Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Major Kitchen / Master Bath Remodel
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March 13, 2012 at 3:42 am #602488
carterParticipantHey Allknowingwiseones,
We’re undertaking a complete kitchen remodel and Master bath remodel. We think we’re in a good emotional place to handle it. We are wanting to hear from those who can recommend good experiences. We have friends/acquaintances who have done them recently but NO ONE enjoyed it. It ran twice as long as expected and way over budget. We expect a certain amount of this stuff to go on buy, hey, all I want is professionalism and talent to shine through in the end. And, for goodness sake, show up when you say you will and do the work. We would prefer to use local (West Seattle) contractors and designers but would consider outside if need be. Thanks in advance.
March 13, 2012 at 4:47 am #751340
JanSParticipantMarch 13, 2012 at 5:10 am #751341
inactiveMemberBrave you! My God, kitchen *and* master bath at the same time. I pretty much had a nervous breakdown just doing my kitchen, but I designed it and acted as my own general. I had to learn EVERYTHING. Never ever again. So dumb. I lost a few years off my life no doubt but, hey, the kitchen has become my favorite space and has inspired me immeasureably every day.
And I want to reiterate Jan’s recommendation of Ventana, even though I ultimately went at it on my own. They offered a free seminar for folks considering projects and it was loaded with excellent info, not to mention they are cool peeps.
It is challenging, but give yourself a year, maybe two, :) to recover and you will likely really enjoy the outcome.
:) Good luck.
And, yeah, add an 5-15% extra JIC (just in case) $$$$ to your budget. Stuff happens sometimes.
March 13, 2012 at 3:16 pm #751342
dhgParticipantStop in and see Bill Babb at Better Builders in the junction (just across from A Terrible Beauty). http://www.betterbuilders.com/
Office Phone:206-588-2075
He has many examples of his work, he’s highly ethical, easy to talk to.
March 13, 2012 at 6:00 pm #751343
superbbMemberI do recommend Bill Babb with Better Builders. He remodeled our kitchen and bathroom in our new house last year. We love our new house! He really is a stickler with the budget, and I had to talk him into going over budget in a few areas, (a fancier back splash and tile floors) He is a solid down to earth guy. He is easy to work with, and easy to communicate with! He calls when he says he will!! Those little things are huge when it comes to remodeling. Good luck!
March 13, 2012 at 8:22 pm #751344
Sus_MMemberA cautionary tale. Not to make you turn in your sleep, but there is a bit of useful information at the end. We hired a fine local West Seattle contractor that stripped our 1927 home and abandoned the job just as our 2nd baby was born two weeks later. He destroyed our house and left it unlivable. We did sue and during the lawsuit we found how horrible contractors can hide behind every trick in the book. He was a nice, likeable guy at first, but behind the scenes he lied, cheated and he stole. We even threatened to come after us for lost profit and damages if we sued him. At the end he cried “bankruptcy!” which of course is the last resort that many contractors choose rather than to do the right thing.
From that experience we did learn a few valuable lessons. I hope this helps to make a good choice and to protect you from harm. No, this isn’t legal advice just your basic common sense.
If you are going to spend $100K+ or even tens of thousands, there should be a contract and please read it several times. I would never trust a complete stranger with my most valuable possession again. It would be wise to spend the money to have a construction attorney look at the contract if you find it difficult to understand.
Put everything in writing. Emails are your best friend. Contractors generally like to talk and promise. A quick email to him that covers what you talked about will always help remind either party what was discussed.
Research the contractor on the L&I website. You can find out if his insurance is valid and that he has a license. You would be surprised! I would highly recommend a look at King county public records for lawsuits under the company name and owners name – both municipal and civil. If he has a lawsuit, ask him about it. After all it is part of his business and you are investing in him. If he paints a picture that the client was the bad guy, I would look elsewhere because part of being in this type of work is dealing with difficult people. Generally you should call everyone one of the references that he gives you but of course they will all say good things. Seattle DCLU has all the projects he worked on with all the clients’ names, addresses, and phone numbers. I would not recommend going that far unless he is the contractor that you are about to choose.
If you find yourself in a predicament like we had, remember all that contractors are required to have is a $12,000.00 bond. Most of that could be consumed in attorney fees just to get it. For us we discovered there is little out there to help if you are wronged. Laws work as much for the contractor as they do for the consumer. It pays to do your homework.
From our experience we have found that the honest, straight forward contractors are hard to find and are extremely busy. You should plan to wait in line for sometime for the best. Believe it or not they are usually going back and forth between old clients. I wish you luck!!
March 13, 2012 at 10:56 pm #751345
Talaki34ParticipantMike Dolge of Urban Build. Hardworking, trustworthy, dedicated professional. Mike brings to the table many years of making the dreams of others come true.
It doesn’t matter if it is a small job that takes a few minutes or larger one like a kitchen and bath remodel, Mike puts the same amount of caring into each and every one. He really listens, is happy to answer questions and actually encourages participation. Mike is passionate about the work he does and it shows.
I found Mike right here on the WSB. You can read more about him by typing “Mike Dolge” or “Urban Build” in the search area. You can also find reviews on Yelp. The most recent, 3/4/2012.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/urban-build-seattle
Mike Dolge
Urban Build
206.235.4339
Best of luck to you!
March 14, 2012 at 1:01 am #751346
holes_in_shoesMemberI agree with Talaki34.
Urban Build Northwest is a prompt, courteous, competitively priced contractor that will work with you to obtain the best results within your budget and time constraints. They maintain attention to detail, manage your project with minimal impact on your daily life, and keep you informed of their progress throughout each phase. The jobs we hired them for (which included major plumbing and bathroom upgrade) turned out great! They come with our highest recommendations.
March 14, 2012 at 3:21 pm #751347
carterParticipantThank you to all responders. I’ve found them all interesting and worthy. And thanks for the recommendations. Suz_M, a good reality check.
Several years ago we undertook a major remodel of our home and it took me years to get over the day after day challenges that included workers showing up late day after day with excuse after excuse. Many times I had to baby sit the general’s deaf son in order to get him to work. I had workers not show up because they were in jail time after time. One worker was a out of control coke addict – I mean coca-cola! Needed one every 20 minutes. I’m a reasonable guy when it comes to challenges and unforeseen problems but all I asked is for them to show up when they said they would and put in a days work. I left the country for a year to recover! Keep the comments coming.
March 14, 2012 at 4:58 pm #751348
TammiWSMemberDitto Sus_M’s comments and would add:
Dont pay anything up front – good contractors wont ask for that
Get EVERYTHING in writing and keep copies of everything.
Track time worked/hours
Check L&I for bond/insurance coverage
We had some work done over a year ago by a local WS guy, and are still trying to collect on the judgement – and we will – now that an attorney is involved and they’ve threatened to take his property and auction it off if he doesnt pay the judgement within the next 30 days.
In our case he skated out on the job, left us in a HUGE plumbing mess in the winter that thankfully a local company could fix, he was late/never kept his committment to the job, didnt return calls, didnt show to court, hasnt paid the judgement, evaded collectors, was fired from 2 jobs after his work for us (we talked to the companies), still cant hold a job with a company…. but continues to work on the side, illegally. This jerk even told me to my face I’d never see a dime and f*** you, b****. LI even told us it wouldnt be worth followup as it could get ‘dangerous’ and the police/state have more important crimes to focus on.
He probably thinks he underbid the job, which was far more work than he anticipated, and felt justified in walking away when he did with the $$ he had been paid already.
IMO is a joke how contractors can take advantage of people and not be held more accountable. You do everything right and dont have any recourse but to keep trying or give up. Our bad was not looking at LI site to get his background which has multiple judgements against him, including one from us.
If you’re wronged its a lot of work to try and follow the legal steps on your own. Tons of paperwork, so do all your research up front!
Good luck!
March 14, 2012 at 10:14 pm #751349
jissyParticipant*Warning: Momentary ThreadJack*
Tammi – can you tell me the name of the attorney you’re using on your judgement? I recently won a judgement, it’s past the 30 days and need to pursue garnishment (have an information packet on how to do it but it reads as if it’s in a foreign language!) I’m not sure what legal specialty can help me pursue the judgement. THANKS!
March 15, 2012 at 12:18 am #751350
dhgParticipantIt is beyond absurd that contractors are only required to post a $12k bond. It should be at least 10 times as much. I know people who are out more than 100k because it is easy for contractors to collect that and walk. I emailed my state rep regarding the bond and never heard back.
March 15, 2012 at 1:07 am #751351
dyn99ParticipantOkay, let’s make this a little easier. PLEASE, follow these instructions if you’re going to hire a contractor to remodel your home.
First – start here:
https://fortress.wa.gov/lni/bbip/Search.aspx
This tells you if your prospective contractor is licensed, bonded, and insured. If you cannot find your contractor listed – ask them for their UBI number or Washington State Contractor’s license number and run the search based on that. The search engine for names is spotty at best.
DON’T JUST TAKE THEIR WORD FOR IT! Lots of contractors lie about their license status. Make sure you can find them on this site.
Also, you want to see if he’s been involved in prior companies that have closed down or had their license suspended. One of the oldest tricks in the book is to open up as a new company if your license gets pulled by LNI.
Please click on the name of each prior company that is listed and give it the same amount of scrutiny that you give the current company.
For example, one of the contractors who is mentioned positively in this post (run the search yourself, don’t get mad at me for pointing this out) had his license suspended by LNI at a previous company he owned. Most likely for the bond impairment reason I mention you should look for below.
If it were me, I would be very cautious of any contractor who had his license suspended previously, as it either requires negligence (failing to renew insurance, bond impairment or failure to renew license)or takes a LOT to get LNI to act. Either way, if a contractor can’t keep himself consistently licensed, bonded or insured, you don’t want to hire him.
Also look for lapses in license. Many contractors will have a couple of companies they owned/ran over time – i.e. they switched from a sole proprietorship to an LLC or S-Corp. This is fairly normal and nothing to worry about. What you want to make sure is that they were in business the whole time. If there are big lapses in their license from company to company, you definitely need to know why before hiring them.
Next, on bond – if ANYTHING is listed under “impaired date” that means that someone filed a lawsuit or took other action against the bond (which means something went very wrong) and the bond had to pay out (which means that the claim was legitimate – anyone who has ever had to sue to get a bond to pay out will know that it doesn’t happen easily). If you see this, you should stay away. Make sure to look at prior companies for this too.
Also, look down at the bottom where it says “summons/complaint informaton” and “warrant information”. **THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART** – if you see anything listed under this section, it means that another party is suing this contractor. **IF YOU SEE ANYTHING LISTED HERE – EVER – STAY AWAY**
Up at the top, under “Printer Friendly” – click on the two links that say “Verify Workers Comp Premium Status” and “Check for Dept. of Revenue Account” and go to the two websites to make sure that your contractor is paying his taxes. Chances are that if he’s not, then he’s not paying his subcontractors or suppliers also, and your property will get liened.
Lastly, run these searches for your contractor’s name and company name:
http://dw.courts.wa.gov/index.cfm?fa=home.superiorSearch&terms=accept&flashform=0
http://dw.courts.wa.gov/index.cfm?fa=home.namesearch&terms=accept&flashform=0
For the name search – type in the last name of the owner of the company and the first initial only (in case of misspellings).
For the business name search – use “King County Superior Court”, select “Civil” as the case type, and go back a few years – say to 2005. This is a double-check to see if anyone is suing your contractor currently, as the lag on LNI’s website can be 30-60 days.
One last item to note: Do not trust online reviews as a reliable source unless they are from a paid site like Angie’s List (or similar). The contractor that we went after had his friends/family posting phony reviews for him on these websites. It happens all the time. I’m not saying they’re all fake, but a review on a site that requires a paid subscription should carry more weight than one that anyone can post on. And the state resources available (which are in 20 different places and can be confusing) will actually get you the information you need, as long as you know where to look.
And if you find a great contractor, I’d love a recommendation. I’m looking for one myself. I’ve got a list of 10 to interview, and will make sure that I don’t make the very expensive mistakes this time that I did last time.
March 15, 2012 at 3:05 am #751352
IrukandjiParticipantI’d wholly trust Ventana, and had I known about them, they would have been a likely contender for our job. We did a two story remodel, knocking out the back of the house to rework a kitchen, bath and bedroom. We chose Ed Novion after interviewing a number of potential suitors.
We had a set of blueprints ready to go. We were quoted a WIDE range of prices for the job, from $125K up to $400K. We checked references, made lots of calls and toured a number of homes.
We chose Ed.
Ed is a licensed general contractor, electrician and plumber who was on the jobsite every day with his core team. I had an 18mo old at the time, and we chose to stay in the house. Ed and his guys were respectful, timely, communicative and without any bullshit. It was obvious from the get-go that he had the respect of both inspectors and subcontractors. Work got DONE.
As always with major projects, there will be errors due to mistakes and miscommunications. There were two of these during our project, and both were remedied without drama and without additional expense.
We continue to contact Ed for smaller projects like fort building, window replacement, garage alterations and the like. He is invested in the ongoing experience of living in a home, and his work, his client relations, reflect that in every job and communication.
He not a talker, he won’t need to spend $15K to produce notebooks for your project. He’ll get the work done well.
Ed Novion: 206-551-5161. If you’re interested in him after making contact, I’ll clean up and we can give you the tour.
March 15, 2012 at 6:02 am #751353
chairboyMemberI second the recommendation for Ed Novion. Our house is a 1931 brick tudor that had a tiny galley kitchen. We also wanted to take out a wall, emancipate a closed-in staircase, and refinsh and extend our oak floor. Ed did a wonderful job. Even if you are looking at other contractors I would certainly call him in to have him give a bid.
I made a slideshow of our remodel. It may not all make sense if you don’t understand the space but you can see the beautiful work that was done. We were so happy at the end we threw a party for everyone involved, seen in the last slide. That’s Ed, 3rd in from the left.
http://www.chairboy.com/kitchen/kitchen.html
As Irukandji pointed out, Ed can be reached at 206-551-5161.
March 15, 2012 at 3:32 pm #751354
IrukandjiParticipantGreat video chairboy! Your kitchen inspired our decision to have Ed bid our project. He didn’t disappoint! I wish I’d taken more photos along the way.
March 16, 2012 at 4:33 am #751355
carterParticipantLatest round of input is massively useful! And Choirboy, loved the video! Dramatic changes. All has been taken to heart. Heartfelt thanks for everyone’s time and effort.
March 16, 2012 at 5:11 am #751356
PibalParticipantHi Chairboy,
The http://www.chairboy.com/kitchen/kitchen.html
is not working; just a blank white screen. Can you post another link? Thank you!
March 16, 2012 at 12:41 pm #751357
TammiWSMemberJissy:
Williams Kastner
601 Union Street, Suite 4100
Seattle, WA 98101-2380
Main: 206.628.6600
Matt Green is the atty. Good luck!
May 3, 2012 at 6:48 pm #751358
ajhmorrisParticipantQuality Home Remodeling- Dave Morris is located in West Seattle and has great references. He is licensed, bonded and insured.
206-226-4072
May 5, 2012 at 12:47 am #751359
funkietooParticipantAnother big thumbs up for Ventana. They will be repairing/restoring my home (after a recent house fire).
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