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But we didn't ask them to electrify the bathtub ,,,
Automated Home Solutions is really just a DBA for V&E Medical Imaging Services, Inc. The real...
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Automated Home Solutions is really just a DBA for V&E Medical Imaging Services, Inc. The real Automated Home Solutions, Inc. is an inactive corporation owned by Stefan Birgh. Stefan sold the business to the present owners in 2003 and the new owners kept the name as a DBA.
In 2004 - 2005, electricians from Automated Home Solutions (current owners) came into our home to do the high voltage wiring for Home Improvement Help, a renovation company. Coincidentally, Stefan's dad is one of the owners of HIH. Stefan was both Secretary of HIH and VP of Automated when they worked on our house.
To sum up, let me say things did not go well.
To begin with, we were told the electricians from Automated were really employees of HIH. Not until the job was over and Automated began dunning us for money did we learn that Automated had been present as a subcontracting corporation.
I suppose what we objected to most was really a small thing: The metal drain in our bathroom tub was electrified at 110 Volts AC by a dedicated 20 Amp circuit from the main service panel. It was a potentially deadly arrangement, but luckily, none of us were fatally electrocuted. http://RenovationTrap.com/ahs/#11
Automated also left live wires terminated without housing in the shower stall, live bare wires hanging out of the walls, switches without function, and functions without switches. They left 18 inches of live cable sticking out of the back of the house where a lantern was supposed to be installed, and power cables loosely criss-crossing the rafters in the attic, a potential hazard to anyone who has to go up there to do maintenance.
Automated obtained some permits for the work, but other permits they should have purchased, they ignored. Of course, those items not permitted were not inspected, either, and therein lie some of the problems.
The main service panel was not grounded properly, according to professional investigators. Automated had not obtained a license for the work, and they did not ground correctly to the cold water pipes, the hot water pipes, and gas pipe as required by the Building Code.
A year after the renovations were finished, Automated filed suit against us and Home Improvement Help for more than $14,500, claiming they had never been paid for the high voltage work. Allegedly, Automated continued working for four and a half months without being paid a dime by HIH. Automated's court filing can be found at http://RenovationTrap.com/legal
When they filed their papers with the Court, Automated said they had done ALL the work in a workmanlike manner. But months later, Automated admitted to a Labor and Industries investigator that while they held the permit for wiring the home, other unlicensed people (non-electricians from Home Improvement Help) did some of the work. Automated permitted this practice "to keep costs down," as they told the investigator. On more than one occasion, Automated's electrical foreman went behind the unlicensed workers and corrected their work. The L&I investigator's report can be found at
http://RenovationTrap.com/hih/#23
In corroboration of that report, HIH billed us an additional $5,559.00 for electrical work and supplies, even though HIH had no licensed electricians. See http://RenovationTrap.com/hih/ocr_05.pdf#page=13
Automated's accounting practice also has problems. According to records furnished to us by Automated, they ordered supplies on our account on April 11, 2005, the last day of work, and charged them to our account. Those supplies were not shipped until April 19, and we have seen neither the goods nor a refund. In the meantime, Automated ordered more supplies in our name on April 18 that were not shipped until April 29. Again, neither goods nor refund has come our way. Automated billed us twice for the same waterproof light for the shower, but kept both units and did not install either one.
Automated's bills can be found at http://RenovationTrap.com/ahs/#4, and discussed in detail at http://RenovationTrap.com/electric.html#toc_21
Professionals we have consulted say that $20,000 ($14,500 + $5,559.00) is very expensive for wiring a 4-bedroom house where the plaster is removed from most of the walls and ceilings. Part of the "labor" seems to have been used up in 33 separate shopping trips for supplies. http://RenovationTrap.com/electric.html#toc_25
Professionals in most trades say that having all the supplies in hand at the beginning of the job is one essential for working efficiently.
We have detailed this information on our web page, http://RenovationTrap.com/electric.html Automated's financial claims in court are somewhat inflated from the original invoices, so the numbers in the web page article do not match up perfectly with this review. For this review, the current legal information seems the most relevant.
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Outdated and Too Jam-Packed
In the old days, i.e. pre-Amazon, Half Price Books was a good deal. But in today's day and age,...
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In the old days, i.e. pre-Amazon, Half Price Books was a good deal. But in today's day and age, I'd rather stay at home and buy online. This bookstore is cluttered and it's hard to find anything. The prices aren't that great since you can always get exactly what you want from an online seller, with free shipping or whatever coupon or promotion they have going on. And, it takes far less time to find the book also!
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Flexible hours and efficient service
Guardsman is a provider that offers furniture repair, assessment, and damage analysis. The...
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Guardsman is a provider that offers furniture repair, assessment, and damage analysis. The employees there were extremely helpful, knowledgeable, and flexible. They gladly made a weekend appointment for me so that I wouldn't have to take a day off work.
They did an excellent job and if I ever have need again will gladly call on them. It was much cheaper than replacement, and the quality was just as good.
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Large and diverse selection
I've only been in here briefly but the store's main focus is on games and they have all types! If...
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I've only been in here briefly but the store's main focus is on games and they have all types! If you have something in mind, you could call to make sure they have it, but you should be able to find a large selection of board games here if that is what you are looking for.
Also, they are located in Redmond Town Center, although they may have a Bellevue location as well - I'm not sure.
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Limited Too the
Category:
Children's Clothing
Redmond Towne Sq
Redmond,
Washington
(425) 558-7571
Cute Stuff, Kinda Pricey
Absolutely adorable clothes for young girls. Very happening store with all the latest up to date...
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Absolutely adorable clothes for young girls. Very happening store with all the latest up to date fashions. You can always tell when somebody is wearing a Limited Too outfit. Kind of on the pricey side though, although catch their stuff on a sale and you'll be ok. Love the accessories and extras that they have in their store.
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Ashleigh's Attic
Category:
Retail Shopping
16360 Redmond Way
Redmond,
Washington
(425) 867-1007
Nice Store, But Selection Could Be Better
I've been in Ashleigh's Attic a couple of times, but have never bought any clothing there. They...
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I've been in Ashleigh's Attic a couple of times, but have never bought any clothing there. They have tons of stuff, but the racks are so crowded that it's hard to find anything. A lot of the clothes aren't much better than what you would find at the Goodwill or Value Village. I'm a bargain shopper, so this store just doesn't seem like that good of a deal. Also, I tried to take some nice, name brand clothing down there to consign on more than one occasion, but she wasn't taking clothing that week. I ended up taking the clothes to Tree House Consignment instead.
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Amazing deals!
I went here a few months ago and I bought 2 brand new desks for my children. They're nice bright...
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I went here a few months ago and I bought 2 brand new desks for my children. They're nice bright primary colors, made from real wood - not particle board. They were normally $100 and i got them for $17 each! The girl who was helping me, brought them up to the front, helped me check out and then loaded them into my car for me!
They also have wonderful deals on children's clothes and toys. We even got our coffee maker here - it's a $110 Gevalia carafe maker and I bought it for $10! Wonderful!!
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Fine Wine & Cigars
Category:
Liquor Stores
16535 NE 76th St
Redmond,
Washington
(425) 869-0869
Low prices and excellent customer service
I'm not much of a "cigar afficionato" -- I don't even know how it's spelled -- but every now and...
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I'm not much of a "cigar afficionato" -- I don't even know how it's spelled -- but every now and again it's nice to enjoy a good cigar with friends.
Because of my lack of knowledge, I never know what to buy or what to try. That's why I'm glad I found "Fine Wine & Cigars" -- the people here have always been very helpful and nice (without pretention). As such, I'll never go elsewhere for a cigar!
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Redmond Cycle
Category:
Bicycle Dealers
16205 Redmond Way
Redmond,
Washington
(425) 885-6363
You'll only get helped if they think you don't need it
I'm used to a certain treatment in independent record stores: they know they're better than you,...
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I'm used to a certain treatment in independent record stores: they know they're better than you, have better musical taste then you, and you're not worth their time.
I've never seen that happen in a bike store until I went to Redmond Cycle. They more or less ignored me, because I don't know enough about bikes. Silly me, I figure that should mean I'd get more help.
I don't plan on returning to Redmond Cycle ever again.
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Wizkids Games
Category:
Hobbies
8912 161st Ave NE
Redmond,
Washington
(425) 497-9579
Models galore
I like to shop for my husband here, he is crazy about making models of airplanes. This is the place...
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I like to shop for my husband here, he is crazy about making models of airplanes. This is the place I go for gifts. They have a wide selection of models from trains to planes to automobiles. They also carry many of the accessories you need to build models. The staff will always help you out to find what you are looking for. Lots of parking. They have a no hassle returns situation. Very satisfied.
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