Remodel Works Bath & Kitchen

Friends recommended Remodel Works for our bathroom remodel based on their own experience with the company and their research using Angie's List reviews. We viewed their remodel in their home a few months prior, without suspecting the need for services ourselves. Suspicion of a leak motivated us to call for an estimate. Without time or interest in extensive research on our own, we trusted our friends' decision to hire this company and decided to follow suit. We are new Angie's List subscribers because of them.
Price: Without mentioning a specific budget (but conveying our need for a budget-friendly estimate), our quote was what we had hoped - especially given the company's reputation and recommendation. We thought it would be higher. We financed half the total, which made the project feasible for us.
Quality: Upgraded cabinet (with soft-closing drawers), brushed nickel fixtures, and matching framed mirror. Marble counter-top selected from remnants - cracked upon delivery, but repaired nicely. Comfort height toilet with elongated seat - appreciate the difference this makes! Tub and surround is a basic white with clean lines - the easiest to change in the future should we need to (for elder care concerns). All of these expanded our vision for the remodel and enhanced our home, without straying from what we desired - a simple and durable next-generation bathroom for one older child and occasional guests.
Responsiveness: Immediate and attentive with one small caveat. We considered adding hallway laminate (because the old hallway carpet could not be reattached to the new tile); but, a weekend delay in communication with Remodel Works (and a poor experience with a different flooring vendor in the meantime) postponed the plan.  We now consider the hallway project part of a future remodel that may involve the Master Bath. Also, our concerns about using marble in the bathroom (based on the Sept. 2012 issue of Consumer Reports) were addressed clearly by email and by phone. Glad we stayed with marble - easy elegance that will not be subjected to the criteria mentioned in the CR article. Not for our bathroom anyway.
Punctuality: Early arrival each day, and waited outside until 7:30 am. For special installation of repaired counter top, we were unaware of a minor 45 minute delay to confirm materials. As long as it was going to be completed that day, which it was, we were fine!

Professionalism: The best part of our experience! We posted our daily schedule on the fridge so that we were aware of every step of the remodel without needing to stop the crew to ask.  The entire crew was easy-going, articulate, even funny. One crew member even remembered me as having visited another job in the neighborhood a few months back (yes, at our friends' home). We always knew who was assigned to our home each day, which eliminated minor stranger anxiety, except for our all-bark-no-bite Jack Russell terrier! (He calmed down eventually.) Each was considerate of working in our home - with us here, sometimes working as well, or just making or taking meals.
We envisioned our first remodel to involve reliable, professional contractors and Remodel Works exceeded our expectations. They now set the standard for us! Several other family members had contractors skip out on them, which ended up costing them more time, stress, and money. We wanted to avoid this, and have it done right the first time, with minimal work on our end. In fact, all we had to do was paint the bathroom one weekend, and we already had the paint.
Bottom line: peace of mind is worth hiring Remodel Works. We did because they came highly recommended by our friends who also had a bathroom remodel. Our friends were on our side, and knew our concerns about dealing with contractors, and shared the importance we placed on cost, timing, scheduling, etc. Our friends were key touchstones throughout the process, giving us third-party wisdom all along the way.

Not having ever been involved in remodeling before, I definitely needed some hand holding through the process. Both my Designer/Salesman (Ryan) and Project Manager (Lance) never let me down. Making the decisions became easier, and I trusted their thoughts and ideas.
The process was just as it was sold. I signed up for a full kitchen and two partial bathrooms in June/July, and by the end of September it was all complete. It took about 4 weeks total for the work to be done from demo to completion. My floors were covered each day, they vacuumed each day, and I trusted each one of their workers in my home the times when I could not be there.
If there was any question about the specifics of the work to be done, no one hesitated to ask me - they do want to make you happy and want to do things "right" according to you (example: Where do you want the towel bar?). Of course they are also willing to share their expertise.
The timeline is the most important part. All I hear from friends/family is that contractors are always late, or work based on their own personal schedules. But Remodel Works followed the schedule exactly, and there were no major surprises. I knew each day what was going to happen.  Although the actual person who arrived to do the work changed per the schedule toward the end of the process, I understand the difficulties of scheduling so many people so far in advance.  The Project Manager visited throughout the process to make sure things were being done correctly and to my satisfaction.  Anything I found that was "off" during the process was fixed immediately (a small crack in a sconce for example).
This is a high class business with competitive pricing (for what you get), focused on making the customer happy by not forgetting about the details.

I had nothing but good results and professionalism from everybody that I dealt with, from the guy that gave me the quote, to the lady that was the project manager, to the actual workers.  I was very pleased with what they did for me.  The price was fair.

PLease see above comments that include the details of this job.

Overall professional, quality work.  Attention to detail and protected flooring and surrounding areas.
Very pleased with the employees, project and my beautiful new cutom shower.
Highly recommend.

They did an excellent job.  They are A++. They were the only remodelers who gave me a schedule before they ever started each day and who was going to do it.  They stuck to the schedule as well. 

This is the second time I've used Remodel Works.  I used them for a kitchen remodel a few years ago and was very pleased with the efficiency, design, products, workmanship and warranty.  So I planned on using them for the master bath remodel also.  I got three bids anyway and they did come in the highest, but I decided that the peace of mind was worth the extra bit of money. 

Mary Jennings was the designer and she is very skilled in bathroom design.  She found a way to incorporate all my preferences and the final result was stunning. Pat Luich was the project manager on both my jobs.  He is always organized, gets things done when he says and communicates promptly. Brett was the primary technician on my job and, in fact, he did at least 90% of the work.  Brett was a real gem, personable, fun to talk with, meticulous in his workmanship, skilled at tile, drywall, plumbing, framing, everything.  If I do the rest of my bathrooms I will request Brett for sure.

Remodel Works is the perfect remodeler in my mind.  Of course, you are not going to get the lowest bid for their high quality work. But once you've decided to pay a few extra dollars, you can then sit back, ENJOY the remodeling and get a HIGH QUALITY job.  I went through 3 major remodel projects on other homes with lower quality remodelers.  Those jobs were very stressful and I had problems crop up constantly - subs not showing up, substandard workmanship, projects going on weeks and months longer than expected, etc. With Remodel Works you work with the same staff year after year - hardly any subs - and they stick to their schedule exactly. The work is always perfect and if not they fix it right away - no questions asked. They are good people, honest, and you feel good about letting them have access to your home.

I can hardly think of anything I'd change.  The one thing is that their bids don't include painting.  You have to call your own painter. Also, their selection of products in the showroom is nice, but somewhat limited.  I ended up buying our medicine cabinets, light fixtures and hardware myself online.

I have turned several of my neighbors on to Remodel Works and they too love their new rooms.  I highly recommend them.

Eric and remodelworks was very professional and I told them that I wanted something durable and low maintenance for my rental unit. I discussed some extra minor work I was considering but Eric dissuaded me that it simply wasn't worth it. I appreciated the honesty. Both shower units were in bad shape and needed replacement. As usual, they suggested the best bet for a rental (which I already had an idea of), laid out a schedule and began work. They stuck to the schedule perfectly starting with demo, all the way through to final completion. The work went smoothly with no hiccups along the way. 

This is the second time I've used Remodelworks and I'm extremely pleased. The combination of quality materials, quality workmanship, and professionalism is just tough to beat in my opinion. I'd use them again.

Ryan Christenson arrived promptly for our 1st meeting to get an idea of the scope of the job, and was able to give me a pretty good guess as to cost.  After that we went to their showroom to pick fixtures and finishes.  Ryan was particularly good at keeping us on track, giving pros and cons to various items, and helping with color combinations.  I don't feel like he tried to "up sell" us on anything, although I did upgrade some items.  I felt like we received accurate, honest information to make our choices.  At this meeting we received a detailed, itemized bid and  our job was scheduled.

Prior to the start of the job I met the project manager Pat Luich who confirmed all of the choices, provided detailed drawings of the bathroom, as well as a detailed schedule of the job with dates payments were due.

Demolition was completed on the first day.  A  problem involving the tub drain was discovered.  They quickly brought it to my attention, estimated the cost to repair and completed the repair... all without slipping on the schedule.  From then on the work proceeded smoothly.  From the written schedule I knew each day who would be working on our bathroom and what they would be doing.  In addition, the work site was cleaned up at the end of everyday, with no debris, tools or materials sitting around or cluttering up other space.

I am particularly happy with the tile Dennis did.  We used porcelain tile for the floors and bath enclosure with an accent of small glass/stone tiles.  The workmanship is outstanding and I absolutely love the bathroom.

When the bathroom was finished both Ryan and Pat returned for a final inspection.

Remodel Works was very professional, prompt, clean, and the new shower door came out extremely nice.

Remodel Works showed up on time, were very patient, explained the work, and as best as I can tell did an excellent job.  They were very conscientious about not leaving dust all over my office, which adjoins the bathroom.  Through out the process, they clearly communicated the schedule for work and payments and kept to it.

Terrific experience from start to finish! Can't say enough good things about this company. Everyone from our sales person Eric, and our job person Rolf plus all the workmen that came to our house were very professional, considerate and nice. They blocked off our kitchen from the rest of our house to prevent dust from going from the kitchen to the rest of the house. They provided a temporary kitchen for us to cook on for a fee. They always cleaned up really well after a day of work and were always very prompt for appointments. I would recommend this company to anyone wanting to have a low stress remodeling experience. Eric, our salesperson was very patient and took us around to granite yards to help us pick out our granite. Rolf, our project supervisor always kept us informed about what was going on and what the next step would be. After seeing how nice the kitchen turned  out, we started looking around at the rest of our house. When the time comes to upgrade other areas, we will not hesitate to give Remodel Works a call.

Nick was the main craftsman on the job. He was always on time, kept me informed, was fastidious in protecting the adjacent areas and in cleaning up every day. Remodel Works has spoiled me and other contractors do not measure up!

Remodel Works sent 2 workers for this job. They were on time and very professional. They did all this work in less than 2 weeks and cleaned up their work area everyday. Very happy with the finished bathrooms.

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My experience with Remodel Works was unexpectedley EXTREMELY HAPPY. All the pifalls that I've heard about from other people with their contractors never happened.  We first met with Mary Jennings, the rep and kitchen designer. I was impressed with her professionalism and the time she took to work with us without pressure.  She even went to stores to see various items that I had picked out as well as sent me samples of tile, etc. in the mail.  I appreciated her positive willingness to work with my decisions.  The team that came to my house was easy to work with, easy to talk to, and always explained exactly what they doing.  I was handed a daily schedule to see who and what they were doing every day.  They consistenly would prepare the kitchen before working and clean up after their work every day. Royce, the Project Manager, was above and beyond helpful in working with me and any concern I had.  Gonzolo, Kevin, Brett, and Paul did excellent workmanship.  The kitchen was completed exactly when they said it would be.  Royce came back twice to check that everything was done correctly.

As I said, our experience was more than  we had hoped for and we would use them again.

Mary Jennings, the designer, was fabulous at designing the entire project.   She came out and measured the rooms.   All the flooring, cabinets and fixtures were on display in the showroom.   She thought of everything and made the task simple.  In addition, she was a delight to work with; friendly and personable.   Pat Luich was the project manager.   He was very professional, always on top of everything and worked tirelessly to keep the project moving forward smoothly.   All the workers were very professional, highly detailed about their job and true artists.   I was extremely impressed with how the entire project was accomplished.  When I am ready for additional remodeling, I look forward to using their services again.

They were here when they said they would be and worked extremely hard while they were here.  They were extremely careful to cover the floors and clean up each day.  They stayed on schedule and were very professional.  They solved problems when they came up  (and there will always be issues in any home project).  It was a remarkably easy experience.  The bathroom looks great!

This is our second project with Remodel Works and everything went as smoothly as in our first project.  Our designer, Eric, was very helpful throughout the design and materials selection process.  His expertise saved us from making mistakes and gave us a beautiful kitchen that we completely enjoy using.  Royce was our capable project manager.  He was absolutely fantastic throughout the installation.  He completed the job ahead of schedule and on budget with the finest quality.  All of the technicians who worked on our kitchen were polite, clean and quite competent.  We couldn't have asked for a better process and result!

We were very pleased with them. We were glad that the plumbing work wasn't a fortune. They are very quick to respond to an emergency if there is any sort of problem. They had remodeled our kitchen two years ago.

We spoke to Remodel Works months before we had the work done as we priced several contractors. I liked that they had a showroom (no worries about a contractor taking your deposit and disappearing) and a place to show samples of their products. I spoke to the owner who I felt was very forthright in giving me info. He told me what could and could not be done for my price range.

When I finally sat down with one of their designers - Mary - I told her that I had a very firm price limit of $20,000 and that there was no point in going over it. She actually designed me a bathroom that came in under $19000 originally . I changed a few things that eventually brought it up to the mark but I really appreciated that she took my budget seriously, did not try to pressure me upward, and  came up with less expensive solutions such as semi-custom vanities and going to remnant yard for granite.

When the remodel started we were very impressed by how clean and careful everyone involved was. The entire thing took less than three weeks.

There as one hitch - the tub that was installed had a 'bubble' caused by the blowtorch used on the plumbing. Remodel Works came back to look at it, agreed that it was their problem and replaced it without any issues. No arguing or complaining or threatening needed. It is really nice to work with a company that stands behind it's work.

I would definitely use them again if we needed them.

It went fine. It took a while because of a defective ordered part. They were clean. They were very good to me. It is guaranteed work and they will help me out if needed.

We met several times with the salesman/designer and chose rectangular sinks from the RW showroom and were assured that they would fit in the design. When installation began, the sinks were too large for the depth - front to back - of the bathroom counter. Mid-work, we were informed that smaller, rectangular sinks were not available. That was not correct as we determined later. We settled for oval sinks that don't complement the lighting fixtures that we had already purchased and that had been installed with the rectangular sinks in mind. (We could have had the original rectangular sinks if the designer had realized that the chosen sinks were oversized and required a deeper counter, or if the designer had suggested smaller rectangular sinks. We also had plenty of space for a larger, deeper vanity that would have accommodated the original sinks had the salesman/designer caught his error.) Next comes the fiasco with the granite. RW used a fabricator called CCM from Santee. They cut the granite slab for the shower seat correctly, but the cuts for the sinks were terrible, and the holes for the spread-faucet system were incorrect. RW offered us a discount to accept the poor workmanship from CCM. For us that would have meant living with a sink plunger that couldn't function properly, spread-faucet holes in the wrong places, and wavy sink cuts. We insisted that a new slab be purchased (We had purchased the first.). A new slab was purchased but we have no knowledge if RW or CCM purchased it. We cooperated by choosing a second granite slab that was similar to the first so that the shower area didn't have to be torn apart to accommodate a different granite seat. A representative from CCM came to the house and was shown the mistakes, shown what we wanted, and were told that they would rectify the disaster of the first slab. They cut the second slab incorrectly also..........! After the second slab was installed and the mistakes noted yet again, the RW project manager came and pulled the faucet handles to the extreme of the drill holes to try to rectify the alignment mistake, but they are still out of alignment. And, to make matters worse, we found that there ARE rectangular sinks that would have fit in the existing space. After the project was finished and our hectic life had quieted some, we found sinks online. When we asked why we were told that there were no smaller rectangular sinks, the answer was that we had been on a time crunch. That was true. But, we expected to have been given the choice of running over the time element. As we told RW, the bottom line is that we have a master bath with unwanted components. We have light fixtures that don't complement the oval sinks that we didn't want. We have a second granite slab that was cut improperly. We have spread-faucet handles that are different distances from the sinks. RW did offer to send yet another fabricator to try and modify the poor sink cuts, but, frankly, we did not have confidence in RW ability to rectify mistakes. We requested reimbursement after identifying these shortcomings, but the request was denied. The original design was wrong, and many of the problems started with that. We are not designers. When beginning this project, we were extremely busy and unable to look at every web site (sinks) and catalog. We chose many items at the RW showroom in order to accommodate the original time constraint, and we trusted RW to know their job. Consumers, learn from our mistake. Check everything - especially measurements. It is so true that buyers must beware!

The positive experience began with a visit from Ryan to brainstorm ideas/options and to estimate costs. Project Manager Pat and his team of professionals did what they said they were going to do when they said they were going to do it. Rarely did this team stray from the written schedule. When an unexpected issue came up, their problem solving skills were creative and they kept the project moving forward. Pat communicated with me every day (sometimes several times a day) and the kitchen was clean and tidy when I returned home from work each day. The remodel was completed on time and on budget, my expectations were met.