Whitetail Builders Inc

This is the third project that Whitetail has completed for me and there is a good reason for this.  Randy is thorough, neat, and professional.  He listens and provides his thoughts on better ways to do things.  Randy and his sub-contractors are skilled crafts people and pride themselves on a job well-done. 
From start to finish, the kitchen project took 11 calendar weeks (including 2 weeks of vacation).  While the work was not extensive, there was a definite sequence to it.  Everyone arrived on days and times Randy gave me.  All cleaned up after their work.  Randy was very accommodating when I needed the cabinet installed and dumpster removed before weekend guests arrived.  The custom cabinet was installed among the existing cabinets and matched perfectly.  There are separate reviews for Cutting Edge Woodworks (custom cabinet), Lakewood Painting, North Anoka Plumbing.  Randy did the carpentry work himself  and schedule the work around appliances delivery.
I understood from the get-go that this was a smaller job and would need to be scheduled around bigger projects.  My kitchen was always functional.  This is definitely another great remodel/refresh project experience.

Randy was great! Any job of this magnitude has its bumps along the way, but Randy handled them well and was always fair and professional. We have a large family -- 15 people in the house, two of whom are wheelchair dependent -- and Randy really worked with us to make this project go as smoothly as possible. He and his subs were all great with the kids -- very friendly and they enjoyed teaching my curious boys about what they were doing. Our addition included adding an elevator, which was a new challenge for him, and it went very well. We entertain frequently, and we've had many people comment that they couldn't tell we've added on because it flows so well.
Living in the middle of a major construction project with a large family is a formidable adventure, but I think what made this experience an exciting memory and not a nightmare was Randy. He listened to what we wanted, coordinated work so that we didn't have any long gaps with nothing happening, frequently checked on progress at our house, did some of the work himself, and hired family-friendly subs for the rest. Most importantly, he's polite, yet assertive, when dealing with city inspectors and subs, but he has a friendly, relaxed temperament that makes him easy to have around. I've recommended him to family and friends and would definitely hire him again.

Randy is a kind and courteous professional. Everything went smoothly and there were no surprises. We're pleased with the work and would definitely hire Whitetail Builders again.

We contacted Whitetail in the summer and worked through the planning stages with Randy.  He stayed in contact, so we knew right where things were from beginning to end.  He told us when he would start, and they were here at 8:00 a.m. on the date promised to begin work.  They were very concerned about making sure things were cleaned up at the end of each day.  We had a detailed contract, so we knew exactly what was going on and what the cost for each item would be.

Whitetail Builders acted as the general contractor for a major remodel of our 1920?s, craftsman-style bungalow in St Paul.  The house plans and designs were developed by our architect, Carl Gramentz.  We were adamant to maintain the craftsman-style design ethos throughout, but with 21st century amenities.   It also had to fit into our neighborhood and have curb appeal. With the exception of the front living room (our design inspiration), we overhauled everything else ? new kitchen, family room, three bedrooms, bathroom, master suite, walk through closet, master bath.  We had weekly meetings with the Whitetail and the architect to ensure everything was on track and made quite a few ?tweaks? along the way.  Through it all, Randy and his team were exceptional.  His budget was spot on (overages were mainly our decision to upgrade), completion was on time and the Whitetail team delivered quality workmanship.  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him or Carl Gramentz.

Well, a little slow in the beginning.

Randy built a 250 sq ft 4 season addition to our existing house. He started the addition as soon as weather permited this spring. His bid for the project was very reasonable ( he came in lower than the others and it was in line with our projected costs). All of the subcontractors Randy used (and Randy) were very professional and did great work. Randy also does a lot of the construction work himself so he is onsite a lot during the project which made it easier on us. He also made sure to let us know when to expect various work to be done either by the subs or himself.
We are extremely happy with the finished project and would use Randy again on future projects and would highly recommend him to others.

The project went very well.  All the tradesmen did excellent work.  The project was finished on time and within budget.

Randy was great to work with.  Very professional, kept in contact with us throughout the project.  Made sure his sub-contractors followed thru with their part.  Timeline and estimated costs were in-line with what was discussed.  We are very happy with the final result.  Would recommend this contractor and would use again.

I had an offer accepted on a house in Brooklyn Park, this city has a list of things that need to be done to get a house up to code before a person can move into the house. The buyer has to provide $1.5x the estimate at closing. It is put into escrow for the repairs. My realtor recommended Randy to do the work, so trusting my realtor I had him do the estimate. We were in a time crunch to get an estimate to the bank in order to close on the date we had set.  Randy came out and made it sound like it wasn't going to be that much to do the repairs that were required. It took over a week to get the estimate and it came in much higher than expected and more money than I had available to put into the escrow. Because it took so long to get the estimate and because Randy does have a good rating on Angies List,  I did not get another estimate done. (I wish I had)   My realtor worked with Randy to get the estimate down by removing some items that didn't need a licensed contractor. Randy did allow me to bring in some help do some things he had on the original estimate and to do window trim painting myself to keep the price down.  Due to it taking so long for the estimate and other reasons my closing date was moved one week.  I set up with Randy to do the electrical work two days after the closing, however the window was a custom window so it was not ordered until after I closed on the house. The electrical work was done without a hitch (at least I thought so). The plumbing was scheduled for the next week. The plumbing involved tearing out a wall (which Randy allowed me to do). Even with this the estimate was high ($1500)  as they did not know what would be found on the other side of the wall, he said it could go less or more. (Bathroom venting issue) The plumber came and did the work when I was not at the property. When I came to the property I found things done that were not on the estimate, including taking out the kitchen faucet and replacing with a different one that I had not approved of. These were things I was going to have my son-in-law take care of as he is a licensed plumber, I had arranged for him to be there that weekend. When I contacted Randy about the cost of the plumbing he stated the venting issue came in about $300 under the estimate, but that the plumber had done extra work to bring the cost back up to the original estimate.  When I confronted Randy about it he stated the plumber had not told him he was going to do extra, so he was unaware of it. He contacted his Plumber (Anoka Plumbing) who stated he thought it was a city job so he just assumed he needed to do work to come up to the original estimate. I was very unhappy with this as I needed as much of my escrow money  as possible back as needed to put in a new furnace. I spoke with Randy on the phone, had to threaten not to pay for the extra work, then he took $150 off the work that was completed.  The window was replaced 4 days prior to my final inspection. When I looked at the window I realized it was vinyl and did not match my existing windows woodwork. When I contacted Randy he stated it was a customized window so he could not remove it and put in a wood window, which would have cost an extra $500. He stated he was trying to keep the price down, so that is why he put in the vinyl one. I wish he would have contacted me and told me the window was not going to match my existing woodwork before he ordered it, as I would have wanted him to order the more expensive window. In hindsight I wish I would have worked with the contractor on the estimate, instead of my realtor.  My final inspection was on Sept 20th. The inspector stated that a permit was needed to replace the window, as was listed on the Brooklyn Park inspection report. He also could not approve the house as 3 GFI outlets were not installed in the bathrooms. This was also listed on the Brooklyn Park inspection report. I almost had to wait another week before I could move in as it takes a week to get an inspection scheduled, however the inspector stated if I could get them in by 7:30 a.m. the next day he would not submit his paperwork until the next day. I contacted Randy, he stated that the electrician missed the GFI's and he arranged for the electrician to install them later that day, he also went and got the permit for the window. In the final bill to him he did take off an extra $150 for not installing the GFI outlets right away.  There were several things that went wrong with this transaction. I firmly believe that he did not carefully read the Brooklyn Park inspection report as he had a copy of it.  However Randy did work with me on the issues that he could to get them resolved.  I am however undecided if I would  use him again due to all of the problems that this posed for me.

Randy was a great help with ideas to help create your space. He also works with you during a project if the design needs to be changed for any reason. Fare price and easy to work with. He also will allow you to save money buy doing some of the work yourself. Randy is also easy to get a hold of and if he does not answer his phone he calls you back the same day or early the next day. I would use Whitetail again 

They’re very good and I highly recommend them.  He has fair prices and everyone that worked under him was very professional, timely and did a good job.  They were nice people and they completely cleaned up after themselves. I was able to trust them; I walked my dogs while they were here because I wasn’t worried about a thing.   You get what you pay for: you can probably find a handyman that would do the work cheaper but they’re not going to be on time like them, they’re not going to clean up like them, and they won’t do what they say they’re going to do.  There were no surprises.  He was good at follow-up calling; I talked to him on the phone about a couple things and he was even helpful on the phone and he didn’t charge me for that. He’s going to do another job for me this week.  He’s going to put an exhaust vent into a bathroom.

The work was once again incredible.  Not only is Randy excellent to work with the people he uses are excellent.  We were able to pick the specific types and makes of carpet we wanted and when the hardwood was not quite the kind of hickory we wanted we were able to go right to the maker of the hardwood, pick what we wanted out, and they did a special run of wood for us.  During the process things changed several times do to my wife and I changing our minds about some things.  First it was just downstairs for the carpet, than we added the upstairs.  Before the hardwood we wanted a special inlay as well as a decorative feature.  During the installation Randy noticed an area of concern about the feature and called.  He could have just done it the way we asked and it would have looked terrible, but he clearly cares about our home like it was his own.  The time to call and talk to us probably delayed the project but cost him time and money, but thats the kind of guy he is!

Randy from Whitetail was one of 5 bids that we received.  He was priced competitively.   We chose Randy because we could tell from our meetings with him that he was someone we could easily work with & could trust to do a great job.   He also provided idea?s that we or the other contractors had not thought of and totally made sense (placement of fireplace, insulation, etc.). 

Randy completed the carpentry, tiling and a few other jobs.  He subcontracted the heating, plumbing, electrical, insulation, fireplace and flooring to other contractors.  Everyone was fantastic to work with.  They always made sure they started and ended at times that worked with our schedules.  They were all professional and did amazing work!  Randy would stop in frequently or keep in contact to make sure everything was to our satisfaction.  The work was completed within the timeframe we expected.

Our new basement is everything and more that we had hoped for!   We have received so many compliments from family and friends. We would definitely use Whitetail Builders again and highly recommend this company to everyone!

Randy is great to work with.  He acted as a general contractor-sub contracted drywall, insulation of house, plumping and electrical, and did the carpentry, floor install,  and tile work himself.   He is very talented, hardworking, reliable, good quality workmanship,  and trustworthy.  The people he contracts with are great. He is also a very nice person and acts with integrity...true to his word.  

The work and project was excellent. Working with Randy is like working with your friend. The project began with a through site visit to ensure he clearly understood our needs. Next we worked with his tile supply to pick out the tile we wanted. When work began Randy put down a carpet runner along with tarps to ensure everything was protected. He was concerned about our cats and wanted to make sure he knew what to do so they wouldn't get outside as well as making sure they had access to their food and water. Each day things were cleaned up and organized to ensure there was minimal impact on our house. He checked in with us each day as well as starting in the morning after we had left and being done before we got home. One day I got my car stuck in the drive way when I was leaving for work. Randy was right there to help me get unstuck! We are using Randy for a project on our upstairs bathroom and based on his excellent work many more projects.

He gave us a quote and has done a lot of the work. It was $3.25 per square foot and there were 144 square feet for the flooring. An interior designer that we had used in the past recommended him. Because he did such a good job in the bathroom we hired him to do the other work. The interaction has been good so far. He is organized and has actually done some of the work himself. He is very conscientious and is a very good carpenter himself. He has technical skills as well as project management skills.

Randy Grabau is a first class professional. I selected his bid over 2 others because he was prompt and informative. He was realistic with estimates and schedule. Randy kept me informed by phone and a daily notebook that I started. My home was neat and clean when I came home from work. He is a true craftman and takes pride in his work. He makes sure the other workman (electrician, painters, and carpet removers) use the same high standards that he uses. Randy pays attention to the details.

Randy was prompt and communicative throughout the project. He monitored and controlled his subcontractors. He made changes to the plan or the project quickly and without issues. When we had questions, he thoughfully answered them or researched and got an answer for us.

Overall, the process went very well. Whitetail was one of two estimates that we had for this project. We modified the project as we went along, but we got very fair pricing as changes were made. The project happened in a few steps, but Randy at Whitetail was very good at communicating any issues that came up and adjusting his schedule to meet our project schedule.