DL Restoration & Builders Corporation

Danny, the owner, comes across as nice, helpful and honest. He provided a detailed quote and references. Unfortunately the problems started before the work did.
Long story short:
Unresponsive, charged for work and/​or prices not agreed upon, spotty quality, way behind schedule, stopped showing up before job was completed.
Long story long:
A licensed and insured contractor with 20 years of experience working in co-​ops (and living in one), he knows management requires all workers to be licensed and insured. Which is why we were quite surprised that after the contract was signed and paperwork submitted to management we were told that it would cost us an extra $ 1,000 for a licensed plumber and $ 500 for a licensed electrician. (That’s on top of the price quoted and agreed to.) Anxious to get started we decided to just pay it and move on.
Once work began Danny became unresponsive. Questions and requests for timelines/​plans for the upcoming week (so we could be prepared with supplies) would go unanswered. We’d be notified of something needed the following day, leaving us scrambling to get them the information they needed at the last minute.
Though his contract states that change orders would be issued and signed by him and the customer before work outside the contract was done, none were ever provided. Work that wasn’t requested would be done and prices that weren’t agreed to were charged — and the rates were often quite inflated. (Hardwood flooring in a closet for $ 25/​sq ft?) One change we requested was quoted at $ 300, which we agreed to. The bill came in for $ 1,000.
There were some problems with the details of the work. Some tiles were crooked or not flush with others. Grout is already cracking. The kitchen floor had to be taken up and redone. They buried the old circuit panel, which goes against code, before installing a new one. Painting was sloppy.
As we neared the home stretch they stopped showing up to work. After 4 weeks went by with only 2 days of work being done, a payment was requested before they returned to work. After reviewing the invoice we requested the removal of some unapproved charges and ended our email with «please send an updated invoice so we can have payment ready for you Monday evening». Danny’s response was «based on this email you wrote I take it you don’t plan to pay, this is a breach of contract and I will place a lien on the building tomorrow…». 57 business days after work began on our 30-​day, job we paid him everything he wanted and terminated the contract. He collected 90% of the contract amount + additional charges for completing 75% of the work.
Danny also robbed us of any enjoyment we should have had in putting a new home together. Instead of excited, we’re miserable, unable to move, and paying others to clean up DL Restoration’s mess.