Monk’s Home Improvements

I had horrible horrible experience with them. Paint getting on our appliance, kitchen cabinet, roller lint caked on all over the wall, using not enough coat of paint so it was splotchy all throughout the wall. Left paint drips all over our new basement sink faucet and our brand new LG dryer.
More expensive does not mean a better job. I learned the hard way.

When I first used Monks they were wonderful. I think they have grown too fast. When the did my powder room their performance declined dramatically. The project took twice as long as estimated. There were no calls when workers were delayed. They did not have the proper equipment (construction light, drop cloths, etc) not the expertise to remove wallpaper (they painted over the glue). The tile work was not professional. And they requested that I make the check payable to CASH. I think they are using subcontractors that the do not vet.

Okay, we ran into a serious delay with the bathroom and this one was totally Monk’s fault. The bathroom tile was laid out terribly. Cracked corners, uneven tiles, it was brutally bad. So we sent photos to the contractor and he agreed that it had to go. They covered the cost of the replacement tile, and the finished work is extremely well done.
Our foreman was a good guy, and he learned a lot from this job, as did I.
My advice is to realize ahead of time that neither the contractor nor the foreman will be there 100% of the time, you’ll need to stay on top of things. Stuff you said they had to do at the beginning will drop from their minds as they work. Write a list of every feature, make sure everything gets done. If you can’t be there, you need someone who does not panic to be there.
We dealt with:
Cracked tub
Electricians and tile people «forgetting» we ordered a heated floor mat.
Plumber had to relay all the plumbing, because the WW2-​era plumbing layout was no longer up to code.
Plumber «forgetting» we had heated toilet seat.
Tiles laid out shittily, pulled down and relaid
Vanity larger than the guys could manage (until they managed)
Framing was way more complicated than expected
Tub lacked drain assembly
And a host of small decisions no one ever told us we’d have to make.
It’s all done and it looks great. I’d still recommend Monk’s.

Too bad Unilocal does not offer Zero stars.
This company quoted us for work that was 4x (yes I am not kidding) more than our other quotes. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw what the guy sent us as a quote. Keep in mind this was on top of me telling him, that I just needed the most cost efficient job because the house we were fixing up was a house we were are going to put the market to sell soon.
Also the estimator who came to our house took forever to put together a quote. At least 30 – 40 mins. Literally, 3 to 4x longer than anyone else. The house is empty, we specifically told you what we wanted, it’s not like he was walking around with a measuring tape either. My brother was convinced, he was trying to scope out the premises. lol.

Used Monks to paint my bathrooms and bedrooms. They were priced slightly higher than other painters I have used in the past, but being in a rush to get my house on the market for sale I went with Monks because they did minor repairs as well as paint.
Not completely satisfied with the initial job, I contacted the project coordinator Kurt. He went out of his way to make sure everything was done to our satisfaction… He returned the next day with his lead foreman and he finished the job completely… We are happy with the results.

Monk’s gave me the highest quote of the three bids I received to paint my house. I decided to use them because they committed they could get the job done before I left for vacation. The crew puts in long hours, but the only person that speaks English is the foreman that is never around. Do not use them for carpentry work! They will charge you an exorbitant price for minor repairs that they discover while painting your house. I will never use Monk’s again.

Very good but expensive. Had some issues with the initial quality of work but was fixed without question.

We have been getting estimates for deck repairs (re-​do the steps and replace about 5 feet X 3 feet worth of rotted wood) and Monk’s was one of them. Their estimate came in more than double all of the others! $ 3,000, although it came in a nice glossy folder. We’re going with the experienced carpenter who is doing the exact same work for $ 1,100. It seems that Monk’s thinks they can overcharge.