Brusco Design & Renovation

This past winter, Brusco Design and Renovation of Cranston, Rhode Island designed and built a closet for us in our master bedroom. I had seen a closet designed by Sam Brusco at a home in the neighborhood and knew it would be the answer to our storage problems. The new closet traverses the length of one of the walls in our bedroom, but does not take away from the space or style of the room. If anything, the closet looks as though it was built with the house, and has all the same trim and molding as the rest of the home. Brusco Design and Renovation had the foresight to turn our former closet and linen closet into one large storage closet. Both closets were fitted with drawers, shelves and rods for hanging and storing clothes and other items, all of which were designed for our needs. Now, we have space to put so many things that we were storing in the basement, as well as the items that were in the original closets. I found working with Brusco Designs and Renovation very easy. Sam Brusco is very organized and pays attention to the smallest detail. The company concentrates on your needs and wishes and transforms them into a beautiful design. I found Brusco Designs and Renovations to be very honest and forthcoming. The entire process is explained, as well as what is expected from the homeowner. I found the work crew to be very nice and very respectful of my home. Great care was taken to protect all areas around the project area and it was cleaned up at the end of each work day. I would highly recommend Brusco Designs and Renovation for any remodeling project in your home. Please take a look at the project : www.BruscoDesign.com/Cranston-closets.html

After closet work, don't plan to use him again. Difficult to work with. Did not follow our design inputs requests, had to have him redo work. He uses contract labor that was not reliable, extending the time to finish. We utilized the "A" rating on your list. Not even close!

It did not go well.  I was not happy with quality of the work.

There were no signs of serious wear and or damage. I was very satisfied with Sam's service.

He did a very good job. The porch is wonderful. It was cold in the winter and boiling hot in the summer. I can use it now as a 3-season porch. It is very comfortable. I can leave the door open to the house and get air and sunlight and not freeze or roast to death. He was a very neat and careful worker. He was very good with other people's property and very conscious of the place he was working. He was clean and neat. He was very cooperative. He explained things and showed me what he was doing. He explained when things needed to be changed and why. He was careful and precise. H was concerned about doing a good job. He was a pleasure to work with. His prices are a little high but he does quality work. This was a job where he was in and out. I am waiting for him to come back and do something else for me.

Sam did a terrific job with this project. He was a thorough and careful GC who made sure we understood the project well and maintained close communication with us through the entire project. We had a lot of input into the design decisions, but also guidance on what was feasible. Sam made sure to secure the appropriate permits and got together a good team of workers. He also managed a clean and safe worksite and was considerate of the neighbors. The entire project took 4 months. We are now  5 years out from the renovation and have had no significant issues with the house since the work was done. Sam has been avaible to us for any minor repairs that have come up, such as loose drawer handles, and has usually fixed things for free or just for the cost of parts.
    Of note, as with any major renovation, we did go over the original estimate, but we were made aware of added expenses at the time and many of the overages were due to choices we made such as wanting higher end siding, more expensive floor coverings, etc. The final project was within the range we had expected from the original estimates and I believe the price was fair given all the quality work that was done.
    We are extremely satisfied with the outcome of this renovation and have greatly enjoyed the new space. We are happy to recommend Sam and his company.

Perfect, complete, working, functional and clean.

Brusco Design & Renovation came recommended to me, via a mutual friend, as a remodeler/builder of the utmost integrity.  He said that they may cost more than the average contractor but they were worth it and they would do absolutely right by me.  Well, I must admit that I had my doubts at first, but my friend could not have been more right.  I have had other people work on my home, and there's no comparison.  Brusco is the best by far in everything I would want in a remodeler -- knowledgeable, conscientious, clean, friendly.

Sam Brusco came to my home.  Listened to everything I had to say.  They looked at the porch and told me what it would take to get it to be the three-season room that I wanted it to be.  I couldn't quite imagine what my home would look like after the changes, so they showed me EXACTLY what my 3-season room would look like.  They can take a digital photo of a house and alter it with PhotoShop to demonstrate a home's potential.  (You can see it on their website http://www.BruscoDesign.com/smithfield.html)  Not only could I see what my house would look like, I could see that Brusco is very different from most contractors.  I knew this would be a good experience.
 
Everything was easy.  They were all very pleasant to work with.  Sam Brusco even took me to pick out the light fixture that would be used in the new room.  Most contractors just give you the address of the store.  He also took me to board my cat overnight because they were going to spray insulation the next day.
 
There were more structural problems than anticipated with the porch that were uncovered, but that wasn't their fault.  They kept me informed and even the change orders were fair.  All changes to the very detailed plan were discussed with me in advance of the work being done.
 
Everyone who sees my house is really impressed with the work Brusco did.  I'm more impressed with their professionalism and level of service.  You will be too.

Everything went great.Now we can do the laundry without going outside.Before renovations, we had to go outside, and down the cellar stairs to do laundry.Now we can sit by the fireplace, while the laundry is being done.He also replaced the furnace with  a 95% efficient gas one. What a difference, you cant even hear it come on.The house was also insulated, so are energy bills were cut by two  thirds,We used to have a old oil burner for a furnace, that was smelly. and 45 years old.He also went by the book with all the right permits. We have had some renovations before with contractors picked from the paper, The Pennysaver, wih disasters, and terrible, shady , below standard work, and had to have it redone, shortly after.I would definetly recommend him to anyone!

We asked many, many questions before and during the project and always got polite responses and all the pros & cons to multiple approaches.  Worked hard with Sam on matching our budget needs all through the project without any hassels.  We knew what we were getting into at each step. Ultimately, each decision was ours, but we always had the guidance of someone whose qualifications and certifications are as long as my arm.  In fact, our original idea of what to do with the bathroom was quite different.  Brusco presented a few designs and we chose the one that made the most sense for us.We knew exactly what we were going to get before they swung the first hammer.  Sam Brusco went shopping with my wife to pick out all the fixtures, the tile, the cabinetry, even the glass doors.  They listened to all our concerns and desires and worked it into the plan along with their great ideas.  We met with Sam Brusco each week to discuss the overall progress of the project -- what happened last week, what was happening this week, and what was going to happen next week.  He did this each Saturday for the duration of the project, because my work schedule is sporadic and sometimes I do not arrive home before 7 PM.  On the other hand, my wife was home each day and she has nothing but good things to say about all of Brusco's workers.  Sam was a very active general contractors.  He was on-site almost every single day, doing much of the carpentry work himself. Although we now have modern conveniences; our new master bath complements our historic home. 

Basement went from a creepy, segmented cellar where my wife would not set foot to a wide-open basement where my wife now has her exercise area. All of this was done with permits, a structural engineer, and what seemed like a dozen inspections from the city.  That's what Brusco does... everything the right way.  We highly recommend his work.

Neither one of us had taken on a remodeling project before;  we were looking for advice and we couldn't get any from any previous guy that had worked on our house.

HE WAS LATE AND CALLED TO RESCHEDULE A COUPLE OF TIMES. I ALSO THOUGHT IT WAS INAPPROPRIATE THAT HE WENT INTO MY FRIDGE AND TOOK A BOTTLE OF WATER WITHOUT ASKING. HE WILL DO ODD JOBS, BUT YOU WILL BE PAYING THE $50 AN HOUR FOR HIM TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT AND READ THE MANUAL.

HE DID A GOOD JOB OVERALL. HIS PROFESSIONALISM IS RATED A BIT LOWER, BECAUSE ALTHOUGH HE WAS VERY RESPONSIVE TO OUR CALLS HE DID NOT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT WASN'T A GOOD IDEA TO TAKE BOOKS OFF OUR BOOKSHELF WITHOUT PERMISSION AND GO THROUGH THEM. ALSO, WE SUGGEST BEING SURE TO LEAVE ANY WORK AREA HE WILL BE IN CLEAR AS HE DID NOT MOVE ITEMS TO GET TO WINDOWS AND BROKE AN ITEM WHILE WORKING.

I WILL USE THIS SERVICE AGAIN AND WILL RECOMMEND IT. THE BEST THING WAS HIS WILLINGNESS TO WORK HOURS BEYOND THE NORMAL ''9-5''. I WAS ABLE TO EASILY SCHEDULE THE WORK IN THE EVENINGS AND ON WEEKENDS.

SAM IS A VERY NICE GUY WHO DID A GREAT JOB INSTALLING OUR CLOSETS FOR US. WE HAD ORDERED THE CLOSETS ON-LINE, BUT WANTED SOMEONE TO INSTALL THEM FOR US (SAM WILL ALSO DESIGN/ORDER CLOSETS FOR YOU, AS WELL) TO ENSURE A ''PROFESSIONAL QUALITY'' LOOK TO THEM. SAM WAS GOOD ABOUT RETURNING CALLS AND SHOWED UP TO QUOTE THIS AND SOME OTHER WORK WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF MY ORIGINAL CALL. HE DID A VERY GOOD JOB ON THE CLOSETS AND COMPLETED THEM ON A WEEKEND (NOT MANY PEOPLE WILL WORK ON A SUNDAY FOR YOU). HIS PRICE WAS VERY REASONABLE, AS WELL. OVERALL, WE WERE VERY HAPPY WITH HIS WORK AND ARE LIKELY TO HIRE HIM AGAIN FOR SOME OTHER WORK WE HAVE PLANNED FOR THE HOUSE.

KNOWLEDGEABLE, EFFICIENT, PLEASANT. CAME ON SAME DAY AS I CALLED HIM. EXCELLENT RESULT.

HE DID A VERY GOOD JOB. HE DID A LOT OF WORK FOR THE COST.

SAM COMPLETED THIS WORK IN FOUR HOURS, WAS NEAT AND CLEAN AND THE CONNECTION TO THE INTERNET FOR BOTH COMPUTERS IS PERFECT. THIS WAS A VERY WELL DONE JOB PERFORMED PROFESSIONALLY AND AT A REASONABLE COST. SAM BRUSCO IS VERY WELL EDUCATED--HE HAS A MASTERS DEGREE.