The Home Improvement Group - THIG

The Home Improvement Group was hired to manage demolition, drywall, painting and tile for our kitchen renovation. I have outlined a few of our problems below, trying to be completely factual and withholding the frustration felt while working with them.

1. Item was missed in the initial quote. Finally get a quote by phone. No problem. Several days later, get quote by email - it is significantly higher. A 12x12 area of popcorn ceiling was eventually going to cost me over $3,000. It took less than a day to remove the popcorn, plaster and paint. Price seemed excessive. The part that I had done by someone else was less than 1/3 the price quoted by THIG. Make sure that you get all prices firmed up - with EVERY detail listed - before you sign anything.
2. Inadequate workmanship. A portion of our ceiling meets up with a higher ceiling and the drywall patch was done incorrectly. The initial contractor did not put in any corner bead and now the ceiling looks warped and wavy. After 3 attempts by THIG painter, I gave up. In order to correctly finish the area, the drywall would need to be removed and completely redone.
3. Demolition dragged on. Demolition was scheduled to take 3 days. It took 2.5 weeks. The contractor responsible for this area sent an inexperienced employee for the first couple of days. When someone experienced finally did show up they would only stay for 2 hours a day. After 2.5 weeks the contractor left - meanwhile there was still debris all over the floor, drywall unfinished and other items not even started. After several promises for completion, I gave up on one item and I was still required to pay the project management fee.
4. Painting done before demolition and drywall complete. All of the plastic protecting the bedrooms from dust needed to come down. It also meant that the fresh paint was covered in drywall dust. I expressed my concern several times before the painter came and was promised repeatedly that the demolition and drywall would be completed before the painter came. The main reason that I hired THIG, and paid the Project Management fee, was for the coordination of trades.
5. Be wary of Material estimates. Actual costs ended up being over double the estimated price - estimated $710, actual $1638. The scope of the project never changed. With the actual price being so high, comparing quotes becomes very difficult.

I gave THIG a 1 because I thought the tile guy did a good job. I also liked the painter, but he had the impossible task of trying to fix the ceiling mistake left by the drywall contractor.