TREY (or Tray) DARBY: WORST CONTRACTOR EVER
This particular individual likes to sell himself as being a contractor in the Park Slope area. I used to live across the street from him on 6th ave and my landlady thought he was a pretty swell chap so she gave him some work. Not only could he not show up when he said he…
This particular individual likes to sell himself as being a contractor in the Park Slope area. I used to live across the street from him on 6th ave and my landlady thought he was a pretty swell chap so she gave him some work. Not only could he not show up when he said he would, he over-charged her and said he could repair things he had no business repairing (such as an opening roof vent that, for 6 months, he had her believing the company simply wasn’t sending the part fast enough. Another guy found all he had to do was change the fuse. There was no ordered part)
Knowing all of this, I gave him the benefit of the doubt thinking that the two of them had communication problems or whatever.
Fast forward to these last few months.
I called this so-called “contractor” to move an electrical switch and a security phone to destinations further down the wall. He proceeds make the light switch crooked and leave the new plaster all wavy and cracked.
Unfortunately, and completely to my error, I paid him the last bit of money owed on the job (the plaster hadn’t dried yet so I didn’t know the extent of the work that still needed completing) knowing that he would be back to do work for a neighbor (sadly, I had made the recommendation) and therefor easy to track down.
Not only did he stop returning my calls/texts, when I finally cornered him in my building, he had the nerve to promise that he would be up as soon as he was done with my neighbor. Since I wouldn’t be available, another neighbor offered to stay home to let in this jerk. FOUR DAYS went by until he was finished with my neighbor’s place with a promise every day that he would be over just as soon as he could. FOUR DAYS of either me or my poor neighbor waiting for this jerk.
To get to the meat of the story, my neighbor’s place is finished, my wall is still cracked and wavy, and he still avoids answering my calls/texts. I would think he would simply finish it just to get me off his back.
I have survived the project from hell, mostly because of the contractor from heaven—Tray Darby. Let me explain.
The project began as a kitchen renovation—nothing fancy, mainly a moderate-budget redo of a 50 year-old environment. Then things began to happen:
The tile floor was removed to reveal that the sub-flooring in some areas had rotted away. New sub-flooring was needed. Tray was on it, without missing a beat.
The original sub-flooring was removed to reveal areas with weak or non-existent floor beams. New beams needed to be laid. Tray was on it, without missing a beat.
The original cabinets were removed to reveal a heretofore hidden, weight-bearing column of bricks that impinged on the kitchen by three inches. As a result, a nonbearing wall needed to be moved. Tray was on it, without missing a beat.
And finally, the decorative casing around the weight-bearing wood ceiling beam and two-story wood column was removed (for aesthetic reasons) to reveal: a) damage from powder-post beetles and b) weakening from checking along the length of the column. Both structural pieces needed to be replaced with steel. Tray was on it.
For this last “adventure,†Tray brought in an engineer, iron-workers, and a crew to install temporary supports for the building. Harrowing? Absolutely. Scary? For sure. But at every turn Tray was on it, absorbing my anxiety and making me feel secure. And I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.
Here is what I would say about Tray:
1. Tray has an excellent sense of how to use space. He and I (mostly he) designed the kitchen. No interior decorator or architect was needed, a significant cost-saving.
2. Tray has a deep knowledge of how to put together and schedule the various skilled workers needed for a complex project.
3. The members of Tray’s crew are highly skilled, personable individuals very sensitive to the importance of leaving a work area clean and free of debris.
4. Tray’s cost estimates are detailed and true. The cost of my project grew due to the problems described above. Absent those problems, the final bill would have matched the original estimate.
5. Tray is a finisher, both literally and figuratively. He personally did much of the finishing work in the kitchen, so it was sure to meet his exacting standards. Moreover, he was available and present on the job throughout the project; he did not disappear toward the end, as many contractors do.
Tray is a person of great integrity. He is honest, responsible, and a pleasure to work with. I recommend him without hesitation or qualification.
Tray has never broken his word, contract of promise with me. I have a high level of respect and trust for this man. Dropping the ball with Rebecca’s job was horrible and unfortunate, but I really feel it was an isolated incident.
Working with Tray is easy. I found his high level of expertise and life long experience in the field very comforting. I was not stressed at all. Unexpected needs came up, he meet them. He also anticipates needs, offering valuable suggestions along the way.
The label of worst contractor ever is uncalled for. In fact, Tray is the best contractor I have ever worked with. He will be working for me time and time again. Tray also is someone who I wholeheartedly recommend.
Park Slope Eye is located at 682 Union St @ 5th ave. I would love to go over his work with anyone who would like to come by. If anyone would like to respond personally to me, you may email me at Dr.Bazan(AT)ParkSlopeEye.com
Hello I’m Tray Darby
First of all let me start out by apologizing to Rebecca, about how i handle her job. I admit that i did not handle her 2 small jobs on the professional level as i’ve done any
any job. I have been doing this work all my life, it’s the only thing i know. I not going to get petty about Rebbecca’s jobs. It has been a learning experience< i could never have image that Rebecca will go as far as to post this about me. So naturally i have to defend myself. I have done hundred’s of jobs since I’ve been in this buisness, I work for Judges, Lawyers
8 Nfl players. I have the keys to these client’s homes. I over see all of there construction. Yes I use to be a contractor, but it doesn’t pay in the end. A lot of customers want the best but are not willing to pay, I’m not saying in this case Rebecca wasn’t willing to pay, I made the mistake of not charging her on a contractor rate, What I have learn from all of this is that you can you a job charging a FAVOR price i did her job charging her 1/4 of the price because she was my neighbor and look what happen to me I’m on Craig’s List as the worst contractor ever, And you people agree with her, I have excellent reference I have cleints that i will definitly contact so that they can read what Rebecca wrote. So that they can make there comment. I agree with everyone out here trying to be a contractor, so you have one person log a comment like this on the web and everyone believe’s it. believe me what happen with Rebbecca is nothing compared to what some contractor’s get away with, did she say I ran off with her money, was it Thousands of dollars. If i can remember it was about 300.00 dollars, total for the second job, I had to come to her home about 4 times to complete the job, it’s a new constructed condo building but shooty construction. during that time, she recommended to her neighbor Meghan I did custom closet for her which I completed as Rebecca mention, now Meghan boyfriend
Dr. Justin Bazan who is an excellent eye doctor was opening up an eye shop in Park Slope. He hired me to renovate his new store just on the fact of how I did the custom Closet for Meghan. I start and finished his store before the due date and we ran in to numerous problems. So for all the people that took, the time to read the the 1 bad comment ever written about me, please take the time to check out PARK SLOPE EYE WEAR
located on UNION ST between 5th & 6th Avenue closer to 5th and look at my work, speak to Justin or his partner Mary they will tell you how professional i am, and then make your Judgement, there is always 2 sides to the story. For people that read this with an open mind when you hire a contractor, talk to his last customer see the work. I take pride in my work, it’s all i know I’m presently phasing out of the buisness, due to the fact clients always want a lower price then what the job cost, and the cost of insurance and labor it just doesn’t pay to stay in the buisness as a owner, This has been a great learning experience.
INTERESTED PARTIES CAN SEE MY WORK AT: web:mac.com/tdarby
I’d be careful with Angie’s list as well. There are plenty of dissatisfied Angie’s clients, especially with the holes in their ratings system that can make it impossible to give an inept contractor a bad report card. I posted a link last week to a long discussion on the topic from houseblogs.net.
I’m with Slopefarm. Most of the contractors I’ve dealt with in Brooklyn have been disappointing at best, and even though I’m a pretty experienced builder I can say that even due diligence won’t necessarily spare you a rude surprise. In fact, I’m dealing with a house painting contractor now who’s proved to be an irresponsible dolt. Increasingly lately, every time I think I’ve found someone professional enough that I can feel comfortable not doing it myself I get bitch-slapped.
I keep pimping the same guys here because, frankly, they’re the only contractors I’ve found in Brooklyn who impress me: Jim Lally from Galway Bay, Steve Mann and Richie from Sessa. I would add Frank O’Donnell except that he got fed up with the business here and moved back to Donnegal two years ago. Otherwise, I could write a book on the screwups I’ve dealt with.
You know, if there were, like, 20 contractors in Brooklyn, I would say go ahead, name all the bad guys. But these days in Brooklyn, everyone and his brother fancies himself a contractor and lots, I mean lots, of them are bad. Next time I need a contractor, no way am I going back through all the Brownstoner archives to make sure no one has complained about whomever I plan to use. I’m going to follow good, reliable, unequivocally postive referrals. The chance that a given contractor’s name will have come up before on Brownstoner is pretty close to nil, unless its one of the bigger firms (you know, with a name on the van, signs to put up at your house, and an ad on Brownstoner). So I just don’t get the frenzy around this site for naming names of bad guys. If I wanna know about someone, I’ll post a query and ask.
This is not a knock on you, Rebecca, but your guy sounds less like a bad contractor than a not so handyman. There are even more of those in Brooklyn than there are self-styled contractors. Your experience was a bad one and any decent building super doing evening/weekend handyman work should be able to do better. I wish you good luck and I know it is no fun to have simple work done outrageously badly and have contractors disappear on you. Lots of us on this site have been there.
Sorry for the unusually sour post.
To find a better contractor use Angie’s List. I have tried them when I lived in the Midwest and use them here too! They are great.
To find a better contractor use Angie’s List. I have tried them when I lived in the Midwest and use them here too! They are great.
Thanks. This is the kind of thing that I wish newspapers would do when they do articles on contractors – naming the bad guys.
It’s great to spread the word everywhere you can – good or bad
Use Angieslist.com to pick contractors and to report on them. It really works. The crappy ones get called out there and they care so little that they don’t even bother to rebut (which they are allowed to do)
Citysearch is also a good place to add reviews if the contractor is listed on it.