Keil Construction

In 2017, we engaged Keil Construction to develop our basement crawl space into usable living space. This was a very challenging job considering the low ceilings, duct work from our AC machines, and the lack of window openings. After a lot of hard work, Keil Construction underpinned the entire perimeter and excavated, and the results are exceptional. Mr. Keil met with us regularly, and he was always able to come up with a clever solution for anything problem that came up. We have a beautiful bedroom, bathroom now and a very sunny family room that includes a wet bar. We added a whole third to our home, and I know It has increased the value of our home tenfold. Mr. Keil has a wonderful design aesthetic. We love his use of old wood and architectural elements from other buildings to add charm to ours. We have an exposed brick wall and old wood built in cabinets that are all beautiful and unique. The basement took awhile to complete. There were permit delays and water challenges. We were able to successfully work through these obstacles, and we love the end result. It was well worth the wait. Like any contractor, there were times I wished the communication had been better. But I know firsthand that Mr. Keil has been working to improve and expand his team to make the communication and project management at Keil Construction top notch. Thank you Keil Construction!

They did a great job and I loved working with them. I would highly recommend them.

We fired Keil Construction, eventually settling out of court with damages paid, under threat of a lawsuit after they botched 2 of the 3 structural beams. The cut corners on materials and grossly modified the installs on site, ignoring the permitted drawings submitted by our structural engineer. This resulted in structural damage to our home. Overall, their workers were inexperienced and their work largely unsupervised. Owner Jeff Keil himself proved to be abusive and dishonest, consistently showing questionable integrity and business practices. He insisted as part of our settlement on a gag order, a request I was unwilling to grant him.

We have used Keil Construction for two major renovations and a handful of smaller projects over the past ten years. We have been thrilled with the outcome. In fact, Jeff Keil's increased dramatically the value of our Capitol Hill home. We've recommended him to friends over the year, and they have all had a positive experience. Our first renovation entailed gutting our first floor to expand the kitchen, move the half bath, and add a mudroom and an entrance from the garage. The results were stunning, and the cost was very reasonable. Jeff was very involved throughout the process, and his recommendations and attention to detail made a huge difference. It's also worth noting that working with his team was a pleasure. The second renovation was even more significant. This time around we gutted the second floor (moved two bathrooms), which allowed us to add a staircase to the previously dingy, dark attic. Each of the new bathrooms was gorgeous, and the reconfiguration of the three bedrooms on the second floor made much more sense than the previous layout. Jeff Keil figured out a plan that allowed us much more closet space. Finally, he turned our attic into a third floor with a family room, bedroom, and full bath. We loved the placement of the windows and the dormers with cozy window seats. I recommend Keil Construction with zero reservations!

Jeff and his team at KC have an unparalleled understanding of restoring and remodeling historic row homes. While many contractors bid our job, some with competitive offers to KC, only Jeff had the vision that respected the history and uniqueness of these old homes and how they fit into the Capitol Hill neighborhood. As an example, Jeff maintains a warehouse of historic home parts that he applies to his various projects to make sure the homes he renovates retain their character. For our project, at every step along the way, Jeff used his vision to make sure we didn’t take a shortcut to get the job done that would compromise the character of the house. Jeff’s is supported by a core construction team are both professional and skilled. His plumber, electrician, painter, and carpenters all did high quality work, were respectful of our family while we lived in the home that was under renovation, and always greeted us with a smile. KC’s work quality and craftsmanship really shines on fine carpentry. We had KC install a banquette as part of the kitchen remodel that was not part of the original architect’s plans, and the end result both fit the space perfectly and added to the character of the house. All renovations have their challenges, and our project was no exception. While we had positive experience with Jeff’s core construction team, we had a less positive experience with some of his second string subcontractors. Our biggest challenges however were with the office staff, and the day-to-day management of our project. Jeff, while he tries, is simply too busy to be the manager of each project. This is understandable, and Jeff like any owner needs a strong office team to back him up. Unfortunately during our construction the office staff changed numerous times. We never had a project manager who could provide to us the level of communication we desired, and as our job progressed, we were often left wondering about the status of work on any particular day or when we could expect the job to complete. We know that since our remodel, Jeff has brought back some of his old trusted office staff, and added some new support to his team. We suggest talking with him about project management expectations prior to signing the contract, and consider augmenting Jeff’s team with some of your own project management if you don’t want to be burdened with that responsibility. As for KC’s financial management of the job, we were very happy. We never at any time felt that Jeff was trying to be anything but fair in his billing or change orders. Jeff respects the work, and stuck to our agreed costs except for where there were true changes in scope. That said, there was rarely formal change orders processed prior to the work being performed, so if that is important to you for managing your project, your should make sure your contract with KC reflects your desired agreement. We’ve lived in our remodeled space for over a year now. As Jeff predicted, we’ve been very happy with both the final design of the remodel and the quality of the work by KC. KC has stood by their work, performing a few minor warranty repairs without any issue. Since we completed the remodel, we have since hired KC for a few other construction jobs, and have been similarly happy with the results.

When we decided to renovate our home on Capitol Hill to include a finished basement, a second full bath, installation of central air (which the house did not have), replacing all windows in the back of the house, and renovation of the original upstairs bath, we solicited bids from several contractors. We found Keil Construction to be the only one that included everything on our request for bids and his estimate was the most competitive. Throughout the project, several unforeseen complications arose, given the age of the house. In every case, Jeff Keil came up with a solution to deal with the problem and ensured the house was brought up to code, while at the same time maintaining the integrity of the house's original design. In the end, we had a finished basement with a family room, bedroom, new bath, laundry space, and an upstairs with central air, refinished floors, new windows and exterior doors, and new siding in the back, making the house much more functional and comfortable. For our backyard, which was in terrible condition, Keil installed a brick patio, new fencing, and poured concrete for off-street parking. This has greatly enhanced the usefulness and value of our house. All in all, we were very pleased with Keil Construction. Jeff's teams' work was high quality throughout the process. We would recommend them to anyone considering major projects on a Capitol Hill home.

When I purchased my new home in Brookland, I hired Keil Construction initially just to replace the kitchen. The kitchen replacement was a full tear out and involved removing the wall separating the kitchen and the dining room, leveling the floor and ceiling, moving the sink and stove, closing the existing exterior door out of the kitchen, and installing a new double door to the back deck from the dining room.
Once we began the kitchen changes, it became clear that the whole house needed extensive improvements literally from top to bottom. These changes included a new roof,  new central air conditioning, floor sanding throughout, a new master bathroom, a new concrete slab in the basement with perimeter drain, and a new paint job throughout. 
The unforeseen conditions put a strain on my budget. Keil Construction was sensitive to these changes and provided great value by using salvage items and creative solutions throughout the project. In addition, Jeff Keil provided creative insights that gave my project a unique style that I truly love. He built a beautiful custom vanity and salvage wood cabinet for my bathroom to my specifications. He made some of the cabinets in my kitchen, using salvage windows and doors.  The open shelves he made using old floor joists give me the rustic charm I was looking for. He donated an old tin ceiling from another project for my kitchen.
Another benefit of using Keil Construction is that they not only are willing to work with you to implement your creative ideas, but they welcome the challenge.  Many contractors out there look for the easiest solution.  I had a salvage farm sink that I wanted to include in my kitchen design.  Other contractors told me it was too difficult, but Jeff figured out a way to incorporate the sink into my design, having a carpenter build a custom cabinet to house the sink.  It was his idea to use my antique license plate collection about the face of the kitchen bulkhead, and this final touch is very charming and enhances the warmth of my kitchen.  l would highly recommend Keil Construction to any homeowner interested in creating a home with personality and interest, without sacrificing quality.

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The process was very long but the experience has been terrific. Keil was always responsive (we met with him and the project manager weekly), the work was of high quality, the crew was very polite and professional.

I had an excellent experience with Jeff Keil and his team. We are beyond thrilled with the result.
While the underlying quality of the workmanship is great, Jeff distinguishes himself in two respects: first, he has enormous appreciation for and knowledge of old houses. And second, he has a substantial inventory of salvaged pieces from old houses that he brings to the project often at no cost. He is also all around a really good guy which is not a trivial issue on extended renovations.
Our project was not small. We had a 70s kitchen, a dilapidated addition in the back, and a very closed layout in the house. We obtained proper architectural drawings for a new open kitchen, new addition and alot of other upgrades. Jeff analyzed and tweaked in areas where the layout could be improved or to ensure the renovation fits with the house which is over 100 years old. His team went to work, completely gutting much of the house, and the bulk of the work was finished in four months.
Some of my favorite parts of the work include 1) open shelves and a breakfast table made from 100 year old joists that he had from another home 2) salvaged super tall doors for the new bathroom and closet to blend in with the current doors in the house 3) re-purposed tin ceiling from the old kitchen in to the bathroom and 4) we turned an old larder into a cool drinks cabinet on Jeff's suggestion.
I would make one caveat: Jeff is not there everyday and there were mistakes at times. I needed to be on top of the project and point things out. However, to Jeff's credit, they were always promptly corrected, even when costly or time consuming to Jeff. My confidence that he adjusts to ensure the customer is happy is ultimately why I am very comfortable recommending him.

We contracted with Jeff in April 2013 to complete a number of renovation projects in our house. The main task was to completely renovate our kitchen, which included incorporating a former brick porch into the footprint of the kitchen. We also were in desperate need of a new main bathroom which is under heavy use daily by my family of five. Along the way, we added several other smaller tasks, resulting in a finished home that has completely changed and improved my lifestyle and enjoyment of my home.
Jeff and his crew started in the bathroom first. A previous owner with a penchant for arches had installed arches in an already small bathroom, making it feel dark and crowded. Jeff recommended tearing out the arches which would give us more space for a full size double vanity, and make full use of the existing skylight. Since all five of us use this bath and towels are everywhere, Jeff recommended installing wainscoting to support the heavier weight of the wet towels. He also recommended a lovely dusky blue gray and quot;penny roundand quot; tile for the floor which he felt would be a nice update to the older hexagon tiles so often found in old Capitol Hill rowhouses like ours. Keil Construction made quick work of the bathroom, finding and repairing pipe issues along the way. The tile installer was excellent and did a beautiful job. The carpentry was likewise superb. Jeff was somehow able to find a vanity to my exact specifications and recommended several other design details that make this bathroom stand out. We have a marble vanity top, undermount sinks, beautiful faucets and light fixtures that are updated, but still in character with the age of my house. We love it.

After the bathroom, they moved on to our back bedroom, which at one point had been an office for a previous owner. Because it was directly above an open walled porch, it was the coldest room in the house in the winter, and the hottest in the summer. This previous owner installed french doors and a small juliet balcony, which no one ever felt safe standing on. The french doors took up valuable wall space making furniture placement difficult, if not impossible., and further exacerbated the temperature issues. Jeff tore out the doors and balcony, replacing the opening with new windows and with salvaged brick to match the outside of our house.

In addition, since the bedroom had been a former sleeping porch, there was no real floor. When Jeff's crew tore out the tile in our kitchen, he found original heart pine flooring underneath. This wood was salvaged, refinished and installed in the bedroom to complete the floor. The floor had a terrible slope that Jeff didn't just leave, though other contractors I am sure would not have been so thorough. He had his worker completely tear up and level the floor joists, then installed and refinished the wood flooring. They painted and fixed poorly installed recessed lighting in the ceiling too. The room looks amazing and is a total transformation.

The kitchen was the main job and it was a major operation. From the first 15 minutes of our consultation, Jeff recommended and sketched out a new layout, including a peninsula island and small sitting room off the main work area of the kitchen. He also recommended moving the powder room bath in order to capture a small window there as well as to make it less obtrusive, being so close to the kitchen. Once again, Jeff's eye inspired a design that continues to impress. As I mentioned above, one element to our house was a lot of arches, installed sometime in the mid-70s. While they did not work in the upstairs bath, they did work in a very nicely done brick porch with wide, open, arches. Not wanting to completely lose this interesting design feature, Jeff suggested that we center new sliding doors and window directly in the arches. New glass would be ordered to fit the shapes on either side of the new doors and window, in the shape of the arch. While ordering and measuring the glass for a perfect fit took longer, it's such a showstopper that I am so glad we agreed. (But at this point, after already seeing how gorgeous the bathroom and bedroom was, honestly, we were ready to follow Jeff's lead anywhere!)

Jeff tore out our kitchen down to the studs. He repaired and removed compromised joists and notched out beams which attempted to make way for pipes from previous renovations. In all aspects he was thorough and conscientious. He left no stone unturned. While I chose the carrera marble subway tile for the walls and backsplash, he recommended honed black granite for the counters which would mimic the soapstone that I initially wanted until I learned of it's maintenance issues. I chose basic white shaker style cabinets and a white Rohl's fireclay sink, which I adore. For a space next to the refrigerator where the cabinets ended, Jeff remembered how much I hated a total and quot;cabinet canyonand quot; with everything matchy-matchy and no special touches. So he mentioned that he had salvaged doors and would make me a new/old and quot;hutchand quot; complete with marble counter and painted wainscoting in back. At first I was worried at how it would look, but once again, we left it to Jeff's judgement and what I have now is a centerpiece that everyone comments on the minute they walk in the kitchen. It looks like it has been there forever, but then again, it doesn't. It's AMAZING!

Along the way, we decided to replace our front door and Jeff suggested we paint it yellow-done! Looks great. He also insisted on a metal railing for the new, small deck out back. He didn't want to and quot;spoil the viewand quot; out the back through our stunning windows with door. Done! Of course, it was the absolute right thing to do, and it definitely makes an impact. Finally, knowing that our bikes were always being stored in the dining room, Jeff created a secure bike storage area underneath the new porch, installing a thick chain into the brick which we can run through our bikes to secure. (And not even here did Jeff find a detail too small: he installed corrugated plastic underneath the porch but above the bikes, so that rainwater would run over and to the side, keeping the bikes out of the rain. Genius!

We also opened a wall down to the basement because Jeff said it was a pinch point in the hallway (it was). He custom built a railing and newel post that again is reminiscent of the old style baluster in the front of the house. New, but very respectful of the character of the house.

My kitchen is so beautiful, I now refer to it constantly as and quot;my beautiful kitchenand quot;. It really makes me feel like I should be in a magazine spread. The cabinets are wonderful (thank you Montgomery Kitchen and Bath) and so well-thought out that I feel like I am in heaven. Jeff was truly a pleasure to work with and was always thinking of ways to make us happier. In addition to the thoughtful custom made hutch, he also took time to think of my husband, who only wanted a pull out trash can at the sink. Jeff said, how about a sound system? Wouldn't he like that? A sound system with speakers in the ceiling had not even occurred to me, but I knew my husband would love it, and he did. It's another of our favorite things about Jeff. He thinks about things that are barely, if at all, on your radar.

Bottom line there was absolutely NOTHING that Jeff recommended that didn't dramatically improve our home, even though it might have seemed like a small thing at the time. He has the design eye of an architect, and the sense of space and respect for history of someone who has lived in and loved old houses for a very long time-because he has!

The project from beginning (the bathroom) to the end (kitchen) took from late April to late September. It took somewhat longer than our original estimate, but I never felt like it unreasonable. All in all we feel very strongly that we had an extremely cost effective renovation that was well worth the money, ti

We've lived in our home on Capitol Hill for 10 years. We enjoy the Hill's Renovator's House Tour each fall, and were always impressed by the quality of the homes that Jeff Keil and his crew worked on. When we decided to do a major renovation on our home, we got bids from several contractors, but decided on Keil Construction. While any big renovation of an old home will encounter problems, in the end we are extremely happy with the final product and with Jeff and his team. In fact, we're talking with him now about some additional projects on the house.
The only caveats we would offer about Keil Construction is that the job usually takes longer than the initial estimate, and we had to work harder that we'd like to maintain continuous, effective lines of communications. Given that Keil focuses on historic homes - with all their quirks - delays are to be expected. We've offered constructive criticism to Jeff on the communications issue, and he has been receptive to our comments.
That said, I'd like to focus on all the positive aspects of our experience:
1) Jeff Keil is a great guy who is passionate about his work and about saving/updating the old homes on the Hill. Given his experience, he had many creative ideas, yet was still responsive to our requests. (e.g. We love that he has a collection of old doors, windows, etc and is always trying to find a spot for them in the homes he is renovating. We were especially happy with the old doors that Jeff pulled from his warehouse to reuse in our home.)
2) While not the least expensive bid, it was very competitive, and Jeff never and quot;nickle-and-dimedand quot; us as the project unfolded. The price he quoted us is the price we paid. The only additions were the result of change orders we requested. The job was not without surprises, so he could have easily tried to jack up the price, but didn't. Additionally, we can be very particular about how we want things, and when we pointed out something that wasn't quite and quot;rightand quot; Jeff had it fixed without a single grumble. In fact, he found his own and quot;nitsand quot; to pick and had them fixed. (Sure, it would have been ideal if there were no issues that needed to be fixed...but this is the real world, and in a complicated renovation of a 100+ year old home, there will be glitches and/or the realization that what was in the plans isn't the best approach.)
3) As best we can tell, Jeff has a core crew that as been with him for years and that does the bulk of the work. The only subcontractors we saw were electrical and HVAC, and both those subs were very professional. We never felt uncomfortable with the workers...they were always very courteous and helpful. I suspect that this and quot;positiveand quot; is a big part of why things can take longer to complete. Jeff could speed things up if he went out and hired temporary workers, but I'd much rather have him stick with a core team than have strangers tromping through our house.
At the end of the day, we are overjoyed with the final product. It has dramatically improved the way we live in our home, and everyone who sees the renovations has nothing but complements. As we said earlier, we're going back to Jeff to do more work...not certain there is a better endorsement than that.

We hired Keil Construction for a two-story, full renovation of our 1890s rowhouse in the Capitol Hill neighborhood and couldn't be more pleased with the result. Jeff Keil is excellent at preserving the look of the old while making a house new again. In particular, we were thrilled with his commitment to restoring the original pine floors hidden underneath another layer of wood. He painstakingly took up every board, laid a new sub-floor, and put back down the pine boards so they fit beautifully. They glow! We were also very pleased with custom paint and trim work, which involved new cove molding and re-use of the some of the old. The lead painter, Fransciso, was very accommodating, and often painted sample walls so I could see what a color would look like before I committed to it. His tile man was also wonderful, executing an old-fashioned basket-weave pattern for the master bath floor and constructing a gorgeous Calacatta marble shower.
Jeff Keil is also great at creative re-use of material, and excellent at on the spot problem-solving during construction. He brought over a beautiful old mirror which he recessed into the front hall, and worked with us to build a custom kitchen island wrapped in old porch ceiling boards and a custom kitchen banquette area with a built-in TV stand and a lovely natural wood counter. When we had to re-locate the A/C return, and wound up with some space to fill, his carpenter, Carlos, built a beautiful linen closet in the upstairs hall. Jeff was also very helpful in executing my vision for a luxury master bath vanity made from a dresser found at Eastern Market. It was re-painted and fitted into the wall with a beautiful marble countertop.
I will say that if you hire Keil Construction, you should be comfortable with changes to your initial plans. It was our experience that Jeff views plans as a jumping-off point for the work which was a good thing most of the time, resulting in unique solutions that we were happy with. It also meant that communication was essential. Email, which I'm used to using, was a mixed bag. In the end, I texted him more often than not (sometimes to remind him to read an email!) and relied on our weekly in-person meetings to talk about the progress of the renovation. Occasionally, we had to ask for clarification on change orders, or more detail about billing, but in all, Jeff was very generous with his time and resources, even providing unique ceiling lights out of his personal collection.
Jeff delivered the house as promised by the requested move-in deadline (although work continued after we moved in.) His core crew was respectful, polite and helpful. For most of the renovation, we didn't live in the house, but after we moved in, the workers used a lockbox and cleaned up after themselves each day. My only complaint was that, on occasion, I didn't know they were coming to work, and was surprised to see them. I was also not thrilled with the slow manner and haphazard finish work of the sub-contractor who handled the electric work (I shared this with Jeff, and he worked to resolve the issue by using his own crew as needed.) But on the whole, I was happy to have Jeff's workers in the house, and they worked diligently and professionally, helping with everything from assembling a chandelier to building closet shelves.
If you are unsure about whom to hire, I recommend viewing several houses that Jeff has renovated and seeing the quality of the work. If his and quot;old made newand quot; style is a good match for your vision (as it was for us!) I think you will be very pleased with Keil Construction.

My most difficult part of filling out the top part of your ratings card was to pick a service date. That is because if we need something done on one of our houses, we ONLY call Keil Construction. They renovated our three-unit building in the Kalorama neighborhood of DC from head to toe about 6 years ago. We lived in the building then and, basically, just kept moving from apartment to apartment as they would finish one and move onto the next. My husband and I lived through the whole renovation and were on top of the progress on a daily basis. The completed work, which included three kitchens and four bathrooms was spectacular. Our owner's unit was the envy of many. Our friends and family literally marveled over the work.
We then bought a house in Forest Hills, settling in January 2012, which needed renovation. Jeffrey Keil knew that we were on a tight timeline and had to get the work done quickly. The house was vacant so we were able to get in it with Jeffrey while we were in the loan process to plan what we wanted to get done. We settled on the house on a Thursday, he had his crew in there that following Monday. The work was impeccable. The place was a diamond in the rough and it is literally back to its full glory and then some. We could not be happier. The work included 3 new bathrooms and a spectacular kitchen that consists of industrial strength stainless steel cabinets that I found online that were said to have come out of an airplane hangar. Jeffrey Keil made them work in our kitchen, incorporating them with the stainless steel appliances we purchased and retro-fitting one of the cabinets to accommodate the under counter dishwasher and sink. It was not an easy task, by any means, but they did it. It is the greatest kitchen ever (in our opinion!) and we would not have it if Jeffrey and his crew were not as flexible and as willing to help as they are.
It just so happens, we also have a crew outside our house right now that Jeffrey Keil found for us to put in a slate terrace in the back yard of our Forest Hills home. It is almost done and it looks beautiful. We can't wait to be out there enjoying it.
If you like quality work at a good price you will not be sorry. Jeffrey Keil's team is professional, talented and knowledgeable, not to mention, some of the most honest guys we have ever met.

Quality of work is quite good. Project dragged on for months and months; some weeks without work performed. Poor record keeping and attempts to charge for work not performed. Professionalism of office staff lacking, and Mr. Keil is not a good communicator.

On June 5, 2010, we paid Keil Construction $6,000 for design consultation on a whole house renovation, to include architectural drawings and construction permits. For the next six weeks, we sent repeated written requests to proceed,with no reply. On July 28, we asked in writing for a meeting to discuss the architectural drawings and scope of work details as promised. Two days later, blueprints were dropped at our house although we had never met with an architect. When we questioned how this had happened without an architectural survey, we were told and quot;since all Capitol Hill row homes are pretty much the same, we took the drawings for your neighbor's house and flipped them.and quot; At the time, Jeff Keil was remodeling our neighbor’s home and had sent an architect to survey and design their renovation. Basically he took money from both of us and and quot;double dippedand quot;, by flipping their plans (both for the existing layout and the renovation plan). One week later,we took the blueprints to Jeff’s office and explained 50-100 items that were wrong. We had drastic changes since the plans reflected our neighbors existing house and their remodeling ideas, not ours. These changes were not minor as our houses had entirely different HVAC systems and current layouts. In addition, their remodel incorporated the basement as a living room/office, while ours was to be a full apartment. So we were missing bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and all the electrical and plumbing was wrong. We stated that the scope of work and drawings should reflect our project to minimize mistakes and see the holistic vision. Jeff agreed to make the changes and send an architect to revise the drawings. One month later, we received a call from Keil employee asking us to sign the full contract (for over $200K) - we stated that we did not even have the correct drawings or permits for the remodel. She agreed to inform Jeff but he did not contact us. Finally in March 2011, we asked for: a refund of $6K minus reasonable expenses; an accounting of monies used; an electronic copy of the architectural plans; and our house keys. No response. After repeated calls, we received half our money, but no itemization of invoices, electronic drawings or house keys. The permits totaled $409 and were for one bathroom and they had spent no other money on our job except maybe a few dollars to copy the neighbor's blueprints.

This was our very first experience with a contractor and it has been purely awful from start to finish. In the interest of fairness, his finished work looks to be good quality, and he is still working on our neighbor's house. He estimated 2 months to finish their basement and took just over 7 months - so he is incredibly slow and unresponsive, even to them, who have a contract for over $200K. His company wasn't on Angie's List when we were researching, but we liked his finished work, so we chose him anyway. That's the last time we'll ever do that. Since last year, I have met over ten people who had similar (most of them much much worse) stories of doing business with him and I wanted to save other people from ending up a victim of his unethical business practices.