GCM Construction Professional Basement Remodeling

Our neighbors who had their basement finished referred GCM to us. We loved the work so much that we hired GCM on the spot. While GCM is not the most affordable, Guy Hincker and his team will give you the highest quality, best service, and most beautiful basement. Guy basically became part of our family for the two months he worked on our home. He will be as hands-on or as hands-off as you like. We needed someone who was incredibly hands-on and appreciated his support. From the details in the design, to exploring tile and carpet, to selecting our toilet and shower - Guy was there all along the way providing guidance and ensuring we were sticking to deadlines. When there were problems - and there were problems, as any home project will have - Guy would immediately respond and act on them. We are overjoyed with how well our basement came out and could not imagine the entire new living space that we now have. I would highly recommend Guy and would definitely hire him again.

GCM Construction Professional Basement Remodeling did an excellent job on our basement. Guy, the owner, offered several different design plans and worked closely with us to configure and re-configure as the project progressed. We now have a golf simulator, elevated putting green, projection TV, bar area extra bedroom and full bath ... and couldn't be happier (yes, this is MY man cave). Guy's pricing was very competitive. I have since learned that many contractors start the project and charge for "upgrades". In our case, the "upgrades" were truly upgrades and only added about $3,000 to the project. Overall, my wife and I are extremely satisfied with the work that was done and the process along the way. Jim

It went wonderfully! Guy was on the job every day and always made sure that I knew the plan on a week by week basis. I think we had a rather complicated remodel. In order to even begin the remodel, Guy coordinated with the asbestos removal team and rebuilt our stairs, then he coordinated with the drain tile installation and rerouted plumbing and electrical lines from underneath the concrete floor in the basement as well as coordinated the placement of the ejector pump to maximize usable flooring and ceiling height. Guy very patiently reworked the layout of the basement many times before my husband and I agreed on the final layout. Once the project was ready to go, Guy and his team worked diligently to rebuild our space. He worked with the town to install an egress window which met code while reducing our costs for installation. He was cost conscious throughout as items came up and was always fair with his pricing. His team was phenomenal. We upgraded our electrical and water lines. Everyone from GCM was very professional. Guy did a great job at maximizing the available footprint. We gained ceiling height by rerouting duct work and water lines. We now have a wonderful space for the kids to play! I would happily work with Guy and GCM in the future. We had a good feeling about working with GCM from our first meeting and we are thrilled with the results!

We hired GCM to finish our basement and had a very good experience with them. Guy is good to work with and he is honest and responsive. Our project was completed within budget and on time. He always stays on top of the project and pays attention to details. The sub-contractors he works with are very trustworthy and did a fabulous job. We had to be away for about two weeks during the project and the basement work still went on without any issues. Also, Guy provided us a list of things that we were responsible for as an owner at the beginning of the project. This helped avoid any surprises during the course of the project and also helped a lot to make sure we did not cause any delays at our end. We had to make some design changes during the course of the project and he accommodated our requests without making a big fuss. As an owner you still need to monitor and make sure the actual construction matches your initial design requirements and bring up any discrepancies early on. Especially pay more focus during framing. We had to redo a couple of framing structures as those did not match with our initial expectations. But once identified they immediately changed it. It would be better if you schedule a walk-through of where the framing should go and also go through all the details before each phase starts. This will help avoid any re-work. On completion of the project all paper work was done on time and had no issues with it. We still have not finished the bathroom in our basement and I am planning to hire GCM again to finish up that work. Hope this review helps in your search.

This is an update after 4 months. The amount of plumbing problems that have occurred in the last 4 months has been unbelievable. This renovation was truly a waste of money and the workmanship used by GCM, especially in the area of plumbing is VERY POOR. I would highly advise against letting GCM touch your plumbing. They took many, many shortcuts that have cost us time, money and aggravation. The plumber has been to my house on multiple occasions and all the result of shortcuts taken by GCM and a generally poor design of pipes, locations of pipes, and shoddy workmanship. GCM is correct that we, the customers, prepared a partial punch list even though we thought that they should have walked around with us to prepare it but they chose not to do so. It was not our job to "double check" the work of GCM or their subs. Nevertheless, we did prepare a punch list and the owner of GCM did not even bother to take the punch list with him. In fact, it remained on our kitchen counter during the 3 weeks in which we were waiting on a hood cover from ABT. During that time, very little work was done to address issues on the punch list and the owner of GCM never bothered to walk around and double check the work or he would have noticed the fact that he personally installed most of our kitchen knobs crooked, that there was crown molding missing, damaged trim or multiple paint touchups that needed to be done. GCM will tell you he never had a chance to address these issues even though they were on the punch list! Ultimately, the contract was terminated by us in this case as we decided that we had no confidence in their ability or desire to finish the contract and we paid them to go away. GCM advertises itself as a basement renovation company. We knew this when we hired them to renovate our kitchen. We were skeptical about hiring them to redo our kitchen at first but based on their assurances that they could remodel our kitchen and mudroom, we went ahead with the project. We would later come to regret this decision. Ultimately, we were not happy with the quality of the work. We hope this review will help others that consider hiring this company. The photos attached show the workmanship that was performed at our house. We ultimately ended up terminating the contract after 18 weeks due to multiple issues with GCM. Since I originally posted this review, the owner sent me several emails and include this response to the photos submitted herein and stated "Please make sure you hire a professional photographer & do not photo shop the pictures. You really have lost your mind Brian" and in another email "You are sending pictures of an issue that was never brought to my attaention. The only time I heard about this was through your rude and impilite e-mails. these handles do look uneven and can be fixed." We certainly did not expect to spend $66,000 to have 11 different kitchen cabinet knobs installed crooked on brand new cabinets (or other issues) and were surprised at the response of GCM given the fact that the owner himself, Guy, installed the knobs himself. First, he claims that the photos were photoshopped and then agrees that they were crooked. We are glad that we terminated the contract given this response.

Guy is very creative, honest and responsive. He stays on top of the project and the contractors and he works as hard as he is able to make sure the project goes as planned. He hires excellent subcontractors. There are a lot of details that need to be addressed by the owner so it is good to have a pretty clear idea of what you want before initiating the project. We are very happy with our basement outside of a few outstanding items. We would hire GCM again in a heartbeat.

I cant speak more highly about Guy and his professionalism. Have you ever said you just wish you could find a great contractor and you would pay extra to ensure the work is done correctly? Well, Guy delivers all that without the extra cost. Guy designs and finishes each basement as if they were his own. At the bid process, I was impressed that Guy pushed back on some of my thoughts and ideas, I liked that and he turned out to be right in every circumstance. During construction, I was amazed at all the little and big things that Guy did to ensure the basement was done right even though I had not specified that in the contract. Once you have a total price with Guy for the basement agreed upon, he does not skimp to save himself any money. He wants it done right! Every square inch of the basement is scrutinized by Guy to ensure it meets his quality review, which is a very high standard. Guy and his workers are very clean, considerate and professional. In short, he is the best contactor I have ever hired and you should do the same.

We decided to use GCM to remodel our basement in late fall and were concerned that the project could not be completed before the holidays due to the size of the job and the number of contractors who would have to be involved. However, we had seen samples of Guy's work and felt that we would go forward with the project because he seemed very thorough, organized, and had a great team. His initial plans contained details and spotted issues that other general contractors we spoke with did not pick up on. His plans, in addition to being practical, had a number of creative touches to make the space attractive and fun, such as providing a secret fort for our kids under the staircase. Although he had many suggestions, he gave us creative control and veto power over all major decisions. He recommended certain vendors that he had worked with, but allowed us to use other vendors or buy materials ourselves if we chose to do so. By doing some things ourselves, we were able to save quite a bit of money. What we appreciate most was that he kept the project on track and made sure that it was substantially complete in time for the holidays even though there was a rigid ordering of different phases of the project that limited how quickly the timeline could be compressed (for example, carpet could not be completed before drywall). Once most of the work was done, he quickly lined up the required inspections and got everything approved. Throughout the project he was also very responsive, checking in with us almost on a daily basis and coming out to our house at night or on weekends if an issue came up or if there was something we needed to show him. Overall, we were very pleased with the space and with GCM's work.

Our experience with GCM exceeded our expectations from beginning to end. We had a little one at home and were expecting one on the way so it was very important to us to find a Contractor who we could trust and that we could count on to do good work. Guy turned out to be more than a Contractor....he was an extension of our family. Guy was extremely patient with us during the design process and outlined several options to help us decide what would work best for our family. One thing that truly sets him apart from others is his keen attention to detail. Guy has an eye for design and his vision translates into a craftsmanship that makes the space both flow and function with ease. There were several times that Guy noticed an opportunity for enhancement and did the work (without any extra cost to us). While the price estimate for the work was "middle of the pack" (not the cheapest and not the most expensive), the end product was worth every penny. In fact, the trust and peace of mind that Guy established helped us focus on our new arrival rather than on the details of the major construction project and that was simply "priceless." We have only had one or two issues pop up since the basement was finished and he has been more than responsive. He takes pride in his work and it shows in the end product. In all, after doing a ton of homework on Contractors and doing our due diligence, we couldn't be more pleased with our choice in going with GCM Construction. To put is simply, if you want a high quality basement at a good value with details and workmanship that will stand out, Guy is your man.

It was a good value. He was very knowledgeable and professional. We did not go forward with the project, but that had nothing to do with the company.

Most times that we have done construction we didn't pay anybody to come and give us a quote. We weren't happy because it seemed like a waste. We didn't pay more than the Big Deal price.

Overall we were completely satisfied with everything that Guy did from the first day we met him through the completion of the project. We asked if it was possible to have our basement completed before Thanksgiving and he did everything he could to get his contractors in there to have it finished the weekend before. Guy came by almost daily to check on the work and communicated with us on the phone when we didn't see him in person. We highly recommend GCM Construction if you are looking to have your basement finished or remodeled.

Guy was super-professional, thorough, responsive, and detailed. He knew his stuff, and the company could not have been better. He even suggested a super-cool fort area for our young kids under the steps that they would have LOVED! Top-tier across the way. Unfortunately, that quality comes with a price and they were simply out of our price league (by a factor of 3). But make sure to check out their portfolio on their website. Their basement examples will make you drool! One of these years... :-)

We are so glad that we chose Guy to finish our basement. For our family, it was either gain more livable square footage in our existing home or move to a different town, which would have been much more costly and inconvenient, not to mention sad. I can?t say enough about Guy?s professionalism and the quality of the finished product. When we started this venture in June, we had a wet, unusable, unfinished basement. After waterproofing the space and then having Guy?s crew finish it, we now have a gorgeous, modern family room with lots of storage space, two legal bedrooms with large egress windows, an office, and a spacious full bathroom. Although we chose not to finish our laundry room, Guy studded it, upgraded the lighting, and added a bank of cabinets for extra storage and a place to fold clothes. As part of our massive renovation project, we also upgraded our circuit breaker panel and all of the electrical outlets upstairs, and replaced outdated galvanized plumbing throughout the entire house. Guy took our fairly specific ideas and added some creative touches that resulted in bringing extra natural light from the bedrooms to the family room. He solved space issues and worked around or re-routed HVAC to maximize head room. Everybody who has stepped into our basement has commented that it doesn?t feel like a basement. That is HUGE for our family, since we are asking two of our children to sleep down there. We obtained quotes from several contractors before pursuing our basement renovation with GCM. We felt like some of the contractors were just telling us what we wanted to hear, and we were fearful of unanticipated, last-minute issues that could be quite costly. We chose Guy over those other contractors because he was very clearly a contractor, and not a salesman. What I mean is that we walked away from that initial meeting feeling like we could trust him. He listened to our needs and ideas and then very clearly explained why certain things would or would not work before laying out his plan for the basement. Guy is both knowledgeable and personable, which is important when you?re inviting someone into your home every day for a couple of months. I feel like part of the reason that our basement turned out so nice is that Guy took the time to get to know our family and truly cared about accommodating our wants and needs. This isn't just a job for him. Guy is a very hands-on general contractor. He was at our house 5 or 6 days a week to monitor the progress and quality of the work, and to make sure that we were satisfied. On the rare occasion that he couldn?t be here, he called to check in. If something wasn?t right, he had it fixed ASAP. If we had a concern, he?d come over and address it right away. We frequently heard, ?Guys, I?ll take care of it.? And he did. The entire renovation process was as close to stress-free as possible. Guy and his subs respected our family and our home and cleaned up after themselves every day. They protected our floors upstairs and kept the dust to a minimum throughout the rest of our home. We would absolutely recommend GCM Construction for your basement renovation needs. We are thrilled (and still a little stunned) by the amazing transformation in our basement! Thank you, Guy!

Bottom line on top, we're very happy we went with Guy for our basement finishing project. My wife and I truly enjoyed working with him, and we are very satisfied with the results. What drew me to Guy from the beginning was his responsiveness to the reviews here on Angie's List, whether good or bad. That demonstrated to me that he cared. He did not disappoint upon meeting him. We were less concerned with negotiating over a few bucks here and there and more concerned about working with someone that we trusted. Guy made the grade, and while the process was sometimes exhausting, working with someone like Guy made it less so. He took good care of us, made sure things were done right, and would without hesitation have his guys correct any quality issues that came up. He also offered some fun design ideas that we went with, including a club fort and toy bench for our infant twin boys, and we love how they turned out. The end of the project sort of dragged a bit, and it took some time to close out that last 1%, but on the whole we ended up with a great space that gave us some much needed room for the boys to stretch, as well as some fun adult amenities. We'd definitely recommend Guy to any of our friends looking for help with their basement finishing projects.

About a third of our already finished basement flooded this winter after a pipe burst, and all the carpet in that section of the basement had to be removed, and there were holes in the wall where the pipe was repaired, plus some other damage to the drywall. Having only recently moved to this area, I did not really know where to turn for repairs, but I found GCM Construction on Angie's List and contacted Guy after seeing all the very positive reviews. We had decided to get a wet bar installed if we were going to be doing repairs anyway, so it was not just a restoration job. Guy came out and gave us some ideas and an estimate. Although it was a much smaller job than he was used to doing since the basement was already finished and it was more of a repair, he agreed to do the work since we were unfamiliar with this area and the available contractors. He then put us into contact with people for flooring, cabinetry and counters. He always followed up promptly to see how we were doing with these other vendors. The people who did the work were professional and showed up on time for the most part with some occasional issues with punctuality, probably partly because we were such a small job in comparison. Guy came by often to check on the progress and resolve any problems. Overall we were happy with the work and how the basement turned out.

The work went very well. Guy was responsive to the initial request to come out and provide an estimate. He arranged a time, was on time for the appointment, and provided his proposal in the time promised. He made suggestions about the design of the project, including helping us to create a larger room than we had planned originally, so that we could fit in a pool table. He also took plenty of time to explain his suggestions for the design and the materials and to answer our questions. His proposal was not the least expensive we received, but was within a range that we felt was reasonable based on estimates from other providers. In the end, we chose him because we felt that he was someone we could work with. He explained when he would be able to start the job based on his other ongoing projects, and stated clearly exactly what we needed to do to be ready, and by when. He kept us posted throughout the process, and completed the job in a reasonable amount of time. The workmen were pleasant and kept the mess to a minimum. We wanted to do our own painting, which is unusual, but he worked with us so that we could do that and save a little money. One of the windows that was installed was defective, and he took care of ordering and installing the replacement. He was always responsive to any questions in person or over the phone, and would get back to us quickly if we had to leave a message. Overall it was a pleasant experience, and the work was very well done. We are happy with our finished room.

Went well, was informative and provided a reasonable quote to finish basement. Did not move forward with project at this time.

I first met Guy before we bought our home. We wanted to make an offer on the house, but we needed to know if the basement was in good enough shape to finish. I found Guy on Angie's List, and he agreed to come out to the house and meet with me and the realtor. He looked over the basement very carefully for water damage and other red flags. We also went through spacing ideas, where the rooms would be, etc. He even went out of his way to look over the rest of the house to help us uncover any glaring problems while we were there. After we moved in and were ready to start the renovation, we knew Guy was the man for the job. We did get other quotes, but felt that Guy was the most honest, hardworking and had the best vision for the space. The entire renovation was excellent, and it was really easy to live through the construction because his team is extremely efficient and professional. Guy is also well connected with vendors so picking out tile and carpet was easy. What I also appreciated was Guy's overall expertise. He alerted us to some other issues they uncovered during the renovation that had nothing to do with the basement but potential problems for the rest of the house (like getting a new well tank and fixing the humidifier for our upstairs.) The basement looks great! Despite the low ceilings of our 80's home, Guy's use of space and lighting make it feel very open and modern. We are beyond thrilled with the results! I would highly recommend GCM for your basement remodels!

The Decision Process: Who to Hire? I am fairly adept at tackling remodeling projects as I have either physically done, assisted, or managed different types of older residential home projects. However I was putting off finishing my basement because I knew it would be extremely time consuming, disruptive to my family and costly. Finally my family members convinced me to take this on, so I met with three highly rated companies. I decided to use GCM (Guy Hincker) because: they only do basements, had top notch references (both on Angie's list and other sources), had a lot of experience in the construction business and presented a solution that would address all my family's needs. Also most importantly I had to be 100% sure that I believed his proposal was honest, fair and in line with my budget. Due to my busy schedule/travel plans it was critical that I hire someone who would keep all subcontractors and delivery of supplies/materials on schedule, accounted for and installed per my specifications with minimal disruption to my family. I also wanted a high functioning, responsive and effective communicator. From my initial meeting and proposal presentation with Guy, I believed he would communicate regularly with me and would effectively handle any issues when I was not available to be onsite. The Basement Design & Setup : I have an older home (1907) that was updated but the basement layout of all my ducts, pipes, sewer lines and electrical wires were inefficiently laid out. This was a huge problem because it was cutting off headroom and not allowing for the open space I needed for my game room and kitchen/bar area. Guy helped me design a layout where all the mechanical systems got put into a room, we moved/eliminated columns and shored up beams/doorways so I could have my open space. Guy worked with my outside structural engineer and structural construction company to get the best design and value for my money. What I really appreciated was that throughout this entire process Guy had great solutions to all my issues from addressing water seepage issues, tight room layouts, carving out closet/storage from limited space, working with masonry walls, hiding ugly water/gas lines and ducts, etc. Guy was always onsite during critical decision times and quickly returned my phone messages or emails. Also from the very beginning he kept a project document with line items for all my requests which we frequently reviewed to make sure they were being addressed. Installation Process & Punch List: The tricky part of this phase was determining and ordering the materials needed so they would arrive exactly when a contractor needed them to start their work since I did not have a lot of storage space. Also, scheduling multiple contractors to be onsite so they could work at the same time, not interfere with each other and move things along quickly. I really appreciated how Guy advised me on what my options were at every critical install stage and ways to save money, especially when I wanted to upgrade something. All the subcontractors that worked with Guy were very professional and did an excellent job of installing my materials (cabinets, doors, trims, windows, electrical/lighting, tile, plumbing fixtures, heating/cooling etc.). I did have a couple of snafus along the way the biggest one being an initial faulty install of my wood flooring. Guy got the installers to reinstall my wood floors addressed this issue and got it taken care without any hassle to me. Final Thoughts: To say that my family is extremely happy with the finished basement is an understatement. The kids now have a safe, beautiful and fun game area to hang out with their friends. They now ask me all the time if they can have friends over, sleepovers and kid parties in their new "rocking basement". My husband is really digging his new "Man Cave" watching his favorite sport teams. My laundry area is no longer the dreary "avoidance room" but a place where one can happily wait for the laundry to be done. Finally I got everything I wanted for my bathroom/spa area- the beautiful tile/fixtures, a steam shower, a beauty salon nook, and a heavy duty lock to keep out other family members when I need a break!! I am really happy that I chose GCM for my basement remodeling project. This is honestly the best contractor I have ever used! I am already planning on using GCM to remodel another basement/garage space.

We worked through a basement remodel proposal with Guy over the course of many weeks and many in-person meetings. Guy spent a lot of time consulting with other professionals - our project was more involved than typical because it involved potentially digging out and lowering the basement floor. Guy put together an extremely detailed and thoughtful proposal for finishing our basement. We were extremely impressed with Guy's responsiveness and attention to detail. I have every confidence that Guy would produce an outstanding basement, had we chosen to move ahead with him.

He was really busy when we contacted him, and we were just trying to get ideas. So, rather than doing drawings for $75, he suggested that we just just talk about possibilities and general cost range, and he invited us to call him back if we got closer to moving forward with the project. I appreciated his honesty, and I didn't mind not getting any drawings, especially since he didn't end up charging us anything.

Guy was on top of the Job on a day to day basis. At inception he was able to take our ideas and have insightful ways to enhance them. Creative thinking with a good eye for detail. Work was done in a timely fashion. Incredible attention to detail and helpful tips for the project were routine. Subcontractors are used for most of the work and I have to say that I would gladly have each of them return to do more work on my house. My wife and I feel that we have build he best space in our home and are delighted with the results. I would strongly encourage anyone considering remodeling their basement to consider Guy for the project. My two year old still asks about him. Due to unexpected libertyville code issues an additional hole in the siding of the house had to be made. Guy made sure it was fixed, replaced, and spent an absurd amount of time at his own expense matching the color of the siding. His attention to detail is impressive.

If you are just quickly perusing reviews then let me cut to the chase: If you want to be happy with result of finishing your basement then hire GCM (Guy Hincker). We are EXTREMELY happy with the quality, process, and result of our experience with GCM. After inviting 7 companies to bid on our project (and receiving 3), we decided to go with GCM since we felt like the quality of work and attention to detail were the most important aspects. Our basement project was meant to increase our living space and we started work right after we moved in. GCM was not the cheapest of the bids, but we felt that Guy was the best man to work with. It is important to keep in mind the personality of the contractor and how they fit with you and your family. There was at least daily communication with Guy as we were given detailed information about the work done and next steps. I always felt respected by Guy and his workers and felt they took pride in their work. The results speak for themselves. These are before and after from almost the exact same location.

Due to a sump pump failure in my finished basement, the bottom 2 feet of drywall in my basement had been removed - along with the baseboards and carpeting. The remedial work had already been completed, and the basement was dry when Guy came to quote the repairs. I was quite surprised that he didn't take any measurements to determine the size of my basement, nor did he take any notes. I was also surprised he took a personal call during the walk through process. I was annoyed he (I'm hoping) joked about bartering for services. I was absolutely shocked when I received the written quote. The quote also included several errors: Painting my ceiling - I have a dropped ceiling - you don't paint accoustical tiles. Painting the baseboards - I have stained oak baseboards - they shouldn't be painted Painting the doors - Solid oak, 6-panel doors - again - they shouldn't be painted no mention of installing the vanity / sink. Timing was also an issue. Guy anticipated the entire project would take 2 - 3 weeks from start to finish. Everyone else said 4 - 5 days. Overall, I had a general idea of what the cost range would be, and did get 4 different quotes. The quotes ranged from just under $3000 to Guy's at just under $13,000. HIs quote was $8000 higher than the second-highest quote. I understand this isn't a huge project, but if it is too small a job, just tell me up front - don't insult me with a quote that is full of errors and pricing that far out of the ballpark.