Above & Beyond Remodeling

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At the end of a previous gig, Rob provided us an initial order of magnitude quote without seeing the underside of the porch (at my request) as we had no access without ripping the porch apart so we could start saving for the job.  Two years later when we were ready for a more detailed quote, Rob came back out and we were able to provide access to the underside of the porch.  Rob was very open and honest about issues he saw and helped us understand the impacts on cost.  In the end, we decided we needed to do an entire rip and replace.  Rob helped line up an architect and oversaw the process.  He also helped us in selecting materials and reviewing the final design plan.
Once the permits had been obtained, Rob and his crew scheduled a start date and arrived as scheduled.  His team worked diligently on the project, paying special attention to detail.  Several additional issues were discovered during the porch installation which they calmly and meticulously addressed (including having to suspect our bay window that had been improperly installed on the porch deck without further support).  His crew was pleasant and friendly, even taking the time to bring mail and packages that arrived into the house for us.  The end product was amazing and it is clear Rob and his team both focus on going "above and beyond" to provide quality work that will survive the Seattle rain for many years to come, on making sure the work in also aesthetically pleasing, and making sure they meet the needs of the customer.  They were even able to build a new step box at our back door out of scrap parts.  Rob also was kind enough to look at our patio door windows which had fogged up and provide a reference for us to help get it fixed.
Overall, I would strongly recommend Rob and his team to anyone looking for craftsmen dedicated to performing outstanding work at a reasonable price with quality materials and a friendly smile.

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We were referred to Rob Walker by a friend and apparently most of Rob's business comes through word of mouth. I took this as a good sign that he is able to provide enough excellent service that he can maintain his livelihood purely on referrals. When I contacted Rob to ask him to come out for an estimate, he was very prompt and came out the same week. His quote seemed reasonable compared to other quotes we had received and he also suggested someone to replace our existing deck railing that had rotted. Given that our deck was in poor shape and there were concerns about unseen water damage, Rob added some extra hours to the quote and we agreed to start the work at the end of April.
April came and went and Rob kept pushing the date back. Partially he was working on another job and needed to spend some time to fix some unexpected issues. This seemed good that he preferred to get his previous job done right rather than rush through completion to make an arbitrary deadline for us. The other issue was that given that he was replacing our outdoor upstairs deck, he needed a stretch of good weather. After he missed the stretch of good weather at the end of April, he kept pushing the date back even though some of the days appeared in my eyes to be good working conditions. Finally in mid-May he got started.
The starting and ending hours he originally told us did not match the hours worked, sometimes earlier, sometimes later. At one point, a third person also arrived we were unaware of (but in the end it did not impact the total cost). He tore off the deck railing, then waited almost a week before returning (due to and quot;weatherand quot;). When they finally got going, the project seemed to happen pretty quickly and he even showed up a few hours on the weekend to add more of the layering for the deck.
When all was said and done, the deck looked amazing and we are confident it was survive many a Seattle winter. We've already asked Rob for a quote to fix our front porch.
Overall, I think Rob did a great job and his final costs came in almost exactly per his initial estimates with a slight increase for material that he informed us of immediately as the cost arose (due to the aforementioned unseen water damage). My only issue was the seemingly fickled timeline of the project. Had he simply told us in April that he couldn't start the project until May or June when the weather improved, that would have been better. The constant setting of a date then moving of the date was a bit annoying. Having said that, this was one of our first major home improvement projects and we were unaware that this is more commonplace than not in this business.
I think more education of the consumer upfront on what the project entailed and the constraints around the weather would have eased our minds some. Having said that, in hindsight I see why it took so long and the end product is fantastic. We would definitely consider hiring Rob again.

The quality of the results has been excellent, Rob has taken the care and attention to ensure that things are done right. I am remodeling my house in stages and Rob has been excellent in working with my timelines and coordinating activities with my other contractors. I have worked with a number of different contractors over the past couple of years and have been impressed with Rob's work ethics.
I still have more remodelling to do and plan to continue to use Rob on future projects