Summit Design Remodeling, LLC

Not well, he said it would take eight weeks four months later it was still not done. They would show up unannounced. We signed the substantial completion certificate just to get the out of the house. They did not finish the caulking around the back spalsh and bailed on the remaining amount that we owed. They would stop by our house at 7 am to ask us about the tile instead of putting it in an email. DO NOT HIRE!

Two subcontractors were horrible, the HVAC and plumber made mistakes and were unprofessional and David seemed to back their actions. The framers, tiles and finish subcontractors were excellent. The material estimates were poor and organization of the material costs were poor.

We hired Summit to add an addition onto to our home for a new kitchen and small family room. We wanted a company that would build the shell of the addition and install the windows, electrical, plumbing, insulation, roof and leave the rest for us to finish. Summit met with us many times, discussed the plans, provided drawings, and obtained the proper permits. This company was willing to work closely with us and not require us to have their company finish the work, which is extremely hard to find. They kept us informed of every step along the way and provided detailed schedules as well. They broke ground and had the foundation poured within 2 days. Later that week, this area was experiencing extreme heat, in the 100s, and Summit still came to work, extra early to beat the heat. The plan was to finish the job in about 3 to 4 weeks and it was completed in a little less than 3 weeks. It was an extremely pleasant experience working with everyone, from the owners, to the project lead to the carpenters. Their sub contractors where great to work with as well. My husband asked detailed questions throughout the process and everyone was always willing to explain what was happening. We have since finish the addition ourselves and have been nothing but beyond pleased with their work. Our addition is beautiful and we have not had one issue with anything. We would utilize Summit again as they are just a great company to deal with.

We had Summit come out to give an estimate on finishing our basement. The person who came out did no measurements, wrote down nothing ... no sketches, diagrams, nothing. The conversation was mainly focused on how much we were willing to spend and what contract vehicle he could get us to use (and was pushing ones that wouldn't allow us to do apples-apples comparisons to other bids). When it was clear that I was not going to give him the $$ of how much we were willing to spend and wanted an actual estimate for the work from them, he became highly disinterested in what we wanted to do. Further, when he asked me what my main decision point was, I said cost/value and that seemed to be the deal breaker for him. I knew we would never hear back from Summit because it was clear that they knew they wouldn't be competitive with other reputable firms. Just for grins, though, we reached out to them to see how the proposal was coming along and, not surprisingly, the rep replied: and quot;We have decided that your requested approach to the project is not a good fit for our group.and quot; Hahahaha ... Just so anyone reading this review knows ... the and quot;approachand quot; was a basic basement finishing job and the requested proposal was to give us an estimate which included quantifying allowances for major items - bathroom vanity, carpet, etc. This has been the standard approach of the other three bids we've received. We have had a couple of great, very well reviewed contractors come out for estimates and I'm happy to provide other referrals for anyone looking. Be very, very wary of this particular firm.

They were very helpful with the design elements, which took some time, but the actual work was done very quickly and efficiently. They offered several options when choosing sub-contractors, and were helpful when choosing and pricing products. They were very professional and worked with us. They were quite responsive, and had one of their own people onsite every day, even when the sub-contractors were working. They made sure the work was done correctly. We were extremely happy with their work.

We paid $1200 for a 9' X 13' master bath re-design and cost estimate--about twice the going rate for a master bath design and estimate. The first person to come to our house provided a "ballpark" estimate for design and renovation. The proposal that ultimately came in was twice the original ballpark quote for a scaled-down design that did not relocate fixtures. The original estimator is no longer with the company, nor is the designer who was very accommodating in providing alternative drawings and fixture alternatives. Although the company kept apppointments and provided drawings, they were not forthcoming about the cost breakdown. We wanted to have a basis to make design decisions related to moving or not moving a wall, a window, and/or fixtures, and Summit either couldn't or wasn't willing to provide that level of cost breakdown. They just provided an overall cost, even when asked repeatedly over a period of time. We found their competitors to be much more forthcoming with at least fixture and material allowances so we could identify where we might be able to save money. Several months passed and after expressing our disappointment upon encountering Summit at a home show, they offered to and did provide another couple of drawings, but they were prepared from different software that yielded drawings less descriptive, and thus less helpful, than the previous ones. To compare these latest alternatives, we had to ask question after question to get cost information--still not getting the details that we requested. Because we couldn't get the cost answers we asked for and because the proposal was so far out of line with the original ballpark, we decided to go with another company and feel that we wasted $1200 with Summit.

Quality of work is good. Communication average. Company is afraid of competition. I am investor who renovate, hold and rent and have multiple projects ranging from 50K-150K in cost and include additions. First project (75-80K) was through competition. I awarded to Summit Design even though Price was higher because there presentation was very professional. I was happy with work at project#1 so I gave him another project#2 (55-60K) without bidding or negotiating. It completed well in Nov 2010, although there is still some work left to be completed when it warm up. I had another project #3 which was not well defined because of many unknowns. Mike suggested few options but none was that impressive. His quote was getting very expensive. He started quoting me based upon sale price of propriety. This project was in Arlington near by Pentagon in prestigious area so sale price was high. This lead me to get competitive bid. That was not acceptable to Mike and he asked me to pay retention fee for him to give me quote. So I had to drop him. In another small project#4, I was charged (it was later adjusted down significantly) nearly $250 because door was changed from inside to outside swing. It was $40 door, remaining cost was mark up and trip charge. If you do not mind cost of project, he is good to work with with nice team.

They were reasonably punctual. The person who came out was very agreeable and a nice person. They really did bend over backwards to try to get us the estimate that we asked for. In the end, their customer service was excellent. I think they wanted our job to keep getting bigger, and that was making us a little nervous. When we finally got the drawings it was different from what we had spoken about. We were very lucky that customer service was high on their list because when we brought out our concerns they said we did not have to go with them if we were uncomfortable. They said in order to get what we actually wanted it would increase the cost by about two thirds. They left us out of our contract with no trouble. It was a bummer to spend the time and then have them come back with something that was not what we had initially discussed. However, they really tried and they were really nice to work with. I liked them a lot.

Craftsmanship is excellent. We had a few problems with subcontractors, which contractors dealt with immediately. They stayed to original estimates, with written addendums for the the two additional changes I made. They disrupted our life as minimumly as possible and stuck to their schedule as closely as possible, given constraints of inspections. I would use them again and have been handing out brochures about the company. We were their initial Maryland project, but they have already begun work on several other homes in the area. I am willing to be a referral for them.