Dun Rite Remodel

I'll summarize our experience in the first paragraph, and provide full details further down. We hired Dun-Rite through BuildZoom in July 2018 for a full condo remodel. In the end, we had paid them over $160,000, and they fully abandoned our project, leaving us with an unlivable unit that we had to finish ourselves. While they worked on our unit, they worked illegally during a time their license was suspended, used unlicensed subcontractors to do unpermitted things like electrical work, lied to us about having ordered many items we prepaid for, and caused problems with our building management and other residents. In the end, we had to live for months in a unit that didn't even have a kitchen sink, ultimately having to finish the project ourselves (still ongoing) by pouring an additional tens of thousands of dollars into the project.

In July 2018, we contacted Roy Dean, Dun-Rite's owner, through BuildZoom. Roy was initially very responsive, and came back with a quote we could live with. We wrote a check for approximately $75,000 to get started. Almost immediately, problems began. Our condo building has strict rules around contractors providing proof of insurance, licensing, and also submitting plans for approval. Our building manager had to chase Roy continuously for these items, and Roy moved forward with beginning major changes such as plumbing without approval. Also, the initial plumbing work (moving a waste stack feedline, not a trivial job) was done unlicensed, and not by plumbers. Right from the start, we were in trouble with our building because Roy refused to follow the rules.

Things got worse from there. Our building has strict rules around the use of tools that generate significant amount of noise, as it negatively impacts others who live in the building. Roy continued to use tools like a roto-hammer without notice, causing rifts with our neighbors. During one incident, our neighbor downstairs came up to ask Roy about the schedule of noise, as the neighbor works from home and needed to plan his day. Roy demanded he leave, then he and his crew proceeded to loudly bad-mouth the neighbor, which the resident clearly heard as all insulation had been removed, so the sound traveled easily downstairs.

The worst building incident, however, happened when our building manager had to come to the unit to demand Roy stop using a roto-hammer outside of the approved hours. After she left, as the door was closing, Roy yelled “C*NT” at the top of his lungs. She returned, asking Roy if that’s how he wanted to end the conversation, at which point Roy backed her into a corner and got within inches of her face. She was so scared she had to write an official complaint to our building’s board of directors, and Roy was banned from any further entry to our building, meaning he could manage his own project. Shortly thereafter, his business partner quit, not wanting to work with Roy anymore.

Not long afterward, we discovered that Roy’s team had chosen the wrong type of hardwood flooring for our unit - we have concrete floors, and he chose flooring that needs to be tacked into a plywood subfloor. Furthermore, his crew never leveled the concrete, and he used an inexperienced installer to the point where the finished floor had to be completely ripped out. Errors such as this caused the project to run at least a month behind, so we had to extend our existing lease, costing us thousands of unexpected dollars.

Finally, we had no choice but to move into the unfinished unit. We lived for months without basics, such as a kitchen sink, operational dishwasher, had only one working bathroom (with a shower that only produced cold water), and an active construction project ongoing while we lived here (we also work from home, and have a 5-year old child). At one point, after having paid Dun-Rite more than $160,000, he demanded via text message that we pay him the remaining $12,000. Of course, we let Roy know that we would gladly pay him upon project completion. After a few rounds of text messaging (Roy wouldn’t pick up his phone when I tried to call), he simply abandoned the project - the sole remaining worker let me know he received a text to pick up his tools and leave.

We subsequently found out that many of the items we had paid for, and that Roy had told us he ordered, had never been ordered (e.g., closets, shower doors). Furthermore, for items that Roy had ordered - and that we had paid for - Roy cancelled those orders. We were left with a completely unfinished unit that we had to live in, out $160,000, and needing to order items we thought were on their way, but actually took weeks to months of lead time.

Since then, we discovered that Roy has a track record of this behavior (see other reviews such as https://www.yelp.com/biz/master-crafters-seattle and https://www.bbb.org/us/wa/seattle/profile/remodel-contractors/dun-rite-remodel-1296-1000041211). Thanks for letting me share our experience.