Tapley Home Transformations

The best! Showed up on time and did a wonderful tile job in the basement, dry wall, added wall outlets and can lights, painted and installed trim. We had him come back to gut and remodel the bathroom, which is just beautiful! We will definitely hire this company again.

Exceptional work! Finished the basement, gutted and rebuilt the bathroom with tile and built the deck! Also put a roof on for me when he was working for another company. Good, hard-working and honest. And a veteran!

This is a review of our customer experience with Derek Tapley of Tapley Home Transformations, LLC.

Our family was looking to hire someone to make renovations to our front porch and stairs. On April 24, 2017, Mr. Tapley of Tapley Home Transformations, LLC, came to our home to discuss the project and provide us with a quote to build a set of stair railings for our front porch steps.

We explained to Mr. Tapley that we would like to have all post and railing holes hidden with wooden plugs. Specifically, we requested he use the Kreg Jig when driving the railings into the posts and a forstner bit on the railings going into each baluster. This should achieve the look we wanted. Mr. Tapley assured us it wouldn't be an issue for him to do that.

Mr. Tapley estimated the job would take between 3-5 hours to complete. He quoted us a rate of $30.00 an hour. Mr. Tapely also requested that we buy the raw materials needed for the project, which we did.

Through subsequent text messages, Mr. Tapley agreed to do the project on May 12th. All necessary raw materials had been purchased and were ready to be installed on May 12th. On May 12th, Mr. Tapley called with an excuse why he couldn't make it that day and did not complete the project. At this time, we mutually agreed to an appointment of Friday, June 9th at 8 AM.

On June 9th, Mr. Tapley timely arrived at our home. However, he was not prepared for the project and was not able to complete the project as requested. Mr. Tapley left the project multiple times to get his tools needed for the project. He also had to borrow our tools (chop saw) because he had left his at another job site. As a direct result of his not being prepared and his coming and going, the project took Mr. Tapley about 8 hours, which was well in excess of the 3-5 hours estimated. Furthermore, the project was not done as requested, not done correctly and not completed to our satisfaction.

First, all the screw holes on the top railings were not pre-drilled with a forstner bit and clean. Second, the railing screws were not placed in a straight line along the railing. Third, the railing screws were simply countersunk into the wood at different depths. Fourth, Mr. Tapley failed to use the Kreg Jig at the bottom and top of the railings. The above mistakes alone made the railings impossible to repair; however, upon closer inspection the issues continued to mount.

Mr. Tapley also had areas where he was missing screws, both going into the post at the top and into the top hand railing into a balusters. There were other areas with way too many screws. He installed balusters with holes and chips in them. The balusters were also not cut correctly to fit into the pre-made holes at the top and bottom of the railings. In fact, within a few days we had balusters popping out of the railings due to not being fit correctly and properly affixed. Further, we found several unnecessary screw holes in the [LEFT] post at the bottom of the stairs.

We immediately contacted Mr. Tapley regarding his poor workmanship by sending him a copy a repair estimate we had obtained, photographs of the problem areas and a note setting forth our dissatisfaction. Mr. Tapley was quick to respond and asked to come over so we could review the issues. When Mr. Tapley arrived with his wife Jennifer on June 24th, we pointed out our concerns. His responses were unacceptable. He did not use the Forstner Bit, as we requested, because the screws he used were going to be countersunk into the wood. Further, he did not use the Kreg Jig we requested because it would have been too hard. The use of this equipment had been specifically requested by us and agreed to by Mr. Tapley.

On June 24th, 2017, Mr. Tapley agreed to replace the defective balusters and the top hand railings at his expense for labor and materials. He also offered to pay for the paint for the porch. We declined and simply requested do the project correctly and as requested. Mr. Tapley was to drop off the replacement balusters at our home the next day so they could acclimate to the outdoor temperature. He failed to do so. He stated he was just keeping them at his house until he repaired his work. The repairs were scheduled for July 15, 2017.

On June 15th, we had an emergency and had to leave town. We apologized and mutually agreed to reschedule for July 29th. On July 29th, Mr. Tapley called and said he would be by in the afternoon. He never showed up. He later claimed he got tied up at a job. We rescheduled again for the next day - July 30th. Mr. Tapley arrived on July 30th, but was again unprepared. He had none of the supplies needed to complete the repairs. Mr. Tapley assured us he would obtain all materials and have the project completed properly by the following Friday, August 4, 2017. We advised him that if he fails to complete the project by August 4th, we would just proceed with another contractor.

Following week, we texted and called him daily. He has never responded. Further, he never made an effort to make right his poor work. In addition, we have learned that he spoke unprofessionally about us with one of our neighbors he was soliciting business from.

Obviously, we are completely frustrated and disappointed with the workmanship, responsiveness and professionalism of Derek Tapley of Tapley Home Transformations, LLC. We would not recommend you hire this contractor.