Handyman Steve Remodel & Repair L.L.C.

I am writing this review on behalf of my family, particularly my mother Mary Dyer. It has been a few years since Steve Gates tore apart our home and created a nightmare situation for my family. After that debacle we were so busy dealing with the mess and everything else going on that we simply wanted to move on, however, his recent harassment and lies have made it clear that we have to tell our story for us and for others. First Mr. Gates did work in our mudroom which has in short time begun to crumble and cause us problems. That’s only the start. Not long after he worked on our mudroom and before we realized what a shoddy job he did, we proceeded to have him begin work on our upstairs – that’s where the nightmare began. He was hired to tear the crumbling walls down to the studs, spray foam insulation and put up fresh drywall. This job was supposed to take 6-8 weeks, however, it dragged on over 6 months and at that point – when he walked off the job – it still wasn’t finished. During that time he wouldn’t show up, we couldn’t reach him on the phone, and he’s be gone for at least a week at a time. The people he hired to do the work quit because he refused to pay them until there was one individual left for whom my mother paid directly to make sure that he got paid because she felt horrible that Mr. Gates refused to pay him. My mother was told by individuals that Mr. Gates hired that he was using the money she paid him to purchase items for his personal use. He actually came into my place of employment at the time to purchase something when he was supposed to be on the job. My mother was so concerned based on Mr. Gates’ horrible behavior that she had to purchase the supplies herself. Mr. Gates also charged my mother for dumpsters that she confirmed were never ordered. During the demolition, Mr. Gates tore out the ship lap from the walls which never should have happened – he should have known better. During the months that our upstairs was torn apart, I had to cover an open hole in the wall myself because he refused, despite being asked over and over again (and I shouldn’t have had to have asked) that he cover the hole. We had a bird flying around in the house because he refused to secure the job site and when I discussed the issue with him he laughed in my face. As time went on, he increasingly reeked of pot on the job which was extremely disconcerting. My mother hired him to do spray foam insulation which he claimed he knew how to do. When it got to it, she found out it was a lie and that he did not in fact know how to do it. He then tried to charge her for the cost of having someone else spray in the insulation. At that point, we were already so far into the project and needed it to be done before the cold weather hit so we were forced to have him put in fiber glass insulation that we did not want. When the drywall phase finally began it was clear he wanted to leave as soon as possible. It was slapped up so shoddily that there are major problems with it that other professionals in our home since then have noticed and inquired about. The drywall is wavy, uneven and massively inconsistent to the point where it’s extremely difficult to tile as it is so poorly installed – that’s not to mention the horrible mudding job and peeling tape. Window screens were ruined during the demo and in his haste to move on he did not even bother to fix them. Antique, original trim to the house, that was removed and labeled at my mother’s request, was never reinstalled as contracted and agreed upon. Door jams and doors were also not reinstalled. When he decided he was “finished” he left the home a dirty mess. He ran down the stairs when we were in another room and fled the house. My father and I left at that point as we had to drive downstate for work. It was at that point that Mr. Gates came back to the home, which I believe was because he thought my mother was home alone, and began to harass her. Mr. Gates yelled at my mother, claiming that the job was finished. Obviously, it was far from it. He then demanded that my mother pay him more money that he was clearly not owed. At that point, my brother, alarmed by this man shouting at my mother, climbed the stairs to see what was going on. Apparently, this startled Mr. Gates and he decided to leave. My mother then realized that Mr. Gates still had a house key that he had not returned so she sent him a text message asking for it back. He in turn refused to give the key back and proceeded to blackmail my mother demanding more money or else he wouldn’t return the key. My mother then changed the locks on the home. To add insult to injury, Mr. Gates also posted pictures of our home online despite being asked not to do so and to remove them. This was an absolute nightmare situation and now Mr. Gates is lying about the situation all over social media. We feel that it is important to tell our story and hope that no one else has happen to them what happened to us. My family is still dealing with the fall out as his shoddy work has caused us problems and we still haven’t been able to fully finish our home as a result of this horrendous experience.

Steve recently did extensive work on our home. He does very good work, is very professional and communicates well with the homeowner. We would highly recommend him and hire him again for any work we needed. Jeff and Natalia Briggs

I received prompt communications and quick response to come give a free bid and consultation of my job. He was on the job when he said he would be and worked diligently while there. Friendly, down to earth, and professional. Would definitely use him again.