EMA DESIGN & BUILD

Ellen is amazing.  I love my bathroom and she saved me so many hours, I can't believe it.  She shopped and ordered everything and worked with the installers to get the right installation.  She's a pleasure to work with and kept me calm throughout the whole process.  I'm a Type A, so I had to learn to let go and trust Ellen.  After seeing this project in the end, I wish I had met her before my other projects and had worked with her.  I know I'll use her again if I have another project.

We talked with 3 contractors about our project and Ellen was by far and away the most helpful in working with us to imagine the possibilities and options we could consider. In addition, her quote was very detailed and written out as to what the final product would be. Another benefit of working with Ellen is that she worked with us to design the spaces which included going with us to stores to make selections on tiles, vanities, lights, etc. What seemed like a monumental task was made so much easier with her knowledge and experience guiding us in our choices.

Our home was built in 1919 and so when the demo work began, there was no certainty as to what was behind the walls or under the floor. As it turned out, the cement under the existing bathroom was six-inches thick. To demolish all of that flooring would have been very costly and possibly damaging to the dining room ceiling below. Her crew delicately broke thru the cement in the areas that needed removal for laying the new pipes and drains and didn't disturb the plaster below.

Ellen was here every day with her crew directing them and checking up on the progress. She also kept us well informed throughout the process. The only hiccup in the project was because of the demo issues, the project fell behind schedule and as a result overlapped with the carpenter's planned 10 day anniversary trip. And with those days backing up against Thanksgiving week, we went a period of about 3 weeks when little progress was being made and as a result we didn't have both bathrooms done by Thanksgiving as desired. But Ellen made sure that at least the family bath was completed in time to accommodate children who were home from college; this was very exemplary of her ownership of the project and thinking of the customer.

After remodeling a kitchen in the same house (with a different contractor), I wasn't looking forward to this remodel job. But Ellen made it so much easier for us by her involvement and accommodating our needs (e.g., building a temporary shower in the basement).

I would absolutely recommend Ellen to anyone doing a remodel job, especially in an older home (she did a good job on ours and on another job we visited at an older home). Ellen felt like a part of the family throughout the process and she kept on top of the punch list (without us bugging her) and told us she will back-up her work as long as we live here.

Oh, yes, we also received a great value for the price we paid; the other contractors quoted prices higher than Ellen's and I can't imagine them doing a better job than Ellen's team.

Overall, it went well. Only regret is that I hadn't gone with EMA with prior remodels and other home improvements.

HER CONTRACT IS VERY BASIC AND SHE DOESN'T PUT EVERYTHING IN WRITING. SHE TELLS YOU THAT SHE'LL DO IT, BUT LATER WHEN YOU REMIND HER OF JOBS SHE AGREED TO DO, SHE SAYS IT'S NOT IN THE CONTRACT. SHE NEEDS TO HAVE A MORE DETAILED CONTRACT TO AVOID THIS SITUATION. I PROBABLY WOULD NOT HIRE HER IN THE FUTURE. THAT BEING SAID, THE FINISHED PRODUCT WAS GOOD.