Aloha State Construction

I used John Paulino in 2007 upon recommendation from my realtor when I completely gutted my ²⁄₂ Waikiki condo and remodeled from floor to ceiling — knocking down walls, replacing flooring, scraping the ceiling, changing the layout of my kitchen, completely redoing both shower stalls in the bathrooms, etc. At first I was very happy with how responsive and helpful John was, as well as the quality of his skilled labor staff (all Mexican and flown in from California for some reason). However, as the remodel progressed and eventually extended (additional projects were added), the staff began rotating, the work got sloppier, and John paid less attention to detail.
Overall, the remodel was successful and most of the work looks very nice on the surface: bamboo and slate flooring, all new cabinets, granite countertops in the kitchen, custom slate countertops in the bathrooms, slate shower stalls, much more functional kitchen and living room layout, concealed washer/​dryer cabinet, new lighting, refinished ceiling, etc. John also sold me the stove and side-​by-​side fridge from one of his other personal remodel projects for only $ 500 (decent condition) since I needed new appliances and included delivery/​installation. The one thing that I am very thankful to him for was going above and beyond by using his staff and truck to help move out an ex when the relationship quickly went bad during the beginning stages of the remodel.
However, I’ve continued to find workmanship flaws over the years and irritating «mistakes» that linger and still bother me. Keep in mind that I’m a stickler for details and get really peeved when good money is paid for work that isn’t polished (entire remodel cost around $ 60K). For a contractor who claimed to have worked with demanding clients on their million dollar homes in Silicon Valley, I’m still disappointed over the following: random holes in the walls that were not sealed because they were behind appliances or far back in cabinetry and closets, slate tiles in one bathroom where grout clouding is readily visible (not completely cleaned before sealing), obvious cracks in the grout in one of the bathrooms, enclosed lanai not being leveled before tiling, no thresholds between bamboo and slate flooring, sloppy work in wall texturing, stacked washer/​dryer not being bracketed (Sears told me the dryer could’ve fallen off with an uneven load), dishwasher not being secured to countertop (constantly leans out while loading), cheap/​thin wood panel behind kitchen island cabinet, scratched bathroom vanity, scratched furniture (from INspiration no less!), paint on my jacket in the closet (he was originally going to leave by closet doors unpainted!), sealed shower drain (he claimed it was from sand, but mostly grout came out when it was replaced), awkward pipe configuration in the kitchen (per my current plumber, too many angles were the cause of two kitchen floods and $ 5K in damage to the flooring — thank goodness for home insurance).
So while I think they did a decent job for the most part, the sloppy details and complications would prevent me from using John again or recommending him to friends. Early on during my first remodel phases, I recommended him to a friend and while he originally started their home addition project well, they too had similar complaints in the end.