Ivy Construction

We just had a kitchen remodel performed by Ivy Kitchen & Bath. My advice: DON'T USE THEM.



First, they broke the handle off of our stove, and denied they did it. ("Our workers said the handle was fine."). Next, they took away our brand new garbage disposal. The salesperson, Iping, claimed that this is the normal thing to do. She also told us that it had already gone to the dumps and couldn't be retrieved, so we had to buy a new one. We found out later from the workers that the disposal didn't go to the dump until 2 days later. I thought it was kind of odd that a salesperson would have first-hand knowledge of which items were in the dump and which weren't. I guess I should have caught that one.



They removed the transitions (metal strip) between the carpet and tile in the kitchen, and just left it that way. According to IPing, "We normally don't finish tile floors". Of course, when we signed the contract, she told us that all of that was included, even though it wasn't mentioned in the contract. She also told us that nobody makes 9-foot transitions, so they couldn't replace it. (This was a lie; you can get them at Home Depot)



They also didn't replace the weather-stripping under the inside garage door where they did tile. Again, because of the way they installed the tile, you couldn't just buy a replacement and install it.



DON'T TRUST THEM.

When we tried to get a transition installed by somebody else, we found-out that it couldn't be done because Ivy had installed the tile floor incorrectly, and didn't leave a straight edge that could take a transition. Now we're stuck, and have to have part of the floor ripped-up just so that the job can be finished. When we complained about this to friends, we discovered other people that the exact same thing had happened to.



WARNING about Ivy's workers:

When I asked Ivy for the contractors license numbers for the subcontractors they use, they claimed that they were unlicensed, but didn't need a license because they were employees. However, when you check on Ivy's contractors license, you will see that they actually have no employees:



Workers' Compensation:This license is exempt from having workers compensation insurance; they certified that they have no employees at this time. Effective Date: 05/12/2006



You can check Ivy's license here:

http://www2.cslb.ca.gov/General-Information/interactive-tools/check-a-license/License+Detail.asp?LicNum=878978



If Ivy is hiring unlicensed contractors, you could be liable for injuries that take place on your property. According to the state of California:



"Unlicensed contractors pose a risk to your financial security because they expose you to significant financial harm in the event of injury or property damage. Few unlicensed contractors have bonding or workers' compensation insurance."



Source - http://www.cslb.ca.gov/consumers/beforehiring.asp



These people are bad news. Stay away.