MAB Home Services LLC

This review is LONG overdue. Michael Budman did two jobs for me, and I am sorry this review is so late. About 5 years ago, after I had new kitchen counters installed, Michael came in afterwards and placed a new back-splash. I picked out the tile, and he came with me when it was time to buy the tile, and helped me pick a grout to match. He did a wonderful job on the back-splash. About 2 years ago, he totally remodeled my powder room. He discussed the best way to replace the builder's white tiles with the hardwood floor I wanted to match the hall and family room, and he came with me to help me select the best wood. I wanted the molding to match the floor, so he brought molding and stained it to match. He helped me find the perfect piece of marble for the vanity counter top, and suggested a good place to purchase the vanity. We found the hardware and mirror ourselves. Michael works in a very organized way, and he was incredibly neat and clean through the entire process. He protects the floor, and keeps his entire work area neat and clean throughout. He works with amazing precision, from installing the hardware on the vanity and the walls to hanging the large painting and mirror, making sure both were perfectly centered on the wall. He is a talented plumber, electrician, carpenter and painter who obviously takes great pride in perfection and his work. He is easy to talk to, easy to work with, and as soon as I can afford to update my kitchen, he is my man! I'm afraid the two jobs were so long ago that I don't remember the exact price, but he was extremely reasonable.

Excellent. Michael is a true professional in every sense of the word. Recommend highly.

Michael (not Mike) did a complete renovation of my mid-1980s kitchen. I've heard so many horror stories about renovations and bad contractors, but Michael totally alleviated those worries. He is very detail-oriented when it comes to his work and takes pride in his workmanship. He is also very trustworthy and honest, important since I just gave him my house keys and let him come and go as he pleased due to my husband and my very irregular work schedules. The kitchen was done on time (4 weeks) as Michael had promised. I actually met with Michael 1 year ago, decided at that time that I couldn't actually afford the renovation and waited until this year to call him back when I was ready. In the meantime, I had two large companies give me estimates for the same work, but let's just say they were both unreliable and would've made renovation a very stressful situation. Michael drew up some plans that I approved, and the contract came with a predetermined cost. The payments were broken down by stage of renovation: demolition, floor installation, cabinet delivery, countertop installation. So basically, pay as you go. Picking out products for the kitchen was a field trip. Michael met us at a Rockville Granite in Gaithersburg/Rockville area to look at options. We were able to find the perfect one there within the first few minutes. The same day he also accompanied us to three different tile stores before we found floor tile and backsplash that we liked. He never pushed us towards one product or another, but would offer us guidance if we asked for it. My husband and I had a general idea of what we wanted in the kitchen, but not specifics so Michael's input was greatly appreciated. The wall color and backsplash that we couldn't decide on, Michael picked out for us and they look fantastic! Michael was at my home everyday Monday through Friday (and I think two weekend days) working, 8am to whenever his work was done for the day. He does almost all the work himself. He had an assistant who came in for demolition day and for cabinet installation. Somebody came for countertop delivery/installation. And he has a plumber and electrician come in for major work. He is always there when a subcontractor is present. His timeline for each step of the project was spot on, and he actually finished some stages early. Michael was great at communicating the progress and any difficulties encountered throughout the day (luckily not too). He never proceeded on fixing these unanticipated problems without first discussing with me. He did all the ordering of materials, and coordinated all the deliveries. To illustrate how dedicated he is to his project and how much he cares about his work, we had decided to put some plum/berry-colored tiles in our subway tile backsplash to match the counter. However, after visiting multiple stores both on our field trip with Michael as well as on our own afterwards, we were unable to find anything that was a perfect match. A week later, Michael told me he had a surprise. He found a design-your-own pottery type store that sold tiles in the right size, and had a paint color that would match our counter. He actually went out of his way to find find and create these tiles for us at no extra cost. Talk about dedication! The end product is quite pleasing to the eye. I've already made a list of other home projects that I plan on having MAB Home Services do in the future!

Michael is a consumate professional.  When he says that he is the one doing the work, he means that HE is the one doing the work.  For the 2 months, Michael was at our house every weekday (and some weekends).  He has "preferred providers" perform the specialized trades (plumbing, HVAC, electrical) - quality people who he's worked with before.  Michael facilitates regular communication and has regular touch base meetings to deal with decisions or issues that arise.  We also did one "field trip" to pick out cabinets and to look at tile and granite.  Normally, Michael would supply all of the appliances for the job, but in our circumstance, we supplied them and Michael was very accommodative and worked with us on delivery schedules, etc.  Michael is very transparent with costs as well.  He provides a dollar figure and a payment schedule, that is as things are completed, not based on time.  This ensures that everyone's interests are aligned.  He gets paid as the job gets completed.  
 We did encounter a few issues/problems with our house and though the issues not ideal, Michael worked to provide good solutions to the problems we encountered.  One of his strengths is his ability to be creative in his approach to problem solving.  I would definitely recommend Michael to someone looking to do a project.  We went from having a normal, average kitchen to something you see on TV.  we were able to knock down a large wall full of cabinets and actually increase our storage.  The transformation of our kitchen was nothing short of remarkable.  Our kitchen is now something on par with what you'd see on TV.

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I'll start by saying that Michael Budman is a TRUE professional, dedicated to making sure that the work he does is absolutely the best.  The project started with Michael coming to our house for an initial consultation.  He immediately had some good ideas (relocating the refrigerator, shortening the length of a counter, etc).  Shortly afterwards, he provided detailed drawings and an estimate, as well as references for us to check (which I did - all extremely positive).  Based on this information, we decided that Michael was the person to do our remodel.  Since our schedule was open, we agreed on a time for him to start for the estimated 5 week job.  One important note - Michael would call in a plumber or electrician as needed, but other than that he did the work himself - again ensuring only the highest quality. 
A couple of details as the work progressed:  Our kitchen had 8" or so soffits below the ceiling, so Michael's plans had cabinets up to the soffits.  We thought that plumbing and ductwork were inside, but when he opened them up, nothing there, so he suggested taking the soffits out and having the cabinets extend to the ceiling, which we did, and he was able to immediately order different cabinets, with minimal impact on the schedule. 
While installing pantry cabinets, Michael noted that an additional recessed light would provide better illumination, so he did that (at no additional charge).
He took the time to plumb and square one of the walls, rather than simply 'make do' with what was there. 
He was able to 'work his magic' and route the microwave vent to the outside - took a bit of doing, but he got it done.
We had an issue with one of the backsplash tiles after the job was done - Michael immediately took care of it, getting everything done in one day so as to not inconvenience us more than needed.
I could go on, but there's no need - if you're looking for a contractor who will provide outstanding service, take care of every detail, and won't be satisfied until you are completely happy, Michael Budman of MAB Home Services is the person to contact.  I recommend him without reservation.

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The provider was very professional, knowledgeable and easy to talk to. He gave design suggestions and a ballpark cost, but he did not provide drawings or written estimate.

He is very knowledgeable and was helpful

He was very knowledgeable and talented. I had talked to other companies and they were unable to do the work that I wanted. He does small jobs as well which I like. I look forward to using him.

Michael Budman of MAB Home Services is expert in a range of home services, and a perfectionist in his work.   He is an outstanding painter who does excellent faux painting.
Michael works to please his customers and his painting is outstanding in every regard.  He is customer-oriented, responsible, works efficiently, and his pricing is very fair.   The quality of Michael's work and his techniques are of the highest quality, and the finished rooms are picture perfect.
I recommend Michael Budman highly with no reservations.

My wife and I found out about MAB home services while we where under contract to buy our first home. An older home that was in desperate need of a kitchen remodel. We received estimates from three home improvement companies and decided to go with MAB because of their excellent references, longstanding reputable history, competitive pricing, and Michael's ability to explain the project's plan and timeline along with potential hiccups we could encounter in the renovation process. Michael really helped settle all the anxiety and nervousness of a first time home owner. Every step along the way, Michael assisted us so we could end up with a kitchen of our dreams! Every time someone comes over to our home, whether friend, family, or delivery man, they can help but comment on how amazing our Kitchen looks! We are so happy about our decision to use MAB home services and would recommend them to anyone in need of a renovation project for their home. Thank you, MAB!

We recently discovered a crack in the ceiling. They are coming out to repair the crack today. They stand by their work!

My wife and I selected MAB Home Services (MAB owner: Mr. Michael Budman ) to remodel our kitchen and master bathroom.  The previous year, we selected MAB to finish our basement and based on that outcome, we had absolutely no reservations in contracting with Michael for the new remodel efforts.  The renovations were done sequentially with the kitchen being done first.  Michael worked with us to help design the space, offering examples of previous designs as well as new creative ideas he could suggest.  He had great insight into what materials would work best for a given function incorporating physical requirements as well as aesthetic qualities.  While Michael was patient with our selection and design process, he was also instrumental in helping us make decisions and thereby move the pre-building effort forward on a timely basis.  My wife and I are ecstatic over the remodeling outcomes!  In writing a critical analysis of the work done, I?ve identified the following categories which I believe describe the effort:

 

·                     Design

·                     Materials

·                     Technologies

·                     Cost

·                     Quality of work

·                     Timeliness

·                     Trust

·                     Follow-up

·                     Change in quality of life

·                     Future work

 

As noted previously, Michael facilitated the transfer of our ideas into realities - whether those ideas were defined or nascent at the time of drawing up the plans.  Michael has a very down-to-earth common sense approach to design that also incorporates artistic, aesthetically-pleasing perspectives.  His work definitely has an artistic flair, and he clearly takes great pride in his work and in making sure his clients are satisfied.  He is well-versed on a great variety of materials and how certain materials work best for specific functions.  His choice of materials, while influenced by cost as is necessary, always includes using the best quality materials.  It?s clear that Michael really loves his work ? how his work improves the quality of peoples? lives is the most important goal for him.  He loves bringing new, high quality technologies into the design as allowed ? he?s very engaged in discovering new technologies that improve on time-honored approaches.  He works in his design and project follow-through to be mindful of cost, and to remain on-cost as specified in the contract.  He offers a range of cost potentials reflecting the array of values and makes the design work to the letter to the owner?s financial situation.  The quality of his work is above criticism ? Michael does not build to his convenience; if a material is not right in any way, he will not just go ahead and use it since that would be the easy way out.  He would speak with us regarding the issue and why he?d chosen to take the harder path.  His communication throughout the job effort was clear and informative.  He was never too busy to explain things to us.  Michael works very closely to his predicted time frame, and in fact, was ahead of his time frames for the basement and kitchen remodeling efforts.  The kitchen was extensive yet he finished within a month of starting and a few days ahead of his goal.  The kitchen now includes a window seat and floor to ceiling bookcase that frame the windows abutting them so that the view looks like a living painting.  It is very calming to sit at the island counter, using my laptop and looking out the window. The new kitchen cabinets allow me to stand in one spot and put everything in the dishwasher back into the appropriate cabinet. Because of the placement of the pull out drawers, it is possible to open every cabinet I need without having to close the dishwasher to access the required shelf.

We have complete trust in MAB Home Services.  Michael is an honorable man, friendly and easy to work with.  My wife was very comfortable with him in the house when I was not home, as well as comfortable with any individuals Michael employed as necessary per job requirement, e.g., electrical, plumbing, etc?  We have 2 Golden Retrievers who are completely and forever in love with Michael ? every day they clearly anticipated his arrival and loved seeing him.  I know that we can easily call Michael up for any follow-up concerns and that he?ll be responsive (and has been responsive) ? he clearly views the importance of owner satisfaction and the longevity of his remodeling efforts.  I know that I speak for my wife as well when I say that the work Michael did for us has significantly improved our quality of life.  I?m extremely proud to show off our house to friends and colleagues and more importantly, I really look forward to using the different parts of the house Michael has worked on: basement, kitchen and master bathroom.  The basement contains a work-out area and it easily beats out any high class gym/sports club people may have memberships at.  It also contains a dog shower (doubles as a human shower) that makes cleaning our dogs a breeze, and therefore significantly improves their quality of life since I no longer cringe at letting them get incredibly filthy on the trail.  The kitchen feels like it?s out of Architectural Digest and it?s incredibly functional.  Michael changed that people-gathering area into a very classy, very nice place in our house.  Finally, the master bathroom contains a walk-in, open, threshold shower whose materials bring me to a natural place (stone).  The peace of mind I get showering there cannot be described.  It?s unbelievably therapeutic!  At the end of the basement finishing effort, as well as the kitchen and bathroom remodels, my wife and I were thinking, ?OK, what can we get Michael to do next year?!  We?d highly recommend MAB Home Services.

Michael was a true professional. in fact we were away for the first couple weeks of work and Michael gave us nightly email reports, and took care of any of the problems that inevitably come up with an older home renovation.
He wasn't the cheapest of our estimates but , you do get what you pay for in this case. He just takes care of the little/big things that you forget, but are essential and doesn't nickel and dime you for minor changes/amendments to the work. He was there everyday and we never needed to worry since he just took care of it. He takes pride in his work and it shows.
We are very happy with our "new" home and would be happy to recommend MAB to all of our friends and family. As a bonus, he was done a few weeks early! How often does that happen!

We hired MAB Home Services (Mr. Michael Budman) to finish our unfinished basement based on recommendations we reviewed on Angie’s List.  Mr. Budman was professional in all respects, from the moment we began discussing our ideas for the basement through the final days of construction and clean up. He was also an open person who helped my wife and I come to agreement about every detail, even when we started out disagreeing. He said—and we experienced—his approach which was that we be happy with the outcome. Rather than push his own point of view, he would try on our ideas and walk us through what would be involved in each decision (e.g. floor space lost). Mr. Budman, and the associated sub-contractors who work with him, met all hallmarks specified in the contract and finished the job on-schedule. Because MAB was working in the basement and we work from home many days, we had the opportunity to hear the interactions among Mr. Budman, the various assistants, and sub-contractors and we never heard raised voices or any kind of discord. We found all of our interactions with MAB Home Services to be of a high quality and excellent nature but I will focus on just 3 topics that stand out in our minds.  1 – Perspective.  A strong motivating force for us to finish our basement was to create a shower room where I could wash our Golden Retrievers after hiking.  We hike them daily and their enjoyment of the hikes was limited by my preference not to have to wash them every time we went out.  Our Goldens’ quality of life is important to us so to increase their enjoyment, we needed a shower room that facilitated baths when they get muddy.  Mr. Budman didn’t question our perspectives at all – we came to a design concept with his assistance for the shower, and at contract signing Mr. Budman gave us a hand-painted ceramic image of 2 Goldens laying together which resembled our dogs!  Michael had adopted our perspective for our Goldens and made it his goal to achieve it for them.  That was a completely un-anticipated gift and thought from Michael that we found very touching. 2 – Design.  We interviewed a few contractors prior to MAB Home Services and discussed our goals and perspectives for the basement.  In a number of those interactions, the prospective contractor tended to influence how they thought the lay-out, the concept should go or should develop.  Not necessarily outright aggression but still, influences that my wife thought would change the outcome.  Michael listened to our ideas and strove to implement those ideas – not change them to make it easier for him.  More so he made our ideas come to life, and, of course, guided some ideas towards more feasible solutions.  The finished basement was constructed from a function to design perspective which translated into exactly what we had in mind, and Michael made that happen.  3 – New technology-orientation.  It was clear from the start of our interaction with Michael that he was aware of, and had a strong interest in, new technological approaches to construction.  For example, Mr. Budman employed the use of a new polymer-based wall and floor construction material for the shower.  The new polymer better ensures the water resistant character of the shower wall; the shower floor and drain gently slopes and empties the run-off water of the shower.  Michael identified the sponsor of the technology and encouraged us to review it on-line.  Michael has an obvious love for what he’s doing – it’s not a job to him as much as it is a career and an expression of his talent and abilities.   We strongly endorse, without any reservation, MAB Home Services as a contractor for home renovations and construction.  We intend to re-do our kitchen next and will gladly seek out MAB Home Services for that effort!

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    MAB services started on the date he estimated.
    That day the area was removed of drop ceiling ,carpeting ,it was amazing how much work he did in a day,everything was left clean at the end of the day.
When the ceiling was opened Michael found electrical problems that needed to be corrected ,which he did.
He also fixed HVAC problem ,now basement is comfortable temperature.
Also he found sump pump inoperative,and that he replaced .
The electricals were done on time ,so was the plumbing.Each day coming home to so much work being done and very clean
 When all these things were finished Michael went to work making our basement beautiful.
He installed the dry wall ceiling raising it up.you don't feel like it's a basement area.the kitchenette was put in, Michael was there every day doing the work ,enjoying his craftsmanship.  it is a gorgeous kitchen .beautiful cabinets ,granite countertops,range with microwave.
mini fridge, dishwasher,Michael put tile on the floor in a diamond pattern,and a patio french door set, with blinds inside of glass,
there are slides that open blinds and pull them up,absolutely wonderful.
The days went on and the work progressed to the bath,which Michael enlarged to put in walk in bath/shower.
he did a tile design around the shower ,it is so relaxing,tile floor also , a vanity with granite top.
a stack laundry area was done with extra storage space.
The quick lock flooring was put in through out the rest of  the basement.
We are so happy with how beautiful it is , more comfortable than we could imagine .
     Michael's professionalism and workmanship is beyond what we realized.
Thank you Michael for making our home so beautiful.
    We wish you continued sucess .

 

    The work was compelted in the predicted time frame.  MAB paid careful attention to details.  Michael managed the workflow well and he hired good sub-contractors.  He made sure to vacuum every day.

Michael is extremely professional and knowledgable and would highly recommend him for your kitchen renovation.  We first met Michael with an inquiry to have our kitchen renovated.  At that first meeting he told us all about himself and what he could do for us within a given price.  After the initial meeting, and contacting several of his previous customers, we knew he was the man for the job and someone we could work with.  He listened to our needs and the issues we had with the old kitchen and addressed them in the plans. He presented us with 6 different designs and we tweaked each until he came up with a 7th that was the design we went with.   Michael listens to what you want not what he wants.  Once hired he gave us a detailed work schedule as to when different aspects of the kitchen renovation would start and be completed. Every target date on the work schedule was met!! We went shopping with Michael for tiles and granite, he gave us options for the appliances and cabinets that we within our price range. Everything was ordered correctly and delivered on time. Michael is a meticulous craftsman, every cabinet and appliance was measured precisely and installed with the precision and accuracy.    Our house was treated with care during the work he is very organized and clean when he works.  I was anticipating chaos and I had order.  We have two large dogs and he was extremely kind to them let them out during the day when we were not home.  Michael is a delight to work with.We started our kitchen on April 4 and was finished on May 22. We finished a few days ahead of schedule. Our kitchen is absolutely beautiful!!!  It is what we wanted and what we got.  There are no surprises  just honest competent work and outstanding craftsmanship. Completed on time and on budget!! We are planning on bathroom renovations in the next few years and we will call Michael Budman to do the work.  There is no need to look any further.  

Michael Budman first came to my house to give me an estimate but I saw him many times after that. I liked many things about this company. First, Michael did all the work himself ( he had some help with demolition and putting up cabinents but he was always present.). Secondly, I was given a time frame for the work and everything was done on schedule, I think he even finished a little early. This company was also perfect for me as although I was involved in all the decision making I did not have to go out and find a seperate contractor for any part of the job. ( When looking for someone to redo the kitchen many companies wanted me to find a painter, floor installer, etc.). Michael was very professional and hardworking and I never had any doubts that I was using the best person for the job.

We contracted with MAB Home Services to renovate two very tired bathrooms and remodel our 20+year old kitchen. The initial work Michael did on the bathrooms, assured us that the kitchen project would go smoothly. We could see how proud Michael was of his work and how this pride transferred into two beautiful new bathrooms. Michael is an outstanding craftsman whose attention to detail is unsurpassed. The kitchen plan we presented to him required that he create the concept and significant tweaking to make it all work. No construction project goes exactly as planned and Michael did a great job troubleshooting, improvising and anticipating things that could not have been foreseen during the initial planning phase. Michael?s skillful tile work and creative layout design, as well as his installation of the natural slate tiles demanded extra work, energy and dedication to create the perfect product. And the finished kitchen is splendid! Throughout the project and well after, Michael has been accessible and flexible to make, not only small adjustments and changes, but some big ones, as well. Overall, we have been more than pleased with Michael?s expert craftsmanship, professionalism and our fabulous new kitchen!

Working with MAB was an overall outstanding experience for our entire family. MAB was courtesy, genuinely helpful and truly cared about achieving our desired results with this project. MAB was on time everyday and always communicated clearly and well ahead of time when there was to be any changes to the project schedule. We were impressed with MAB positing a complete color-coded schedule and timeline for all project phases and overall completion date on our kitchen wall and especially impressed when MAB completed the project 2 full weeks ahead of this posted schedule. We always knew where things were at and how they were going. Given the scale of this project, we never felt like our home was left in disaray and MAB's experience managing projects on this scale was clearly demonstrated when a temporary kitchenette was setup for us in our basement. There were NO surprises which allowed us to develop great trust in MAB. The best part of the project came at the end and these were the results the project achieved and how we now proudly show-off our new kitchen, laundry room and dinette as showpieces of our home. Thank you MAB and we will be doing more business in the future.

See the above statement. MAB is terrific.

It was outstanding in every way.