zone, focused, and I just keep going"..funny
Oh, he does have other projects, so he stretched out my 3 days over a week. He didn't take payment until all was done, didn't ask for any down. Came out to be around $30/hr for all the work he did in the house. I would use him again for future projects.
Overhead him quoting hardwood install at $2.50 per sq ft.. hmmm.. I could've gone with him, buy the wood myself and have him install.. Would've been savings over Venetian.
We used House Of Flooring and Cabinet in Tustin. The workers are skillful. They have a shop so you know they won't take your money and run. However, you have to watch them like a hawk. Otherwise they will take short cut and skip the minor things. Minor things that would turn a good job to a perfect job. For example, they may skip caulking or shielding after the tiles job is done....lots and lots of other minor things. I think the reason they take short cut is so they can hurry on to the next job. They are pretty busy due to high profile advertising and savvy business practices that may or may not benefit the consumers.
If you watch them while they work, and catch what they did was not satisfactory, then they will fix it while they are still at your place. Once they left your home, you will need to call their bosses at House of Flooring. The bosses, depends on their mood, can be accommodating or extremely rude. How rude? Hanging up on the call...yelling at you...blaming...etc. The basic denial, blame, confrontational, then acceptance mentality. In most cases, they will fix your complaints whether begrudgingly or not. I found that if I can fix the minor stuff, I rather fix it myself, than to call the bosses. Kinda feel like having to go to a dentist when I call them. Necessary, and don't know what you can expect, could be pleasant or not.
If you watch them while they work, and catch what they did was not satisfactory, then they will fix it while they are still at your place. Once they left your home, you will need to call their bosses at House of Flooring. The bosses, depends on their mood, can be accommodating or extremely rude. How rude? Hanging up on the call...yelling at you...blaming...etc. The basic denial, blame, confrontational, then acceptance mentality. In most cases, they will fix your complaints whether begrudgingly or not. I found that if I can fix the minor stuff, I rather fix it myself, than to call the bosses. Kinda feel like having to go to a dentist when I call them. Necessary, and don't know what you can expect, could be pleasant or not.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
@trip:
Sounds like House of Flooring and Cabinets isn't really a recommendation by you... you have to watch the workers and then you get poor after service support.
Sounds like House of Flooring and Cabinets isn't really a recommendation by you... you have to watch the workers and then you get poor after service support.
Sorry for reviving such an old thread; we are in the process of purchasing a home and are looking for recommendations for contractors that we can interview and obtain estimates from. We will contact the companies that have been recommended in this thread, but would appreciate it if anyone else ha additional recommendations.
For the time being, we are looking to do the following work: (1) replace flooring, (2) painting walls, (3) remodeling kitchen (change countertops, sink, refinish cabinets, replace appliances), and (4) updating bathrooms (changing countertops, light fixtures, mirrors). At this time, we don't plan on moving any walls or expansions (e.g., we do not intend to expand the 1/2 bath into a full bath).
Obviously, cost is important; however, we also want to ensure good workmanship.
Any additional recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
For the time being, we are looking to do the following work: (1) replace flooring, (2) painting walls, (3) remodeling kitchen (change countertops, sink, refinish cabinets, replace appliances), and (4) updating bathrooms (changing countertops, light fixtures, mirrors). At this time, we don't plan on moving any walls or expansions (e.g., we do not intend to expand the 1/2 bath into a full bath).
Obviously, cost is important; however, we also want to ensure good workmanship.
Any additional recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
snowblind40
New member
Eastly Construction Company
Matt Wagoner
951-505-3594
mwagoner@eastleyconstruction.com
www.eastleyconstruction.com
This is a business school buddy of mine. Tons of experience in construction. Works on everything from custom homes to small paint jobs. Has great subcontractors who have worked with him for years and is not just grabbing people from home depot. Very high quality work.
Matt Wagoner
951-505-3594
mwagoner@eastleyconstruction.com
www.eastleyconstruction.com
This is a business school buddy of mine. Tons of experience in construction. Works on everything from custom homes to small paint jobs. Has great subcontractors who have worked with him for years and is not just grabbing people from home depot. Very high quality work.
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
Why hire a general contractor for those things? Get a company that does hardwood flooring to take the carpet out and put down the hardwood flooring, a painter to handle the painting, and a handyman for the minor kitchen alternations.Cling said:I am also in the same situation right now! Need to remove carpet and put down new hardwood floor, minor kitchen cabinet alteration, and some painting. Please let me know how did the remodeling go and if you hired Mr. Lee?
Can anyone recommend more general contractors? Thanks
irvinehomeshopper
Well-known member
What? Converting a 3CG to a 2 car. Are you out of your mind. Have you seen the list IHO posted regarding the beneficial uses in a 3 car garage.
annabanana said:
Cling said:I am also in the same situation right now! Need to remove carpet and put down new hardwood floor, minor kitchen cabinet alteration, and some painting. Please let me know how did the remodeling go and if you hired Mr. Lee?
Can anyone recommend more general contractors? Thanks
Cling,
We are in week 3 of our renovation and we did hire Kelvin. He and his crew are renovating the bathrooms, kitchen and family room, painting the interior (including skimcoating a number of walls) and doing some minor electrical work. We are also replacing our flooring but are hiring other companies to do that work (Carpets-4-U for carpet and Venetian Flooring for hardwood). I am not sure what you intend to do with your kitchen cabinets, but if you are considering refacing them, all of the contractors that we interviewed advised us that refacing is very labor-intensive and would cost just as much, if not more, than getting new cabinetry.
Thus far, we've been happy that we hired Kelvin. He seems very honest and hardworking, and communication (via e-mail, phone or text messaging) has been great. However, before we give him too strong of a recommendation, we'll see how we like the final product.
Thanks for the update! I am glad to hear that your project is going smoothly. I would love to hear how everything turned out after Kelvin is done. How's venetian flooring? I see lots of people here recommend them.
We are going to buy the flooring and thinking of hiring Kelvin to do the installation and also removal of the carpet/tile area. The cabinet work is just minor adjustment of putting an dishwasher in. We will need to consult with the contractor to see how labor intensive the work is.
We are going to buy the flooring and thinking of hiring Kelvin to do the installation and also removal of the carpet/tile area. The cabinet work is just minor adjustment of putting an dishwasher in. We will need to consult with the contractor to see how labor intensive the work is.
furioussugar
New member
.
So RibEye,
Care to provide an update? How is it going with Kelvin?
Thanks!
Care to provide an update? How is it going with Kelvin?
Thanks!
RibEye said:Cling said:I am also in the same situation right now! Need to remove carpet and put down new hardwood floor, minor kitchen cabinet alteration, and some painting. Please let me know how did the remodeling go and if you hired Mr. Lee?
Can anyone recommend more general contractors? Thanks
Cling,
We are in week 3 of our renovation and we did hire Kelvin. He and his crew are renovating the bathrooms, kitchen and family room, painting the interior (including skimcoating a number of walls) and doing some minor electrical work. We are also replacing our flooring but are hiring other companies to do that work (Carpets-4-U for carpet and Venetian Flooring for hardwood). I am not sure what you intend to do with your kitchen cabinets, but if you are considering refacing them, all of the contractors that we interviewed advised us that refacing is very labor-intensive and would cost just as much, if not more, than getting new cabinetry.
Thus far, we've been happy that we hired Kelvin. He seems very honest and hardworking, and communication (via e-mail, phone or text messaging) has been great. However, before we give him too strong of a recommendation, we'll see how we like the final product.
Coleman
New member
furioussugar said:
Any photos of the IKEA stuff? Also, how is the stuff holding up? Though I love much of the design at IKEA, I feel like IKEA is more for bang for the buck while sacrificing quality.
*Situation - I was just watching Real Housewives of New Jersey and someone came to the Gorga's huge NJ home looking to purchase it. The Gorga's say it's over $3,000,000. Now, with that, you'd expect to see high quality everything. However, in their "owner's" bathroom, their counter top for the vanity was of "poorer" quality and was literally breaking in the hands of the buyer's agent. Similarly, I go to these more hole in the wall cabinet places where you can get cabinets for a few thousand and the quality just seems a bit scary.
Please tell me that IKEA has great quality cabinets! I want to redo the kitchen to have a white finish, but I have heard about changing cabinets to white is expensive, labor intensive, and the finish may not be what you expect. Plus, I'd rather have different doors, so a total change seems pretty easy.