Surdus Remodeling

Excellent service. They were very patient with us as we had not ordered quite enough tiles for the floor and they worked around this to get other things done. Excellent workmanship too.

Poor quality of work and responsiveness to customer concerns. Installed damage cabinets, worker dropped microwave and dented it. Then improperly installed vented microwave, installed used and bent vent cap, damaged the bricks, did not protect hardwood floors from construction, left construction garbage in backyard, left electrical receptacles open and exposed, threatened to not provide cabinet doors, drywalled over light receptacle, poor paint job, cracked paint, installed island without outlet and other deficiencies. Emails document that I had to document and urge the cobtractor to come back and fix the job. He rarely inspected the work his workers provided. Totally unresponsive and dismissive to concerns.

first, I will say that the bathroom was done three years ago and the work quality was great! The cost of the job was very good. I did have a few issues with the men who did the work and Elijah was quick to respond and correct the issue and he terminated the employees that caused the issue. He was professional and timely with that first project. However, this time around, I wanted to go with him for my major kitchen remodel and I reached out to him via email to set a time to meet at the site location for evaluation. I sent emails to him and he responded a few days later and mentioned in the messages that it would have to be "worth his time" to come out and do a estimate. He asked me to take photos of my kitchen before he would determine if he would come out. He then sends me this document that showed the cost of a kitchen and asked me if I had the money ALL BEFORE COMING TO THE SITE. to me this says a lot about his professionalism because every other contractor I dealt with has come out to the site for initial estimate. This was not how it went last time I had him do work, he came out, gave an estimate, we agreed and I when with him and had great results (although I did not hire him to complete the remaining bathrooms). So in a nutshell, if you are ok with all the back and forth email before he will see your site, choose him over others, because his cost are great and the end product is good, but if you are like me and need to have a in person initial assessment then he is not your guy!

great job, thank you ever so much.

Elijah and his crew are very professional, courteous, and skilled. Elijah and Jose listened to my plans for the bathrooms and suggested some other possibilities that I found to be helpful and turned out to be an improvement over my vision. Elijah or the crew always informed me the day before about when they would arrive the next day. They were punctual but they also adjusted the plan when my scedule changed. I can't say enough about how skilled these workers are. My friend who is a perfectionist was completely impressed with the meticulous nature of their work as was I. Elijah had no problem with my procuring my own tiles. The price was highly reasonable and Elijah stood by his estimate. I actually think they should charge more than they do. They are very worth it.

Overall outstanding service and very good quality workmanship.  Elijah and I initially disagreed about whether or not a tile allotment was included in the deal, and AngiesList got involved.  Elijah was very professional throughout the resolution process.  Eventually he agreed to include a tile allotment and we proceeded forward with the deal.  Once the crew was on site, they were extremely professional, did good quality work, and even came on a Saturday and Sunday to work because we had visitors coming the next day and needed a functional bathroom for guests.  Despite the disagreement on the cost at the beginning, and taking a while to get the project scheduled, we're very happy with the finished product.

unknown

Remodeled bathroom. Installed new shower (taking out old bath), tiled floor and shower, installed vanity and faucet. Great job. Came back to make adjustments to shower door with no problems. Went to get extra tiles for us while we were on vacation too. Really helpful, responsive and accommodating.

unknown

I will certainly be using Surdus again!  Elijah is a pleasure to work with and far and away the most responsive contractor I have ever used (and we've used too many to count).  He responds to emails extremely quickly, sometimes in a matter of just a few minutes.  He was willing to work with us to create a project that would fit our needs and our budget.  Most importantly, he made sure we were happy with the products and the look at each step of the project.  His crew was very professional and courteous and their work was great.  When we noticed a problem with the tile layout and notified Elijah, he immediately assured us it would be fixed and then notified us the next day when it had been fixed and made sure we approved of it before they moved on.  The final work looks terrific and the entire experience with Surdus was wonderful.  I wish we had found Surdus years ago--we will be using them again I'm sure.

I never had a major project done like this in my home. I can't even imagine a large project happening. It was very timely and messy. One would think long and hard before doing it again.

I have never been happier with a contractor.  The price was competitive and the work was A+.  Both of the initial projects were somewhat unconventional and they didn't have much to go on but what they created exceeded all my expectations.  I recently bought this 2-level house with my "kids" with the plan for the lower level be an inlaw suite for me as I will retire next year.  It was challenging to add a kitchen in the unfinished laundry room and a spacious closet within my budget but now my space has been transformed into a very functional and lovely home.  As mentioned by other reviewers, the owner, Elijah, is deaf and so were all of his crew members.  That was never an issue and we achieved all the necessary communications via email and simply writing notes to each other.  His crew showed up on time every day and worked diligently for 9 hours a day.  They were extremely polite and thoughtful.  Every evening they cleaned up as much as possible to leave my space still accessible.  On the final day, the crew spent nearly 2 hours cleaning up and organizing the garage where they had done some of the sawing and other tasks that created dust.  I was so impressed with that. I always expect construction projects to take longer than expected so I'm not bothered when they do.  Of course, in this case I kept adding projects to the original contract so it naturally took longer.  I'm hiring them again later this summer to remodel one of the other bathrooms.

It went well over all. After looking at several contractors, we chose Surdus. My main goal was to have the bathroom done with the fittings and fixtures I wanted, not one of the package bathroom deals. I seldom use contractors in DC just because of the pricing/quality of work/poor contracts. I liked the detailed contract and Elijah's suggestions for how to do the bathroom. I also appreciated that he actually knew the building codes in force unlike the other three contractors I interviewed. The job wasn't easy - remove cast iron tub, wall tile set in plaster/mortar and floor tile in mortar (1930's house). We selected the furnishings we wanted, and had Elijah confirm they would work. There were some problems with the bathtubs when we received them - not his fault; delivery company which caused a pretty big delay. He worked around them. The framing and rough work was first class. The guys had schematics on how they would do the work. We had a pretty complicated shower valve arrangement, and he worked with the supplier to make sure all the appropriate pieces were ordered and a plumbing schematic was produced. His crew did a good job trying to keep things clean and thinking ahead on installing blocking for the grab bar, etc. The only downside is I think his crew was rushed in the end to finish up. I understand, and I have never worked on a construction project were there weren't minor problems. However in the rushing, small details got overlooked. I am the only one who will ever notice, it is just that they did such a great job on the rough-in, framing, etc. but nobody will ever see it.
  I would definitely use them again. In general a great contractor who sticks to the contract, and I like that all communications are in writing. Elijah was flexible during the project, and prompt to respond.

Elijah remodeled the kitchen in my rental two years ago: gutted everything but the floor, new wood cabinets, granite counter tops and installed a new dishwasher. Everything went well. My only complaint is that he didn't have a big selection of cabinet colors for the price point I was at. Which is probably my fault for not wanting to spend more on a rental unit. He showed up when he was supposed to, did what he said he would do, finished in the agreed upon time frame and the workers cleaned up the mess every night. At one point, I wanted to save money by painting myself, but it would have slowed his workers down, so they painted for me, including the ceiling! The price he charged was agreed to at the beginning and the work was completed with no add-on's or extras. Last year, there was a problem with how the dishwasher had been connected to the main water pipes in the condo building and he sent out someone out to fix it immediately, with no additional charge. It wasn't causing a problem or any damage, but when the apartment next door was undergoing renovations they needed it moved. There have been no other problems. I recommended him to a friend who was doing renovations and she said he gave her an excellent quote, she decided to go a different direction and realized later she should have hired Elijah. As probably noted elsewhere, Elijah is deaf and so are a few of his employees, but in the days of text messaging and email there are definitely no communication issues. I noticed quite the opposite, he returned emails and texts promptly and of course- everything agreed to was in writing.

They were very precise, clear and straight to the point. They were attentive and gave great feedback. They were very good and I would hire them again. They created a great relationship.

This was our third experience with Elijah and his team. They were punctual, respectful and their work was absolutely exceptional. Elijah's pricing is always fair (some of the best I've found in DC). His craftsmanship is top dollar. Can't recommend him highly enough.

unknown

Everything was great!  Elijah had reasonable pricing, had an excellent quality of work, and was highly professional.  In fact, I was most impressed when he took it upon himself to fix a part of the ceiling that started to sag even though it wasn't his fault.  Furthermore, he and his crews are extremely thorough, and everything that they do is written down which is a tremendous plus.

Additionally, Elijah was always on time if not early, he was always calm and collected, and he even brought a Port O Potty for his crews to use so that they wouldn't have to be intrusive and use our facilities.

It went well. He did a great job and it was good quality. It was a very positive experience. The big deal was great and I would use them again.

After overhauling the old kitchen, they replaced the original plywood flooring with a new one before installing new floor tiles and a plumbing system necessary for the sink, dishwasher and refrigerator. They installed new wiring for new appliances including a stove and a microwave oven, new air-conditioning ducts, a ceiling fan with lights, and LED lights. Once the cabinets were installed, they contacted Flintstone Marble & Granite for measuring the counter-tops.  Flintstone installed the granite counter-tops in one week. Surdus also installed a new entry door with sidelights and a storm door. We were very pleased with the work that they did for us.

There were a few snags along the way which is why I parted ways and did not do any other work with them but my bathroom was done beautifully and with great attention to detail and if that's what you are looking for then this is the company to go to!

Elijah Gold, the owner, and his crew delivered on every score. The 3-man crew showed up on time every morning. They took the time to get the details right, and when we discovered problems that we hadn't anticipated in advance, the crew put in extra hours and elbow grease to make it work, even if it meant staying well past the point when they might have wanted to go home. Though the job involved considerably more time and work than anyone expected, there was only one reasonably priced change order. The men often went above and beyond, with the electrician bringing some wiring outside the scope of the project up to code and checking the work of his colleagues to make sure they had done everything by the book. The men were also unfailingly polite and respectful. They asked, for instance, every time they wished to use the (working) downstairs bathroom, even though I would have been more than happy for them to use it at will. They also made a point of cleaning up every day, laying down cloth runners and vacuuming and dusting to keep the rest of the house mostly dust-free. I work from home, and so was fairly involved (and probably annoying) in checking the work in progress. But they always answered my questions patiently and were always responsive to requests. Overall, I was very pleased with Surdus's work and would highly recommend.

Because Elijah, the owner, and most of his crew are deaf, there were some minor miscommunication, though readily fixed. All in all, everyone compensates for this issue quite well; they actually "listened" better than many contractors. They were meticulous in preserving tile, tub, shower door, granite counter-tops and porcelain sinks. They worked with great care to create a solid product and made every effort to clean up their work space each day. Due to the timing of the project, we had to be out of town for a few days and felt confident enough to have them in our home on their own.

Surdus has a professional crew that does quality work. My major (and expensive) problem was that they took twice as long to do the job as promised and did not leave the job in a clean condition. This resulted in having to negotiate a settlement of two months' rent ($3200) with my tenant to compensate for her costs of not being able to fully use the apartment until September 30th and for the condition that the apartment was in when she returned.

Part of the delay was my fault for not getting approval from the condo association to start the work according to schedule. The work should have started on July 28 but could not start until August 14th or a little over two weeks. Part of the delay  was due to the Surdus team which committed to completing the work in three weeks; instead, the they took over six weeks to fully finish the work (August 14 - September 30). So, I was responsible for two weeks (40%) of the problem and Surdus accounted for three weeks (60%) of the problem. To be fair, the compensation cost should have been split on that basis. However, I appreciated the good work that Surdus had done and proposed a  50-50 split ($1600 each). This was flat-out refused by the contractor.

My property manager visited the unit after the work was completed and concluded that it "was unreasonable to think that in a small space that the mess wouldn?t have carried over to the living room and closets and bedroom, but because nothing was boxed up or put away there should have been plastic taped around the doors and furniture and such. After any construction job there should be a professional cleaning crew in to get rid of all the dust, etc., and especially clean the windows which are coated with dust." On this matter, Surdus agreed to cover the costs of a professional cleaning. 

To be fair, Surdus performed three tasks that were not mentioned in the contract. The tasks were electrical wiring behind the kitchen wall, widening kitchen doorway, and installing bath floor pipes. One of the tasks was to relocate all electrical wiring inside the kitchen wall. Some of the old wiring was replaced with new wiring. Before the remodeling, there was exposed conduit electrical wiring which could be seen on the wall and which was unsightly. The second task was to enlarge the kitchen doorway. The enlarged doorway allowed the 36-inch refrigerator to go through the doorway. The third task was to replace all piping in the bathroom with new copper pipes and PVC pipes. None of this was covered in the contract and there was no extra charge for the additional work.

BOTTOM LINE: If you want to work with Surdus, make sure that you have a penalty clause in the contract for delays beyond the estimated time of the job as well as a clause that ensures they will have the work-site professionally cleaned after the job is finished.

They were fine and did a good job.