RH
Russell Hotchkiss
Oct 6, 2026
We ordered egress windows to be installed in our basement & made a 50% down payment 10-24-25. The windows finally arrived in May 2026. They estimated $13K+ to cut out the foundation, windows, and installation. I asked the cost to cutout the openings. It was going to be $2K per window. We had a $750 per window quote by a local concrete cutting company that had made some cuts for us in the past. The day they were supposed to cut the openings, they did not show up. The Owner of Serenity, Brian, was obviously upset. I called a different concrete company and was quoted $800 per window. I asked Brian to match it; he refused. The following Wednesday the other company was supposed to show up, but they didn't, I got on the phone with them, and they too had somehow forgot to place us on the schedule.
Brian chewed me up and down royally for not using proper "construction etiquette". He refused to mark the openings for the concrete cutter and said that's not part of his scope. He said we were in this because I wanted to save a buck. Hmm, excuse me; $1200 per window is a little more than a buck, and that's what those companies do for a living on a daily basis.
So, I measured out the openings, which took me 1/2 hour, only because I measured twice, the concrete cutter came within an hour of my call. He was only in his early 20(s) and was way more professional than Brian, Owner of Serenity. The scheduler of said concrete cutting company profusely apologized to me for inadvertently forgetting to place us on the schedule, but made up for it by sending a cutter within an hour of the original arrival time.
The next day Serenty's crew, which was one guy, installed the windows. I had to inform him he forgot to caulk the seams, for you could see daylight. Even before they were finished, only 4 hours, Brian was on the phone expecting payment; like I wasn't going to pay them. I ran to my office, printed the check and gave it to the installer BEFORE he was even finished.
Serenity refused to come to the final inspection by the building inspector. I was there by myself. The building inspector informed me Serenity failed to install flashing at the top of the windows and I should be sure to do that before I encased the windows.
The sad part about Brian, the Owner, being unprofessional is, he doesn't realize, I have owned a Fire & Security Company for 25+ years, I deal with ALL the trades, that is way more technical than installing windows. I could have done it myself, I just chose not to due to time constraints. I also conduct final inspections with building inspectors and fire marshals all the time. He also chewed me out for not installing the windows when they originally arrived. Hmm, it was in the middle of our son's travel baseball season and the fact it took them six months to get the windows in is not our fault. Not to mention we had vacation and a National baseball tournament in Florida to attend.
I had a different vendor quote windows cash and carry for half the price. I saved $2400 having a legitimate concrete cutter cut out the window openings. Lastly, I could have installed the windows myself. However, Serenity charged us $4500+ to install two egress windows which only took 4 hours, that's comes out to $1000+ per installation hour. Since they charged us about $2200 per the two window themselves, plus tax etc..
So, long story short, if you want to be yelled at by the owner of Serenity, Brian, pay more than twice the going rate, and you have to make sure they thoroughly complete the job, Serenity is your place. If not, in my humble opinion, I'd suggest going elsewhere.
On another note, my wife and I both noticed we used to see their commercials all the time, however lately haven't seen them at all.
Our guess, they overbooked themselves and could not handle the volume. Also, advertising is expensive, so wondering if they got themselves into a cash flow crunch and that is why he was so demanding about the payment even before his worker had completed the job.
Either way, the man is less than professional.
JS
John Simmons
Oct 6, 2026
Highly Recommend Serenity Home Transformations, LLC
They did an outstanding job removing old, damaged gutters and installing new gutters on my mother’s two-story home, built in the 1920s. The work was completed quickly, professionally, and with excellent quality an excellent cleanup once Job was completed. Their customer service was fantastic—they responded quickly, listened to what I needed, and went above and beyond to make sure everything was done exactly the way I wanted.
Great company, great work, and great people. I would definitely recommend Serenity Home Transformations