Ace Handyman Services

Suzanne G. _{on Yelp}

Aug 16th, 2015

David Budlong during the last ten years has provided me with professional services that include remodeling sections of two of my homes.  He takes great pride in his excellent work, that often includes money-saving creative ideas.  I have recommended David to my daughter and two neighbors, (Bathroom renovations/ New Windows/Doors etc.,) and they all are very pleased with his services and, like me, will only call upon him for future work.

Trisa R. _{on Yelp}

Jul 28th, 2015

David did some work for us two years ago and we never got around to reviewing him until we noticed that he only had one star on yelp.  He re-did some poorly done trim that another handyman had installed and sundry small jobs that had been accumulating over the years.  He was prompt, quick, competent, and reasonably priced.  He came exactly when he said he would, got the work done in the time he estimated it would take, and was pleasant to deal with.  We will definitely call him again whenever we need a job done.

Evie R. _{on Yelp}

Nov 12th, 2015

It was difficult for me to write a review because personally, I like David Budlong, but professionally, there was much to criticize and little to applaud.I contracted with Ace Handyman to remodel my bathroom.  It was a complete remodel.  David explained that he worked solo so would only work Tues.- Fri. and would leave at 3:00 each day so he had time for side jobs that might come up.  On that schedule he projected this to be a 4-6 week project.  As it turned out, he never actually worked 4 days/week and rarely put in even a 6-hr. day.  The demo took place on June 11th, 2015.  In the contract David outlines doing the demo on 6/11 and taking a break, returning 6/16, then working Tues. - Fri., 9 - 3 each day, completing the project on 6/26.  Doing the math it is obvious that is not realistic but I was excited that he was projecting finishing earlier than originally estimated.David asked for and was given money for some materials that he was going to provide and $1000/week for progress payments.  We foolishly obliged his request to the tune of $7000 (rookie error). Then in July David broke both of his wrists.  He wanted to finish the job "by proxy", using a friend who was neither licensed nor bonded, and limited experience, but with the promise that he would oversee every bit of work that the proxy did.  I really did not want to proceed but wondered how I would get the job completed within budget if I hired someone else to take over the project, especially since so much money had already been paid out and so little work actually completed.I gave David a week to rest hoping he would decide on his own to abandon the job and give us back about half of the money we paid him.  Instead he returned with friend in tow.  A week later he informed me that he had scheduled and was planning to take a full week of vacation.  Despite my protests (our job that was projected to be completed by 6/27 was going to take until mid-September), Dave took his vacation.  When Dave returned from his vacation, I departed for mine.  Upon my return Dave notified me that he was quitting.  Quitting and not returning my money.I ended up hiring Alex's Tileworks to complete the project.  Leo did an excellent job, but in the end the cost was thousands of dollars higher than it would have been had I not paid for work never received.In fairness to David, he is very talented and handy but not the guy to hire for a project that requires more than a couple days to complete.

Sherrie R. _{on Yelp}

Sep 17th, 2015

I would highly recommend Ace and David. He is on time and reliable.I had him come out to fix some leaky faucets and he ended up fixing light fixtures and helping me with some other problems.He even went to the local hardware store to get some parts and ended up getting me some other things I needed. I have already booked him for a second appointment.He's also easy to talk to and explains what he's doing so you can understand.  Highly recommended. I had David out again to do quite a few jobs. He did jobs I hadn't even planned on doing. I am redoing a room and he was an immense help. He put furniture together. Changed all my locks and put in new lighting among other things. I don't understand the negative reviews. He has always been professional and pleasant to work with. All my jobs have been done with care.

St P. _{on Yelp}

Sep 10th, 2015

Never hire  "Ace Handyman"!We hired "Ace Handyman" do to various jobs in our house. 1) The majority of work done was of poor quality, some was left unfinished, and "Ace Handyman" refused to fix the problems or return money. We paid "Ace Handyman"  $1825, of which the poorly done jobs accounted for $1578.33.2) The owner of Ace Handyman boasts of being a licensed contractor. At this time, the California Contractor's Licensing Board website lists Ace, but indicates that Ace is exempt from having Workers' Compensation insurance because it has certified that it has no employees. However, the owner of Ace worked for two days in our house with an assistant and billed us for the assistant's work. The owner appears to have lied to the licensing board, which suggests that he could lie to anyone.3) It was hard to obtain a decent invoice for the work,  and the final invoice was still not very detailed.4) "Ace Handyman" works carelessly and left paint spots on a bureau and an antique rug. 5) In communication with us, "Ace Handyman" was rude.Never hire  "Ace Handyman"!Response to owner's response:1) If the assistant was a licensed sub-contractor, he certainly did not know much about painting. Also, he helped with both painting and carpentry, which leaves a question about what trade or trades he was licensed for.1) The owner of Ace did indeed remove a spot or two on our wooden bureau, using his fingers and saliva on paint that had not yet fully dried. We later noticed other spots on the bureau and rug.3) The owner cancelled the appointment to resolve issues of his own accord, without consulting us. It is not clear what he means by an "unresolvable conflict of interest."4) The poorly done jobs accounted for $1578.33 worth of work. In response to our complaints, the owner cancelled his return visit, mailed us a check for $662.50, and indicated that he would consider himself absolved of all responsibility if we cashed the check. After we attempted to negotiate by e-mail, he sent us a letter indicating that he was stopping payment on the the check because we had neither cashed it nor contacted him.In short, again:Do not use Ace Handyman!