Kitchen and Bath Studios (G&M Services)

K&B assisted us with the design and assisted us with picking out some of our products. They provided an awesome print and 3D rendering for us to look at. Morgan was exceptionally helpful with assisting us with our design, which was difficult due to the shape of our kitchen. She made picking out our products really easy, and they were able to accomodate us when we went with other vendors for our product lines. The cabinet line they use is fantastic, and we even were told by other vendors that we got a great price and great product. The project started with a complete non-structural demoliton of our kitchen and family room. Everything went. They then roughed in all of the electrical lines for our new LED lights and ceiling fan. This also including relocating a HVAC vent. Texturing and painting was then conducted, which took a few days. They also expanded a doorway and removed some additoinal soffits. Once the cabinets came in, they were installed in about a week or so. It took them some time because our house is older and nothing lines up anymore, but they did a great job and you'd never know that we have anything that isn't level! The cabinets we bought are also beautiful. We could not be happier with them. Morgan provided us with soft closing doors and pull out shelves. Her design and thought process was great, and she even built in a "doggy nitch" for our dog. The granite we picked out ended up being perfect and the contractor they used to installed and cut the granite was TOP notch. We get more compliments about our granite that we could have ever imagined. The one seam is almost completely invisible and the finish is smooth, there aren't any bumps at all. That is a sign of an expert craftsman. The flooring was installed by a company they recommended, which did a great job. The are called Board by Board and I will be writting a review for them as well. However, if you have a preferred provider, just let them know. Now, as someone who deals with contractors all the time, I can tell you that the biggest fear is change orders or hidden fees. My experience here was nothing but positive. As with any project, my wife and I made some changes along the way. The change order costs were so fair that I was truly amazed. At no point did I feel they tried to take advantage of the changes. I can tell you that this is not very common, as many contractors try to make up lost profits on changes. There wasn't even a HINT of that here. So rest assured you'll be treated right with changes. Another important aspects was that when they made a mistake, in my case, the oven handle prevented the dishwasher from opening (Due to our kitchen, we had an odd design). All dimensions had been provided, so this was an oversight on their part. Now, this could have gone badly, but it didn't. Mark and Morgan worked to redesign the area, ordered new cabinet parts, and redid the entire section so it all worked perfectly. Now, if you think you'll have any project go off without a mistake, you've never worked in construction. So the mistake didn't worry me, but I was worried if there would be finger pointing or added costs. My fears were completely unfounded! They did a GREAT job getting the design right! In fact, the redesign was BETTER than our original. My wife LOVED it. There was NEVER an argument about money or fault. I give them NOTHING but praise for this. So while this mistake could have hurt their rating, they made it into something positive by being a moral and ethical organization. I am thrilled to have worked with them.You would NEVER know there was any redesign at all. Also, when you felt something wasn't correct, they always fixed it. It was never a fight or a worry. This company sincerely wants you to be happy. I would even go so far as to say that they put your happiness at the forefront of their business. If they didn't, I think they would have fought more about the cost of the redesign, but they didn't. In fact, they were so apologetic and kind, that it made me feel bad for them. The project was fairly good sized and required a high level of craftsmenship. The team of employees they use are about as skilled at their craft as I have seen. You WILL get a good product and one that you love. They cleaned up every evening, swept my floors and did thier best to keep the dust down, which wasn't easy. I honeslty enjoyed seeing the crew and felt comfortable with them in our home. You will feel the same way, trust me. I have recommended them to a friend and would recommend them to anyone else.

We liked everything about it. We had other bidders and their price was extremely competitive. The quality of their work was exceptional. Their punctuality was perfect. The workers were very good. I couldn’t say anything negative about them. The work turned out excellent.

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- Professionalism, Punctuality, Quality -- these are word to describe Mark's team and work. We started the remodel contractor-shopping last June 2013 and naively thought we would have a new kitchen by September. But researching a few contractors, we quickly learned the differences between the different companies. Some designers we talked to kept concentrating on the little details (what cabinets, what countertops?) whereas our main issue was usability. Aesthetics is easy to fix. We talked to Remodel Works Bath and Kitchen (Poway), who has good ratings and undoubtedly would deliver a good kitchen, but the pricing was just too high for our budget. We also talked to Regal Concepts and Design (another highly rated company in Angie's List). The price seemed fair but Paul said he could not do my project until 6 months later as he had other commercial projects he was doing. So we remembered talking to Kitchen and Bath Studios back in 2005, when Elizabeth owned it, and she wisely told us to save our money (we did not have enough for the kitchen we wanted) so that we do a kitchen remodel once and not regret it. So we went to speak with Mark Lawson in September 2013(now owner of the company, and by the way I am not sure why this company lists Morgan Lloyd as owner -- perhaps previous owner?). At first Mark was hard to get a hold of (took a few phone tags) but as soon as we did get a hold of him, he seemed very knowledgeable and confident of the work that needed to be done. Our kitchen project ended up being bigger than expected (even seen those HGTV shows where they discover surprises in the house, because previous owners hacked away at things or did DIY projects themselves? Well that was our kitchen -- previous owner took out a few walls but did not reinforce them). Long story short, Mark referred us to an architect (Ali Mohammadian) of ASM Design, who helped us redesign the kitchen and include designs to reinforce all the necessary beams and footings. Ali and his engineer submitted plans to the city and by December 2, the city approved the plans and we could move forward. Mark detailed the breakdown of the entire project, including allowances for things, so that we could easily compare his price against others. We subcontracted the structural work to someone else (moving of walls, reinforcing beams and footings, etc) after also comparing a couple of companies for that. While that structural work was going on, Mark and his team wasted no time doing what they can to get whatever they needed to get done (like start on electrical). The entire project took 10 weeks, including time waiting for city inspector to come and inspect (at which point work halts), materials ordered to arrive, etc. Things were not perfect, but the things that were not were fixable and assurances were made that they would be taken care of. For ex: wrong cabinet doors came (should have been glass) but Mark took care of it. His team (Frank, Ed, Kevin) were professional, polite, and clean. We lived in the house the whole time and they cleaned up everyday and kept it as neat as they can. There was one day when it was not as neat as expected and that day never happened again (apparently a newbie plumber was left and not aware of the rules) but in all those weeks, that one day was definitely an off day. And now those guys are gone, I miss having them, especially when I would leave them a list in the morning of things to do and check, and by the time I come home, they were taken care of. I was spoiled. We love our new kitchen. Everyone who sees it says it came straight from a magazine (I guess all those hours I spent on houzz.com paid off). Mark was very easy to work with. He has a good eye for design. He would let you know what he thinks, but would honor your wishes. He is very practical (and quot;Why get a double oven when you probably won't even use the 2nd oven but maybe 2x a year?and quot; So we opted for a convection microwave oven instead that serves as our 2nd oven.) And usually, I trusted his design ideas and they worked well with my own ideas. His tile guy Chuck is very good -- very patient and is a perfectionist at his trade. And the project expanded into the hallway as well, and he built us new linen closets out of the space left over from the walk-in pantry. I would definitely save up some money to get him to do maybe a mantel over the fireplaces next, and maybe redo the bathrooms too. :-) Oh and Sue the office manager is easy to talk to and super friendly. So that helps a lot. So 10 weeks for moving a wall, reinforcing beams, doing 5 footings, and redoing the entire kitchen (dropping a new gas line and rerouting water lines) was definitely a welcome surprise, that it did not take longer. My pendant lights which I ordered from 'Tap Lighting' in Hillcrest is taking longer (almost 2 months now and still not here.) Anyway, if you ask Mark for references, you will see that they all rave about him. Some even ask you to come visit their house (which of course freaked me out) but that just goes to show how happy his customers were with the work, and now we are the newest members of that club.

Great workmanship. Demo was smooth, and the workers were diligent and worked cleanly. Tile guys were punctual (a big deal for me) and very detail oriented, with great design suggestions. Custom vanity was delivered on-time and on budget. Plumbing install was meticulous. We had them also cut down an oddly-placed divider wall between the 2 halves of the bath into a pony wall, which they topped with the leftover countertop granite, which nicely integrated the design elements. We had a custom framed mirror made, which they hung to our specifications. Overall, a painless remodel, so much so that we're on schedule now for them to re-do both the guest bath and some updates to the powder room. The only quibble: after the initial daily work, several times I needed to call to find out if work was scheduled for that day in order for us to make our own plans, so proactive communication could make this excellent company even better. Now we look forward to the completion of the other 2 baths--high praise for this company and its workers.