Shalamar Solutions

We took Shalamar to small claims court and were awarded $300 for services not rendered/unacceptable work. Shalamar's work was incorrect, unsightly, and potentially dangerous. He was chronically late, unprofessional, and most importantly, he took money from us he did not earn when we dismissed him from the job. He left gaping holes in our drywall. He chose not to follow the simple instructions for how to install our flooring which were included in the box, instead trying to accomplish the job in a way explicitly stated by the instructions as wrong. He was 6 hours late the first day ("family emergency"), and 2-3 hours late the second. He said the job would take 2-3 days, and by day 5, he wasn't halfway done. The quality of his work was so bad that we had to redo it ourselves, as has been the case for MULTIPLE other reviewers. He owes other women (all women, hmmm) money well over $1000 for projects not completed and for those completed poorly, according to my communications with them. How do I know about this? I have been so angered by dealing with Shalamar I have contacted other unsatisfied reviewers to hear their story. Indeed, why would someone who has so many examples of his good work feel the need to write HIMSELF TWO good reviews, clumsily disguised as someone else (Go to Google or Yelp to see pictures of review signed "Daniel S." but with the name "Shalamar L." at the top, to indicate it was posted by his own profile; secondarily, see photo of the review he gave himself for the sit-down tub he installed. His NAME is at the top!). Don't believe the good reviews. They are likely written by Shalamar himself, or one of his buddies. Now, I'm sure he'll reply to this review saying we are "twisting the story", or "there are two sides", about the "manufacturer's defect" (see details below) or something about us trying to "take his tools." He'll probably try to destroy our character somehow. But the judge disagreed. This man believes he talks a big game. In fact, at first he is extremely personable and friendly. We really liked the guy. That's why we let our guard down. You may be impressed by the photos of the deck with a unique lattice design as we were at first, but I believe (though I do not have proof) that this isn't his work. The only picture of him and this deck shows him in nice clothes, not work clothes. Furthermore, compare the quality of this deck to other photos of his work from other reviewers (posted for convenience) and even those FROM HIS OWN WEBSITE. Could someone who can't measure a corner correctly, whose stairs sag and had to be demolished, whose deck was "pulled apart by hand" by an engineer (see another review) really build such a masterpiece? I don't think so. Decide for yourself. I really felt for this man. He came to us on day 2 or 3 with a sob story about his personal circumstances. How he needed all the money upfront. (Now of course, he's texting us about how "he's got plenty of money" and "get ready for a bad day in court." Which is it Shalamar? Do you have money, so you scammed us for ours, lying about needing it upfront? Or did you need the money and are lying about your circumstances now?) I can't believe we said yes, but we wanted this man to succeed. We had to return 8 boxes of flooring and buy totally new flooring because Shalamar claimed there was a manufacturer's defect preventing him from being able to install our floor, that it wouldn't snap together. We went and bought all new flooring in a different color to avoid the defect. In the parking lot, my husband snapped the two pieces together relatively easily. We get back to our home and Shalamar claims that this totally different flooring is also experiencing the same defect??? No. Eventually, we fired him from the job and laid the flooring just fine ourselves. That's right - WE were able to do a job Shalamar was not, with help of my husband's father who is a carpenter/luthier! We are NOT contractors!! When we dismissed him from the job, we asked for our $450 back for services not rendered. Of course, he refused. He offered us less than half back, meaning we would have paid him $920 to pull the vanity and toilet out of our half-bathroom (leaving the trash in our yard) and put down concrete leveller in our small bedroom. He gets away with this over and over because people don't want to sue for $500 here, $1000 there. But don't stand for it. Don't hire this man. Yes, he's cheap, but you're throwing away your money. Hire a professional. That's not Shalamar. And Shalamar, if you're reading this, we do genuinely wish you the best. This is not done out of spite. This is honesty. Other people need to know the honest truth. What you have done is unkind. It's unfair. And I believe you know that. The judge agreed. We won't be replying to any of your messages. Please do not contact us.

Hired Shalamar Solutions to create a deck based off of some amazing photos of excellent craftsmanship. They were obviously somebody else’s work because a got an absolute mess. None of the corners meet, the cuts are jagged and not straight, the stairs are all different heights, bow in, and not to code, the boards spring up when you step on the deck. I was completely scammed. Save your money!