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I am a local carpenter who has been in the trades for about 10 years now. I can do almost anything from framing houses to laying flooring. And it is my mission to deliver a quality service at a quality price.

"In 2017, when I was looking to purchase a house in the Rockford area that was needing a full siding install I contacted GF Company in Belvidere. IL, who I found on Angie’s list and at that time GF Co had great reviews. Strangely enough these great reviews are no longer to be found on Angie’s List. It should also be noted there is a GF Siding in Cherry Valley. IL, this is Not the company that I did business with. Ariel Zmijewski (the owner) got me a quote quickly and I decided to purchase the house. A few months later in July 2017, I contacted Ariel again to discuss the finer points of the quote, the price was revised slightly and the Ariel mentioned that once a deposit was paid work could start 6-8 weeks later, but said the install would be finished before the cold weather arrived. I started creating a color layout and Ariel provided some feedback on what would work and not work. To this point I was very happy with progress. In September 2017 I paid a deposit of over $8k (about 44% of final price) and awaited updates for a start date. Nothing happened. In early March 2018 I contacted GF Co by phone stating that I had been very patient and they had had $8k as a deposit for the last 6 months and I had nothing to show for it. After a couple more calls and emails Ariel showed up with his foreman Mark and they said that work would start in the middle of the following week. Much to my surprise the work started on time. Over the course of the next 4 weeks Mark and his crew worked hard, only missing a few days due to bad weather, I even agreed to having some extra work done by the team, some wooden entrance steps that needed replacing for an additional $2.5k. By early May 2018 the job was finished the house looked great and I was very happy with the work and appearance and was getting compliments from neighbors too. The balance of owed of over $10k was paid with 48 hours of the work being finished. Again I was happy with work done, until… A few months after the install a TV cable box started having troubles. Cut a long story short the wall socket died because cable was suddenly defective, also the crew had moved the exterior cable input box and this didn’t help the issue. Comcast fixed it, but I now have an exterior cable showing and they had to drill through the siding. Then around Halloween 2018, less than six months after having the install completed, I noticed that a piece of siding (6ft approx.) had become detached underneath a window, trying to pop it back into place did not resolve the issue. After checking all the other exterior windows I noticed 1 other window was about to do the same thing. I called the GF Company main number and left a message with the receptionist for Ariel to contact me. No response. I called again a couple of times and left more messages still no response. In March 2019 siding problem under windows still Not fixed, I called GF Company again, no answer, and no voice mail. I called a couple more times on different days still no answer or voice mail. I then sent an email to the company and to my surprise I received a response from Ariel stating this was the first that he had heard of it. About a week later (3/26/19) he showed up at my house to view the problem. Ariel stated that he would get someone over to fix the problem, but would not give me a date or time. On 4/2/19 I emailed Ariel again asking for confirmation of a repair date ? Nothing but crickets… On 4/30/19, I sent another email to Ariel requesting that the repairs be completed before the end of May 2019, again no response. Quote / contract says: Customers will receive a Lifetime Warranty on Material and Workmanship Reported GF Company to Illinois BBB on 6/5/19."

"Service was prompt and quality work was done. I would highly recommend their services."

"Having worked with Josh for the first time on a painting project in our new home, about a month ago... I decided to give him a shot at quoting and ultimately winning the bid for our fence. He had already proved his trustworthy ethics and willingness to keep customers satisfied. He was willing to start by digging the holes on a Saturday (never heard of a contractor working on the weekend), so that he could get out ahead of the impeding rain for the week. He made sure the holes were dig right with a two man auger and spared no expense on the concrete to set the posts (since we will be in the home for years to come).
Although the job did take a couple days longer than expected, this was in no way shape or form Josh's fault, as we had torrential downpours for two days and he had the decency to ask if it was ok not to work in the rain since not only was it dangerous, all of the trampling would ruin my grass.
He promised me that the job would be completed by Friday, and even pulled an extra person off of another job of his to make sure the man power was there to get the job done and done right.
The fence turned out absolutely great, and I couldn't be happier! The only problem is.. I cant seem to find enough work around the house to keep having him help! As stated in a review last month, Josh represents the new generation of contractors, one with honestly, loyalty, great prices and quality craftsmanship... a true asset."

"They were prompt, came when they said they would and finished when they agreed to finish.
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"Everything from start to finish was easy and went smoothly. High quality work and very involved with our thoughts on the progress of the project throughout the process. Cleaned up the area everyday and in the end, all we had to do was move into the new space. Highly recommended for your next project and we will be using his services in the future."

"January 22, 2020 Wow! Got a new roof & gutters plus my garage door repaired all for free, thanks to Jeremy, the owner of Top A1 Contracting! Never even thought I needed a new roof nor could I afford one. But Jeremy met with State Farm during the roof inspection at my house, and State Farm saw hail damage from last June, 2019, and decided to pay for everything! New roof & gutters!! Jeremy then spent hours of his time at my kitchen table to insure that my new roof would be of the best quality that money can buy. He made sure that I understood all the details, and all the options available to me. Jeremy kept in touch throughout, and my new roof got put on in half a day & in November! Jeremy gives you the most for your money with the highest quality workmanship. He goes way above, and beyond the required standard for roofing materials. Jeremy, and his company aim to be the best! Once I got my new roof, Jeremy then made sure that I had the highest quality oversized gutters, and wire mesh screens for gutter guards. And, the rotted wood around my big garage door was replaced and aluminum wrapped like new! Now I have this beautiful new roof, and gutters to look at every time I come home for the rest of my life. And it was free! All thanks to Jeremy! Jeremy is not just a contractor, he’s your friend. Jeremy is a totally honest, responsible, and accommodating contractor to have work on your home. Willing to work with you on the finances, on your own terms. Jeremy is there for you. Jeremy handled the whole process with State Farm, and never pressured me for all the money that was to come. Knowing Jeremy as a contractor just put so so at ease in being reassured that I was getting the best of everything. So grateful to Jeremy. All a dream come true!?"

"Much smoother than the previous contractor."

"When we decided to redo our kitchen in April of 2012, we knew what we wanted fixed, our budget and that's about it. We started talking to contractors, kitchen design centers and researching ideas. We quickly realized we were in WAY over our heads. A lot of places offer free design services if you buy all of your materials through them. We didn't want to be tied down. We didn't want a complete tear down to the studs, either. Homemade Design to the rescue! First of all the price was an absolute steal for the service provided. Amanda and co. Listened to what we wanted and came up with inovative,functional and beautiful solutions. Our house is old. We wanted to keep that 1920s feel, but still have a dishwasher, granite countertops and stainless appliances! Amanda had the brilliant idea of only replacing the bottom cabinets. She also gave me excellent instructions on how to refinish my existing cabinets so they look like new. This was a perfect solution for US. Homemade Design gave us ideas for layout, cabinets, lighting, wall paint, appliances, furniture, countertops, backsplash, faucets, sink,and cusions for built in. She would have recommended flooring if we wanted,but we didn't. Now, Amanda is more like a consultant...( I actually called her my kitchen remodel therapist). You still are ultimately responsible for the plan and what works for you. If your measurements are off (like mine were) that's on you. I was adament about no island and no microwave over the stove and so she didn't put those in the design. Some suggestions were not my style. And I said so. Honestly, if I picked out my own kitchen it would be so safe: white subway tile or something. Amanda gave me the guts to mix patterns and create something spectacular! It took almost a year to complete ( contractors fault) We did a lot of work ourselves. We bought the cabinets, backsplash tile, light fixtures, table and banquette cusions through Homemade Design at a great discount, we checked!! If you try shopping for any part of your kitchen, the volume of choices can be overwhelming. We loved having Amanda narrow it down for us. Communication was through email, mostly. She never took longer than three business days to respond to my million questions or concerns. Awesome. 5 months later, my kitchen is a dream come true. And I owe it all to Homemade Design!
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"She was fine. We were working long distance and communication took place via phone and email. I would not ever hire someone long distance again for design work unless I see something on their website that is exactly what I like. She was very responsive though and she provided us with pictures of sample furniture and physical designs. I gave her a 'B' because she didn’t take a lot of time to customize the plan to our style. I expected her to adapt to our style, but instead she tried to make our living room fit her style. She seems to have a look that is her style and we actually asked her re-do the plan a few times before we got something usable. In the end, she is very good at what she does and she is very professional, but her design style doesn’t fit our way of living."