Anchor Builders

Both of us have nothing but great things to say about the design process. Really felt like the team was very communicative, listened to what we liked / disliked, and guided us through the process with thoughtfulness and insight. It can be overwhelming at times but we found a very good rapport and rhythm that made sure the overall scope never felt too daunting. Happy to recommend!

They had other different companies that they work with build the cabinets and stuff that they work with all the time. Like for electrical and plumbing, they have some folks that they work with all the time when they are doing their building. They were the general contractors for the project. I would use them again in future. During the project, we ran in to some problems and they were very good at coming up with alternative solutions to pick from. It was the reason we ended up going with them, we were looking at multiple construction companies at that time. The others threw up their hands but the guys at Anchor came back with solutions.

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We are so incredibly happy with our remodel! We are grateful we found Anchor Builders (AB) and Fluidesign (FD), who turned out to be an even more amazing remodeling team than we had hoped we could find. We would trust AB for any future home project, as well as FD if significant design work is needed. We strongly recommend the AB/FD team to anyone doing a home remodel for which design, quality, budget transparency, and strict schedule are high priorities. Furthermore, we consider the people who run these companies (Barak and John Steenlage for AB; Shelly Lindstrom and Carrie Kothlow for FD) to be genuinely good people who care deeply about their clients? satisfaction.

Before giving our remodel narrative, it?s worth mentioning that we were fortunate to not have to live through the vast majority of the project as we were living in California for a temporary work assignment. However, this distance also made the project uniquely challenging for everyone involved. AB and FD absolutely rose to the occasion and accommodated us effectively through frequent communication and extensive use of technology, e.g. Dropbox, Googlechat, Facetime, Project website, PowerPoints, countless emails and phone calls, etc.

Ok, now the narrative. By late 2013, we knew we were going to move back to our St. Paul home the following summer (2014). We had been considering doing a big remodel project before we moved back home, but were anxious about finding a strong partner that we could trust to not only do the project well, but could also meet the constraints of our schedule and budget. We knew generally what we wanted to accomplish (new kitchen, master suite, new kids? bathroom, fix/replace damaged sun porch roof & walls, finish mudroom, etc.), but we didn?t have a good feel for how much of our ?dream? we could realistically accomplish.

With the help of Angie?s List, we found 4 remodeling companies to bid our potential project, all with ?A? grades, but with a large range in the count of reviews. AB brought FD to our first meeting and introduced them to us as a potential partner for the project. AB and FD have collaborated successfully on numerous remodel projects. Initially we were hesitant to pay ?extra? for design support, but we quickly realized just how valuable their service would be. AB did not have the lowest bid nor the highest, but their bid was the best assembled (one of us is an engineer and like lots of details) and they communicated far better than anyone else did. We decided to take the next step with both AB and FD and start in on our project right away.

From December 2013 through February 2014, we worked primarily with FD to generate numerous iterations of design plans, each of which resulted in a revision to the project budget and schedule from AB. Throughout this process, FD was incredibly attentive to our tastes and desires, they dramatically simplified the process of making a thousand choices, and they gracefully helped us make compromises to stay within our budget & schedule constraints, while never sacrificing design intent or top priorities. They also were transparent with their design fees, which were done in 3 phases. These probably aren?t the correct phase names, but essentially they were initial design (concept sketches and style alignment), detailed design (approved CAD drawings and plans), and design implementation (close engagement in the build process to ensure the design is properly realized). FD truly served as our surrogates throughout!

By late February, we aligned on a detailed design plan, for which AB finalized the bid enabling us to get our necessary financing, sign the contract, make the first of 5 payments, and move forward with the project. Apparently, for the size of our project, going from initial concept bid to final design and signed contract in less than 3 months is rather fast. However, by that point, our move back timing was being solidified, and it was imperative for the project to commence in March if it was to have a chance to be ?move-in ready? by late-July.

During the project, we made a few trips back to St. Paul to make key decisions and check on progress, which was thrilling yet stressful given all the moving pieces. Then, literally one day before we were scheduled to move in, our home became move-in ready? one week before the original plan date! We know from our neighbors that AB worked long hours and pulled every string they could to make this happen. As another aside, the neighbors said AB and their various crews were very respectful throughout the process and they had no complaints. Some ?punch list? items still had to be closed out after move-in, which we expected, and we just recently finished the last of those items. Note these punch list items could have been closed out months earlier had our schedule permitted; a hallway wood floor had to be refinished a couple times requiring us to be out of the home for a few days at a time.

Overall, the project went about as smoothly as we could hope. A few issues? (1) there were some minor design/build hiccups along the way that required plan tweaks, (2) we would have enjoyed more frequent progress photos (given we were 2000+ miles away, we had an insatiable appetite to see the progress), and (3) there were a few budget surprises due to miscommunication and subcontractor underestimates (we covered some, AB covered a lot). None of these hiccups/surprises lessened our view of AB or FD. In fact, the professional and courteous manner in which they handled each of these situations only bolstered our trust in them.

The final result exceeds our expectations. The kitchen is breathtaking with stunning dark stained cabinets and honed granite counters, the den is charming with a fireplace mantle that looks original to the home, the kids? bathroom is classically elegant, and the master suite feels warm and right-sized. Guests have praised the quality of the craftsmanship and how well the new fits in with the old. What a compliment and we couldn?t agree more!

They were very accommodating because I bought a Big Deal to put in the vents and I paid $300 for that and I ended up not needing that so they put the $300 towards the door. They were prompt and courteous and the person they sent out to do the work did a fine job.

We highly recommend Anchor Builders. They provided the estimate quickly, started when they said they would, finished when they said they would and the work was done beautifully.
I think we've only worked with a few contractors over the years that actually did what they said they would do, and Anchor is one of the best.
I am a perfectionist and they put up with all of my changes and never became impatient with me.
We got three estimates and they were the lowest. We found them working through an architectural drafter we were using for the design of our house.
I really appreciated that they cleaned up the work site every day before they left. Even cleaned messes up that they didn't create!
I would highly recommend them.

They did a great job.  We have a townhouse.  They took the time to make sure they didn't have drywall dust everywhere.  They were punctual and transparent regarding all aspects of the repair.  They went the extra mile in suggesting additional insulation and lowering the ceiling in the laundry room to lessen the chance of getting another ice dam.  They were efficient and the quality was absolutely excellent.

Very easy to work with. Very ethical and communicate well.

I found Anchor Builders through an architect I know who had worked with them in the past. The estimates and the work they did on my house were done in a professional manner. Barak is easygoing and honest, which is rare in my experience with contractors. Their rates were very reasonable, as well.  I would recommend them and consider using them again in the future.

did the job they were hired to do

Barak and John were great to work with and we could not have been happier.  They were very responsive and were in very close communication with us throughout the project.  They were great to work with for our particular project because they were flexible with our plan of finishing it ourselves.  They were ahead of schedule and there were no surprises with the final cost. It was great to watch how talented John and his crew were at framing!  All of their subs were professional and worked well together.  They were trustworthy and did excellent work.  We have recommended them to others!

The company sent people to diagnose my house roof problem to address the forming of ice dams, and, in addition, repaired the fascia on my garage. The solution for the ice dam problem was an electric wire arrangement that would melt the snow in a problem area. Last winter had so little snow that I never plugged in the roof wire, but a week ago, we got thirteen inches in a single storm. I plugged in the wire and an ice dam did not form, but instead, the problem section of the roof melted and shed snow and ice just like the rest of the roof. Whew! Anchor Builders is a family business. Communication, promptness, and customer service are all excellent. I recommend them very highly.

Excellent.

They were absolutely awesome. They were very nice to work with and they did a good job. The pricing was fair. I can’t say enough about them. They were just fantastic. I would rate them highly and would absolutely use them again in the future if necessary.

perfect

Excellent experience  from start to finish.

The work went well. Anchor arrived with a crew of two. They took several hours to complete almost all of the work. Due to needing more material, they returned the following day to complete the work. They were careful about the house and left it in great shape.

Barak & crew were absolutely a pleasure to work with. Minimal change orders, showed up when they said they would, nice to neighbors and up to date with their paperwork. We trust them completely. They even recommended a great finish carpenter for us! Would definitely hire again...no question about it.

The company was very accomodating and was able to perform work promptly under short time constraints. I very much appreciated their willingness to work with me on my time deadlines.

Work was essentially completed in one day. The carpenters started to fasten the deck boards with exposed screws; fortunately I was there to point out that the architect's drawings clearly required hidden fasteners. The error was quickly corrected and work was completed as shown on the drawings without questions or hassles. It was fortunate that this oversight was caught early before much material was wasted. Though not called for on the drawings, to the carpenter's credit, all deck boards were single pieces of cedar spanning the full width of the deck, eliminating end-to-end seams and adding to the clean look of the finished deck. The deck was built square and level with good attention paid to even, neat joints and quality construction means and methods. I will certainly call upon Anchor again in the future to look at other projects I may have, as the need arises. Communications with the contractor were good, timely, and friendly.

First and foremost Barak and John are very honest and ethical. Nearly all of their subs were top notch. In a project of this size there will always be issues that come up the real test is how the contractor responds to these issues. Anchor Builders always stepped up to address issues which arose. They were flexible when it came to areas that I wanted to perform. The subs which they use are high quality and fair price of special note are Framing/Roofing Drywall/Paint- Finish Carpentry Tile Electric Plumbing Siding

They provided an excellent finished project. Everything went fantastic, and I have no complaints. They were very friendly and timely.

We met with several contractors to get bids on the project. All were well qualified and one came in a bit lower. While we had initial reservations on how young Barak looked, we soon realized that he had extensive knowledge of the industry, and that combined with his calm and sincere approach to our project were the areas where he gained our trust. He was willing to work with us on a framing basis and they actually began the project ON Labor Day. I was my own General Contractor and have had some experience in this area, but I have to say that Anchor helped me on a regular basis. Anchor's onsite project managers (John & Tim - Barak's brothers), were exceptional. They were friendly, responsive, and it was nice to see cleanup performed each night before they left. They are very hard workers! As happens in every project, there were several change orders, modifications, and add-ons which Anchor handled clearly and without a hassle. The prices quoted were the prices charged. John stayed on top of decisions to minimize delays. The project turned out exactly as we planned it! We have received a huge number of complements on the way it turned out. I highly recommend Barak, John, Tim, and the others from Anchor Builders that worked so h****** our project. In hindsight, I would have been more than comfortable having them General Contract it as well. They were a pleasure to have on the job site and are all around good guys..