R.L.P HOME IMPROVEMENT,LLC

I was very excited to work with this contractor at the beginning and even in the middle of the project. I was convinced this would end up as a 5-star rating. However, the quality declined with some elements of the project. I would give a 3.5-star rating if I could, but I don't feel comfortable with a 4-star rating.

Pros:
- Very friendly staff and shows up to the project on time
- Cleans up after the job on a daily basis
- Covers household items to minimize dust and damages
- Clearly communicates the day's tasks/objectives and shows progress at the end of the day
- Plumbing, cement board, waterproofing, and foundational elements were properly managed. No evidence of leaks at this time after converting the plumbing structure from a tub to a standalone shower. His team took their time and tested for water leaks before any of the flooring and walls were sealed. This was my most important concern so A++ there.
- The owner would return to fix some of the concerns that his team did not address (missing caulk, drywall repair). He responds fairly quickly to email or text messages.

Cons:
- There were occasional issues with schedule and resource management. There were 9 consecutive days of no work being performed in the middle of the project, but upon arrival there were complaints that the team needs to hurry and finish my job. I felt like my project was being punished because of their schedule management issues. There was a tile specialist, but he was no longer available to work on my project. So, the owner decided for my project to move forward without a tile/grout specialist.
- With that said, communication lacked towards the end of the project. The owner was more focused on finishing by his target date versus discussing extending the project another x number of days to make sure the job maintains high quality. As a result, the staff seemed rushed to finish the job which allowed the craftsmanship quality to decline. I would say 70-80% of the tile and grout work is acceptable, but the remainder does not look professional. After showing and explaining my concerns, the owner agreed that the quality was also not to his standards, but made excuses for not fixing it. So, I'm now "stuck" with some tile and trim work that doesn't look professional in some areas. To be clear, I'm not looking for perfection. I know that doesn't really exist, but I expect the quality to look like a professional did the work. Of course, there were no changes in the billing to compensate for any decline in quality. Go figure.
- Since the tile work was not performed by a tile specialist, the team blew threw the extra tile that was originally purchased. I ended up buying extra tile on top of the general extra 10-15% and wasted more money.

I honestly dreaded writing this review because the staff is really nice and wanted to do a good job, but I have to be honest with my review. I have other projects that I want completed, but I don't have confidence in their ability to provide high quality tile and grout work unless they have a full-time tile and grout specialist. I would recommend that the team add quality control to their process to help ensure the customer would accept the product as good quality.