Home Depot Installation Service

[direct-x]

Has anyone used Home Depot do do work in their homes?

Were you satisfied?

Was it worth the extra cost?

Did they stick to the schedule, deadline you requested?

I need a lot of reno work done to my home, mostly redoing flooring, two bathrooms, and landscaping. I know I can get a better price with contractors out of the phone book, but most are very busy and cannot guarantee the work will be done on time, which is very important as I am on a tight schedule.

[Krox]

I have personally never used home deopt for installation. I have heard a lot of not so good things about them. Shoddy work, overpriced, and behind schedule. Keep in mind home depot just contracts the work out to a local compan and you don't get a say in what company they use. Do a search on google and you can find many horror stories but I guess that is true with independant contractors. And truthfully most people that post on the internet usually do so to complain. Personally, I do not think I would use them.

To me it is important to meet the person first. I like to ask them directly who will be working on my house. After all I am letting complete strangers into my house I would like a chance to approve them first. With home depot you do not get that chance. The send who they send.

[Pete_Coach]

It is a hit or miss situation with Home Depot installers. A friend had windows installed so poorly that they actually leaked the first rainy day after the installation. Home Depot eventually fixed them (he thinks) but there will always be that lingering doubt.
They contract out and anyone can put their name on the Home Depot list. After a few bad jobs and many complaints, the contractor may be taken off the list. If you are a mediocre installer/contractor etc, you could live off Home Depot work for a long time, but you won't get rich because only the lowest bidder will get the job. Home Depot will quote you a job then they go look for a contractor that will do it for much less and they keep the difference.

[sunnybono]

If the HD here is anything like the States, stay very far away!!!! Do a Search on this forum about HD and you will see what I and the other posters are talking about!!!!!

sk

[blexann]

I find it very strange that Mike Holmes endorses HD installation services.

[sunnybono]

HD is one of Mr. Holmes biggest sponsors!!!!! I'm sure Mike is aware that HD is one of the biggest rip off artists in the home reno business, but why bite the hand that feeds you!!!!!

sk

[blexann]

a lot of the horror stories on the internet are from the US. I wonder if the same holds true up here ?

I was thinking about using them(I know they contract out the work) to do my roof. A neighbour of mine had his roof done 3 years ago and he has had no problems so far.

[Smoothie]

Don't they contract out to contractors? If this is the case, then I guess it depends what company you end up getting.

[BuildingHomes]

I participaite in a forum that specializes in trades and contractors.. there's a lot of talk over Home Depots installation services in the US. And also what they do to try and sign up installers.. under pay them and tell them they can only install items they purchase from Home Depot using a Home Depot credit card.

So that limits you to the crap that Home Depot sells as opposed to be offered some better quality items.

[Dustbunny]

As others have said, go with caution. A lot seems to depend on which city you are in and which contractors are in that city.

I had a kitchen counter installed a couple of years ago without a hitch. No complaints, price, timing, service, everything was just great. Last year I was getting new windows and their price was almost 3 times the price of another place (Sears was also high) and didn't have as much variety in choice of product. About a month ago I made one more attempt to see what it would cost to tile my bathroom. They wanted $50 to come out just to tell me how much. I refused. For the life of me I can not understand why they didn't have a rough sq. ft. install cost so they could give me an estimate without me shelling out $50. They also told me they no longer do any 'free' in home estmates (although it's still advertised in all of their materials). So that was it for me. I won't be having them do any more work. I don't mind paying for a measure once I know price, but I am darned if I am paying for someone to come out to give me an estimate.

If you are in an area where the good contractors are busy, figure it out. If HD are saying they can do it in your time frame while the good ones can't, who are they hiring? You may get it on time and with a guarantee but that will go stale really fast if it isn't done right and you have to wait around for fixes and all the hassle that entails. You might be better to find yourself a good general contractor and leave the hiring and scheduling to them. If it takes longer, so be it (she says after having just had to wait 7 months to find someone who could prep her bathroom properly because it's very hard to find trades here at the moment).