Grueter Construction

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Grueter Construction submitted the best bid out of three we received for this project. We made the decision to go with Grueter based not only on the bid, but also on the basis of several referrals we received from others in our neighborhood.  We are glad we did!

Quality.  We have been thrilled and very impressed with the quality of work on our project.  The construction has been well-planned and designed and executed with an obvious attention to detail that definitely shows.
Communication.  We were very pleased with the level of communication from Joe Grueter (he walked us through the permitting process, answered our questions and gave us updates on our scheduling and work progress), as well as the communication we had with the crew on the site. The crew was there to answer questions as well, and asked us for input and direction if anything was unclear. They kept us updated on the day's activities and let us know if there was anything (like upcoming city inspections) that we needed to be aware of.
Professionalism.  Joe's crew was always kind, courteous and professional.  They were pleasant and easy to interact with, and cleaned up thoroughly at the end of each workday. They were prompt and had a running checklist to which they referred that detailed what they did each day.
Cost. Naturally, such quality work and professionalism came at a price; Grueter is not the economy choice for such work. But because of the historic nature of our home and the need to build out the interior framing of the attic above the porch, which did not exist when the house was built in 1917, the cost of the project ? originally bid at about $23,000 ? grew substantially. We are nevertheless pleased with the work overall, which was completed pretty much on schedule and within the estimated four-week timeframe.

We contacted several contractors and he was responsive, came right out and offered suggestions for the main job of repairing or removing a very old 2nd story porch. Since it was never really usedin the 12 years we owned the house we decided to have it replaced with an ornamental wrought iron fixture. The work was performed professionally and his crew protected the koi pond and cleaned up the area when they were finished.
We also had them repair some other structural parts of the house prior to painting.

Again, Joe Grueter Construction did a terrific job in fixing my other contractors mess of a job. His workers were always courteous and on time. They cleaned up after every work day leaving no trace of their having been there besides the finished product.

Grueter Construction’s work was excellent. Their cleaning was excellent. They showed up on time. They completed the job in scheduled time. I would highly recommend them. Their quality was exceptional for a reasonable price. I would use Grueter Construction’s service in the future too.

Extremely well. Grueter himself is not afraid to get his hands dirty, and his crew is exceptional. They tinted the final coat of stucco so well you can only tell at the gable (where it meets up with old stucco) that it is not original. This is a great bonus for us because it means we can hold off on painting without living in a "bondo" house. Grueter will definitely be back here for future projects.

On installation day, the floors were covered with cardboard, the hallway was sealed with plastic to minimize the mess, and Joe and three workers arrived exactly as scheduled. Joe asked if he could move the location of the opening an inch from my marks to make the installation easier. My husband asked if this was absolutely necessary and was told it wasn't. Intentional or not, the opening was moved an inch down the hall despite our request that it be sited exactly as marked. Not a big deal. By midday, Joe and his crew had rerouted the electrical wiring, cut through the ceiling and had the attic stairs sitting on temporary braces, ready to install after lunch. The crew returned in the afternoon (without Joe) to permanently attach the stair unit. Within minutes, the unit fell out of the ceiling, hit a workbench under the opening and bounced to our hardwood floor leaving an inch-wide dent in the wood. The stairs were also damaged in the fall. My husband and the crew called Joe back to our home. He was extremely apologetic and said that one of his workers had accidentally stepped on the stair unit while it was still propped up on temporary braces. The extra weight sent the stairs crashing to the floor below. Joe said that he would pay our cost to order another stair unit (he did) and hire a hardwood floor refinisher to repair the floor (he didn't). He also put a sheet of plywood over the opening while we waited for the new stair unit to be shipped. When the replacement unit arrived in two weeks, Joe and two workers returned and finished the installation and plastering. The installation went fine; the plastering did not. Joe had definitely oversold the the skills of his plasterer, who did an acceptable job of bullnosing around the opening but did a poor job of patching four cracks around the opening and did a very poor job of matching the texture pattern of our plaster ceilings and walls. We again called Joe back to the house and he said he would do whatever it took to satisfy us. As for the floor, Joe backpedaled on hiring a hardwood floor professional to fix the dent and said he would perform the repairs himself -- he was a wood expert. After considering the mishaps that had plagued our little project, I decided to fix the plastering myself, which took many hours of my time but looks quite good now. (My father was a builder.) We also declined Joe's offer to personally repair the dent in our floor and will have a hardwood floor refinisher address it at a future date with other refinishing work that we've planned.

We recently purchased our first home and wanted to make a few changes before we moved in. We wanted a laundry hook up added to the outside patio area and a closet added to a second bedroom. We interviewed a number of contractors, and selected Joe Grueter to do the work for us. We choose Joe because of his level of experience, his attention to detail, the quality of the work he proposing to do, and his willingness to work with us to meet our needs. We were also pleasantly surprised when we got the bids back, and Joe’s was very reasonable. We’re glad that we selected Joe. He really lives up to his motto of being clean, courteous, and competent. The quality of the work was excellent, and we feel a good bargain for the price we paid. The final result exceeded our vision of what we’d imagined possible for the project. For example, Joe’s workers stuccoed the exterior area where we added a closet. The texture and color of the stucco match the rest of our exterior excellently so that the addition blends in perfectly with the rest of the house. He was also willing to take on a few additional small projects that cropped up after we moved and provided a timely, and reasonably priced services on those projects as well. His crew was also meticulously cleaned the work area up every day and kept our doors shut as we requested to prevent our cats from escaping. Our renovation was not as large as some of Joe’s other projects, but he always made us feel like we were a priority. He even took the time to give us some pointers on how to tackle some house projects ourselves, which was very helpful to us since we’ve never owned a home. Through the process, Joe was easy to communicate with, a good listener, and quick to follow through. Overall, we are very impressed with the work and we do not hesitate to recommend him.

It was timely. It was done professional. We are very happy with our bathroom. The prices were high, but the quality is excellent.

It was such a positive experience that we would not dread doing it again! And we lived here throughout the entire process. One thing that was very important to us was that I felt safe while the workmen were here and I was home alone during the workday. His workers are clean, courteous, work very hard and consistently. All are highly skilled at what they do. We felt they became our friends while they were working here. We found not only was Joe Grueter scrupulously honest and full of integrity--but so were all the sub contractors that worked for him! Joe is extremely careful for detail--demanding top quality work of himself and those who work for him. He efficiently corrects any unintended mistakes--even at his own expense if necessary. He consistently had someone here to keep the process moving forward--and supervised everyday whatever work was being done. He was totally accessible for all of our questions and since completion of our project in July 08 has returned to finish off a couple of slight details that we found after the fact (and after the final payment!). He has been in the business long enough to have excellent input about what will work and what will not, and we found that we could trust his ideas and expertise unequivocally. We have absolutely NO reservations or hesitation about highly recommending Joe Grueter Construction for any project--large or small. You won't be disappointed!