Absolute Construction

They said they were gonna come back and fix things and they never did. I called them several times and the response was «home Depot will call you». Never again.

Terrible customer service. The actual man who did my install was very friendly. However, every time I called about my project… all I got was confusion and rudeness on the other end. They called me several times after my install to see if I was satisfied. When I stated that the job wasn’t completed and no one got back to me about it, all he said was to make sure I told Home Depot they did a great job. I haven’t heard back about coming back to finish — I was promised a phone call the next day and that was 2 weeks ago. I am surprised that Home Depot outsources to this company.

Remodeling is expensive and a daunting process. We had very specific things that we wanted done with our remodel-​and Home Depot assured us that Absolute Construction could get us there. It was a nightmare. It took months for them to start the project. It was expensive, but we chose them because we had the reassurance of the Home Depot in case there were issues. The person who designed the remodel had no design background. The project manager was never around and got very defensive when questioned about additional costs– which happened every other day– not hundreds of $$ but thousands. We grew more and more frustrated. We felt completely taken advantage of. The areas where we needed the extra work and the sole reason we went with the higher bid– never happened. NEVER. HAPPENED. But no mention was made of redoing the contract-​we had to fight tooth and nail. We paid for XYZ and we wanted XYZ. They acted brand new. We are now seeking legal advice and have reached out to the AG of Illinois for assistance. Please do your homework. Get references. I agree with Mary C. Our experience was also an absolute disaster.

i completely disagree with the 5 star reviews. we hired absolute construction to remodel our bathroom. Its been 3 months since the contract was signed and they happily took our deposit and absolutely no work has been done. They have been absolutely unreachable by phone. our experience with them has been an absolute disaster.

If I could give them zero I would. I’m writing this post five years later, but I am compelled to do so because I really felt I was taken advantage of by them since I was a young, single female homeowner. I feel I was overcharged for nothing. They wanted 10k on a bathroom remodel that they weren’t demo’ing anything (the bid said they were putting a bath fitter over the existing tub). In the kitchen of the foreclosed home I bought, they installed brand new cabinets over a wall that wasn’t painted or primed and actually had a dead roach stuck to the wall. Do you think they were courteous enough to give me a complimentary removal of the dead roach? No. I ended up requesting them to not do anything but what I had to do to bring the home up to code to close because I got a 203k loan. I feel they do nice work on their website, but they ABSOLUTELY took advantage of me. That experience as a first-​time home buyer at the age of 24 was supposed to be a joyous one, but they forever ruined it.

I had to have my kitchen remodeled after I vacated my home. My brother dealt with Absolute. Every day they found another reason to charge me several hundred dollars more than the initial project estimate. It always had to be done for some reason or another, and they always said they couldn’t have foreseen the expenditure when they drafted the initial estimate. They should have stuck to the initial project estimate and taken any additional unforeseen charges themselves. I feel they took advantage of the situation.

Our experience with Absolute rates five (5) stars. Mitch, the sales consultant, arrived at the site on time, explained the process, took measurements, discussed options then provided a concise and understandable quotation. I couldn’t ask for more and would recommend Absolute Construction to anyone.

Bad news: My family urgently needed an accessible bathroom.
Good news: Home Depot has a program for that.
Best news: Everything was produced as we planned, on-​time and on budget.
I spent a lot of time working for my uncle’s construction company as an abused teenager. Remodeling can and often does present some miserable conditions for a grunt (like I was) as well as the homeowners. Messy jobsites cost me a tetanus shot while damaging some people’s landscaping and jobs took as long as they needed to so my uncle could collect ready checks to survive.
My folks deserved a better experience. The North Ave Home Depot store manager, Joan, guaranteed our satisfaction and the price was affordable compared to Sears and a private contractor… where I had weaker assurances.
End of the day, we got what we paid for and it looks perfect… and I’m a perfectionist. The low-​profile shower with corner seat was a huge score! Mom can put her feet under it and store her extra shampoos and such AND the handshower mounts right where she sits! The towel bars match the faucets which also match the light fixture. Best yet, they knew that the 1 piece Saint «somebody» elongated higher toilet was the most compact model on the market… every freakin inch mattered in this remodel!
Absolute «brought the action» and kept us informed throughout the process. They only took 7 days to make the changes and the shower door came a week later as predicted. Thanks guys!

I have to completely disagree with the reviews below. My parents used Absolute Construction to remodel their home in the Chicago area and I was with them every step of the way. The main work was being done in the bathroom. The first gentleman from Absolute who spoke to my parents was very polite and explained the whole bathroom remodel in a very simple manner. Even though it wasn’t my home they understood my opinion was very important. When in the home the gentleman was very knowledgeable and talked me through the whole process. We were given a fair quote, that wasn’t low balled then later up charged at the last minute. We ended up putting in a gorgeous new bathroom, complete with a very well-​constructed American Standard walk in tub; which my parents absolutely loved. I am happy I found them and have no regrets using them in such a substantial purchase.
If needed I will definitely use them again

The first review pretty much hits the nail the head. Had a design consultation with Home Depot and this is the contractor they always used, so we think «oooh piece of cake, done.» We were told by Home Depot how they’re licensed, know Chicago high rises well and will give an itemized list of all items and costs. Spoke to Absolute on the phone the day after and they were very nice and scheduling something was easy. I was feeling really good about using them. Well not so much after our meeting today… at least with the bathroom guy.
Two men came into our apartment, one for the kitchen and one for the bathroom remodel. The kitchen guy was fine, took measurements, and is going to send them off to Home Depot so we can pick out cabinets, countertops, etc. We most likely still use them for the kitchen job.
The second guy was late which is understandable due to the NATO summit. Fine, no biggie. Takes bathroom measurements, fine. Gives us a catalog to look through to look at vanities. Okay also fine. Then he starts telling us we should change the valves in our showers and faucets just so we don’t have to breakthrough the wall in case something goes wrong with them later. Sounds reasonable, but how much? Did not want to quote us any prices at all. Was like pulling teeth. We’d like to know how much things are before we okay them, is that okay with you? He then says you can spend 5k on bathroom to 55k. Well guess what, I don’t want to pay 55k for something that has a square footage of 30 feet. I explain that we probably will only be living in this condo for a few years and want to do something nice, but reasonable and don’t want to invest tons if it’s not a forever home. We basically just need to retile the bathroom floors, tile the shower and get a new vanity and countertop. No plumbing is being moved or nor is the tub or toilet being replaced. I told him we wanted a travertine «look» and that it didn’t have to be real stone. We wanted to know a little bit about the differences/​qualities between ceramic, porcelain, and stone and he said the more expensive, the better. Well gee thanks, that helps a lot.
Then he spends ten minutes on excel, calculating an estimate. For both bathrooms, it was like 12,500 for labor only. Seemed a little high but who knows, maybe it’s okay… so we ask to look at his itemized list of expenses. He got very defensive and didn’t want to show us and scoffed and asked if it was too high. Not necessarily, but we want to make smart decisions and see where our money would be spent. After explaining this multiple times, he was still rude and did not want to show us. Claims how nobody asks this and these are the costs and he would not spend two hours going over this with us. We said he did not have to go over with us, he could just email us the spreadsheet. He then tells us how this is a special program and he can’t email it and it would take him all day to type this up in Word. Um… no. it’s excel. After some more teeth pulling, he finally at least let us look at the sheet and let us take some notes (still making comments that basically if we took notes, we were horrible people) To move the toilet to tile and reinstall it was 550 dollars, which seemed crazy to me.
He also told me that freestanding cabinetry in the bathroom is fine, and that I would just have to swiffer under it and that I knew how to do it. Wonder how he treats his wife?
But man, if you enjoy a first consultation where someone gets angry with you for wanting to see where your money is being spent or not having a budget of infinity, this might be your contractor!

In Chicago for Kitchen and Bathroom remodeling from Home Depot, this is who they will refer you to.
Instead of writing a long review, I will simply echo everything P. S said in his /​her review on 06/​29/​2011. I made the same request for an estimate and was given a spreadsheet that was mostly empty of dollar amounts accept for a few line items and the grand total of over $ 19K for a small bathroom remodel; even though I was given ranges by two different people with this company that the bid would likely between $ 12K and $ 15K.
I really don’t know why Home Depot works with this company and I really don’t understand how anyone would sign up to do business with them when they are so vague about pricing. I also had got another bid prior to theirs by a very professional, although expensive company, and they provided all the details one would need to make an educated decision.
BTW, when I called to speak someone about this, they said they would look into the estimate and get back to me … that was four days ago and I am not holding my breath!
We are now looking at other options!

The bottom line on Absolute Construction…
Absolute Construction, the authorized Home Depot service provider for bathroom remodeling, attempted to charge me for some materials at a price 30−40% higher than the items’ price at Home Depot. When I discovered this and asked for additional details about their proposed budget, they refused to do further business with me. Unless you are indifferent to the cost of your bathroom remodeling project, I recommend you go with another company. Remodeling a bathroom is something you do maybe once or twice in a lifetime. Are you really ready to hand over a five-​figure check to a company that refuses to be upfront about costs?
My experience with Absolute Construction…
Based on a recommendation from our local Home Depot, I contacted Absolute Construction to remodel our bathroom. I met with a design consultant for two hours during which time we discussed design ideas and selected materials. Toward the end of the meeting the representative suddenly became irritable and then abruptly left. (I later discovered that he was working on his scheduled day off, which may have explained it). A couple days later he sent an email, without a message, with the budget included as an attachment. The «budget» consisted of a vague list of tasks (e.g. permit, demo, haul) and a final estimate in the 16K range. Neither the labor nor the materials were itemized; there was no mention of the various preferences we had indicated for specific items (e.g. floor and wall tile, vanity, etc). I had absolutely no idea how he reached his final cost. I complained to the office about the lack of detail and to their credit they quickly apologized and sent another representative.
The second representative was knowledgeable, professional, and courteous. It appeared he had not been given the first representative’s notes because during initial two-​hour meeting we once again discussed the same design ideas. This was followed by a second four-​hour meeting during which we selected specific materials. We chose all materials from a catalogue the sales representative brought with him. At the end of this meeting the representative asked that I sign the contract, which I did. This was a mistake as I should have taken a few days to examine the budget more closely. After the representative left, I realized that he did not leave me with a copy of the budget he had scribbled down on a notepad.
The following day I called and asked to be sent an itemized budget for all materials. The representative did not provide a full budget, but over the phone agreed to provide the cost of roughly 8 – 10 items that we had agreed to purchase (e.g. toilet, floor tile, sink and shower fixtures). I compared the cost of these items with their cost at Home Depot and found that the price of the materials in our contract was 30−40% higher than the price for the exact same item at Home Depot. Needless to say, when an authorized Home Depot service provider overcharges you for items available at Home Depot it is both aggravating and cause for concern. If they charge 30 percent more for the toilet, are they also charging 30 percent more for the toilet’s installation?
I contacted Absolute to explain my concern and cancel the contract. (We signed the contract on a Thursday evening and only had until Saturday to cancel without penalty). Via both email and voice mail, I indicated that I was potentially still willing to work with Absolute, but had some concerns about the costs based on what I had discovered at Home Depot. I requested an itemized budget for both labor and materials. I received no response. A couple days later I followed up with a call to the sales representative who indicated that he would send me the itemized budget. The following day I received a note from Absolute Construction that stated that «we will not be doing business together».
The recurring theme in my dealings with Absolute Construction is an unwillingness to be transparent and candid about costs. Absolute Construction will gladly give you a final cost estimate and is quick to tell you how it is dedicated to customer satisfaction, but despite repeated requests I never received an itemized budget.