Designer Kitchen And Bath

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The owner was difficult to work with.  Work had to be redone.  He did not listen to what I wanted.  The shower had to be redone due to the poor quality of the work done.  When the shower was redone, it was discovered that work I had paid for was not done. Supplier told me the tile that was used for the shower floor should not be used for that purpose due to the type of tile and difficulty to cut.  This particular tile should not have been cut on the job site. The tile on the shower floor that had been cut on the job, looked like it was cut with a dull blade. The contractor should have known this would be an issue with the tile selected. He never suggested using a different tile for the shower floor.  In fact, he suggested using this tile for the shower floor. The shower head the contractor selected did not hold up and could not be adjusted to meet our needs. When the toilet did not work, it took him 3 weeks to replace it.  The contractor convinced us not to have a curb on the shower.  Because of the steep grade of the shower floor, the only flat place in the shower where I could stand was on the drain.   The punch list was never completed. I had to pay another contractor to complete the list.   In addition to paying for the shower twice, I paid double for other items.

Terrible experience.  Owner is disrespectful.  Bathroom hanging cabinets in 2 bathrooms fell off of the walls. Kitchen cabinets had to be re-hung because original screws were not in studs.  Undermount kitchen sink separated from the countertop twice.  David (owner) refuses to honor warranty.  We had to hire an outside contractor to fix majority of the Designer Kitchen & Bath (formerly DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen) sub standard work (David gave us credit for the extra money we had to pay).  Latest - David refuses to fix the kitchen sink - without examining the problem, he concluded that the sink separated because we modified the plumbing!!.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE

28 December 2014

Everything I said is well documented.  Anyone interested, please contact me.

At no time did we threaten the Designer Kitchen & Bath (formerly DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen) with bad reviews or anything else.  Other contractor we hired had to repair or re-do substandard work done by the Designer Kitchen & Bath (formerly DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen).  At no time did we seek free work from anybody.  The kitchen sink was recommended by the designer of the Designer Kitchen & Bath (formerly DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen).  The kitchen sink's supports were removed by the Designer Kitchen & Bath (formerly DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen) contractor on recommendation of the Designer Kitchen & Bath (formerly DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen) designer.  The supports provided after the kitchen sink's first fall were anchored into the drywall, not into the studs.  Caulk was applied directly onto the silicone left from original sink installation.

Again, everything I said above is documented.  Please contact if additional information is needed.

Kristin is an excellent designer.  She is so wonderful to work with on any project.  The project was completed timely. Everyone loves my bathroom.

All of the work went well.  I thought a little slow but found out that the time frame was very good.  I was please with the work on both bathrooms.

There were some things that had to be redone, due to some paint & glue problems, but there was no disagreement. Any work quality issues were handled quickly and without rancour. Rick did a great job at the end of the day, and i was very pleased with his work. i would use him again, and would recommend him to someone else.
DO make sure the RICK is supervising the crew. When he is not there sometimes the work suffers.

We hired David Leva, his designer Kristin O'Dell  and his fabulous team of contractors for the third time on this job.  We did a complete gut and remodel of our master bathroom.  He and his team had previously done a kitchen remodel, family room  remodel, guest bathroom remodel, and replaced most of the floors in our house.
Details of remodel are as follows:  remove all existing floors, cabinets, toilet, jetted tub, shower, fixtures, lights, electrical outlets, removed wall paper, fixed previous water damage on drywall, moved plumbing for new sinks and shower, extended shower area to encompass one end of bathroom, demo on old closet to prep for new closet system.  I am sure there is more, but we literally took the bathroom down to studs, fixed some previous issues from builder and water damage, replaced some copper pipes, and started over with brand new everything.
My previous two reviews say it all about this company and team.  I would not have had them back in my house for a third time and spent the money if we did not trust them 110% on all aspects of the job, start to finish.  Have a budget in mind and stick to it.  If you want to start adding more expensive materials or add work, expect to pay for it after the fact.  No surprises ever from them on costs on any job.  If we added more expensive materials or wanted more things done that we had not put in initial contract, we paid for it and understood the job could be delayed.  No problem!  He is not the least expensive company out there, but he stands behind his name, his designers, and his contractors.  You get what you pay for, and I would never dream of having anyone else in my house!

David was great about getting to the house in a timely manner to do the assessment. And he was very flexible and available about meeting me at the showroom. A great selection of colors and materials, and David was helpful about pulling things based on my preferences. Once the team got here, they were very good about staying on task and getting things done in a professional manner. They were careful about keeping floors covered and cleaning up at the end of each day. I love the final outcome and would use David again because he was knowledgable, friendly and flexible.
The negatives: I lived alone a the time and work from 8-5, so it was important for me that the team arrive on time every day. Several times during the week only one of the workers was here on time, while the rest arrived after 8 am. When they were removing the old tile from my bathtub and putting in the "niche" they broke through the wall on the opposite side, into my hallway. It became clear that there had been a previous "patch" job done by the previous owner that contributed to the ease of breaking through that wall, and while David's team offered to "repair" the patch, I ended up calling in my regular maintenance guy to do a more professional drywall repair and repaint. Lastly, I did get the lowest priced granite (this is a townhouse in a middle-income neighborhood that I did not want to "over-improve" for the area). The first night I left water on the granite countertop for a few minutes, causing a dark stain in a prominent area. It freaked me out, but did eventually dry up. I called David about this and he told me to go to Home Depot and pick up the sprays and sealers to seal the granite. I went to Home Depot late that night as I didn't want any further staining, hunted the stuff down with the help of the salesperson, and spent the next hour trying to figure out how to do the sealing so I didn't ruin my new countertops. David called the next day and said he could come by and seal the countertops for me -- but that was a bit late.
Again, overall I enjoyed working with David and his team, but in the future I would endeavor to be much more specific about what I needed and my expectations.

We are completely satisfiled with the work Dreammaker did for us, and we can't say enough about Kristin O'Dell's attention to detail, great eye for design, responsiveness to our every wish or concern, and helpful suggestions along the way.  Kristin also checked on the service providers, ensured that the house was cleaned up as work was performed, and saw to the security of our home through managing the alarm system as contractors came in to work.
We have already had additional discussions with Kristin on the next projects we would like Dreammaker to do for us.  Since we had such a positive experience with Dreammaker, we are confident of the result of future projects.

Overall, the end product was okay.  However it was extremely frustrating getting to the end.   I guess the job was just too big for them.   I was told it would take one week for the bathroom and 4 weeks for the kitchen/den.  Because I was aware remodels were rarely finished on time, I mentally prepared myself for the work to last 8 to 10 weeks.  About 4 months later, the work was complete.  The one perfectly punctual element of the project, was requesting a check from me for the various phases of work.  
I never knew when the workers would or would not show up.  Early in the project, I was laying in bed on Saturday and heard folks entering my house.  I was never told anyone would be coming to my house on Saturdays.  The response I got from the designer was "Ooops, we forgot to tell you we work on Saturdays?"   In fact, there were often times when the workers barely came during the week.  But Saturday usually ended being convenient for them!   For me, that is a day of rest after a hard week of work.  Finally I told them to pick on someone else.
After I decided what color I wanted the bathroom walls to be painted,  I went out of town for over one and a half weeks.  I thought surely the bathroom would be painted when I got home.  After all, it was one small wall plus a little more in a 5 x 7 foot bathroom.  Nothing in the house had been touched the entire time.   In the reverse, I would be told folks would be there on a certain day and no one would show.  Over time, it felt more like disrespect than just a lack of professionalism.  And all this was in spite of the fact that the designer knew I planned to have the front bathroom remodeled next.   I am actively getting estimates for the front bathroom and a closet expansion.  DreamMaker will not be bothered for an estimate.
Finally, there were one and one half boxes of floor tiles remaining after the new floor tile had been laid.  I had to ask several times for the unused box to be returned.  After all,  I had paid for them.  I finally got a new box when they were waiting on my final check.  
They are just so disorganized.  It is not about your schedule.  It is all about theirs.  Customer service does not appear to be part of the business model.  I am just grateful the work is done.  There are a couple of small gaps between the tiles of the kitchen backsplash.  I am not asking them to fix it.  I will just have the next contractor fix it.  I cant bear to deal with them any more.

It went very well for my first remodel ever!

     We  give DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen of Stafford a D, an A for there work & a F for service. We followed the procedure of there's, $500.00 fee,several visits,signing a contract & picking out all material. Then 2 months later, the work began. I wish we had never picked them. We are senior citizens. They put us through H***. We worked with Kathryn & the owner Dave.We were told it would take a week & half. It took 7 weeks. Here is what took place. Because the first week was strange, I thought it would be wise to log what was happening:
Week 1  - Wed & Thurs. only, complete demolish of bathroom
Week 2 -  worked Mon. through Thurs. only , 
Week 3 -   worked Mon. through Sat.
      I must mention here that because of errors made by them , they had to order the porcelain tile for the shower,two or three more times. This delayed the work. The first time Katheryn said the other lady was to have ordered it but didn't. Then when it did come in they installed what they had & it was not enough. So it was ordered again. According to Kathryn, it was my fault that they had to order more. I changed my mind & wanted the tile up to the ceiling in the shower. I NEVER CHANGED MY MIND. THE FIRST DAY I WALKED INTO THAT PLACE , I WANTED THE TILE UP TO THE CEILING.
Week 4 - worked Mon. & Tues. only  , on Tues. they measured for the stone & glass in the shower
    I know that this takes a day or 2 to get cut & install. By Fri. I called Kathryn, left a message & never received a call back. I made a lot of calls to Kathryn. When she answered it was usually this," O, I was about to call you". I got so tired of hearing this.
Week 5 - NO WORK ALL WEEK
    My husband called Dave ( the owner ) He had no idea that no one was working there. He would look into it & call us back. We never received a call back from him.
Week - 6   Mon., stone people came to install the vanity top, but had the wrong size sink. Had to go back & recut the top. Came back on Thurs. & installed.   Tues. the glass man came & installed the glass wall. Fri. 2 guys came to make corrections. but still not complete.- touch -up paint, shower leak, shelf to be installed.
Week - 7  only day- Freddy came with another guy, finished the work. This was the first time I saw Freddy.
      This was horrible service. They worked when they could fit us in. We never knew when they were coming. I constantly called to see if they weren't coming so I could leave & run my errands. I believe they left other people hanging, just like they did us. They took on more work than they were capable of getting done. I would not recommend them to anyone.
      I retired from a major grocery chain. I worked in the booth, listening to customer complaints. We would never treat customers the way we were treated here.

They did exactly what they promised.  The estimate was for a 5-day job, and that was exactly what they did.  They were always on time, and worked hard all day!  The plumber did a good job.  The tile guy also did excellent work, and he was very painstaking in his work.  They did minimal damage to the floor tile which I wanted to keep and the walls around the shower.  They also cleaned up nicely every day when they left.  David oversaw the whole process and kept in touch every day.  I plan on working with him again in the future for some more remodeling in my other bathrooms.  I'm very happy with my new shower!

The remodel went very well. It exceeded my expectations. Mr. Leva offered wonderful suggestions that really complimented my vision. He is very much aware of all the newest options. And his workers all behaved very professionally and were obviously experienced craftsmen. I was particularly impressed with the tile work. He clearly has an eye for detail, as does Mr. Leva.

Great.

David Leva is the owner at DreamMaker Bath and Kitchen. Kristin O?Dell was the designer and project manager.  We worked with Kristin to develop a detailed 9 page scope of work that defined 30 tasks from stripping and re-staining cabinets to removing an extra TV cabinet, and replacing tile.
  Kristin worked with us to  develop colors and design that fitted our tastes.  During this initial design process, but before the final construction  contract was signed, we took Kristin?s design recommendations and then  made multiple vendor trips to select everything from granite, sinks, and tile to all of the paint colors.
After the construction contract was signed, the material procurement such as tile, sink, faucet, granite, tile, and a downdraft ventilator took about 30 days.  Once construction work started the project took about seven weeks.  Because we all put effort into defining the details before work started, the project went smoothly and the change orders were less than 7% of the job. As with any renovation, it is important you put the time into defining the details of the work you want done, before the contractor starts work.
Kristin O?Dell was knowledgeable, very easy to work with and responded immediately to the usual minor items as work was in progress.  The construction foreman and his craftsmen were all very agreeable and easy to work with. Work progressed steadily without any unusual downtime.  I would be very pleased to see them on another job in the future.

This was the second time that David and his crew came int o our house in less than 3 months.  Earlier this year in February, we had them come in and redo our kitchen/ family room (see previous review for company).  I will reiterate all the sentiments expressed in our first experience with DreamMaker.  No renovation is ever "easy", but  David, Freddy, and all the crew associated with the project made it go as smoothly as humanly possible.  I had the same workers from our kitchen project back in for the bathroom, and I have never met a harder working group of contractors!  They listened to my wants as the homeowner and took extreme care with keeping the mess to a minimum during the project. 
We have one more major renovation for the inside of our house, the master bathroom.  David and DreamMaker already know that they will be coming back for this last project in our house.  Again, I highly recommend David Leva and his team for a renovation that you can trust.  He cares about making sure your project is done correctly from start to finish, and even beyond completion if the need arises.  He still calls to check in and see how things are going from our projects.  Now what contractor do you know in any field that cares about you after the check had cleared?  David Leva and DreamMaker, that's who!

I couldn't be any happier with DreamMaker Bath and Kitchen, both as a company providing services as well as individuals who really do care about making your dream kitchen and/or bath come alive!  The level of quality and professionalism that you receive are second to none in my opinion.  From start to finish, David and his team (which on my job included the crew leadman, Freddy, and his team of guys) always made sure each step of the way was done to our satisfaction and expectations.  Our house and space were treated with great care and respect.  I expected a huge mess, but the mess was very well contained and cleaned up everyday, to the extent it could be.  Everyone always showed up to work on time and didn't leave each day until the task at hand was completed.  If something needed to be corrected, it was done then and there.  The skill of the guys on the crew was top notch!  As an aside note, when you hire David and his team, if you have any tile work to be done be sure to request Mr. Juan!  He is awesome and very precise when he works!!  Our project took exactly 4 weeks, and that was pretty much what we were expecting at the start of it.  If I had to describe the work and company in one word, my word would be quality!   

I will say that there are definitely less expensive contractors out there, but I would also caution that you get what you pay for!  We knew going in that the re-model was going to be expensive, and it was, but I have never once second guessed hiring DreamMaker to make our dream kitchen come to life.  As I write this, we have already signed another contract with David and DreamMaker to have the floors in the front of the house redone in tile, and a complete gut and remodel job done on our 2nd bathroomin a few weeks.  The same crew will be coming back to do this job as well!  Another review will follow that when the work is compete!  Another dream realized with the help of this company!!

I am extremely pleased with the renovation.  My bathroom has moved into the new century.  The workmanship was excellent

From the outset, there was good communication through the consultation process in which David quickly assessed the current state, my desire for a future state and matched it with my budget.  I had choices for tiles, tile layout, paint colors, hardware fixtures, and light fixtures.  The showroom allowed me to touch and see samples of each choice which helped make the decision process easy and worry free.  The contracting process was very clear spelling out actions and terms for each step of the process.

On site all the workmen were very respectful of  my home.  The first day of the project, de-construction and supply move in day, was one of those horrible rainy days, I thought for sure I would be mopping up after a days work at my house.  I was so wrong, everything had been covered with plastic and drop clothes.  This respect for my home continued throughout the project. 

The good communication continued throughout the project.  I knew each day what was going on at the house on the project without having to be there and monitor the work.    I really loved this as a I work long hours and didn't have time or desire to micro manage the project.   David kept me up to date with e-mails and phone messages which was exactly the way I wanted to be involved.

I have a 50+year old home and had no idea how great the bathroom would look with David's ideas and workmanship.  He was practical and very experienced from start to finish.  The craftsmen he employs are extremely skilled in their work.  I am so pleased, yes, i went over my unrealistic amount and i am happy I spent every penny of it.  Having a person who knows the business, products available and quality of products was far superior to any thing i would have come up with using books, models, etc. 
His workers were great about protecting my home and pets.  I was able to use facilities for the max amount of time. No inconvenience there!
Do read the contract carefully, there are no hidden issues, just make sure it covers all you want covered.  David is honest and realistic about possibilities when uncovering in an old home.  We didn't have any major surprises and he accounted for any possibility beforehand. He is extremely responsive and realistic about his timing.

Excellent! Timely responses to any and all queries. True integrity with product quality and delivery.

When our house was flooded by a faulty washing machine, our kitchen area had an inch of standing water.  When I received the insurance check, I didn't start looking for a GC in the BBB or even Angie's List (I wasn't a member).  There was only one person I called for an estimate: David Leva at Dreammaker Kitchen and Bath.  David had done work at my Mom's house (her master bathroom, and later her kitchen), and we were so pleased with his work, I knew I was going to hire him for my house.  David's work turned out so good, I decided to join Angie's List just to write this testimonial, so that others will be as pleased as I am.  When I called, David scheduled a meeting with his assistant.  He showed up on time and was not rushed for time.  His estimate was spot on.  His payment schedule was fair.  He filled change orders accurately.  He frequently inspected the work site to troubleshoot problems before I even knew about them.  David's subcontractors are punctual, extremely friendly and hard working.  They took extra care to keep my house clean, and never left a disaster area at the end of the workday.  I gave David a challenge, and the possibility of additional business.  I challenged David to salvage my granite AND my bottom cabinets.  I wanted to reuse as much as I could to prevent these materials from going to a landfill, and to add value to my home.  His workers salvaged the granite, which David's crew eventually installed in my bathrooms.  They also saved all of the cabinets, which I repaired (water damage) and installed in my garage.  Most crews would just have come in and demolished everything.  David knew what the customer wanted even though it would probably take more time.  Because he followed through, he received the additional business bathroom granite installation (which he personally helped complete!!!!).  David cares about his customers, so much that you can't help but see him as a close friend.  I consider David (and Jaime)  a friend, and I still would never dream of hiring a stranger to work for me or my family.  I just hope that future business with David isn't under such devastating circumstances and that he isn't too busy to work for me again ;).

In 2009 I had another Houston company do a second floor bathroom remodeling project including a tub to shower conversion. Unfortunately, two years later a stain appeared on the ceiling below. The company refused to acknowledge that there could be a shower pan problem so I called a plumber who did a shower pan test which showed a leak. He recommended that the entire shower pan be replaced. Since the shower was completely tiled, this necessitated demolition of the existing shower.

I got quotes and confirmation that the entire project had to be ripped out and redone correctly. Since I had been burned by the first disastrous installation, I was very skittish about making another mistake. I chose DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen of Houston because David Leva, the owner, impressed me with his knowledge, attention to detail and commitment to quality. He even suggested improvements in the design to maximize light and air flow.    His proposal as well as the contract was extremely detailed.

During the demolition, it became apparent that the previous contractor had inadvertently hammered a nail through the shower pan. The very slow leak first destroyed the underlying wood and then began to show on the ceiling. The difference in the installation process between the first contractor and DreamMaker was night and day. I have no worries about this shower leaking.

David Leva is a perfectionist and he used different people to do the demolition, plumbing, tile and glass installations. I can honestly say that every single worker who came into my home was top rate and very professional.   They all had their areas of expertise and seemed to share David's perfectionist attitude.  The job went so smoothly and I was delighted with the end result. They also tore out the stained sheet-rock below and the painter did such a good job that it is impossible to tell that there was ever any damage or repair work done.

I highly recommend DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen of Houston since they really did turn my remodeling nightmare into a beautiful dream.