James Carlozzi was referred to us by one of his Contractors and his business had great reviews, so he designed the cabinetry layout for our kitchen remodel, ordered cabinetry (Contractor affiliated with business and customer installed), and sub-contracted out granite countertop w/installation and tile backsplash w/installation. Issues with product and service include: 1) 90% of white brushed glaze maple wood cabinetry arrived chipped, other pieces arrived feeling either like an orange peel or warped. Exposed maple wood was just painted over with white paint-very tacky appearance for brand-new cabinetry. Stacked drawers not evenly spaced apart from each other-top drawer has a gap of ¼” to the second drawer, while the second drawer has a 1/8” gap to the third drawer. Very disgusted with cabinet quality and construction and not happy with final product. 2) Exact measurements of appliances were requested, but not used in layout. I had to request Contractor to use wood fillers to hide gaps and the space designed to house built-in microwave was significantly overshot. Goal of remodel was to increase cabinet space, so not happy about the wasted space. Every inch counts in a small kitchen. 3) Wood frame for built-in microwave did not arrive square, so Contractor constructed one. Built-in microwave was installed on a stack of plywood (4 or 5 pieces)-unsecured in the oversized space, then closed off with the constructed wood frame, which was adhered to the cabinetry with Velcro double-sided tape. After a few weeks, the wood frame was dangling off the cabinet b/c the weight of the wood frame stretched the adhesive away from the cabinet like stretchy slime. When I asked the Contractor for a better solution he suggested strong magnets. Contractor winded up using metal mounting parts to secure the frame. Very disgusted every time I look at the microwave. If it were shared with me that Velcro was going to be used in my kitchen remodel, I would have known gone a different direction-huge disappointment. 4) James was going to charge me $1,529.00 for tile from Genrose Stone and Tile, where I found someone else who would charge me $865.05 for the exact same boxes of tile from the exact same business (the employee actually asked the person who installed my tile who the tile was for b/c South Broad just returned it). If I hadn't asked around I would have paid nearly twice for tile and installation ($2219.98 was total I paid for tile, materials, and install; quoted savings not using James was $1,906.11!) See receipt of tile cost and quote for cost of tile and install from James in pictures below. Crazy right? So at this point, I can only assume that I paid nearly twice as much for the cabinetry and twice as much for the granite w/installation. Due to the amount of money at stake for kitchen remodels, I felt obligated to share my experience with others regarding James Carlozzi of South Broad Paint & Home Center. Buyer beware!!!!
Response to South Broad: I like that your trying to save face, but here are a few facts. The granite countertops and install was also coordinated by South Broad (see snapshot of email included where I said yes to charge the deposit for the countertops). Yes-the Contractor is a friend of my husband’s and also affiliated with your business-as stated above. And yes-my husband bartered work with him so you did not get your cut off of him on this job. His picture on South Broad’s FB is attached to this post. Up charging materials and labor to run a profitable business-absolutely and 100% acceptable. Almost doubling cost of materials and labor is not and is definitely not an average margin. This is why I did not move forward with South Broad to subcontract out the tile installation. And yes-buyer beware-the buyer should assume the risk that products/service from South Broad may fail to meet expectations or have defects.
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James Carlozzi was referred to us by one of his Contractors and his business had great reviews, so he designed the cabinetry layout for our kitchen remodel, ordered cabinetry (Contractor affiliated with business and customer installed), and sub-contracted out granite countertop w/installation and tile backsplash w/installation. Issues with product and service include: 1) 90% of white brushed glaze maple wood cabinetry arrived chipped, other pieces arrived feeling either like an orange peel or warped. Exposed maple wood was just painted over with white paint-very tacky appearance for brand-new cabinetry. Stacked drawers not evenly spaced apart from each other-top drawer has a gap of ¼” to the second drawer, while the second drawer has a 1/8” gap to the third drawer. Very disgusted with cabinet quality and construction and not happy with final product. 2) Exact measurements of appliances were requested, but not used in layout. I had to request Contractor to use wood fillers to hide gaps and the space designed to house built-in microwave was significantly overshot. Goal of remodel was to increase cabinet space, so not happy about the wasted space. Every inch counts in a small kitchen. 3) Wood frame for built-in microwave did not arrive square, so Contractor constructed one. Built-in microwave was installed on a stack of plywood (4 or 5 pieces)-unsecured in the oversized space, then closed off with the constructed wood frame, which was adhered to the cabinetry with Velcro double-sided tape. After a few weeks, the wood frame was dangling off the cabinet b/c the weight of the wood frame stretched the adhesive away from the cabinet like stretchy slime. When I asked the Contractor for a better solution he suggested strong magnets. Contractor winded up using metal mounting parts to secure the frame. Very disgusted every time I look at the microwave. If it were shared with me that Velcro was going to be used in my kitchen remodel, I would have known gone a different direction-huge disappointment. 4) James was going to charge me $1,529.00 for tile from Genrose Stone and Tile, where I found someone else who would charge me $865.05 for the exact same boxes of tile from the exact same business (the employee actually asked the person who installed my tile who the tile was for b/c South Broad just returned it). If I hadn't asked around I would have paid nearly twice for tile and installation ($2219.98 was total I paid for tile, materials, and install; quoted savings not using James was $1,906.11!) See receipt of tile cost and quote for cost of tile and install from James in pictures below. Crazy right? So at this point, I can only assume that I paid nearly twice as much for the cabinetry and twice as much for the granite w/installation. Due to the amount of money at stake for kitchen remodels, I felt obligated to share my experience with others regarding James Carlozzi of South Broad Paint & Home Center. Buyer beware!!!!
Response to South Broad: I like that your trying to save face, but here are a few facts. The granite countertops and install was also coordinated by South Broad (see snapshot of email included where I said yes to charge the deposit for the countertops). Yes-the Contractor is a friend of my husband’s and also affiliated with your business-as stated above. And yes-my husband bartered work with him so you did not get your cut off of him on this job. His picture on South Broad’s FB is attached to this post. Up charging materials and labor to run a profitable business-absolutely and 100% acceptable. Almost doubling cost of materials and labor is not and is definitely not an average margin. This is why I did not move forward with South Broad to subcontract out the tile installation. And yes-buyer beware-the buyer should assume the risk that products/service from South Broad may fail to meet expectations or have defects.
