Blue Diamond Remodeling, Inc.

Richard Rucker is an extremely dishonest individual and we believe a thief.. He bid our job at one price and for the 3 or 4 weeks we actually had him "working for us( I use that term very loosely!) he changed the bid several times. Items he forgot ( "Oh, I've been in the business for 19 years and have NEVER Had to pull a temporary electric pole, that will be an extra $1900 ", "Oh we couldn't have known what we were getting into your house is so old").He had his crew demolish only a portion of the area we wanted remodeled and then for some unknown reason his crew began jack hammering our sidewalk because he wanted to "add more space due to restraints of impervious cover". He jackhammered an area in front of our house and left it open, "well we might do the bathroom one day....and it'll be less money if we demolish the cement now", we weren't even through the beginning phase of our original project.,nor had we ever signed any addendum to the origional contract to do any other work.
After several attempts to get him or his crew to do ANY work, we had SEVERAL meetings in which he agreed he was wrong and would correct his behaviour and do the work. (Pacific Heights?!) He eventually walked off the job with $26,000 of our money, our house in shambles and nothing accomplished.! He did the exact same behavior to a previous client, the one immediately before us where he stole $40,00 of their money, He also stated that he was part of NARI, he was removed from their list because of dishonest business practices.
Do NOT use this man if you value your money, I only wish we had "sites like these" when we began our remodel. If you dare look on his website it states that his comment blog is under construction, and you will notice it will never be ready.

Pros: NONE

Cons: EVERYTHING

Posted 11/15/09

Austin Freinds - If you need any remodeling work (big or small job), I just finished working with an Amazing contractor. They do fantastic work, great attention to detail, reasonably priced. Blue Diamond Remodeling. Ask for Richard. Tell him I sent you!

Posted 10/04/09

We read all the good reviews about Blue Diamond Remodeling before deciding to hire them and we are, so far, disappointed that what we have seen has not matched the glowing reviews. We are facing slow progress, frequent mistakes and miscommunication, quality issues, and the project going over budget. To their credit, we have not reached an impasse and some of the problems will probably be addressed before all is over, but sill, we were expecting more. Slow progress: we were told that our project would take about 4 - 5 weeks. It has been over 6 weeks now but we are probably not even half way through. We are living in the middle of dust and demolition while the contractor stopped coming at all for several days in a row. We were not told beforehand and when asked there was no explanation. Mistakes and quality: a few examples, a built-in shelf was not square and they threw away the carpet that we need to use now, etc. To their credit, after we told them they worked to correct the issues. Miscommunication and budget: we feel that the overall management of our specific project could have been better and when coupled with lack of attention, we are facing a significant increase in cost. For example, they underestimated the number of tiles needed so the quote they gave us was artificially lower than other contractors. They did not tell us that the tiles we chose were 30% more expensive than the allowance per sq.ft., and had we known that we could have picked something else. On top of that they ordered way more tiles than actually required. Overall the material cost ended up three times over the quote but we were not made aware when it happened and they did not ask for our approval. We had an amiable discussion of these issues, but have not yet reached a conclusion. We seriously hope that they feel the need to be fair, to satisfy their customer, and to protect their reputation. There are more things that we should add to the review but we are still in the middle of the project and things may end up well, so I don?t want to go overboard yet. Like I said earlier, to their credit, they did clean up after themselves before. I believe in social network that we rely on each other comments and recommendations. I will definitely update my review after we are done.

Pros: Friendly staff

Cons: Will come back to this after the project is done

Posted 09/30/09

We just want to thank you for the tremendous efforts that you and your employees at Blue Diamond put into our remodeling project. We are very happy with the house now; the changes are either what we initially envisioned or what we agreed to after making necessary discoveries. We are pleasantly surprised by some of the results - the angles & architecture are really interesting and the house now has character that it never had before. Although our remodeling job was a small one for your comany, it was a huge one for us. It affected all the high-use areas of our house - our master bedroom and bathroom, the stairs, the entry & front living & dining areas, the kitchen & back living room. We lived in the house during the entire project. We own our own a business & work at home. We were there the entire time! This meant that for 6 to 7 weeks there was a continual onslaught of strangers performing remodeling activities in our home. The Blue Diamond employees were friendly, hard - working and we felt comfortable being around them & having them in our home. We were especially impressed by the cleanup effort that took place at the end of every long, hard day of work. We cannot say enough good about Giuseppe Maccagnan. We always felt as though he was on our side. When we had a problem with anything he fixed it. He is an incredibly skilled electrician, plumber, woodworker - you name it. Our new master shower & kitchen backsplash is gorgeous and the cabinetry is better than we had hoped for & was expertly installed. Thank you again!

Posted 09/14/09

We thank you and Winston Development for all of your help in restoring our home after our mold remediation was complete. We appreciated the prompt and professional manner in which you conducted this business. we also appreciated your assistance in helping us find necessary items of excellent quality at lower prices. Your concern for our satisfaction was of utmost importance and we did appreciate this gesture. The workman you sent were very competent and trustworthy. Thank you for helping us get our lives back to normal!

Posted 09/10/09

We wanted to thank you for the work done on our home to bring it up to handicap standards. The new bathroom addition is very spacious and the kitchen extension works great with the house now. We feel you did a great job working with an older home like ours. We were happy that you did the work for us and we would recommend you to others.

Posted 09/02/09

I hired Blue Diamond Remodeling to remodel my master bathroom. Richard Rucker, his employees and sub contractors were highly skilled and efficient! The crew showed up on time. They kept the construction zone extremely tidy. Everyone Richard sent to work on my job was very courteous and considerate of my possessions and me. When I contracted with Blue Diamond to remodel my bathroom, I had a very specific picture of what I wanted. I am awed to see the picture I had in my mind, now as a room in my home. Richard and his crew were accomidating with the changes made to the design during the job. A miscommunication lead to a mistake in the pattern for my tile pattern for the tub surround but Richard was proactive and the problem was fixed immediately! As far as a company to do business with, Blue Diamond Remodeling is one I would recommend and use again myself if I ever remodel another room. Richard was straight forward and worked with me to bring the ideas I had in my head into reality. Based on our experience, anyone who chooses Blue Diamond Remodeling will be very pleased at the completion of their project!

Posted 08/20/09

We are very pleased with the room addition that you constructed for us. Your assistance with navigating both the City of Austin building and inspection codes and the Veteran's Administration building codes was invaluable! Your willingness to work with the Veteran's Administration to meet the ADA compliance requirements for handicap accessibility was a valuable asset. The time and initiative you took to work directly with the VA and us reflected your commitment to the project. We commend you for the caliber of workers that you employ. We were very comfortable in all of our dealings with them and the flexibility that they showed in working around our schedules. It would be our honor to serve as a reference on any future projects that you might undertake.

Posted 08/16/09

We hired Richard Rucker to build an addition on our home. Everyone who enters our home is wowed by this spectacular room! We are completely thrilled with it. Richard was personable & available & helped us with everything from the smallest details to bigger design questions. We are happy to recommend him.

Posted 08/13/09

I wanted to tell you how delighted I am with the work your men did on my shower surround. Giuseppe and Howard were very patient with me when I was struggling to decide on my tile and they were quick to offer their professional opinions when I asked them. They finished the job quickly without sacrificing quality. I couldn't be more pleased with the result! I will gladly refer my friends and neighbors to you for their future remodeling needs. Thanks again!

Posted 08/11/09

When i contracted with Blue Diamond to remodel my bathroom, I had a very specific picture of what I wanted. I am awed to see the picture I had in my mind now as a room in my home! Richard and his crew were accommodating with the changes made to the design during the job. A miscommunication lead to a mistake in the tile pattern for my tub surround, but Richard was proactive and the probem was fixed immediately. As far as a company to do business with, Blue Diamond Remodeling is one I would recommend & use again myself if I ever remodel another room. Richard was straight forward and worked with me to bring the idea I had in my head to a reality. Based on our experience, anyone who hires Blue Diamond Remodeling will be very pleased at the completion of their project.

Posted 07/22/09

We just want to thank you for the tremendous efforts that you and your employees at Blue Diamond put into our remodeling project. We are very happy with the house now. The changes are either what we initially envisioned or what we agreed to after making necessary discoveries. We are pleasantly surprised by the results - the angles and architecture are really interesting and the house now has character that it never had before!

Posted 07/20/09

From the beginning, it was reassuring to know that you had all of the proper documents in place to protect your workers and me. But most importantnly, I was pleased to find that you were a man of your word. You promptly returned all of my phone calls. You and your workers were always pleasant & polite and made sure that the work was completed to my specifications. During the construction process you always made my change order adjustments smoothly and efficently. Thank you!

Posted 07/19/09