Uneek Design, Build & Remodeling

I met Sarah Decker /​Uneek after submitting a bid request thru the HomeAdvisor web site. As I signed the contract I emphasized my desire for Uneek to maintain clear and consistent communication with me before and during the remodel. The Friday before they were due to start I was told their tear-​out guy liked to start early and would arrive between 7 – 7:30am. Sarah and the tear out guy did not arrive until 8:30am — with no phone call or text announcing that they would be almost 90 minutes late. The rest Monday consisted of the tear out. On Tuesday the plumbers came to do the rough-​in. On Wednesday and Thursday they sealed up the walls and began installing the floor and shower/​tub tile. During this phase I noticed a thick layer of white dust coating every surface in our living room, kitchen, and dining room. This was caused due to the bathroom not being sealed off when they were installing and sanding the bathroom walls. When I brought it to their attention there was resistance to cleaning up the mess. I insisted and they agreed to clean it up. By EOD Friday, the tile needed a final seal, the mirror hadn’t been hung, towel rods needed to be installed, grout needed to be completed under the vanity, and paint touch-​ups were needed. On Sunday, I sent Uneek a list of these finishing details to confirm their completion. I agreed to meet at 6:15pm on Monday to do the final walk through. During the final walk through I noticed all of the shower tiles had exposed edges — with half of them showing red center clay. I asked about this and she said they could come out within 1 – 2 weeks to address this with caulking. I made it clear I would withhold final payment of $ 1,300 until this was resolved. Suddenly Uneek was available the next day to do the work. Sarah said she would be out herself to apply the edge caulk early Tuesday morning. When I arrived home Tuesday night, no one had been to the house all day. At 5:30pm the doorbell rang and Sarah was asking if this was a good time to do the work. For an hour she applied the caulk — but left a mess in the bath tub which she didn’t clean up. Before she left it was made clear I could paint the caulk after it dried to make it look less obvious. That night I drove to the Tile Shop and asked about the process of finishing this type of tile. I was told it was SOP to use a cap or bull nose to hide the edges and that caulk shouldn’t have been used as it wasn’t a professional installation and no clay should have been showing. When I told this to Sarah, she told me that type of finishing wasn’t part of my bid and that I’d have to pay a further $ 280 to have Uneek complete the job correctly. This was a shock — since I couldn’t fathom why Uneek wouldn’t have mentioned this on the night I selected the tile. Even worse, the Sunday following I found a water leak coming from the base of the bathroom sink. It slowly dripped down through the vanity and caused minor damage. I left Uneek a voicemail and later that night received an email stating they would be out the following morning to fix it. On Monday morning they arrived to work on the sink. A few hours after departing the leak began again. That evening I tried to speak with Sarah to resolve the problem, but she declined and gave the phone to Derrick Langva (Head Project Manager). In their minds the job was fully completed and they were done with me, so I received several reasons for what might be causing the leak. Without listening to what was actually happening I was told the leak was caused by «gunk» in the pipes that had been dislodged by the remodel work. Then he blamed the «defective» sink, saying it had a rough cut at the base of the drain — and I should take it up with Home Depot instead of blaming them. I was stunned — as I couldn’t figure out why they installed an a defective sink without first making me aware of the problem. Eventually, Uneek was given an ultimatum — fix the leak or I would contact the city to have an inspector come out and ensure the work was up to code. Suddenly Derrick was very cooperative and told me I didn’t need to contact the inspector — he would take care of that. Still, I contacted the city the next morning and learned they hadn’t pulled a permit for a final inspection — and also hadn’t pulled a building permit to open up the walls. On Wednesday the inspector came out and approved the work — with the condition that Uneek would fix the leak. On Saturday Derrick came out and worked on it for an hour. I’ve checked the sink daily since that third attempt and so far haven’t seen any more water coming from the drain. In conclusion, I would never do business with Uneek again. I’m left with shower tile that I have to pay someone else to finish properly, uncaulked tile behind the vanity, cracking grout around the tub, unfinished tile near the bathroom door, and a sink that may or may not leak again.