Designs for Living
About us
Design Builder, General Contractor, Residential Contractor offering remodeling and new home construction services. Designs For Living is the 2009 Small Business of the Year winner in Fort Worth Texas. We employ Project Managers and Remodeling Carpenters on our projects and use a varied base of long time serving subcontractors. Also serving Tarrant County, Richland Hills, Haltom City, Benbrook, Rhome, Boyd, & Parker County. Additional address: PO Box 100847, Fort Worth, TX, 76185 .
Business highlights
Services we offer
Cabinets, Ceramic Tile, Ceramic Tile, Countertops, Interior Painting, Kitchen & Bath Remodeling, Lighting, Marble & Granite, Residential Remodeling & New Custom Home Construction & Building
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
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| 60% |
The project was to be 4 weeks starting August 5,2015. It came to a unsatisfactory stop December 29, 2015. The project was to be done in three phases, each completed before the next was started, flooring was to be covered, furniture covered, walls protected. This just never happened by the third day all three areas were torn up. We went for over a week without a fully useable bathroom. and with no place to bathe or shower except a night when we cleaned up a shower that was in a construction area. Furniture was not covered . The subcontractor and project manager ignored our request. We finally put sheets over the furniture. Flooring was covered at first but then not replaced ,so carpet was badly soiled. The sub installed the wrong tile ,our contract called for tumbled marble, We told the project manager to make sure it was. A substitution was made. The contractor blamed us and work stopped. We had to agree to pay About $1200.00 to get the correct tile and get the project restarted.
There was no project management. We waited days for trades to show after being told they were coming. We once waited over a week to get a plumber to unstop a drain the contractor clogged. It was the drain for our a/c ,so each night I had to get up around 2 am and dip the water out.
door was removed to widen the doorway and left for over a month
The contractor gave us the vendor to select the granite from. We selected the granite after careful inspection for quality, color,etc. We reserved the slabs and gave the id numbers to the project manager. We later were contacted by the vendor,after the granite was installed, that the granite had never been picked up by Designs For Living. When we told the contractor they just ignored the issue. We continued to complain and were told the granite installed was from an unknown source and the Designs for Living knew nothing about the granite. (the sub,since fired apparently made the purchase) We asked that the granite be replaced by what we had selected or a refund made so we could fix the problem. Designs for Living President told us they had the right to buy the material anywhere they wanted to and could substitute at will. That they would win any arbitration case.
My wife and I are in our mid 70's and both of us are fighting serious health issues. We may file an arbitration case but it is costly and we don't know how may problems we can fight at once. We wish Designs for LIving would just do what is right.
This has been a very stressful and demeaning experience for us. We would not wish this experience on anyone. The contractor has also not paid for some of the material used in our project and not pais at least one subcontractor
"This is the second time that this client has been a client of Designs For Living. We completed a large project for them a few years ago. They were so satisfied that they called us back to remodel for them again. We too had mutual good feelings and looked forward to a return trip. This project was very unlike the first project. The major differences was that for the first project we hired an interior designer that assisted with the selections throughout the project. This time, our 2nd project, we offered that service and it was declined. The issues we experienced were overlapped by pull offs and restarts due to appointments of a private nature by both of the clients, husband and wife. Part 2 of the issues revolved around material selections and undecidedness of those selections by the client. Both of these issues were not present for either contractor or client in our first remodel, and thus there were no issues. The project did indeed run longer than anticipated. Contractors were instructed to pull off of the project on many occasions due to out of town appointments that the owners were attending. Many of those notices of pull off were very short and hard to plan around for the work crews. One pull off lasted for over 1 week and then extended for a few days longer. Cleanliness. Contractor will provide maid clean for projects if approved for in budget by the client, and contractor discusses maid clean with client prior to the work being started. If maid clean is included in the Scope of Work it will be listed as a line item because it is something that contractor is charging for and owner is paying for. The SOW is a typed document that describes in written word what is being done by room on a project. Its purpose is to clarify the items being charged for and the services being provided. This particular owner declined maid services and it was not included in the line items on the SOW, and not included in the line item pricing for the project. Countertop material name was selected at a vendor. Contractor, by contract provision, has right to purchase the materials to be installed at a project from its approved vendors and dealers. We did so, same product name, same slab sizes, same thicknesses etc. and installed at the home. The materials had a name, thickness etc. that also had owner approvals. This material was selected by name, size, thickness etc. by the client. Client did not like the product that they selected after it was installed. This product was approved by them prior to install, approved for install as the vendors brought it into the house to be installed by the that vendor prior to that install, and then after it is installed the owner did not like the material that had been installed. Tile item is same as the countertop item, as were appliances, sinks, faucets, paint color etc... Regarding the backsplash tile they selected on version 1 and 2, they were virtually the same tile. Both were travertine, the vendor questioned the change due to its similarity of version 1 to version 2. A contractor has a hard time pleasing a client where they install items a client chooses, an item that the client once again approves by visual inspection prior to that item being installed, and then approves to install after that inspection, and then after that material has been install the client does not like the material that they approved more than twice prior to it being installed. This has nothing to do with the install quality and everything to do with undecidedness and after the fact, re thought of an item installed by a contractor of items that an owner selected and that the owner approved out of the factory box and at the house prior to installations by the contractor."
When submitting their bid, they separated the items , so we could decide on each item. We found some items higher priced than we wanted to pay , however for any item requiring oversight, we recommend including it in the project.
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