Coastal Living Remodelers

"-WE DID NO WORK FOR THIS CLIENT- Only a simple design drawing *Please see reviews from Clients we Performed Lengthy Projects for* It was disheartening to hear of the members "unusual complaint". Let me start by saying getting a building permit in the State of Florida is no easy task, as this owner found out when she attempted to do what we do every day on her own, and act as her own Contractor. We started out with being hired to give an estimate and design a guest cottage. Then once we gave basic pricing, the owner wanted to perform most of the work herself and get her own permit but did not realize how difficult it will be to acquire the permit, hire, manage, quality control and complete a project with the degree of detail that was involved. She took our design drawing and tried to get a building permit with it, which our designs are not Construction Drawings, and she was told by the City of Venice all she would have to comply with in order to do her "simple project"...another $2,000 to hire an Engineer, develop detailed Construction drawings and then move to packaging everything for a permit, almost 100 pages of documentation. Easier to tear the building down and start over since it was a 400 sq' dilapidated outbuilding. I personally told her that it was going to be very difficult to do what she wanted to do with the building, but she insisted it was a "Simple thing" and she would tackle it herself. The work that reputable Contractors perform everyday in dealing with municipalities, Building Inspectors, trade Contractors, vendors, and employees is a real specialty and should not be attempted by an Homeowner, unless they can dedicate full-time priority to such an endeavor, and have experience in doing this type of work. I did apologize to the member, if we somehow did not communicate well enough, which I certainly thought I did, and if we could help her with referring an Engineer, we would. But when a owner feels our service is not worth the cost or value, we usually have to part ways early on, since reality is most contractors, such as ourselves, don't charge enough for all the service we provide. I wished her the best, honestly, but glad she posted this so we can explain to others the pitfalls of "Being your Own Contractor"."

"We did many projects for this member and it all turned out great! They were thrilled and have hired us to do another project, which we are currently working on, to enclose a carport and turn it into a garage. They were an absolute pleasure to work for."

"This was a total Condo Redo on the 4th floor. With the client being 4 states away, it takes real trust in the company you are hiring. They gave us their trust and we did exactly what we said we would, and a little extra work to just make the project shine. We love what we do and enjoy working with nice folks who understand that Remodeling is a process and in the end, if you hire the right company, it is all worth the wait."

"Major whole house redo with design changes and all new finishes. These are the type of projects that can go bad, if not sure you are hiring the right Contractor. There are many ways to underestimate the job, unforeseen conditions can exist, and as many as 18 different trades can be involved. This is the type of work we specialize in and do the best. This client was 4 states away and we performed the entire project over a 4 month period- in the end, the member was very happy with the end result ! Just a great customer, who we will miss working with."

"We will be hear today and 10 years down the road, whenever Mr. [Member Name Removed] is ready for his project."

"This was an entire Condo remodel. Enjoyed working with these folks so much. Had fun and if they ever call us again, we will be there to assist. Remodeling should be exciting and fun- this is what we hope to achieve on all our projects along with a level of security in knowing we will always go the extra mile!"

"Super nice people- spent about 45 minutes at the home tossing around ideas for the new kitchen and doing a measure. At the conclusion of our meeting, the member was to select her appliances and e-mail those to us, so we could do an accurate drawing of the kitchen and she never got back with us with the exact model numbers & make of appliances for us to do the detailed drawing. When she called back asking about the drawing, I explained we never received model numbers of appliances that our Cabinet Designer would need, but we could go ahead and send her a drawing, using all standard sized appliances, which I did. Then it never went anywhere after that because the customer told me she decided to purchase their cabinets through a buying club they had bought a membership to recently. However, we did supply an AutoCAD kitchen design to the member, as requested at the initial visit."

"Project turned out nicely, great clients to work for. The time frame in which it took was due to detailed construction drawings needed & city building permits, which took nearly 8 weeks alone. Owners did not occupy the home, so we were told flexible in timing, at the start, but they wanted work completed prior to high season, which it was. We are very busy, of course, mainly due to clients being able to trust us & know for certain they will get professional results with the least amount of headaches. Each project is so custom in nature, with many variables- but our goal is ALWAYS to put the customer first and give them more than they expected in the end!"