Toro Design-Remodel LLC

Description of Work: Having had conflicts with a contractor we had hired to do work before we moved in to our house made us very cautions when we needed work done on our house again. The need came when our house was broken into, and we wanted increased security for the house. We had some ideas as to what to do, such as making an entrance directly from the garage into the house. So we found an architect, who listened and drew up plans we liked. Then we told him about our previous experiences, and asked for a recommendation. He recommended Victor Orio, a fellow architect who owns a small construction firm. We also asked others for recommendations, and ended up interviewing three people carefully for the job. After the interview process, we decided to employ Victor for the contract. He listened to us, took our personal needs into consideration, and came up with the most innovation. We had a good feeling about him. Our intuition was right! He had great ideas, worked closely with us to make sure the plans met our requirements, and the project was an absolute success. Our entryway was extended to include a door into the garage, and a closet with mirrored doors was built in the new entryway. We were very pleased with the outcome. And, our cats liked him as well! Our next major project was lighting. We had some unique lights that needed to be installed. We also wanted to install new additional timed lights around the house—both inside and outside. This time we got two bids, and, of course, chose Victor. Again, he listened to us, troubleshot with us, and came up with perfect results—even better than we had expected! Given our positive experiences with Victor, when we decided to do another renovation project, we called him. Victor brainstormed with us, working closely and patiently with us, clearly listening and using his creativity, until we finally decided the scope of the project. We went from doing an addition to renovating the utility, bathroom, and hall closet area of the house to acquire more storage and have a full bathroom downstairs. During the time we also decided to replace the 35+ year old HVAC system and water heater that still worked but was not energy efficient. Once we decided what we were going to do, Victor and his team got to work. As challenges or questions arose, he would discuss them with us, coming up with options, but the final decision was ours. Some of his solutions were amazingly creative, such as the location of the door for our newly remodeled bathroom. Since we were living in the house, before he left every day, he would ensure the floors were swept and nothing dangerous was out for us or for the cats to get into. Because we had specific ideas, we did some of the shopping—both on-line and in local stores, and Victor completely supported this, sometimes accompanying us. We now have about twice the storage space we had in this area, a real walk-in pantry, a kitchen secretary, and a full bathroom with a really nice shower (see his website for before and after pictures). And, again, we are exceedingly pleased with the outcomes. Not only is he a great designer, planner, and implementer, he is also a great handy man. We recently needed assistance with organizing our garage, so we asked him for help. We had already purchased the sink and some cabinets for the garage--we were reusing others, so this was mostly a labor item . He had some great ideas as to how to arrange them to be most efficient with the limited space we have in the garage, We are very pleased. Note: This is what we have entered the costs for above.