Hartman Contractors

HOME REMODELER BEWARE!
HARTMAN CONTRACTORS
WEST CHESTER, PA

I wish I could adequately express my true disappointment and disgust for the work Paul aka Drew and Carl Hartman did when renovating my townhome in West Chester. The wasted time, the confusing accounting of time and materials and poor workmanship has led me to write this review of their overall horrible performance. Their childlike sarcasm that didn't go unnoticed was also unbearable but being an adult I knew I would be judging them on their work ethic, knowledge and cost effectiveness not their terrible sense of humor. The attached pics tell a story of incomplete and shoddy workmanship combined with their apparent lack of knowledge or simply lack of work ethic. They originally quoted us a decent price for a full remodeling of our Hallway Bathroom and a partial remodel of our Master Bathroom. When they first started the project on December 8th they appeared competent enough so that I asked them to provide an additional quote for remodeling our powder room. Paul first told me it would cost between $900-$100 but came back a day or so later and made it a time and materials project. It seemed reasonable until after they were done, the ceiling tape was coming undone and Paul then explained if he came back out it would have to be a time and materials job. Now, my question would be, why wasn't this done at the same time as the rest of the project or was it done and already falling off the wall? There was a lot of smoke and mirror accounting of time and materials on their projects.

Also, some more examples of their poor workmanship are things like; They filled about 40% of nail holes with wood putty and did a horrible job caulking trim or not mentioning things that have gone wrong like when they were installing bead board and on a small piece between the pantry and connecting piece of bead board they installed a piece but then for some reason they caulked over the retire piece trying to make it look smooth like no one would notice this mess! When asked about it Paul said to have our painting contractors do it! They didn't perform a walk through after the projects were done. They must have bolted directly  from my house to the bank to cash the check for the final payment as it cleared my bank the very next day. They also stated the job would take about 10 days and they ended up being in my home over a month! They would come and go so often I had to use my ring cameras to figure out if they were here or not and for approximately how long. Paul's brother Carl "forgot" to level the bathroom switch plate as it was very crooked on
the wall. Not slightly askew but completely not level.. The lack of detail or caring about doing a decent job is just so apparent throughout the multiple projects. Another example would be when I asked Paul to remove a light over our fireplace. Now, he did remove the light and patch the hole but do you think he removed the light switch on the wall. Nope. And when asked about it he told me to call an electrician. He said his brother asked and I said to keep it! Why in the hell would anyone say that. He was lying! They were extremely unorganized and simply messy throughout the project. I understand a remodel isn't going to always be clean and tidy but they would leave piles of their dirty work gear piled high I our guest bedroom, the hallway or the finished basement! They scuffed our stairway walls several times when carrying in vanities or the new toilets or other equipment. Their work is subpar at best and mostly just done without any level of craftsmanship or concern for their reputation. In my opinion they took advantage of my lack of knowledge and my trusting personality for over $16,000. I wouldn't even mind if when I pointed out my dissatisfaction or disappointment they didn't tell me to "call an electrician" or "have your painters fix it"! At this point,, knowing what I now know about Hartman Contractors I wouldn't allow Paul or Carl fix a broken bicycle chain! I strongly encourage anyone thinking about using Hartman Contractors of West Chester, PA to reconsider and find a company with integrity and the knowledge to do the job right and to care enough to fix obvious workmanship issues after the fact! Renovations are stressful enough without having the clowns at Hartman Contractors compound it by doing terrible work and overcharging for the privilege to put up with their smart-ass insults and stupid wise cracks. Please save yourselves the aggravation and find a competent contractor to do your next renovation!

You've been warned! I wish I were!

Good luck!