About us
We are an interior remodeling company specializing in kitchens and bathrooms. We have many years of personal experience providing Pittsburgh residents with quality products and installation. We are a family based business, which means our employees are dedicated to doing quality work in a timely fashion at very competitive prices. We are licensed with the state as HRC #037880. Fully insured. PLEASE EMAIL ME DIRECTLY: [email protected]
Business highlights
Services we offer
Home Remodeling & Repairs – Kitchen & Bathroom Design & Installation, Additions, Decks, Windows, Ceramic Tile & Marble, Hardwood Flooring, Interior Painting, & Concrete.
Services we don't offer
Roofing and roof repair, gutters and gutter repair, siding
Amenities
Warranties
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- Check
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
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responsive and professional. Leading up to the project he spent lots of time with me and patiently answered all of my questions. Unlike the other contractors that I'd reached out to, Carmen listened to what my concerns were and had good problem solving ideas. When the work actually started, he let us know exactly was going to happen and when. He kept everything as clean as possible and did a really nice job. We came in at budget and in the time frame that he'd anticipated. And of course my kitchen looks beautiful!
Was it a good price? Honestly I have no idea but the peace of mind that went along with working with someone that I really trusted made all the difference.
If he is not upfront before coming out to do an estimate, I would be very skeptical of any quotes I got from him.
In the process of getting quotes for a bathroom renovation, I have had a couple of potential contractors that have said they charge to come out to do a quote - I have politely declined and have moved on.
His email states:
I wanted to mention a $100.00 design fee that I charge. This will include up to
3 drawings, to scale, for the bathroom. If you want me to fax the drawings, I can also send an
invoice. Of course, if I end up doing the work you will be credited for the $
100.00.
Why couldn't he have said this BEFORE coming out?
By the way, he also did not take off his shoes and after going outside to check a couple of things, dirtied the carpet (not a big deal but gives one a little bit of insight).
"I was not charging for the estimate. I was charging for doing drawings and designing. It was not mentioned before hand because I was not aware I was going to be acting as architect and designer. I would have gladly provided a free estimate, but in this case I was shown a giant room and told to make sense of it for the customer. I would have been happy to take a set of plans from someone else and followed them. I doubt those plans would have been obtained for free."
"We are currently taking on new work. This woman obviously didn't email me or try to contact me anytime lately.. The auto-reply was on my email while I was away on vacation with my family at the end of July. I don't know why she waited until now to fill out this report."
My master bath involved the removal of a wall between a closet and the existing 3' x 7' 1/2 bath. Carmen removed everything down to the studs. His uncle is a master plumber and does beautiful work. They were even able to move my toilet to a better location after several people told me it couldn't be done. Carmen suggested installing a light behind the shower in an alcove, as well as two additional lights in the closet. I was afraid that this change order would be costly but it was very reasonable and he made sure I approved it before beginning work. They built a shower floor, the shower walls and Shawn (his helper) did a beautiful job tiling. They were very accomodating to my request for insets and had a brilliant idea to use glass tile in the recessed shelving area. It's pretty amazing that I have a custom shower that was built for a better price and higher quality than anything found in a big box store. The glass subcontractor that was used did a beautiful job installing a frameless glass shower door and half panel. They even beveled back the accent tile to allow the door to swing 180 degrees. All of this was accomplished in only 3 weeks!
We did have an issue regarding a miscommunication involving the shower trim & valve. I had purchased a handle/valve & shower head to match my faucets and Carmen had also purchased a handle/valve & shower head. Fortunately, I had bought a quality trim kit and when they were working on my other bathroom they were able to change out the valve from the back since the tile was installed.
My main bathroom involved the removal of the existing fixtures and the installation of a new tile floor, toilet, tub, vanity, fan, light, medicine cabinet and paint. Shawn once again did a great job on the tile and the entire room looks amazing. The only change in this room was due to the location of my cold water supply conflicting with a vanity drawer and using a pre-hung door instead of attempting to retrofit a new door. Again, Carmen was extremely up front about the price for the change and discussing my options.
These guys are true professionals and do fantastic work. They're not the cheapest option out there but well within a normal range--you definitely get what you pay for! I will definitely use them in the future and will recommend them to everyone I know.
Carmen, and his very able partner, Shawn, were extremely responsive. Carmen gave me an estimate in December 2012 and he was very forthright in telling me that he wouldn't be able to start until around the end of February. He kept me posted as the time approached. He was reachable anytime before the job began and then throughout the entire 3-week renovation. Carmen and Shawn came every day until the job was finished. BNQ works one job at a time and I really liked that. If they couldn't come for some reason on a day, they told me, but that happened only once, I think, when we were waiting for something to arrive.
Small things came up during the job that couldn't have been anticipated and hadn't been included in the estimate. Carmen would call me, let me know what was needed, present me my options, and then immediately write up a "change order" detailing the changes and cost. So I always knew what was being done and how much money things would cost. BNQ was very accountable.
The workmanship is incredibly nice. Cabinets and cabinet doors line up perfectly, the hardware is perfectly placed, the laminate flooring was laid beautifully, each new appliance was installed and worked perfectly the first time, and the cabinet underlighting is awesome. I cannot say enough about how professional and beautiful the job looks. I smile every time I walk into the room.
Finally, it was a pleasure having Carmen and Shawn in my home during those three weeks. They are very personable and funny. Each day, they cleaned up beautifully and the kids and I could walk through the kitchen without tripping over equipment. They touched base with me when necessary and welcomed my feedback at any time. I am very happy that I chose BNQ and I would recommend the company to anyone. It was a great experience.
The new steel tub was properly installed and supported and the plumbing was done impeccably.
In addition, we were working within a very tight time frame since the entire repair had to be done during our tenants' brief vacation. Carmen was prompt and responsive throughout the process. He and his crew even worked over a weekend to make sure the repair was completed in the stated timeline.
While the job was in progress, Carmen discovered that the underlayment for part of the floor had to be revised. I held my breath at this point because - after working with several less than reputable contractors in the past - I was quite sure that the quoted price of $2500 was going to increase by several hundred dollars in a classic bait and switch. I was pleasantly surprised that the cost of the job only increased by $95, Carmen's true cost for additional materials and labor.
I already have a list of jobs for Carmen/BNQ Construction at several other rental properties.
I highly recommend this company!
One thing we most appreciated was that Carmen always answered our questions or concerns quickly and satisfactorily; even after all the work was done.
In Summary, BNQ does good work, they work hard, are responsive to customers, and were honest and fair in doing our job. Thanks.
Overall we were very happy with the way the job was done, and with the finished work.
"This is not entirely true. It is true that I am starting a job in September which will keep me busy for a few months, but I still have a few slots open for the summer. I told this guy if I happen to pick up two or three more jobs I could be busy until Thanksgiving, at which point nobody ever wants any work done until after the holiday season. I am still looking at jobs and providing estimates but my availability is running short."
Cons: as other reviewers have mentioned, the project took much longer to complete than it should have. It took 9 weeks to complete a project that should've been done in 4-5 weeks tops. I noticed that he rarely put in a full day on my project (maybe for 1-2 of those weeks) because he splits his time between other projects; I think this is main reason it took twice as long to complete as it should have, and when your kitchen (of all rooms!) is out of commission for twice as long as it needs to be, it is a major inconvenience to a homeowner that should not be taken lightly. My hardwood stairs were also nicked (deep gouges in some areas) while carrying the appliances upstairs, though as I mentioned above, he was willing to fill those in.
Technically he's good and he knows what he's talking about, but that didn't translate into a perfect product at the end. For example, he needed to sand and stain my hardwood floor four times because it was very blotchy with the initial trials. After the 4th time it looked the best but was not perfect by any means. (Though on the positive side, he was willing to keep trying until I was satisfied). There is also a small gap between the top of my tile backsplash and the counterledge above it due to what I think was an error in measurement -- the tile was available on site to measure before ledge was created so that gap could've easily been avoided.
I hired Carmen after reading the glowing reviews on Angie's list. I would recommend him if you want someone who is friendly and professional in terms of communication skills and technically knows his stuff. If timeliness and a perfect product is important, I was not satisfied.
"Normally I don't respond to posts, but....I must take issue with the complaint about how long the job took. It took 9 weeks to complete a 5 week job because we waited 4 weeks for the countertops, which I had nothing to do with, to come in and be installed. Not only that, but the day before the countertop guys were to come and make a template we were to finish installing the cabinets. We were told by the customer not to come because she was sick. That delayed the template by a week because the company doing the tops was busy. That one day, in effect, cost the entire job another week of down time. That is why a 4-5 week job took nine to complete."
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