It's one thing to watch home rejuvenation projects on "This Old House", "Fixer Upper", and…read more"Property Brothers", but it's entirely something different when it's your house! In this case, it was a condo my mother had purchased. And with no experience in carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, etc. between her and her immediate family living locally in Las Vegas, with a small budget towards any renovation, this seemed, at least to me, to be a sequel to the movie, "Money Pit", starring Tom Hanks.
Except for some several year-old appliances, the interior decor of the condo displayed original fixtures from the early 90s, including the aluminum windows and popcorn ceiling. The fireplace with its huge rocks looked borrowed from "The Flintstones". Again, with no personal expertise and very limited funds (post purchase), the family hired someone word-of-mouth to perform the majority of the renovations and relied solely on the visible condition of the finished product.
Mom moved in and was pleasantly overwhelmed with her newly renovated condo including all new appliances, doors, and windows. All was going well until she tried out her walk-in jacuzzi for the first time. The lightning fast drainage the manufactures of the tub marketed was taking nearly 20 minutes. Everyone reading this knows how fast hot water, not to mention your body, cools down in that amount of time. So something had to be done. After paying for two expert plumbers, the decision was made to abort the tub and put in a walk-in shower instead. This, naturally, required re-removing door, vanity, toilet, flooring and cutting into the wall adjacent to the bathroom door. It was only then we observed the poor workmanship. We knew that the contractor had a larger project upcoming but we never imagined he would cut his time short by taking short cuts and performing mediocre work. Anyone with any expertise in this area can watch the attached video and know what I'm referring to. Moral of the story: always use a reputable renovation company that is licensed and bonded, even if it costs slightly more than hiring a friend, or friend-of-a-friend, to complete the project.
I apologize for the abnormal length of this review, but without it, there would be very little understanding in our exuberant adulation for Andrew and his team at 702 Services. It has been said that 'a picture is worth a thousand words.' In this case, the final video is priceless. It's the Renovation of a renovation gone horribly wrong. The care, sacrifices, expertise, craftsmanship, and integrity of 702 Services is unmatched in this market. When you have to look at the disappointment and worry in your mother's eyes as her "dream" of a walk-in tub was literally destroyed, but see the joy and light return, even more so than before, especially after her first shower...nothing is more gratifying, except the compassion and understanding Andrew and his team showed her every step of the way. They even took the time to explain every step of the process and the basis governing every thing they did. 702 Services is sensible, employing proven old-time methods with a modern flare and always performing their work so that it is right and enduring the first time around. A very big Mahalo to 702 Services! I only wish they were in Washington state too!