Lake Shore Contractors

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• By Steve C.

  November 18, 2022

  Bath remodel

  $27,000

  In June 2022 we hired Lake Shore Contractors to do several jobs: install shiplap on a large wall, add cabinets in two rooms, add a garage utility sink, and convert a half bath to a full bath.

  We have dealt with many contractors through 30 years of homeownership, but Lake Shore was the worst by far. Their project planning was almost nonexistent; they never showed us a schedule for the work; and most of their workmanship was poor and required rework by other contractors.

  Almost nothing was done well: The joints in the shiplap weren’t nailed down, so we had to buy a nail gun and do it ourselves. Lake Shore’s painter gouged the shiplap with overagressive sanding, which we had to fix and repaint.

  The cabinet project was awful: Although owner John Truesale took a 70% deposit on the cabinets at the time we signed the contract, he never ordered the cabinets. A month into the project, after multiple promises from John and construction manager Dylan Maloney to order the cabinets “real soon”, we got fed up and canceled the cabinet installation. At that time, John, for the first time, said, “[Cabinets] are normally one of the last things we do because going in and out they have been scratched and scuffed in the past.” Makes sense, but (1) why is the upfront 70% deposit requested? and (2) why did neither John nor Dylan mention that fact in our earlier requests about the cabinets? Our belief is that John made up that statement as an excuse for their failure to order the cabinets.

  In preparation for installing the cabinets, the crew removed the laminate flooring underneath. They measured 24” out from the wall and cut the laminate. Trouble is: They apparently didn’t realize that the bottom of a cabinet isn’t 24” deep, so their cut had ruined the flooring. Lake Shore had assured us they knew cabinets, but this amateur mistake showed us otherwise.

  The bathroom conversion was the worst of all. For weeks, Lake Shore failed to secure a permit for the shower installation. Then, after we insisted on getting a copy of the permit, they finally applied for the permit. When we asked why they had waited so long, John said he hadn’t realized they needed to submit a “master permit” application--i.e., he had assumed that all the county required was the plumber to submit a plumbing permit application. (Remember, John is a general contractor.) My belief is that John again was making up the excuse to cover Lake Shore’s failure. When Lake Shore filed the master permit application, the county found an issue with their workman’s compensation and liability insurance, which caused a further delay in issuing the permit.

  There was no planning, virtually no scheduling of any part of the job. Lake Shore promised “about 5 different choices” for the bathroom layout, but never produced any. In fact, they never produced any plan or drawing--the only drawing was a simple sketch we provided to John.

  Days would pass with no communication from Lake Shore and no progress on the job. The bathroom job included closing off a hallway and relocating the bathroom door. The door framing was horrendous. It took 3 more visits, spaced about a week apart, to get the framing and drywall fixed.

  Even then, it appears the crew did not know how to install the door: Nate installed open casing (the door trim you use when not adding a door to the opening) in the doorway, which leaves no room for door hinges. The opening, with the trim and casing installed, wasn’t plumb, or square, or sized correctly--there was no way you could hang a door in that lopsided opening. Dylan said the lopsidedness was “easy to fix” and that the door trim would cover it. It was a hilariously ridiculous statement.

  The drywall was another low point: They patched and re-patched pieces of drywall, leaving lots of joints to be mudded. Some joints hung between studs with no support behind the drywall. Their framing on one wall left the drywall wavy and crooked. It was completely unprofessional.

  Lake Shore’s approach to our project appeared haphazard and unplanned: try this, undo that, fix this, redo that. Very little they did was professional quality—they left work unfinished for weeks, and their lack of planning and scheduling made for an extremely frustrating and exhausting experience. Every day we wondered, “Will they show up? Will they do anything this week? Will they fix their screwups?”

  Two months into the project, it was clear to us that Lake Shore Contractors did not have the skill to complete the work. We canceled everything remaining and parted ways.

  If you’re considering hiring Lake Shore Contractors, I’d strongly recommend you look elsewhere.

  Or, before you sign, consider another homeowner’s experience with Lake Shore: They sued and won a $190,000 judgment against Lake Shore in September 2022. The court found that Lake Shore’s work had numerous defects and deficiencies and was not in compliance with Florida Building Code.

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