We had Gainesville Restoration (GRR) do two things: 1. Tile the house. 2. Redo the kitchen cabinets. GRR didn't end up doing either of these things. They didn't supervise the work as it was being done. They had Creative Cabinets do the cabinets (they were very good) and another guy do the tile. GRR's only job was to make sure that they both got done correctly and on time. When we were initially emailing, GRR explicitly said that installing the sink and faucet were included. In the contract we signed, it said in the fine print that GRR doesn't do any plumbing. We missed that before we signed and we had to hire someone else to do that. When they tore out our bathroom sink they left it in the middle of our driveway. We gave them 6 weeks of lead time to build the cabinets, and it still took 2 months after they started to finish the project because things weren't ready, scheduling errors, and mistakes that needed to be fixed. GRR changed our plan for the kitchen, didn't follow up with my e-mails in response, so some things are just done not how we wanted it. They were able to redo one of the cabinets and they did have to redo the laminate. It wan't worth doing anything more as they would have had to tear it all out. We wanted to keep our sink and garbage disposal. Chris from GRR told us that the sink was damaged and was thrown away. When I asked about the disposal Chris went silent and followed up with an "I don't know." The undamaged sink showed up a couple of days later. The tile guy left a 2 inch gap by the door to the garage. The threshold needs replaced, so the tile guy didn't tile to it. GRR had the tile guy show up unannounced at 6 AM to just fill it in with grout. GRR told us that they could only fix the gap by filling it in with grout or to replace the entire door. We left the grout but it is already cracked. We down scaled our project initially and Chris adjusted the prices of the items we kept up a little because there was profit "built into the prices." For example, the cost of doing the cabinets went up from $5,680 to $7,780. We made the cabinets stained, which added $475 for the stained grade cabinets. $5680+$475 = $6155. $7780-$6155 = $1625 in profit for them that they shifted from the other parts of the project we cut. No problem. We are paying them for a service. When we got our bill, Chris added $2000 onto the estimate and said it was all costs that were passed onto him from the people that did the work. He said that the only money they made was the additional $344 that he tacked onto the end of everything he added to the bill. In other words, there was no profit that was, as he said before, "built into the prices." GRR made it very clear that you pay or get a lien, so you sign your name and you just gotta pay. read more

If you are reading this review as a panicked homeowner who has just found their home flooded or some other accidental damage requiring mitigation and restoration, you need to read every word of this review. In early April of 2014, my wife came home to find our house 95% flooded because of a broken water line from the refrigerator ice maker. Panicked myself, I quickly did some internet research and settled on Gainesville Restoration & Remodeling. After speaking to Russ Mills, I was initially impressed as he and his team arrived within 30 minutes of my phone call and immediately began the demolition and removal of the waterlogged baseboards, drywall, and flooring. After removing the standing water and placing dozen of air blowers, dehumidifiers, and air filters, I felt we were in good hands. Russ calmly told me after the initial drying process everything would be alright and "this will be a quick process" to restore and remodel the home. Our entire house was packed into our garage and then a generic brand "Pod" that was left in our driveway. I thought and was told this was standard procedure. That's when things started to fall off the rails. Russ and his team seemed overworked and stretched with too many other jobs. Random subcontractors were frequent visitors to our abandoned home with little or no communication prior and hardly any supervision. My calls and text messages were infrequently returned. The drywall repair was completed in a reasonable time and the painters repainted what they could. The electrician was top notch and the tile setter for our back splash was excellent. However, everything else took way too long. The wood flooring took several weeks to arrive and nearly a week to install. As the weeks turned to months and spring turned to summer, we periodically checked the contents of our "Pod" only to find ants running through our belongings because GRR carelessly packed our entire pantry inside. Sometimes I would drop by to check on the home after work to find the subcontractors had left doors unlocked or wide open for insects and roaches to traverse freely. Our replacement kitchen cabinets were installed carelessly which then affected the granite reinstallation. The fine details were a difficult, laborious task for GRR to complete. The bottom line regarding this restoration; it took 2 months to move back into the home to where we could live in it again. It took 5 months for the punch list to finally be completed and the final insurance check to be handed over to GRR. While this process took way too long and Chris Pickering, the owner of GRR was shockingly unconcerned about receiving either of their payments from me and my insurance company, we did finally end up with a beautiful and improved home. Or so we thought... Fast forward to late February 2015. I woke up to find yet another flood in my home, this time originating between a bathroom and closet wall. I called a different restoration company and when the plumber arrived to find the source of the leak, I was flabbergasted by the cause. When GRR replaced our baseboards after the first flood, they managed to shoot a finish nail through a copper pipe that supplies the cold water to the aforementioned bathroom sink (the nail was way too long for the location and I was later told that the baseboard should have been glued to the wall in that location). It took about 9 months for the nail to rust through the pipe, but once it did, our home was ruined once again! 2 major floods in less than a year and yes, our insurance company is threatening to drop us! In using a different restoration company this time around we have learned about all the shortcuts GRR took in rebuilding our home the first time around. If we only knew. This is only a fraction of the countless things I could complain about regarding our experience with GRR. Missed deadlines, broken promises, careless workmanship, and non-existent supervision. And after the negligence which has caused our 2nd flood, I wish I could give them a ZERO star rating. Do not touch this contractor with a 10 foot pole. RUN, don't walk away from this one. read more

These guys were the third contractors we had out to take a look at our mold problem. The estimate was by for cheaper then the other 2 companies and they even made suggestions on some work we could do ourselves to save some money. Honest and reliable would totally recommend! read more

Had an old out of date kitchen we wanted to remodel, saw some mixed reviews but thats par for the coarse for most of the other companys we looked up. So we decided to call and at least get an estimate. They came out the following day to look at our project and had some great ideas to make our vision come to life. We ended up getting a few more estimates as well, they ended up being in the middle price wise. They spent countless hours working with us on our concept and design which the other companys did not do. We decided that we wanted someone who truly cared about our project ,so we contracted GRR to do our remodel. They completed our project within our timeline and created exactly what we wanted. Would definatley use again. We gave only 4 stars because we would have liked to have kept budget a little lower but honestly we got exactly what we wanted so really not a deal breaker for us. read more

Woke up to a big mess last month, water everywhere. I could not tell where it was coming from. I called Leak Detection and they were able to locate and repair it. Job well done! read more

I came home to a nightmare after a vacation last month. Water had flooded my home while I was away. Once the immediate shock wore off, I asked my neighbor if he knew anyone who would be able to repair the damage; he told me to call Gainesville Restoration, so I did. They came out right away and put my mind at ease. The technician told me not to worry, they could restore everything back to its original condition. I was very skeptical, but when I returned home after work the next day; the water was gone, and they had already started repairing the damage. They really did restore my home, it's like it never happened. I could not be more pleased with the results, and would recommend Gainesville Restoration to anyone with a water leak emergency. Daniel P read more

I came home to a busted water line causing flooding in the kitchen, living room and two bedrooms. Gainesville Restoration was recommended, so within 30 minutes of calling after hours, Russ and Rod arrived. They were able to dry the house out, arrange for the floors to be replaced, and communicated with the insurance company quickly. Both men were very professional and turned a bad situation into a positive experience. read more

Horrible. I called a few times and finally spoke with one estimator to set up an appointment. That person passed and didn't meet me for whatever reason. The other estimator that did show did not seem interested in the remodel project. Criticism was all I heard from the discussions on what I wanted to do and the material I wanted to use. ie. bath/tub enclosure verses using tile. I guess because tile cost more and I was reducing the cost. He never called me back with the estimate, which I thought to be unprofessional and rude. Lucky for me finding out just what I would have had to deal with. Yelp forces at least 1 star. My opinion is 0. read more

If there were an option for negative stars, that's what I would give. Lack of communication. Conflicting information received from GRR team members. No ownership of project. Everything took far longer than estimated. No clear explanation of project's financing. I have zero confidence in the overall work product and have the strong sense that my family and I were taken advantage of. You want nothing to do with this company. read more

We had water damage at our home and called Gainesville Restoration and they took 3 hours to show up. They demaded we sign a contract that gave them 20 percent of our insurance claim. They demanded we pay them lots of money up front and we refused. Do not call this company total scam alert. read more

We hired GRR for our master bath remodel. We had a great experience and were very happy with the results and time frame completed!!

Very, very poor work, uses day labor for subcontractors and submits false insurance claims. STAY AWAY!!! Does not finish project and you have to run your own projects. read more

As the owner of a plumbing company, we often need to refer a restoration company without much experience with that company. I have often referred Gainesville Restoration with little to no feedback. One of our employees made the mistake of not testing all fixtures correctly and had a leak. I gave Gainesville Restoration a call and within 25 minutes they had a crew onsite. We quickly repaired the leak while Chris and Russ worked diligently to stop the water damage. Because of their prompt arrival and willingness to just dive in to get the job done, damages were very minimal and only required drying out. The cost to us was extremely reasonable and our relationship with our customer was saved. Thank you Gainesville Restoration. read more

I live in the Panama City area of the Panhandle and during the recent disaster caused by hurricane Michael I had several rental homes that were damaged by trees. My insurance adjuster called this company to come and remove the trees from my homes which was the beginning of my nightmare. I never signed a contract with this company nor had I ever heard of them. They were among the hundreds of companies who descended on the area like a flock of vultures preying on those who had lost so much. For one home, they charged $12,300 to remove one tree; for another home, to remove one tree, the cost was $15,000.00; and for another home, to remove about six med-sized pines, the cost was $19,000.00. Then they placed a lien on my three homes and demanded that I pay before they would remove the liens. I called and spoke with a representative of the company and told him that the cost of the tree removal was between the company and the insurance companies, not me. His attitude was that he could care less. All he wanted was the money. I am going to talk with anyone that I think will prevent this company from ever taking advantage of a disaster to price gouge, which is exactly what they have done. The state of Florida has laws to prevent this and now is the time for them to enforce them. read more

Although we are outside of Gainesville Restoration's service area, Mr. Pickering provided us with a free consultation on how to select and work with a contractor. It is so nice to have a consummate professional give useful advice! read more

After searching for a local contractor I decided to go with GRR for my bathroom remodel and was very satisfied. Their prices were reasonable and the quality of their tile workmanship was outstanding! read more

We had a tree fall on our bedroom roof a couple of weeks ago and had never filed an insurance claim and didn't know where to begin. We had the tree removed within a couple of hours and didn't know what to do next as there were holes in our roof and water damage in our attic , bedroom ceiling and walls. Our ASI insurance contact referred us to Gainesville Restoration and Remodeling and they took it from there. Chris Pickering came to our home the same day and managed everything from working with our insurance company to sending people to fix the roof, ceiling, walls, insulation,painting, carpet cleaning etc. We were very pleased with how well everything turned out and how friendly and professional everyone was and we would definitely recommend GR &R . read more

I do not recommend Gainesville Restoration & Remodeling. Their business practices-and especially their billing-are shoddy; their prices exorbitant and their work of uneven quality, e.g., their laminate work was fine, but their tile work was poor. read more

I have had bad service before and think most people have for the various repairs you have to get as a homeowner, but never anything like this. I co own a rental house with someone and this company must have signed up with USAA who I thought screened them or something but apparently they were just able to sign up and maybe just be licensed and insured. They were supposed to give an estimate for a roof and the day before that, the ceiling caved in from a leak at the rental house. I called them since they were already coming the next day. They came out and tarped the roof, removed debris where ceiling had caved, and put in fans and dehumidifiers. They were there less than 1.5 hours and said they had to go 5 minutes down the road to their shop and get another fan/dehumidifier and put them in the house. They did nothing else except come pick up their tarp and equipment which was well less than 3 hours of work. They called me when I was out of town a week or so later to tell me the bill is $3605.00 I was sure he must have said $360.05 as that made more sense than what he told me and I asked him if that is what he meant. You could tell he knew this phone call was not going to go well and that he must have dealt with this before and he was mostly quiet. I am sure they were hoping to collect big money from insurance, but insurance only paid $1k for what was a few thousand dollars besides this cost of "remediation". We offered $1000 for what seems worth less than this to me, but they lowered the cost to the low price of $3000. Apparently they can charge major money for the hours their fans and dehumidifiers run. They gave no cost or estimate before this service either and I see why because no one would ever agree to that. Have only met one person that has actually used them before and she said she would never use them again. read more

What this man has done to my family of 9!!!..........Had and interview with rod whiteside, everything went well, agreed to wage of $20/hr, set up a start date for 2 weeks later. No problem. Start date comes(Monday), I show up for work 10min early, I'm told to go home, they forgot about my start date and would call me about when to start. Got a call later that night to start the next day, good deal. I'm on my way into work the next day and get a text saying we can't start you at $20, but we can give you $15 until we see what you have to offer. I decline. I have a truck and trailer full of tools for every trade. I'm a carpenter, with 15 years of remodeling experience. I have already quit my previous job so I attempt to pursue meeting in the middle at 17.50. I'm told to go home another day until he can run it by Chris, the owner. I'm called Tuesday night by rod saying Chris agreed. Start work on Wednesday, no problem. Fast forward 3 weeks, an AC line gets busted by my helper. Both of us on the books with GRR. We are not sub contractors! A company has liability insurance for such instances!! These things happen!!! Chris holds BOTH of us responsible for damages. I receive a check for $299, my help received check for $120 FOR A WEEKS WORK, WITHOUT NOTICE!!! Did I mention I have a family of 7 to support by myself?!? I accepted the check because it was $299 or nothing and I have bills to pay. I'm told it will only be for the one week, and my philosophy is there is always more money to make. Chris did this to my check for a whole month, continuously making excuses that it's a mistake and should have already been fixed. I'm told it's the payroll company and I will receive back pay. After 4 weeks of this I'm fired and told by Chris (over the phone because he is a coward) that the only reason he kept me working is because he wanted to see how long he could get away with it before I snapped. So after this talk with Chris I googled his name and found his home address to confront him face to face. I show up at his house calmly and he proceeds to taunt me through his front door making childish faces and telling me how stupid I am and how he hopes my kids lose the roof over their head. I'm pretty built up at this point so I return fire. After saying my piece, I go to walk back to my truck to leave and Chris finally comes out from the safety of his home to cuss me as I'm walking away. I turn around and fire back again. I start walking up to him hoping he is pumped up enough at this point to lay a finger on me. He does to opposite and RUNS back into his house. I can see where this is going so I proceed to leave again. As I'm getting in my truck he does the same thing and comes out barking again. I'm not playing his game this time so I continue to leave. As I'm leaving the cops pull up and all the sudden his balls grew and he starts coming at my yelling again. I get trespassed and told to leave. Moral of the story, DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY!! He is a crook. No kids, no wife. Nothing to give him any conscience!!! read more