
Carl Gramentz Architect
About us
As a registered architect since 1982, I have a broad range of experience. With a degree in Environmental Design as well as a professional degree in Architecture from the University of Minnesota, I have the tools and experience to achieve my stated mission and philosophy. I also have a Masters Degree in Management from the Cardinal Stritch University that provides a well rounded sense of the business related aspects of construction.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Architectural design. Custom residential remodeling. Additions. New construction. Light commercial. Industrial work. Tennant build outs. ADA compliance. Certified aging in place specialist. Consulting. Analysis & design for aging in place. Extended family environments.
Amenities
Free Estimates
Yes
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
---|---|---|
96% | ||
0% | ||
0% | ||
2% | ||
2% |
Or process involved a city variance, which was pain stacking and involved some extra work. Carl was somewhat familiar with the process and worked with a variety of people at city hall. We too were involved in this process and did find ourselves making copies and gathering additional requested information. Part of this was to keep cost down while the other part was a trust factor and taking the approach of "if you want something done......"
While interviewing builders, Carl was most familiar with the builder we settled on, Fred Nordahl construction. Carl's opinion of Fred had no bearing on us going with him. Our opinion of them is forth coming :(
During the construction process, there was some MAJOR oversight on Carl's part. These mistakes were almost elementary. A support beam supporting the second story had to be added to the plans. Yes, added!! The beam that was placed in our house ended up going through the guest bedroom and into a basement office, causing thousands of dollars in extra work. The framing in our kitchen was off tremendously, adding again thousands of dollars of extra work. If we knew what this added cost was going to be when the project started, we would not have done the project at all. These mistakes were situations were the builders was well into the project, and had to reconstruct elements that were already complete to address the situation that they came across.
Perhaps it was the scale of the project that we were doing or a matter of Carl being distracted by something? We most likely will never know the cause for the oversight. Since the issues were discovered, we have not heard from Carl nor did we get a simple apology for the oversight.
Please feel free to contact us with additional questions regarding the undertaking that we did. We want to make sure mistakes such as this one don't happen to others.
-Tom & Carolyn Sullivan
They then went into detail with me about what needed to be done, and explained everything in straight-forward terms that was easy to follow. When they left, I knew that what we wanted to do was possible, what I needed to do, and exactly how to do it.
When it came time to pay, I was expecting to pay more. They had quoted me a price that included both their time at our house as well as travel time to the house. Carl explained they were on their way to another meeting, and he would only charge me for the time spent reviewing our remodel plans.
If I ever need an architect again, I won't bother searching for other quotes -- I'll just work with Carl and Will. It was a pleasure working with them and I would happily recommend their services.
We appreciated his focus on the day-to-day "live-ability" of the design. He was really open to incorporating our ideas and suggesgtions but giving them a critical professional eye. He was particularly good about breaking the design process down into several steps -- giving us a chance to really think about the practical aspects of the design before committing to anything.
Of course, we continued to request small changes even after we had thought we had "final plans" (e.g., could we move this wall back another six inches, could we flip the vanity and toilet, etc.). Carl was very patient about accommodating this additional changes.
He also recommended several contractors to bid out the work for us. All of them have been equally responsive and professional.
My wife and I tore down our house in SW Minneapolis and built a new house on the same lot. We interviewed several architects and chose Carl - partly because he has so many favorable reviews on Angie's List.
Carl's design was terrific and he was very involved during the construction process. He also referred us to multiple reputable general contractors and a reputable interior decorator. In addition, Carl put together the bid package and managed the bidding process for us from start to finish.
Carl went above and beyond and we are very pleased with the final result. We spent the better part of the last 12 months with Carl and strongly recommend him for any job - large or small. We also recommend purchasing his full service since there are many questions / issues that arise during construction and it helps greatly to have an architect at your side when there are questions / issues.
Licensing
State Contractor License Requirements
All statements concerning insurance, licenses, and bonds are informational only, and are self-reported. Since insurance, licenses and bonds can expire and can be cancelled, homeowners should always check such information for themselves. To find more licensing information for your state, visit our Find Licensing Requirements page.
*Contact business to see additional licenses.