Better Home Improvement

what I love: my rep Chris was prompt and professional. He quickly responded to all my questions and needs. The installer awash quick, clean, and great to work with. The staff is courteous. What I don't like: they have poor internal communication, telling one person something doesn't get communi to anothe. I also hate I signed off on the job before getting an item fixed/reviews because im at the bottom of the list of getting someone to come back out.

Prepare to be your own foreman.

According to my sales contract, I am forfeiting my warranty by submitting this review and I am doing so out of a strong feeling of obligation to help those who are looking for the services this company provides to know what they are getting in to.

I will start by saying that the ultimate end product of my siding and screen porch projects are of high quality. This is the reason for the 3 stars. That being said, getting there was no easy road.

Like others who have left reviews, I also had a great sales experience. The salesman came to my home and promised me the moon. Told me they'd get started in a month, and took thousands of my dollars. Fast forward two months, and we haven't started yet. They hadn't even sought the permit from the county yet. I am not exaggerating.

Once my job was due to begin, it was very clear from the beginning that there is a substantial difference from what the salesman promised and what the company was prepared to deliver. For example, my exterior lights were to be removed and, once the siding was installed, I could provide new lights to put in those places. The crew that arrived said they were not electricians and could not do what was agreed. Please see the photos for the veritable shrine they built for my existing porch light to avoid removing it. Even if I was planning to keep that light, they managed to break it (see rectangle highlight). This happened a few more times - notably regarding an additional light that the salesman agreed to install and a fan. Both of these were to be placed where there were existing fixtures. The fan made it to the contract but the additional light did not - so that was a $180 charge. I did it myself in an hour tops. The ceiling fan, noted in the contract, would be an upcharge of nearly $500 because it didn't have a fan support - a part one can obtain readily at a hardware store for far less than 10% of that.

In addition to the shrine to my porch light, they also cut the siding to go around my existing gutters (see photo). I had advised my salesman that the gutters would be replaced after they were done. When I brought it up, I was told they "always do it that way." Later in the project, another subcontractor saw it and called the home office because he felt it wouldn't pass inspection.

They left my cable and phone boxes off the house, expecting the painters to do it. This is a huge disconnect you should be aware of - they have an agreement with their own painters of what the siding team will finish and what they will leave for the painters. This may explain why their painting team costs 2-3 times what the painting team I hired charge me but it makes extra work either for you or your painters. I had already hired my painters when I realized I really needed to re-side the house so I wasn't going to back out of that contract *and* overpay.

My screen porch was not built according to my specifications - they ended it in the wrong place but, by this time, I just wanted to be done with them to I decided to live with it.

Most recently, while renovating my master bathroom, we discovered that the studs were rotten - soft to the touch - on the exterior wall (see photo). Very likely a plumbing leak that had been happening for years. I contacted BHI as I would have expected them to see this when they took off the bottom 14 inches of the exterior wall due to rot and I felt that leaving it this way was negligent on their part. I had specifically asked my salesman about this issue because it was moisture damage and rot that led me to re-side the house. He said explicitly that if they encountered anything that was outside of the scope of what I was hiring them to do that we would discuss and decide on the best path forward. The office is not standing by this promise and takes no responsibility for leaving it this way. I can't imagine how long that would have held or what would have happened if we hadn't gutted the bathroom.

All of this deflection of responsibility and denial of promises made are why I don't even care about the warranty. First, I have no interest in ever working with them again on anything, even if it is free. Second, I have no trust that they will stand by their promises because they haven't yet.

The absence of more bad reviews is likely because it is literally in the sales contract that you can't write a bad one.

This company is a GEM. They have been in business for so long, their resumes speak for themselves on what they can bring to your home! Not only was I impressed with the thoughtfulness of Steve and Kevin, they make it a point to be on-top of the project always calling and making sure everything is going in accordance.

If you're looking to add on anything to your home I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this business as they exceeded all expectations set forth, as well as can shed light on dreams of your home.

I was more than satisfied with the job BHI did for me, which included pouring a 12X16 concrete slab, building a screen room, (including a pet door), wiring and installing a ceiling fan and replacing my sliding glass door. Every stage of the job was done expediently and professionally. I highly recommend this team!

My parents recently had a screen room added to their home by Better Home Improvement. The workers showed up on time, were productive with their time when on the job site, and were friendly as well. The project was completed when promised and is a great addition to my family's home.

Had a nice meeting with Chris B.; contract to add a patio cover with ceiling fan installation. He was very friendly, took ample time to explain process, permits, probable wait times and explained materials to be used. Should be done before July. I'll come back and review. Husband chose them based on excellent reviews on Angie's List. Will keep you posted!

This company is bad news. Owner is unprofessional as can be. Sub-contractors sent by them do crappy work and complain to the homeowner about even doing the work cause they don't get paid enough for the job. Don't expect to be treated like a customer as things go wrong! The owner Kevin will damn sure threaten you with even further bad work if you try to hold him accountable. Consider my one star a negative 5 stars. If you need work done on your home, keep looking. The regrets run DEEP!

Great company. They showed up on time and kept me informed of each phase of the new roofing project. All materials were delivered on time, and when the roofing job called for additional materials, they were delivered in a timely manner. I was amazed they finished the roof in only one day from 8 am until 3:30 pm. They re-nailed the decking and brought it up to code. They also took special time and care laying tarps to assure no nails were left for my yard birds to swallow. There was no dilly-dallying, or wasting of time. Even lunch was a short break to eat a sandwich. They did not leave the premises. When you use Better Home Improvement, you can rest assured the work is quality work, and they won't even take the job if they know it cannot be done correctly, and aesthetically.

First of all, if you are going to use this company you have to be your own job site coordinator because the crews that are sent out are pretty much on their own. I was not able to be there due to my own work schedule which is why there were mistakes that could have been avoided.
I had a roof and a gabled screen room installed as one project for a seamless installation of the shingles on both structures.
Be sure when choosing the shingle color to take a picture of the sample and send it to the other job coordinator in the office. Being there are many variances of shingle colors you might end up with something you did not choose.
The crew installing the shingles comprised of 2.5 men on a 2000sqft roof, and it took all week until dark. I asked about an issue I saw with a nail curled in and out causing a high spot near the edge of the roof. The lead needed his interpreter to explain and he just said, 'fix fix, I fix. Well the fix was to cover it up with paper and shingles and move on. At this time it is difficult for me to believe everything was done as explained to me at BHI offices.
Also, be sure to mention you want the plumbing vent pipes painted before they are installed or you will be on the roof painting them yourself.^%$#@
My current slab required a pour-over to bring the floor to the house level. I was able to speak with the concrete lead and told him of a low spot at the outer left side, maybe 1/2 dip. This was opposite of the door and I said the slope needs to be towards the door and this was only if somehow I get a lot of water on the porch. Well, that didn't seem to help as they set the form boards up and now the left end is a full 2 inches lower than the right end where the door is. I had Billy come out and look and he saw this and said they will compensate for this with the walls of the screen room. **Keep in mind it was not realized how bad the slab was until the walls went up.***
Next an electrician came out and cut a wire, installed a junction box that is now behind a wall that is for the ceiling fan of which I provided. A couple months later the electrician came back to install the ceiling fan which is over 12 feet high to the beam. This is when I realized he was not aware he had connected the ceiling fan to a wire that ran straight back to the breaker panel. In other words power on all the time unless I turn the breaker off, fortunately I purchased a fan with a remote.
Now the inspector shows up and says they were required to install a light outside the door so the electrician shows back up and installs a motion sensor light on the outside beam and connects to the ceiling fan power. Now if the time comes to replace bulbs I have to borrow an extension ladder from the neighbor or purchase one. I have to turn the power off at the breaker panel if I don't want the security light on, but then it cuts power to the ceiling fan.
The finished project looks very good, but I could have avoided the mistakes if I could have been here to oversee the project.
Another issue being nobody from the office came out for a final to ask if I had any questions or concerns. Of course they are of the concerns but made as little contact as possible except when asking for another payment. Would I recommend this contractor to a friend...Hell no..

Very competitive price. FAST installation of Hardie lap siding, followed by a great paint job.