This Guelph area carpenter is rated 1.1 from 2 reviews. Services offered include carpentry work. Read their reviews, ask about license and insurance information, and request a quote.
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This was the worst experience I have ever had with a business. As soon as they had their payment things went downhill from there. First of all, if you're getting your stairs capped, make sure you pay attention to how they cap it. The end result includes various pieces stuck onto to stairs. It's not a clean finish. Every single tradesperson that walked through our home made a comment about how odd the stair caps were done. The wood that they use for some of the pieces is really difficult to stain/paint. I was told it was a cheap poplar wood different than the rest of the wood. After a lot of back and forth with Stairworks for various issues that came up, they finally agreed to just drop off the spindles and I could find someone else to finish the job. They agreed to return the money for the spindle instalments. They refunded $500 (they charged me over $10,000 for a new railing and spindles - this does not include the staircapping). They also charged me an additional $285+hst for a second trip they would need to make to install the spindles but when I asked if they would return the $285 as well since they were not coming in a second time, they said the $500 included the second trip. So in other words, to install over 45 spindles was only $178 according to them. Absolute rubbish. After spending close to $20,000 I have ugly stairs, and I had to pay extra money for someone to come in and install the spindles, and finish the stairs for painting. At this point we have no choice but to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. As we are still waiting to hear back from Better Business Bureau, we found nails popping out in the new railings they installed.
I had an awful experience. I was planning on doing the install myself, so I only ordered materials. After material arrived, I thought it might on the edge of what I was capable of doing, so I decided that I would have Stairworks install it for me. I sent several emails to them and discussed the job over multiple phone calls, and they gave me a quote for the install, significantly higher than I was anticipating, almost as much again as what I had paid for the materials. Foolishly, I thought to myself that although the price was high, I would wind up with a quality installation that reflected the cost.
Upon accepting quote, I was asked for 50% down. This is more than I've had to pay a contractor before, but thought I would get a quality finished product, and paid. I was contacted a few days later about the install date, and once a date was selected, was informed that to hold the date, I had to pay the remaining 50%. This should have been the point where I backed out, but again, naively, I thought I would end up with the railing my wife and I had always hoped for.
Prior to install day, I was contacted by the job planner (Bruce) and asked about directions to my home. I sent an email with directions from their shop to my home using Google maps, which have never failed me before.
The contractor slept in and failed to make it for the planned date, even though I had to pay to hold the date. We rescheduled for a week later.
Install day attempt 2 arrived, got the call from the shop that they had left at 8AM. Unfortunately they had to call me three times because they got lost, as Bruce the planner had disregarded my directions and given his own. They finally arrived at 11:30.
Bruce had told me that the installers were on a tight timeline, and I quickly found out why. Severe unease now. They set to work, almost immediately cutting into the floor, which I had said could not be done in any circumstance while discussing the quote with Bruce. More failed communication between the shop and installers. Eventually the made a plan, and set to work at a high pace. They managed to get the install done, packed up, and were out the door by 3:10.
Once gone, I examined the work, and immediately found how poorly done it was. At each handrail intersection that was separated by a newel post, the handrails were all at different heights and did not line up. One of the balusters was installed upside down, over 10% of the nailing blocks that held the balusters in place were not secured at all (some fell out as I took photos), the railing into the basement was only 3/4's secured and there were screw holes all over the wall where they missed the studs, and they didn't bother sweeping up their mess. I took photos and contacted Bruce. After not hearing from him for a day, I called again and was told they would come back to fix the job.
A week later they came back. They knew little of what they had to fix and again started rushing. I had to stop them several times and show them, and they argued about it until I got my tape measure out and showed them how far out things were. They attempted to fix the worst handrail, but refused to fix the others. Eventually, they started yelling, refusing to fix anymore. When I attempted to call Bruce, they ran to their van and left before the phone had rung 3 times. Several things were fixed or improved, but I am still left with every individual rail being at a different height.
After more emailed pictures and several unpleasant phone calls, I was offered a $500 refund, about 20% of the install cost. Having already paid in full, I had no leverage, so sadly had to settle for this and must now try to fix things. Had I installed it myself, it would have taken longer, but I would have a quality finished product instead of a half-effort and deep sense of regret.
Sufficient data is not available to establish a TrustScore for Stairworks. The average TrustScore™ for other businesses providing similar services in Guelph and the surrounding areas is 3.1. For detailed information on how TrustScore is calculated, click here to learn more.
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This Guelph area carpenter is rated 1.1 from 2 reviews. Services offered include carpentry work. Read their reviews, ask about license and insurance information, and request a quote.
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