Independent Home Reviews

I only have one complaint, and I think they're going to try to fix it, and that is, the tub has a lot of features, but their print out on the various buttons and levers is really limited. For instance, I have no idea how to get the aromatherapy to work. I called the company. They're really responsive. They said they would send me an updated brochure on that tub. As far as the tub's functioning and all the different things, eventually, I could figure it all out, but I'd rather not get sprayed in the head by the showerhead until I figure out which position the lever has to be in to get sprayer.

I judge a company not just by how good their product is, but how well they respond to problems, and Independent Home has been excellent. So far, I'm very happy with everything. The only thing I asked them about that doesn't seem right are the air jets. They seem to blow in cold air, which is just gonna cool off the water. They're now looking into that to see why that might be or if it's supposed to be.

Instead of that, we wanted the retractable base where the hose is hidden. So, when the tub was delivered and it came with the shower apparatus and not the retractable hose, I told the installer that they sent the wrong one. He told me that he got what we wanted at his home and that we had to turn the installation into a two-day thing because he had to get the one in his house and bring it the next day. He said he wouldn't have his helper that day but he'd get done what he needed to do without him that day. So, he took care of it and I couldn't ask for any better handling of this issue.

He even said that if I didn't see that, there was no way to fix it except to de-install the tub. So, he was very glad I saw it and I want to commend him on his professionalism because 95% of guys out there doing that same job would have not been happy that I found the problem. Other than that, the walk-in seems like a quality piece and I don't really anticipate having problems.

The tub has a maintenance-free gel coat interior, the double door seal, and the five-inch threshold step. We have an 18-inch wide door and an ADA compliant 17-inch contoured seat. I'm a really small person and I float off that seat when the water gets to a certain point. We also have the adjustable wall mount and shower thing. So the shower mounts in the tub itself, but I can pull the shower out and mount it to a bar, so I can just walk in and do a stand-up shower. Or I can sit down and do it.

The installation was pretty quick and we were surprised because my house is 50 years old, so we're not a standard size anywhere in my whole house. It's a round house too, to boot. So, the installers took out the old shower, carried everything out through my patio door in my bedroom, and nothing ever went through my main living area. They only had one little glitch when something had disconnected and the water just poured out. But they jumped right on, got it all cleaned up, and cleared everything away. They did all that, from start to finish, in four hours and the quality of the work was really good. But I've seen a couple of areas where the caulking has not solidified, so I'm going to to some patch-up work. Other than that, it's really beautiful. Plus, it's easier to maintain than the last shower I had in here.

Over Labor Day weekend, I had taken a nice soaking bath in the tub, then my husband got in and did the jets. For some reason, he kept pushing the button and it did another 45 minute thing. The water was out of the tub by then and it said "Do not run the jets without the water." So I was freaking out and I called Independent Home. I left messages on two different systems, one for their local office and the other in their New York office. Since it was the weekend, nobody was available but somebody from their local office called us back, walked us through it, and got it to turn off. Then on Tuesday after Labor Day, we were really impressed that their main headquarters place called us immediately. We also enjoyed the gentleman who came. All in all, we're really happy with our walk-in tub because it guarantees that we can stay in our home for the rest of our lives.

Independent Home's price was great. Their install team was great. I told them I was gonna take my husband out for the day. They made sure that they made all the noise before we came back. So, when we came back, they were just doing the final touch-ups. I felt so comfortable with the team. I did call them because the head guy gave me his phone number. What went above and beyond was I called him and said, "Where are you guys at?" He said, "You can come back." They were all done by the time I got back in here. They were waiting for me, they signed everything off, and they showed me how to work everything. They asked me if I had any questions. I did have a couple. I can't praise that company enough and I was very happy with the whole team and the whole experience.

We had a little glitch in our schedule and the lady that called to make the appointment worked it out with us. Nobody made me feel bad about anything. Everybody was really kind, and that meant a lot. From the beginning to the end and the follow-up, it has been fantastic. I like the compassion that they showed, the understanding, and the willingness to work around everything.

I love the tub. I feel much safer and it's very relaxing. But it was sold to me and it was in my contract that they were gonna do this quick drain. That was one of my concerns. I had gotten a lot of feedback from people who had walk-in tubs about the time it took to drain. Independent Home told me it's not an issue anymore because they have these quick drains and it drains in 90 seconds. My tub has the button that you push on it to have that, but it was never hooked up.

The installer said that that wasn't what he was hired to do and that it would require him to replace all of the piping. It's a much bigger project if that were to occur and they weren't paid to do that. He even said to me that this is kind of an ongoing issue with the installers, where they get there and something was sold, but that wasn't what installers were hired to do.

I tried to talk with the people at the office and as a result, they sent me back $500 for the pipe issue. It would cost me a lot more than $500 to install it and I tried initially to tell them about this issue. I felt like the people at the office who I spoke with were like it's not a big deal. I appreciate the $500 compensation but at the end of the day, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth when I'm told something will happen and it doesn't. The salesperson, the installer, and the head office were all on different pages. But I don't regret buying the tub and I would recommend Independent Home. The cost was significantly less than the other bids from other companies and the actual tub itself is wonderful.