Budget Right Kitchens

They were excellent people. Very wonderful to talk to. They also listened to us when we had questions or problems and did what they could. We didn't realize that we had put the fridge in the wrong place so they came back and moved it free of charge.

I am VERY happy with them! They do very professional and highly skilled work. They are easy to work with and fairly reasonable in price.

We selected Budget Right because the excellent feedback on this site. However, we found the estimation process to be unprofessional and we jointly canceled the contract prior to any work starting. Despite providing a detailed, written description of the scope of work in our initial email to them, we were disappointed to have the job price nearly double by the time the work crew showed up to start the job. There were no changes to the scope of work. The estimator admitted that he had failed to include at least one major element of the job (tiling the floor) in his initial estimate, and severely underestimated the cost of some plumbing and tiling work. I'm sure Budget Right is capable of doing excellent work as attested to by other reviewers. Unfortunately we were unable to get to that point due to poor communication and shoddy estimation. We were also disappointed in the contractual terms - Budget Right initially demanded 80% of the job cost up-front before any work started. On the positive side, they were extremely responsive with a work crew showing up within two days of signing the contract. The crew included seemingly senior people as well as a site coordinator. It's unfortunate that the relationship deteriorated in the way that it did, however we lost faith in their ability to give us a straight story.

Very professional and creative in coming up with solutions to problems. Accurate in estimating the time line and costs. They actually came in under budget.

Budget Right replaced all the cabinetry in apartment kitchen of a rental. Jim made an appointment for us at the cabinet manufacturer they use, and the quality and price were excellent. Their bid came in under the other bids I had and as soon as I accepted their proposal, the work was scheduled as I requested, and were accommodating with our long-time electrical contractor even though they would have provided this subcontractor. The work began as scheduled and was completed ahead of schedule. Even though I believe that this was a small job for this company, I feel as though I got the attention and was kept informed the progress as if this had been a job 10x the scope of this one. Dan and Jim were professional, available and called me 3 times for every time I called them. Thank you. I think the kitchen looks great now. I even got a refund on the materials charge.

Budget Right completed the project on time and within budget. Given the fact that it was a 1916 building, there were bound to be issues that would arise. Issues did arise, including a hidden electrical box and a standpipe that could not be moved. Budget Right devised creative solutions to solve these problems. Even with the addition of an extra room (our family room), Budget Right finished on its original schedule. Budget Right was extremely sensitive to my family's residence during the remodeling and also to the other apartment owners.

Dirk, Dan and Alex were the team that worked on our kitchen project. Simply put, it was just a fantastic experience from start to finish. Both my wife and I work full time from home and we were very concerned that a major remodeling project was going to impact our lives in a big way. We were thrilled with the positive outcome. Not only did the team do a great job, but they finished 3 weeks earlier than anticipated...getting us back to "normal" very quickly! The quality of the work was excellent, and any problems were quickly addressed and handled professionally. Dirk (the owner) is a very straight forward and honest guy. He told us upfront about all the nuances of a project and the things that could go wrong. He clearly set our expectations that there might be bumps in the road and he didn't' sugar coat it; I respected him from the start for that. There were a few minor things that came up (like cabinets that got dinged or scratched during install) but Dan (Project Lead) took care of them immediately. The best part of it was that I didn't have to hound them, or constantly follow up on whether they were doing their jobs...they just did what they said they would! Imagine that?! Both Dirk and Dan were always a phone call away and Dan was on the job site regularly to check progress and make sure we were satisfied. Do yourself a favor and just call BudgetRight and get them to come out and talk to you. I honestly don't know how anyone can lose with this company. BTW...we did get several other "top rated" companies from Angie's List to come out and talk to us about our project as well as one of the "Big Box" retailers. I'm still shaking my head for wasting my time with the "Big Box" store...I will never go back to them for a major project. Oh yeah...and one of the other guys who came out to give us an estimate decided that answering his phone 3 times (yes that is NOT a typo) and checking voicemail during our discussion & estimate was more important than the 30-35k that I was going to give him. I mean...come on pal...seriously? One final comment to the "negative" AL posters for BudgetRight. I want to send them all a BIG thank you for all being knuckleheads and either being too difficult to deal with, unreasonable in their expectations, or just plain nasty. BudgetRight's owner and his team were smart enough not to waste their time on you and instead they spent it with me and on my kitchen and did a fantastic job! Thanks!

The company owner, Dirk, responded to our request for a quote quickly after we submitted it on line and was out at our house within a week. He did a preliminary review and spent quite a bit of time with us discussing what we wanted to do and some options. Without making any commitment we next met with him at the cabinet dealer to put together a layout and review cabinet options. We checked a couple of references and soon after, he came back out to our house to present his quotes for a couple of different options. His pricing was comparable to the other bids we had, but we were impressed with his approach and quick response time. We decided to move ahead. Before starting the job, Dirk was out one more time with his construction manager Dan to go over the specs of the job and discuss the timing and what to expect. From then on we were dealing with Dan exclusively. He was in contact with me on the phone at least once a day and we met in person a couple times a week during the job. He was always willing to meet at our house at a convenient time to go over the progress and decisions to be made; we usually met at 7am. Dan's crew or one of the subs was on the job working full days for most of the 7 to 8 weeks it took finish the job (this was a little faster than the time line they committed to). There were really only a few minor snags; one as a result of a oversight in the design of the recessed lighting; one due to the counter sub who made a mistake in ordering our counter which set tings back about a week; and one due to a some minor miscommunication about the design of our window trim. In all cases Dan was on top of getting it resolved to our satisfaction. He also was great at managing the subs and making sure they got out when they needed to to keep the job on track. Overall, we found their attention to detail and craftsmanship to be excellent. They got our punch list done right away and were out a couple more times to resolve some minor follow up items. The final cost was about $1,000 (2%) over the budget, at least some of which was due to choices we made on finishes.

Out of five contractors interviewed for this project, Budget Right Kitchens was the only one who did not include plumbing into the proposal, sighting that estimate for plumbing will be provided after walls are opened up (drywall removed). Shortened version of our dialog: Me: "So you are offering me to sign up with you without knowing the final cost for the project. Could you give an idea of how much plumbing will cost? 1k or 10k?" BK: "Well, I really can t because we need to see what is behind drywall, but I can tell you it is not going to be $1000." Me: "Well, is it going to be $10000 or $20000?" BK: "It will probably be less then $20000." Me: "So, it will be somewhere between 2 and 19 thousand dollars?" BK: "I can t say for sure without opening drywall." The most interesting part: even without plumbing, BK was by far the most expensive comparing to other four companies. Other then that, sale guy was very nice and spend a lot of time with us.

I loved my contractors!!! I decided to go with Budget Right because I didn't have the time or patience to manage my own kitchen and bath remodel. I also wanted to avoid having a contracting nightmare experience that everyone hears about from their friends. Budget Right's reputation on Angie's List sealed the deal and after a few meetings, I was confident that they were the right fit for the job. Dan and his crew (Zeke, Mario) did a phenomenal job on my kitchen and bathroom. Excellent job from start to finish! Prior to the job starting they did a walkthrough and completely sealed everything and took care of the floor. The guys were so clean that there was very little dust anywhere. I am a detail nut and they were just as meticulous as me, if not more so. The crew brought their "A" game every day. They worked so hard that I would beg them to take a lunch break. They were so hardworking! At the time of my project, three of my neighbors were also having work done. My neighbors complimented me on how respectful the Budget Right crew was...(no cigarette buds in the courtyard, no propped doors in the courtyard, and they were so quiet when they worked.) Most were not happy with their contractors by the time their projects finished, especially the neighbors. That was not the case with us. My husband became a believer in Budget Right and we will not hesitate to use them again in the future.

The crew from Budget Right did a fantastic job from start to finish. ALL people representing Budget Right were professional and are the kind of people you want to have working for you and with you on your project. Dan managed the day to day aspects and walked us through the project and answered all of our questions. He was responsive to all calls and emails and we enjoyed working with him. The work was done efficiently and quickly and, most importantly they did a quality job. We love our new space and would absolutely hire Budget Right Kitchens again!

I wish I could be more positive, but our renovation was more difficult then necessary. I went with Budget Right Kitchens for my bathroom remodel for three primary reasons: the promise of quality work, good communication throughout the project, and assurance that they would treat my home with respect. Budget Right was the highest bid and longest project schedule (30 days) of the four contractors I received bids from. I contacted 13 Budget Right references that were very balanced and mostly positive. References helped me shape my decision. Budget Right missed the mark on all three counts. All debris was stored in our lower level family room for the first 13 days of the project (although we were out of the country for the first week). Communication between Tim who managed our project and contractors doing the work was poor, which resulted in re-work, compromises, rushed work of questionable quality, and last minute decisions and activity that could have been planned more effectively. Budget Right completed their work on the project 35 days after start, 5 days late. Tim and his team did a nice job sourcing and fixing a shower thermostat issue that wasn t discovered until the end of the project when we were informed the project was complete. Excellent stone and tile work, paintwork on walls and custom mirror frame is mediocre. One understandable but significant problem. I was informed that I must choose the sealer for tumbled stone and travertine floor. I did the research and informed Tim of the sealer of choice, however, the wrong sealer was applied and done so in a poor, hurried manner. The stone floor surface looked dirty and smeared. Dirk and the Budget Right team did offer and attempt to remove the sealer, but the result was not acceptable to me. I ended up stripping the wrong sealer, removing grout from the floor, and re-grouting and re-sealing the floor myself after the project was complete to the desired effect. Dirk did provide me with $376 consideration for the error. Dirk s a decent and reasonable man. Tim is very responsive to the client but proper instructions did not make it to contractors doing the work. Occasional defensiveness and finger pointing annoyed me. I recommend Budget Right with reservation. Ensure you can be present to provide oversight to all finishing work.

Although we didn't end up working with Dirk on our kitchen and bathroom remodeling project, he was one of our two finalists. He was very professional during our three face-to-face meetings. Other things we liked about him included the fact that he seemed very honest, and he provided good suggestions for our project. His proposal was extremely well detailed. The primary reason that we didn't choose Dirk to manage our project was that his bid was more expensive than the group with whom we ended up contracting.

The Budget Right team suggested an architect who prepared detailed plans. Permits were obtained from the City of Chicago and work began on Oct. 26, 2007. The project included structural repairs, a remodeled kitchen, 3 bathrooms (Custom tiled showers with heated floors). The basement spa has a whirlpool bath, a shower room with 6 multi-tile heads (shower heads with aromatic steam), a wet bar, and decorated basement, cedar closet and hardwood floors installed throughout the bungalow. The project was complete on March 1, 2008 on budget and ahead of the contracted 24 March deadline. We especially appreciated Dan A. the general foreman who resolved many problems to keep the project on time. We had many project enhancements. Each change order was documented and justified. As a data center manager who has managed many projects. This project was managed very well because of Dan's management and the workers discipline. They completed their assigned tasks quickly and efficiently.

This was a the kind of experience which gives contractors a bad name. Among the dozen or so ways this company failed us was presenting a proposal to us without giving it to us in writing and expecting us to commit to it on the spot, or loose the "One-Time 10% Discount" without ever seeing anything in writing. Our salesman, Jim Boyle, only wanted us to use THEIR cabinet maker, which could only offer us $4,000 cabinets and $13,000 cabinets, but nothing in between. He was poorly prepared, argumentative, dismissive, pressured us to spend more than we wanted, and then turned around and told his boss that my wife and I were liars. Dirk Hoerr, the owner, wasn't much better. He was insulting and demeaning. Not so much as an "I'm sorry this is the way you see things." He basically said "naff off". His e-mail to me actually said, "I can with good conscience know that we made the correct decision in refusing your business and allowing another contractor to deal with your antics."

He recommended I hire someone who could give me a better price.

Came and looked at job, gave estimate promptly, discussed and answered all our questions before work began. Provided 3 cell #s to reach them Mon thru Sat, and returned calls promptly. Detailed work order provided with everything spelled out in detail. Worked quickly and cooperatively with us to answer all our condo's questions and satisfy any concerns. All the various workers came promptly every day scheduled, Tim, who oversaw the project, was here daily, and available by cell phone. He also helped us with some leads on where to find a the shower rod we needed, or in brainstorming some ideas with tile patterns, etc. All work was done in a professional manner, and feedback from us was sought every step of the way. Even though the final cost was a bit more than the estimate, we knew this going in, because we knew we might have to install the beam and posts(not included original estimate)We could not have been more pleased. I never expected such hassle free remodeling was possible!

Great! First a rep came to discuss our project. Dan and Jim did a great job of listening to us and then making suggestions, making it clear what might happen as we went through the project. His feedback helped us determine just how much we could do under the budget we had for the project. He provided us with a quote that came in very close to the actual job cost (and gave us good warning as to what unexpected events could drive up the cost; fortunately none did beyond the quote). When the work team showed up (on schedule), Jim and our crew chief Tim walked the workers through the project providing clear instructions. Max and Derrick were great; first class workmanship and very courteous and careful not to cause more mess or disruption than needed. Budget Right followed up with.

I was summarily "fired" by Budget Right at their distributor's showroom today, at our 2nd meeting. At our 1st meeting, I provided architectural plan/dimensions, kitchen layout, cabinet sizes, and cabinet model selection for a kitchen gut remodel. But Budget Right suggested that I visit their cabinet supplier to view alternate selection, which I was happy to do. At our 2nd meeting, now at Advanced Cabinets' shop, I politely questioned kitchen planner's statements like "can't have 42" wall cabinets" and "can't have 36" lazy-Susan", and noted that their plan's room dimensions were wrong. I naively thought kitchen planning was a collaborative process which allowed client input. Instead, one hour into this meeting, I was abruptly told by Dirk Hoerr that "life's too short" and that I was "too difficult to work with". I think I deserve an apology.

Dirk responded quickly to my initial inquiry. He was on-time, knowledgeable, and happy to answer all of our questions. We immediately felt a sense of ease with Dirk as a result of his openness and the transparency of his sample contract which breaks everything out into separate figures so it's easy to see where the money is going. The project progressed quickly under the guidance of our excellent project manager, Dan. Dan's experience and passion for his work were clear from our first meeting. During the most activity-filled periods of the work, Dan was in contact with me on a daily basis to give me updates and double-check any decisions that needed to be made. Dirk was also easy to reach directly if any issues came up. The project finished on time and on budget. Customer service is clearly a top priority for Dirk and his team. We were so relieved to have such a positive remodeling experience and plan to bring Budget Right back to work on our new bathroom in the future.

The space turned out great! Dirk, the owner was on time for our first appointment and every one after that. His guys started work when he promised (July 2) and they stuck with the job until it was through. They followed my specifications very faithfully and went above and beyond in many ways. They sanded and primed my kitchen ceiling at least 3 times until it was perfect; they polished up my nasty oxidized windows as a courtesy. We found a plumbing problem that the association needed to fix and this dragged the project out for an 5 extra weeks, mostly because the outside plumber was a complete jerk. Even though it caused my project to lag, BRK kept guys on the job every day to keep us from losing even more time. Their workmanship was very good and when I was not pleased with something, they kept at it until everything was rectified. Their crew are hard workers and real gentlemen. I strongly recommend BRK!

They did excellent job. I plan on using them for my bathroom. They allowed me to purchase my own materials and they installed it.

Budget Rights team was always on time and performed the work according to the agreed schedule. All personnel were very pleased and reasonable to deal with. The work was done beautifully. Budget Right went the extra mile to correct a misunderstanding about the tile installation in a very professional manner. Budget Right was very concerned about getting the job done right, according to specs and within or under Budget. All of which they did.

When we met Dirk and spent time talking with him about our project we liked his personality and his work ethic. Based on his reputation with friends of our we went with Dirk immediately. Dirk's crew is very talent and likes to get their work done right. Our foreman was Dan and we worked him very hard. Communication is key. If we had a question or a problem we made sure to notify Dan and he got on it. As is with any old house, we ran into some unexpected bumps like how the house was initially wired for electricity and poor plumbing. Dirk and Dan always consulted with us first on options to deal with these situations and then a change work order form was completed to reflect the cost of additional work. This eliminates an any questions about costs inquired over the initial agreed upon amount. We enjoyed working with Dirk and his crew and would recommend them to friends. When selecting final contractor bids, Budget Right should be at the top of your list.

They did a brilliant job. This was a better than fantastic experience. I would use them again.