Designer Stones & Homes Inc

Excellent! They did a great job and were thorough in their work....too many to list. I’m very happy with the end result. They will be my contractor in future projects.

Very well. Good quality of work and efficient time.

The service was good. Everything was good. I had recommend them. They did time wise it wasn't that bad. They were very nice. If I had a problem I would just contact them and they were able to fixed it right away.

Our bathrooms look beautiful. They were very professional and no issues. When we had questions or requests Ed was always patient and responded quickly. It took longer than originally estimated but we were not in a hurry. No pressure and no drama.

I shopped around and got four quotes. One quote was within the same ball park the two others were out of sight. 

They worked with me.

We met EJ at a home show at he Ventura Fairgrounds. After a visit to their showroom in Camarillo and explaining what we needed we decided to trust them with our kitchen. Since they would do everything including demolition, plumbing, painting and fabrication for about the cost of just the quartz and fabrication of several other contractors we chose them. EJ Cristobal arranged all the schedules and craftsmen. All of his workers were very accommodating to all our requests. Every home improvement has little changes and EJ's craftsmen rose to the occasion.

They were reasonably priced but the timelines were really long. They should meet the timeline that we provided them. It was a reasonable timeline. It wasn't like I was asking them to do 5 weeks of work in 2 weeks. They didn't just have enough resources. I would consider them.

Edward was prompt with his estimate.  He brought his crew out to meet me and go over the projects.  Edward and his crew were always on time, kept me up to date on their progress, and finished well within the estimated time.  Projects were done well and in a professional manner.

This was a fantastic experience.  Edward was responsive to our needs and made sure to keep us informed as we were not living there at the time of the remodel.  His crews were very professional and courteous.  The work was done in a timely manner and to our liking.  The very few "issues" were handled promptly and to our desires.
Plus, they had to deal with an HOA.  Any future projects, I'm calling Designer Stone first!

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This was our first time hiring a contractor, and were pleased with the experience. I wanted to wait a few months before reviewing to make sure everything held up well. Overall, it was a very good experience and we hope to hire them to do more work in the future.
The job included demolition, a tile shower with glass door and shampoo nook, toilet, tile floor, pocket door, vanity, sink, exhaust fan installation, and light fixtures; as well as carpet, baseboards, doorframe casing, and crown moulding in the bedroom and walk-in closet. The windows were replaced previously, and we did the painting and outlet/switch replacement ourselves, so that reduced the cost compared to what it would have been had we needed everything done.
The $12,000 total is the total cost we spent on the project; we shopped for and bought much of the materials, though some (like tile, cabinet, carpet, moulding) were purchased through Ed and paid for along with the service charges. It was still significantly less than other estimates we had received, and we are happy with the quality delivered.
We squeezed in our job before a few others he had scheduled, which I think is why I felt I had to initiate contact a little more than I had anticipated (I think he was really busy), though perhaps he is more communicative when the homeowner is present (husband and I were both working all day and returned after everyone had left for the day). It could also be that I had expected more communication than is generally provided in the industry (like I said, this was our first time hiring a contractor). That said, Ed was always friendly, professional, and quick to respond. We noticed that one trim piece had been missing on the shower valve installation, and he had his team member track down another one at the hardware store and reinstalled it at no charge.
The job was completed 1 or 2 days after estimate, but that is likely because we added the crown moulding to the list after the original contract. I believe the entire project took just over two weeks.
Now, the bathroom is the best-looking spot in the house, and we need to catch the rest of the house up to it!

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Edward provided us timely estimates and completed all work on time as promised. All of the people that performed each job were friendly and courteous and took extra steps in protecting our existing furniture, and always left things pretty clean.
We were impressed on the quality and the quick response to our questions or concerns.
Edward Cristobal is a true professional. While not the cheapest, we believed it wasn't over the top expensive and that we really received the quality that we paid for.
We are planning two bathroom remodels this year with Designer Homes and Stones.
Highly recommend this company.

This will be an in-progress report with more details to be added later.  I found Designer Homes online at Angie's list. I carefully read over 40 reviews of this company there and all but a couple seemed to be very happy with the work done.  I read the negative reviews very carefully and felt that the issues that caused the poor scores could have been the result of misunderstanding or lack of knowledge by the homeowner about the process. The work crew has been working at our home for just about one week (5 working days) and in my opinion, the quality of the work has been very good.  I grew up with a contractor/house builder father so I am familiar with the basics of construction processes, even though I am not an expert by any means, and am certainly not up-to-date with all the new products now available that can be used in the construction process.

The details - after the recent rains we noticed that the top layer of bricks of the large decorative brickwork structure at one corner of our home was sinking to the point that the sag in the middle of the bricks across the top was 2+ inches lower at the center of the "span" than at the ends.  We hired a local masonry company listed with Angie's list to do a minor demo and repair of just the sinking bricks, only to find VERY extensive damage to the wood in the corner support column of the house wall behind the brickwork as soon as the top layer of bricks was removed.  It was soon very clear that all the brickwork needed to come down in order to access and replace framing structure under both corner windows.  Since it was likely that other areas of the exterior wall (wood - latex-stained plywood and tongue and groove siding surfaces) were probably also damaged, we decided to call for bids from several local contractors and strip the siding from one whole (2-storey) side of the house..

After the bids came in, Ed with Designer Homes was the clear frontrunner since Ed was able to discuss the projected work with us in a very knowledgeable fashion.  That might not be important to someone else, but since I grew up hearing construction terms and seeing projects being completed all around me, it gave me confidence that Ed and his crew would do a quality job.  I have not been disappointed.  The guys are here by 9 a.m. every morning with the supplies and tools they will need for the day's work.  Ed or his project supervisor checks in almost daily to make sure everything is on schedule. 

Since we are both retired, we are here and are able to watch the daily progress of the work.  The tear-out took just a bit over one day, then they immediately started rebuilding the corner that was the most damaged area on the house.  The work has continued to the point where all the structure is now solid, our recycled fairly new vinyl windows are back in their spaces and sealed - with new trim (painted just today) and the preparation of the wall for siding and new plaster is complete.  The woodwork is level (I checked with my Dad's old level) and square and the window installation is almost complete inside.  The drywall is coming along - it needed some extensive patches due to the corner column being removed and replaced without removing the interior drywall, but that is coming along well and I am sure that the quality of the finished product will be as good as what I see on the exteriors.

The crew cleans up the exterior and interior work areas every day before leaving the jobsite.  It is a messy and sometimes dusty project, but they do their best to keep their work areas clean and safe and protect carpet and furniture with plastic sheeting.  We also have several indoor cats and the members of the crew have been careful to keep doors closed.  If the rest of this project goes as well as the first part, we will certainly be calling Designer Homes for the next project on our remodel wish list. 

February 2015 - the project is complete.  Here is additional information regarding this project.  I have updated the original cost estimate to reflect additional expenses (building permits and additional damage found during demo repaired are included in the final cost listed here) associated with the project paid to Designer Stones and Homes.  This final cost does not include cost of the large roll-off bin rented from Harrison Trash and paint I purchased for use since I wanted to match existing interior wall colors as closely as possible and match the new siding color to the existing garage door.  Ed asked me to order the roll-off for the project and it was onsite throughout the majority of the work.

There were a couple of instances of miss-communications during the project.  One day the work crew didn't show up at all and another time I was told they would work on a Saturday and no one showed.  I had to call both times to find out what was going on since I wasn't informed.  This wasn't really a problem for us since we are retired and here pretty much all the time anyway, but it could be a problem for people with work and family schedules to manage.

The finished exterior looks very good and we don't really miss the brickwork that wasn't replaced.  The minor flaws - interior vinyl window trim isn't quite precisely aligned with the edges of the window and the opening, but the imperfection isn't very obvious with the window treatments reinstalled.  If you look closely, you can see that the new interior paint around each window that was removed doesn't quite match the old paint even though the painter did try to feather it into the old.  I was told by the paint store employee where I purchased the paint that since paints have been reformulated, any new paint of the same color would not match perfectly.  He was correct... it doesn't, so we may be re-painting the interior walls soon.  Our  approx 7-year old Simonton retrofit dual pane insulated windows were reinstalled into the original openings that should have not changed and the interior sills ARE level, so I am not quite sure what happened there.  Maybe I am just too picky, but it does sort of bug me, though it wasn't a deal breaker.  At some point I may contact Window Solutions to see if I can have the trim replaced since the company (formerly Westlake Window and Door) that originally installed the retrofit windows did a great job installing the trim evenly on the original retrofit install.

I am adding a few more photos of the final stages of the project.  I would use Designer Homes again, but I probably would be much more vocal and picky about how the interior work is finished.  The total project took about 3 weeks - approx.. 14-15 working days.  I am very satisfied with the fit and finish of the exterior work and feel it improves the curb appeal and value of our home.. 

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It has exceeded our expectations...! The installer and his helper did a fantastic job.... Great price too Highly recommend ...

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It went well.  Removed and replaced fixtures.  Very good workman ship.  Some of the work required cutting a hole in the wall behind the showers and that was done and the hole covered and painted when the jobs were done.  All the work was done neatly and I was very happy with the work.

Ed is a professional all the way.  HIs crew is his, and therefore he is not relying on subs or holding things up.  He is honest about time, money and taste!  Ed is a straight talker, and even tells you when and where not to spend $, which is fantastic.  He also is great about dealing with you when you're indecisive etc...His finished work is what you ordered, and he is available at all times.  The work looks great too!  I highly reccomend Ed.

Mr. Ed Cristobal contacted us in October and we began our journey. Due to the upcoming holidays we mutually decided to start work right after the first of the year. The estimated length of work was 3 weeks. Work began early on January 7th and our final inspection with the city was February 3rd however the work crew was actually finished in exactly 3 weeks. The scope of the project included tearing the walls down to the studs, raising and rebuilding the ceiling, significant electrical and plumbing upgrades to accommodate new kitchen design, fabrication and installation of custom cabinets, recessed lighting, porcelain tile floor and granite countertop installation, new fire rated door to the garage, painting and decorative trim moulding. Because we chose some designer upgrade products we also spent approximately $7000 in additional materials. Pio, Phil, Bill, Rod and EJ were regularly at the house during the three week course of work. Everyone arrived on time and were respectful of our time and property. The Heredia Brothers and family designed and installed the custom cabinets and did the complete install in one day! We had one change that we requested after the install was complete and Eduardo came the next day and lowered the microwave at no additional cost to us. The granite fabricator team was great! They came ready to work and used every spare piece of granite to complete our job. They even left us a small (20 lb.) polished piece to use as a cutting board! This was our very first experience with having a contractor do major inside renovation. We couldn't have had a more easy time of it. Anyone we speak to has a horror story to tell but we just can't complain except that having interior work done is sure a dusty prospect! If you decide to use this company for your home repair/remodel project, expect to have someone answer the phone any time you call or you will get a call back within 10 minutes!

Ed and his crew did a wonderful job. His crew always arrived on time and ready to work. The first day they removed the old and damaged counter and under sink cabinet. The second day they came in and had a new custom cabinet installed along with the new granite counter. As soon as this was completed the plumber was here to install the faucet and garbage disposal.