CHEVY CHASE REMODELING

They started the job when they said they would. They finished on time. They cleaned up daily. The quality of their workers is top notch. Steve was responsive to every question and came to job site when needed. It is not easy to have your house disrupted but they made it as easy as possible.

We used Steve and his crew for updating a house that we bought in Bethesda.  Steve knew we were one a tight time frame and needed to move in as soon as possible so he made sure his crew never missed a day.  The painters, in particular, were extremely responsive and labored every day for two straight weeks including Saturdays and Sundays.  At the end of it all, our project was finished one week ahead of schedule which is very rare.  We are happy with the finished product and get compliments from people on how nice the house looks.  Steve was available to answer questions and was good about responding to my messages/texts at night and on weekends.  He also recommended a pool cleaner and a landscaper (two services his company does not provide) and both turned out to be excellent references and were hired by us.  Special shout out to Steve's wife who was kind enough to come by the house to pick up and mail two large, heavy boxes containing bathroom sinks that we decided not to use and had to be returned to the seller.

II pre-measured the room in which I wanted the work done and found that it was under 200 square feet -- I had purchased an Angie's List Deal which was a fixed price for 200 square feet.  When the team arrived I mentioned this and asked if they could do part of another room to make full use of my Deal, but they could not.  I  remained present in the house throughout the work so that if there were any problem, I could respond immediately.  The team did ask me questions occasionally  and maintained good communication until the end -- when suddenly they declared that the room exceeded  200 square feet and presented me with a bill.  I was shocked and pushed back:  the Deal was clear, I had clearly told them that I had measured the room and found it under the limit, they had had every opportunity to tell me if they believed that there was a discrepancy.  In the end, they  dropped the matter, but I was left with feeling that although I appreciated the quality of their work, I wouldn't feel comfortable hiring them again.

The Chevy Chase Remodeling team is phenomenal. I needed a lot done on a newly purchased home in a very short period of time and they delivered. From the initial scheduling to the last walk through Steve was attentive and quick to follow up on any questions or issues. We originally planned to refinish all the wood floors under old carpet, but discovered that one room had to be completely redone, down to the sub-floor. The team was quick to walk me through my options and kept the project on schedule despite the issue. The bathrooms are beautiful! They did such a great job and their attention to detail did not go unnoticed!
Bottom line, Steve and his team stayed on budget and finished ahead of schedule! I couldn?t be happier with the level and quality of service delivered.  Steve will be my first call when it?s time for our next project!

Update: 9 September 2015

Updating overall grade to B, bordering C, based on quality of work and the provider's unprofessional responses to our review. Just learned from a different contractor who is constructing a screened porch and deck for us that we have a fire hazard (yes, a FIRE HAZARD) on our hands. The under cabinet wiring was run incorrectly behind the siding of our house where they (Chevy Chase) had placed cardboard (even as "inexperienced" as I allegedly am, I know bad wiring + cardboard = house go bye-bye), and they (my current contractor) will have to tear off the siding running the length of the kitchen and rewire all of the under cabinet lighting in order to fix the issue and pass inspection, since, as it is now, it would "definitely not pass". So, it seems that looks aren't everything. If this corner was cut, what other shortcuts were taken? Before this, I would've just said that I wouldn't use Chevy Chase again. Based on the fact that we have, unbeknownst to us, been living with a fire hazard since April, the additional cost we now need to pay our current contractor to fix Chevy Chase's oversight/laziness, and the provider's unprofessional comments since posting our obviously too generous initial review (see below), now I will adjust my recommendation to "Not only would I not use them again, but I wouldn't recommend anyone else to either".

As far as using them for an exterior project shortly after they completed the kitchen project, the back of our house looked hideous after they took out the sliding glass door and installed a regular door so we wanted it addressed with new siding as soon as possible. We added new roofing, gutters, and shutters to maintain a cohesive look. We did not want to spend the time or have the hassle of vetting several other contractors, and figured exterior work is pretty straightforward.

To the note about being inexperienced, yes this was our first major reno so if our suggestion to move the fridge into the house after the removal of the sliding glass door was not preferred or feasible, then fine; that should have been stipulated when we made the suggestion before work even started. Not just agreed to as it was, and then we were left wondering why the fridge remained in the garage. It is just another example of poor communication. Seriously, putting the blame on the client because they are inexperienced with a massive home renovation project?? Since when does a customer need to have the experience? That's what the provider is hired to provide.

Also, might I add, the unprofessionalism of the provider was made clear when he sent me an email after my initial review that started out "Just had a client cancel a contract that was signed yesterday because he read your review. He said he can't afford to have the problems that you had on your job. An 85000 dollar complete renovation." To receive this after simply writing an honest review on Angie's List was appalling to us. The tone and announcing the fact that he lost a 85000 contract over my review (which I highly doubt was the only motivating factor there) were uncalled for and a blatant example of this provider's inability to accept any constructive criticism; apparently I should have just lied in my review and answered "Yes" to the question of if I would use them again, and also not included any negative points.

And, I might as well add, according to the contract, the approximate work was to be performed in 6 weeks. Actual project timeline: 3 and a half months. So, as you can see, I exercised a significant amount of restraint in my initial review. I only highlighted a few areas of improvement to explain why I gave them an overall "A" but still answered "No" to the Angie's List question of if we would ever use them again. There were many, many more difficulties, hiccups, and examples of frustration that we experienced throughout the process that we did not include in the initial review and have not included in this update.

In conclusion, it turns out that my initial review was too generous; however, it was completely honest. If the provider can't handle this type of honest feedback (as demonstrated by this "defensive" response and two equally defensive emails he sent after the initial review posted) and see it as an opportunity to improve his business, then that's too bad and they need some serious training in customer service.

Now we have to hire a professional to ensure everything was installed correctly and no other shortcuts were taken. Something tells me that what lies beneath the surface won't be as pretty. Please feel free to reach out to me directly via message if you have any questions about our experience.

Initial review: 24 August 2015
Overall, it went well. The work was completed as promised, and the first level is literally gorgeous. However, the process could've gone a lot smoother and there was plenty of room for improvement in terms of organization and communication. We were not provided with a schedule of events or a list of what to select, when we needed to have it selected, and where to select it from at the outset of the project. Therefore, when Steven would send an email asking whether we selected a certain material since it was needed for the next step in the process, we would be like "ummm...no...we didn't get the memo that we needed to have that selected now..." so we often found ourselves scrambling in the middle of the work week trying to figure out how we could get to the tile place or a granite place as soon as possible, so as not to hold up progress. 

An example of where communication could've saved some time and effort on the part of the crew was the fact that we suggested to Steven before the project began that the new large refrigerator be brought into the house when they removed the sliding glass door and before they installed a regular three-foot door and sealed the rest of the opening, since we knew the fridge was too large to get in the house any other way. Well, that advice was not passed along to the crew and the process was delayed several days when they had to call a repair service to remove the fridge doors so it could be moved into the house. Another lowlight was when our newly installed washing machine sounded like a space shuttle during take-off and literally walked itself into the kitchen every time we tried to wash a load of clothes. We voiced our concern to Steven and the crew supposedly addressed the problem by balancing it; however, this did not help. We called the manufacturer, who sent out a technician and it turns out the shipping bolts had not been removed (step one on the instructions; it was even emphasized with pictures...). In the final stages of the project, everything was wrapping up and we asked when they would install the under-cabinet lighting; turns out it was forgotten about and we had minimal time to select what type of lights we wanted and the electrician had to get creative to wire the lights; fortunately, they could run the wiring outside since the new siding hadn't been installed. Talk about stressful...

Anyway, in the end, all issues, minor or otherwise, were resolved one way or another. Steven is a nice guy and very personable, and his crew and subcontractors are skilled in their work (shipping bolts oversight aside). It seems odd to be giving a contractor an A but saying that we won't use this provider in the future. To explain, I'm giving Chevy Chase an A (an A minus to be exact) for the final outcome (our first level is stunning); however, we won't be using this provider for our second level because seriously we need more organization/meticulousness/communication in our life.

It went very well. I felt as though I was listened to and that the resulting layout reflected our discussion. I was not prepared to go into great detail before I had a plan overview, but I now feel prepared to take that step.

If you're looking for a responsive contractor, Steve is your guy. He will take your call at almost any time of the day. We also texted late into the nights sometimes about changes, progress or anything related to the project. His crew is also very highly experienced, goes great work, and makes sure the work is done right, even if the extra work cuts into his profit margin.
We purchased a house that had some bad history. The basement was finished at one point in time, but no permits were obtained and when the county found out, all of it was ordered ripped out. When we got to it, nothing remained except electrical, plumbing and ducting. But we quickly learned that the previous contractor did a lot of things incorrectly and not pursuant to code.
Steve and his crew quickly got to work. He obtained the necessary permits, architectural drawings and had it set up ready to go from day one. Throughout the entire process, Steve was always looking out for my best interests, construction-wise, design-wise and wallet-wise. There were speed bumps along the way, but they were to be expected with so many things going on. I mean, come on, they transformed an empty 1,250 sq ft space into a beautiful basement with a huge family room (they took down a wall dividing 2 spaces and put in a support beam across; no posts, completely open), full bathroom, bedroom, office, laundry room and storage. They had to fix all the bad plumbing and electrical.
We were very hands on; designing, picking out materials and making changes along the way, and Steve was very patient and understanding with us. We finished a bit over budget, but that was due to changes we made and things that no one could have predicted, unless you have xray vision and can detect bad plumbing hiding under the cement.  In the end, we are extremely happy with the end product and we could not have gotten there without Steve and his crew at Chevy Chase Remodeling.

unknown

The guys were very gracious and kind. They were punctual did the work and it was awesome. I love my new kitchen and would hire Steve and his crew again.

excellent job

Steve was very responsive to our questions and adjustments, adapted as our schedule changed, managed the delivery of the work on time. There are a few items remaining to be fixed which he is attending to in accordance with our schedule. Entire team was professional and helpful.

unknown

.

It went extremely well. Servicer provider was very professional, punctual and honest in his approach.

unknown

The guy came out to do the evaluation, and then did not get in touch with me to give me the plans.  Then I reached out to him on 02/24, and gave him my contact information, and I have yet to receive a follow up.  The owner indicated in an email dated 2/24/15 that he would give me a refund for the $99.00 since there was a mix-up in communication.  I decided to change my rating from a F to B.

The working technician worked throughout the day and was able to give me a finished new floor completely finished and ready to be used after a drying period. A very good looking result. All work was completed the same day.

The (3) workers arrived on time, were courteous, professional and thoughtful while entering and exiting my condo. They did the cutting of the tile outside (in the snow). They came in, did the job, cleaned up and were done within 4 hours. I have no complaints about the service or quality of work!

Everything went just the way we planned very  happy with professionism  and promtness and attention to detail.

Absolutely wonderful deal.  Steve very easy to work with, very flexible.  The contractors did a great job and spent the entire day (8 to 4:30) working on the kitchen areas.  I bought a deal for 40 sq feet of tile installed, and ended up using about 39 square feet of material!

I certainly got my money's worth, and you will too.  I didn't have a backsplash to begin with, so I can only imagine the job taking that much longer if you have existing tile already (it might be a 2 day project).

I highly recommend this provider.

unknown

I was very satisfied with the way the bathroom came out. I liked the project manager. I was just a little disappointed in time, working within the timeframe and taking a little bit longer than I anticipated the project to go. I know that I changed my mind on a couple of things. The fact that everything is ordered online now and I didn’t think the length of time was necessary. I am very, very satisfied with the work that was done. In terms of punctuality, I went out of town during that period of time. I think I would use them again in the future.

It was good. They did a great job. They were very helpful. They did a professional job. We were very happy with it. They were very responsive.

unknown

unknown