A-reliable Craftsmen

Curtis Batiste has been our general contractor for over 20 years. He has remodeled our upstairs bathroom, foyer, and flooring on the entire first floor. Recently, he and his team completed our kitchen remodel. New construction consisted of lifting and leveling the kitchen floor and hallway. Consequently, our furnace and air conditioning units had to be removed. We later purchased more energy efficient units that would fit the space. Our laundry room was updated too with flooring, cabinetry and shelving. Cabinets, countertops, sink, faucet, backsplash, lighting, flooring, wood work trim, and appliances were all replaced in the kitchen. In addition, we had flooring and lighting replaced in the mud and first floor powder room. Walls were also repainted. Our electrical panel needed to be switched out to accommodate the power of the new dishwasher and other appliances. All work was done with care. Curtis took the time to work with us to choose the best quality products to match our budget as close as possible. For example, we reviewed at least five backsplash samples before we agreed on the perfect one. We have been very pleased with all of the projects that he has done in our home. Be aware that any new construction that must be done to fortify structures in or outside of the home will drive costs up. This must be considered when setting the budget for any home remodel. Always be upfront with your contractor regarding your budget. That way, you can cut costs where necessary to get the most important things done. and delay the rest.

I am normally not one to post bad reviews. I have made it thus far in life accepting that at times people make mistakes and if we can be amicable towards one another we can agree to disagree and go our separate ways. Unfortunately this is the one time that that attitude has failed. I contacted A-Reliable after getting their info from a associate at Home Depot. Initial contact was cordial and prompt. The job was to replace 9 door casing in our basement. The estimate came to $2567 USD. I was told that I needed to QuickPay $1000 and provide the $567 as cash. I was a little concerned about the cash payment (I was offered no receipt) but decided to throw caution to the wind and gave the contractor $580 cash assuming he needed the funds for materials. Being a fellow Veteran I mistakingly believed our handshake was our bound, mistake one. Approximately 2 days later the contractor showed up on site late and began work. I worked from home on day one and made it my business to stay out of their way. On day two I went into work and left my wife to handle closing out business with the crew. At around 2PM my wife calls me and says the gentleman have left but there are quite a few issues that remain (damage to areas around the casings, a completely unfinished set of casings, mismatched paint, sloppy paint job that left flat paint smears on nearly all the glossy doors, newly installed baseboards removed but not replaced after casing install... the list goes on) oh and no one offered us a walkthrough to go over the work done. My wife sent several picture of said issues and I attempted to contact the contractor immediately. For the first time since the effort had started I surprisingly could not reach the contractor, all calls went to voicemail. I next texted him asking him if they were indeed done just to see if there was a misunderstanding. The contractor told me "Yes. All packed up". I was more than shocked to hear this and felt the worry of "I think we got hustled" seeping in. We have attempted to negotiate with the contractor but he is now bringing his attorney into the matter. He has yet to acknowledge any of the issues outside of the missed door casings but instead is demanding access to our home to complete work in an effort to have us remit the remaining funds. He has even gone so far as to suggest that we pay him 80% of the remaining balance and call it even. On our end we are forced to work with another contractor to get the work redone at our cost. I would strongly suggest that Houzz drop this company from their site and at the same time warn anyone considering them to look elsewhere.