KAIZEN HOME IMPROVEMENT

Jobs done looked great. We even got suggestions on a couple additional tasks which didn't add much cost but were super helpful.

It went perfectly! I would highly recommend Kate! She was highly knowledgeable, professional, thoughtful and offered options for how to solve little challenges that came up along the way. She is going to be my go to person and I am referring her to all of my friends and neighbors! Kate explains everything and options in detail in terms you can understand! Perfect score

Provider did the work perfectly. I have no complaints. Paid in advance for materials and she procured them. Very personable and professional and seems to really know the business. Gave lots of advice on other unrelated issues in the house. Second day of work took a bit longer than estimated and she gave us a time credit due to that.
Very close attention to detail and very conscientious.
I would recommend her highly and would have no problem hiring her again.

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I wanted the exact size ladder but a new one.  
She bought a larger one that wouldn't clear the door frame so it couldn't extend down....and wouldn't replace it. it was and still is useless as I am near 70 and my money was spent then. 
She used nails not wood screws so her framing and the ladder/door started to come down tearing my ceiling.  My daughter hiked it up with wood screws but it is still useless and the ceiling is still a mess from Kaizen.
My mailman told me that she and her friend (a man) were on the front lawn trying to figure out how to do it and he said that they seemed not to know what they were doing.  She said she and her friend had done hundreds of attic ladders.
She was never on time, joked when I called her.  Lied about ordering when  she hadn't.  I paid her in advance, but she had to borrow money to actually buy the ladder.
When I got no where with Kate Thorson, I called her friend the man and his wife screamed at me saying if I didn't stop calling she would put a restraining order on me.....really!
 Kate smooth talks but that's about it.  She is not to be trusted.  It scares me to report her as I fear retaliation.  I have installed cameras and we have a tight neighborhood watch but she is like a cat caught in a corner.  
Her web site uses Houzz, as if they recommend her but they don't.   By now word of mouth should be enough to give her a nice business.  I know others who used her and don't anymore.  What a shame.  She is my education an engineer so I thought she would be good with math, apparently I didn't factor in integrity.  She has a nun who sponsors her and I'm afraid of her too.  I rent out my carport and have a room mate so I am afraid for them too.

My attic ladder is still as she left it, now going 6 years.as best as I can remember.....and is still..unusable. Money lost. Home ruined.

She did a good job. She was very easy to work with. She completed the task. She was recommended to me by a friend and it went fine.

On time, on budget, highest quality work.

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We can't recommend Kate more highly!

Not having done any major remodeling job, Kate took the time to answer my questions. It was done in a timely manner. No real hiccups that I recall.

What I got was a complete and utter joke. She took a photo-copy of the existing layout and, with pencil, doodled some options. They weren't even to scale! Literally, she did exactly what I had already been doing and offered NO insight into the cost of each option. Seriously, she couldn't have spent more than 15 minutes drawing these up. She couldn't answer any question about the potential cost, challenges, etc.

This is, seriously, the LAST contractor I would ever choose to work with. And, my intention was to use her ideas, pick the remodel ideal I liked, and then hire her to general the job. What a HUGE waste of time!

...and, for the record, we didn't use any of her ideas for the remodel.

She was responsive, did the job in less time than expected and at the agreed upon price.

Perfectly - I called her and made an appointment for her to come to our home and see the work to be done. She gave me an estimate, told me she would have to buy new drawer and shelve glides which had worn out over the past 30 years and were slanting so that the drawers would not stay closed. She returned when she said she would with the appropriate hardware and finished the job quickly. She was great!

Kate came and gave a fair bid on the job - I needed to redo my tiled shower which had cracked and molded over time. Dry rot was evident on some of the walls. Also, I needed to replace the shower door which leaked. The demo reveled more dry rot to the exterior wall, a shower job that was very novice (as Kate put it "whoever installed this could have written a book on how NOT to put in a shower). SOOOO glad I decided to redo this shower!! Kate was very upbeat and took the time to explain the process along the way. The whole process took about 4 weeks for a variety of reasons and I had another shower I could use so this was fine. The tile guy and plumber did excellent work. I am VERY happy with the new shower - there is glass accent tile Kate helped me pick out - it makes the whole shower glimmer! Thanks again Kate!

Fantastic!

Kate is awesome. The floor looks great, her work is clean and professional.

Over the course of about two short days, the thing went up easy as pie. Kate never let my desire to use only scraps and recycled materials get in the way of making a good looking shabby chic hen house The job went great, and Kate certainly went the extra mile to make sure this project came off without a hitch.

In both cases Kate came to the house and looked at the problem. She then went off and researched the issue. In the case of the kitchen recycle bins she found the better parts in some catalogs and ordered the parts. She talked to the manufacturer, and returned a couple weeks later to install. Installation took a couple of hours and there have been no problems since. In the case of the shower door she again came and looked at the problem. She researched the problem with a couple of other contractors and the manufacturer. Again she returned to fix it. On return she brought the newly machined pin and an alignment jig for the door and frame. After aligning the frame and door she installed it. It works better than new. Kate has gone far beyond anyone I have ever contracted to fix and repair my house. She has an engineering mindset which identifies the underlying problem and addresses that problem directly. We will definitely use her on other projects including larger remodels.

Kate really knows how to make the most of small spaces. she is very creative and does her own design work. Example when I walk into my kitchen floor lights come on by a motion sensor. all of the cabinets pull comletly out to get to all of the storage. I have never seen such beautifull cabinets in cabinet stores. so I was so pleased when she decided to build them for us.

I did not think that hiring a contractor could be a positive experience. Kate was extremely thorough, presented us with detailed proposals including a variety of options and prices for our project. We could not do everything we wanted for our price, but felt completely in control and well informed. Once we made decisions, she gave us a schedule for completion of the different phases of the projects. She communicated well, and frequently updated us in writing. With the exception of a delivery delayed by the extended December snow, every piece of our project was completed on schedule. She personnally supervised all of the work, and supplied us with complete documentation of each part of the process. She made suggestions of work that we needed which could be easily accomplished as an add on to our project - for example, replacing lighting and rewiring electrical sockets in other rooms where walls were open to replace plumbing. After all of the additions, our project was only $2000 over her original estimate for just the bathroom work (less than 5% over- everyone told us to add 15-20% to her estimate!). The quality of the work was the best. We are extremely happy with our new bathrooms.

Work went very well. Kate kept me informed on a daily basis, was timely and maintained as neat an environment as possible. Kate chose green alternatives whenever possible and was committed to recycling.

Everything turned out fabulous and she got it all done in less than two months. I really appreciated all her hard work and since then, I have hired her for other projects that I needed done. I highly recommend her! She's wonderful!

Kate was dependable and great to work with. Quality of work was reliably high, prices reasonable for her level of skill. I would trust her judgment and would definitely hire her again.

Kate was thoroughly professional. She took time to explain the options and what they would cost. She gave us a window in her schedule when the work could be done. The work took five days (it included moving the vanity and replumbing, opening up two walls and the ceiling, putting in a beam and supports, sheet rocking and refinishing the walls, and painting.) We are totally satisfied and delighted with the results.

Kate was very prompt and professional right from the beginning. She came over to take a look at our list, everyone with an old house has one, and gave us some ideas about how to prioritize. She went through the house with us and provided estimates for a few ''high priority'' items (those that relate to safety). She took measurements and agreed to cut, paint and install a wood hand railing down the basement steps. She also installed a vertical supplemental railing at the top of the steps, too. She even cut some boards to stabilize our built-in shelves, which worked perfectly. She also reinforced the towel rack in the bathroom. We are very pleased with her work and will definitely call her again in the near future to take on more items on The List.