GT RESIDENTIAL CONTRACTING

Graham and Danny (owners, GT Residential) are nice guys and we believe they have good intentions.  The work was more expensive and took longer than expected, but that is the norm with remodels from what I understand! 

More than two years out, we are happy with the workmanship.  However, I feel the need to report some serious issues we've encountered as a result of their work:

1. As our basement was being finished by GT, a copper pipe that goes through a basement wall from our upstairs kitchen sink froze.  GT said they fixed the problem prior to completion of our remodel.  However, the next winter the pipe froze again AND FLOODED OUR BASEMENT in 3 inches of water.  GT did not claim responsibility, stating it was existing pipe.  Regardless, the problem that we had thought was fixed cost us thousands of dollars and we had to completely remodel the basement again!

2. The water main to the dishwasher upstairs was improperly installed by GT and began leaking water one year later (the same time that the basement flooded).  We were informed that it was close to flooding our kitchen.

3. The exhaust pipe removing hot air from our furnace in the basement (which heats up to several hundred degrees) was enclosed by GT in plywood.  A furnace repairman recently noticed scorch marks around the plywood and was shocked that GT did not put firestops around the plywood.  This is a serious fire hazard.  It also cost us time and money to remedy.

4. Yesterday I saw a class action lawsuit against PEX, which is the new plumbing system GT installed at our house.  Oy vey.  

Because I believe GT has good intentions and was not trying to cut corners, I have to believe the (serious) issues we've experienced are due to lack of experience.  Lesson learned.

We started our project by interviewing seven contractors. GT initially impressed us by taking a genuine interest in how we planned to use the new space, and in how we wanted the remodel process to go. Other contractors we interviewed spent 90-100% of the time talking about themselves and their past projects, without asking us about our goals. GT's attitude, combined with a very low-pressure sales approach from Graham, led us to ask GT for an estimate on our project. Of the three estimates we received, GT distinguished themselves with an impressive level of detail, letting us see exactly what materials they proposed to use (type of decking and siding, level of insulation, brand of windows, etc.), as well as detailed, line-item estimates of the time required to perform each task, down to installation of the individual cabinet pull. While no project goes exactly to plan, particularly at this high level of detail, GT's approach allowed us to identify exactly what items were missing before work began, and gave us a great starting point for getting the project scope to meet our budget, since we were able to see clearly how our project costs were distributed. We're very detail-oriented people, so this type of estimate was perfect for us. However, it does take a bit of work and time to read through it, so it might not be for everyone. Once work began, GT was efficient, responsive, and highly skilled. We began most days with a 10-15 minute chat about what work was to be done that day, giving both sides a chance to ask questions and refine the plan as we went. From demolition through to finish carpentry, we felt well-informed and confident that GT was working to our specifications. We had a couple of minor speed-bumps during the project, including finding an unexpected gas line while digging the trench for the new foundation. GT was very flexible, rearranging the project schedule to allow time for the gas company to come out to verify that the line was decommissioned and safe to cut. The stain-grade trim in our new kitchen is a good example of GT's enthusiasm and attention to detail. They seemed genuinely excited to work with the wood, and we felt that their standards for final appearance were every bit as high as ours, if not higher. They spent significant time looking around the rest of our house, mentally peeling back decades of remodels and repairs, to find windows and doors that demonstrated the original trim style of our house, and then ensured that all new trim matched the original beautifully. In the end, our project was slightly over budget (less than 10%) and slightly over schedule (16 weeks on a 14 week estimate). We feel very comfortable with this result, given the overall size/scope of the project and the amount of uncertainty when peeling the walls off of a 100 year-old house. While our experience with GT was overwhelmingly positive, there are a couple of minor criticisms to share as well. (I wouldn't trust a review without any negatives!) First, invoicing was initially unpredictable, both in terms of timing and size. It took nearly a month to receive the first invoice, after we were told to expect invoices every two weeks. Additionally, our second invoice accounted for nearly 40% of our total project cost. This was the result of bringing in many subcontractors as well as multiple pre-payments in a two week period, so GT was simply passing through the costs as they occurred (as they should). Still, it would have been nice to have some advance warning that such a large invoice was coming. That said, GT was extremely flexible afterwards, allowing us to pay half immediately and half after we transferred funds from another account a few days later. A second minor issue was that our project estimate (against which all costs were tracked) wasn't consistently updated as the project changed, making it harder to tell if we were on budget. For example, we made a mid-project decision to swap in a cheaper siding material, but the original estimate and associated cost tracking updates did not reflect this change, making it appear as if the siding was under budget, when it really should have been represented as on-budget for a slightly lower overall project cost. I'm confident that this didn't affect the overall/final cost of the project, but it did make it more difficult to keep track of costs as the project went on. These minor concerns aside, GT Residential Contracting was a joy to work with, and we're thrilled with the results. We hope to work with them on additional projects as time, funds, and energy allow!

Need I say more to set the stage then a baby on the way and three months to completley remodel a kitchen and dining room? We also hired a kitchen designer who made things as complicated as possible. Dan and Graham (owners) and all of their team are detail oriented, unbelievably neat and clean, punctual and absolutely deserving of your trust. Many issues surfaced due to the age of our home (1924) as well as the less than perfect details supplied by our designer. GT managed to not only gain our trust as we worked through the many issues but also did not stray form their fixed bid unless circumstances were very clearly out of the scope we discussed. I am the kind of person who works on their own home. Over the course of many remodels I have consistently found the work of contractors to be below my standards. Sometimes it feels that yes, if you want it done right then do it your self. GT exceeded my expectations in a very pressure filled situation. In the end the work is beautiful, details are tight. Dan even set the back of one of my wall cabinets to a brick wall by scroll cutting the back of the cabinet to match the brick courses. At one point we discovered our drawers in one corner crashed into another cabinet. This error by the designer caused us to have to redesign and order emergency replacement cabinets. There were maybe 4 days of wasted work. GT kept working not knowing who, if anyone, would pay for the rework. In the end they collected from the designer and asked us for no more money. After about 4 months we had a few small cracks develop between the walls and the trim (old house). GT came back happy to help a few days after the call, quickly and neatly made everything perfect again, held our new baby (they like babies) and left on their way to do a better job than the next person expected!