Forte Interiors

Forte Interiors came in with the middle price range proposal. Price coupled with the strong desire to "do good" is what ultimately led to the decision to select Forte Interiors. Overall, the process went well. Above average due to the complex nature of the work performed and challenges addressed (B grade) but below "excellent" in certain aspects, especially the management of the contract (C grade). Progress seemed relatively slow at the offset (the demolition process) and gradually picked up (kitchen installation). The project slowed due to problems on my end as well as by the contractors (bathrooms). Success stories can be found in both bathrooms, among other areas, where the nature of the work demanded great skill and ingenuity, which Forte Interiors provided. There was a difference in floor height and plumbing height with the toilet in the half bathroom. They built a pedestal for the toilet that blended with the tile to solve the problem. Well done! The floor-to-ceiling tile request in the full bathroom seemed daunting for Forte Interiors. They were quite hesitant to bring the tile to the ceiling because of the uneven ceiling. I pressed the request and the end result is a tile job where you can barely notice the uneven nature of the ceiling at the adjoining walls. It looks flawless! Installation of full bathroom plumbing had to occur with water still flowing from the pipes (building problem). They still got the job done and with no residual water damage! Going above the contract, they were willing to shop for miscellaneous parts/pieces as well as accept deliveries. Shortcomings came in the form of personality, project management, and some construction problems. Concern over "the total project" became an overstepping of the scope of work in the contract by them becoming interior designers as well as general contractors. The opinions and suggestions were appreciated but were often overbearing. Partially my fault, the payment schedule was not adhered to consistently which led to problems later. Completion of the work was also frustrating. It was over two months before I could consider even one room complete. Perhaps its just their style, but it was difficult to see an end to the work when not even a bedroom (just floors) could be written off as "complete". The mosaic tile, which included glass, for the kitchen back splash was scratched during the installation/grouting process. In summary, it took over four months and $31,000.00 ($2,000 over contract for change orders) but I am content with the work (B-grade) they did and with contract execution(C-grade). (The following is provided for a total picture of price for renovation = $45,000.00) An additional $14,000.00 was expended for the purchases not covered in the contract . The $14K includes items like laminate flooring, baseboards, two toilets, two bathroom sinks, three major appliances, ceramic floor/wall tiles, wallpaper, shower panel, shower doors, bathtub re-glazing, bathroom hardware, kitchen and bathroom faucets.

This job took way too long, it lasted one month. The company consist of the business manager Chingris, and the man who does the work Alex. I did not expect to do a bathroom renovation of 5 x 7 feet to take a month and that was because I had to rush them. Let me begin with when they started the work, did ditto not cover my furniture or the bathroom, my apartment became a total dust bowl and I did not appreciate that at all. I spent a month without a shower and toilet, and it was not a good experience. Alex worked and average of only four hours a day, he said my tiles were too heavy and needed to set, and i could understand that. But how about working on different parts of my bathroom, He used to come around 9:30 PM and went home by 2:00 PM. He made me have deliver my vanity and everything right away, I thought that the job was going to be a fast one, but the items that I bought just sat in my living room for the month. I have never seen a four hour work day in a renovation and it's my fault because I should have asked for a termination date in the contract. Anytime there was some kind of a problem it was problematic to get a hold of Chingris and he always tried to put the blame on me but it didn't work. Business is business. When they finished the job, they were supposed to come and clean my floor and my house. My house was a total mess and I told them that they should pay for a cleaning service, and Chingris refused and said he would do it himself. He did a lousy job, and I had to pay for a cleaning service myself. They were supposed to come and clean my bathroom floor and i have been calling and don't get a call back. I called Alex and told him and he stated that he will call Chingris, and that was a week ago. I decided to bring in a specialty company to clean the tiles from and repaint the grout which looks terrible. The bathroom looks great except for the floor, but i will not ever used them again. I lost massive vacation time from this project that should have taken half the time. I have lost a lot of money getting my house cleaned. I had my bathroom floor cleaned and the grout re painted because they did not removed the haze, and the grout job was not done right. I found out that some of the stains could not be removed from my new floor because when the tub was reglazed by them, the glazing paint landed on the new ceramic tile and it was not cleaned in time, and iit cannot be removed. Basically my floor is ruined.

They gave me a very good estimate however I did go with somebody else and I maybe regretting it. It could have been done better and I am not sure if Forte Interiors would have done it better but you never know. I had some plumbing work in my bathroom that necessitated them; breaking an area of my floor to get underneath the bathtub. The floor was laid down in 1926 so it was a whole big job and they gave me such a low price that I was a bit concerned that it might have been too low. Well it's over and done with. They didn't do the job but he seemed to be very professional and his feedback was good. I've spoken to him a couple of times since. He called to ask if I was still interested and I told him that I got somebody else to do it, but I thanked him and he's called a couple of more times to follow up. He is persistent. He's called with other offers and other types of business. He wanted me to look at some information he was sending around for another business he's had but I just haven't had the time.

My wife and I selected Forte Interiors through competitive bid. They were in the middle of the pack of contractors as far as cost. Their workers, especially Yuri the carpenter, were very professional and willing to provide ideas to personalize the space. They performed the work dilligently and completed the tsks on time. I delayed the project because it took longer than expected to get the cabinets in so they perfomed what the could and demobilized from the project until the cabinets came in. They immediately returned to work and completed the project. All of the demolition debris from ripping out the bathroom and kitchen areas were removed promptly and the work areas were relatively clean. They left the finished project in excellent condition. We elected to pay according to a 30/60/100% performance schedule which the contractor honored.

We were and continue to be so happy with their fine work. Their expertise in all areas ? cabinet installation, tiling, etc. was always professional. They were wonderful to deal with ? advising us on design decisions and ways to save money. And their costs were absolutely competitive. We interviewed several potential contractors and their prices were among the fairest ? especially impressive considering the very high quality of their work. We can?t recommend Forte Interiors highly enough.

As the VP of Operations for a distribution firm, I was tasked with project managing a huge construction initiative that included redesigning and constructing a new product showroom, conference facility and, first-class office space including a men's restroom and women's restroom. After diligent research and checking references carefully, I entered an agreement with Chingis Selvin of Forte Interiors. Since I am a demanding project manager with a high level of expectation, it was not an easy task for any contractor. Chingis and his crew did not only meet my high expectations, but exceeded them way beyond their call of duty. The quality in work, the attention to detail and, the overall process of dealing with Forte Interiors was absolutely exceptional. Chingis Selvin is a man of honesty and integrity. He says what he does and, he does what he says. He stuck to a very tight and aggressive time schedule, completed all of the work on-time and without cutting any corners. I chose Forte Interiors because of their extensive experience in the construction business, the references that I spoke to that utilized their services in the past, as well as the very fair, reasonable and, competitive rates that they quoted. Forte Interiors stuck with the budget, completed everything that they promised, provided exceptional quality and were very easy to deal with. I highly recommend Chingis Selvin and Forte Interiors for construction and general contracting work. The project that they worked on for me included, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, demolition, custom cabinetry, custom glass partitions, building load-bearing and non-load-bearing sheet-rock walls, electrical work, plumbing, lighting, windows, hard-wood flooring, carpeting, ceiling, and crown and floor molding as well as painting. If you would like to speak with me further, feel free to call or email me at anytime at ischulman@gmail.com or at 516-410-4602.