Human Nature Design & Construction Inc

They were very professional and the representative was very complete in his explanations of what they would have to do, problems they might encounter, permits that they would have to pull, engineering reports that they will have to rely on, materials that they would use, time frame, cost, and time for completion.

The planning stage went very well. Leo was patient and understanding with all of our questions and concerns. Once all details were worked out, Leo went to the City Planning Department and throughout the process was diplomatic, but firm. When needed, Leo requested to speak with supervisors or managers to explain his concerns. We were promised by the City signed documents in 3 weeks. Leo was able to complete all changes and get all signatures in 7 weeks. Very impressed with his skills working with the City. After going through the bidding process with a total of three companies, we choose Leo and Human Nature Design & Construction Inc. to do the actual construction for our project. A much better experience than our last one with another provider. We would and have recommended this company to others. We are still in the process of our remodel, but looking forward to completion by the end of 2013. Will keep you updated on the progress.

Wonderful and painless experience. The contractor, Lavi, and his crew of craftsmen were always punctual. Each morning, there was a conference to discuss the project for the day and what needed to be done to complete the project. If there were any issues that cropped up, we discussed how to overcome the issues and the best way to get the job done well (also, insure that the project was aesthetically pleasing). For example, the house was constructed in the 1920's and the inset medicine cabinet would not fit neatly between the studs and supports. Of course, we didn't know this until they opened the wall. They presented and we discussed the different options. At each step, they asked if I was happy in how it was progressing and then if I was happy with the outcome. The medicine cabinet looked great! Fredi, the person who really did most of the work on the bathroom was very hardworking and thorough. He had a great eye for detail and always went above and beyond to make sure that he was doing quality work. A great company to work with.

So far, I could not be happier with the service and work that Leo and his team provide. Originally, I got 10 different quotes on my bathrooms. Leo's quote was the second cheapest (in some cases 10k cheaper than other bidders). Also important, on the preliminary walkthrough, I could tell that he was really listening to me. Several of the contractors 'told me' how I would need to remodel the bathrooms, rather than asking me my wants and needs and proposing a plan to make that happen. Leo really works to make the customer happy. On top of that, he has excellent taste and structural know-how because he's an architect as well as a contractor. His quote included complete architectural drawings of all of the changes he would be implementing. This has been wonderful for peace of mind about where the project is headed (none of the other contractors offered this service). Upon starting this project in September, Leo's crew put up plastic sheeting around the construction zones. This has been invaluable and the contractor who remodeled my kitchen didn't do this. This helps prevent construction dust from taking over your house AND it provides a little privacy from the workers who are in your house 9-5. They've also used the back deck doors for entrance to the bathrooms, so that they're not constantly going in and out through the front door and therefore through the main drag of the house. This makes a huge difference and is not easy for them, as they have to climb a ladder to reach these entrances on the second story balcony. The crew are respectful and easy to work with and talk to about details of the job. Also, Leo and his crew have an excellent relationship with the city inspectors. I never feel like I have to cross my fingers that we'll pass inspection, because they are so detail oriented and by the book. Finally, the crew has excellent craftsmanship and take great pride in their work. His tiling crew seems a bit slow, but the upshot is that their tiling is top shelf work and as a result my white subway tile bathrooms look very expensive and architectural. My only criticism is that there's sometimes a little confusion over details (what appliances they need you as the buyer to by now vs. later, which details were discussed in the original quote, when appointments with vendors are to take place) BUT none of these have resulted in any negative outcome. Any confusion or misunderstanding has been immediately rectified at no additional cost to me. Leo's not the type of guy who's looking to squeeze extra money out you. There have been hardly any unforeseen costs upon breaking ground (I imagine because of his architects eye), and so no bad blood by week 3 or 4 of construction. I highly recommend Human Nature Design!! I'll definitely use them again. These are my go-to guys now.

Leo is very professional and has lots of experiences. He's always willing to hear customer's voice and give his professional advices. Thanks to him, we figured out what we really need for our new home's remodel and addition, saving costs and keeping the functions. And we got the permit smoothly and quickly. We're happy to work with him.

They have never responded with an estimate, even after I have emailed them. If they were not interested in the job they should have said so.

No work was performed, because the contractor thought that the job was too small for the price we had paid. He was very honest and was willing to do what we wanted. We ended up requesting a refund. I would have him back again for sure.

Having purchased a "Big Deal" coupon from Human Nature Design & Construction, Inc., "$1299 for a General Contractor for a Week," I contacted owner and CEO Leo Norel to work on our "to do" list, as suggested in his ad for the coupon. The first project was to repair or replace a pocket door track, which Leo and his crew member, Gerardo, were able to repair by making a hole in the wallboard to get to the track, attaching the track with more and heavier screws than had been originally used, then repairing and eventually painting the wall. Next on the list was to remove and haul away the old toilet in the master bath, remove the linoleum, and put down a layer of 1/2-inch plywood as an extra layer of subflooring, ready for new flooring and installation of a new low-water-usage toilet. Again, this project was done with care and competence. Next was to repair damaged plaster and fill cracks in the entry ceiling. Leo and Gerardo first made sure all surfaces were covered with plastic sheeting for protection, then Gerardo began the repairs, expertly using only enough product to do the job, making the later sanding much less messy. The last and smallest project was to replace molding and prepare it for painting. A few days later, Leo's master painter, Armando, arrived to do the plaster sanding and expert painting of the several areas, including the entry/dining room ceiling, cleaning up at the end of the day, leaving the house fresh and looking new again. We cannot stress enough the importance of having fine people to work in your home. From beginning to end Leo was a pleasure to work with, having an artistic bent, excellent suggestions for what needed to be done, and great pride in his work and that of his crew. He supervised all the work, actively participating where needed, and was always accessible by phone when not at the job site. Leo took great care to do all facets of the various projects exactly as we wanted. We are so pleased with the outcome of these various projects and would not hesitate to recommend Leo Norel and his company, Human Nature Design & Construction, Inc., to family and friends. We will certainly call upon him again in the future. Thank you, Leo!

Once I got them out to my house, they were quick and efficient. It took three days to do the work and my bath looks terrific!

I left several messages and couldn't ever get this scheduled. When he finally called back he said "I am trying to fit you into my schedule." This was frustrating and I am going to get someone else.

I contacted them several times. I tried leaving messages when I could get through but most of the time, I ran into disconnected phone numbers. The numbers I got from Angie's List as well as the numbers on their own website that got me no where. They seem to be a fly-by-night company that no one should have to deal with.

Construction & Project Management Having someone in your home for 6 weeks can be quite stressful. When you also lose access to a kitchen and have to make meals for your children out of the garage for over almost 2 months, it can exceed the limits for even the most patient couple. With that said, the project was delivered on time and on budget with no major surprises that caused any inconveniences or additional stress. The construction site was also kept really clean and safe with no debris left out that impacted our kids ability to play in the rest of the house or outside areas On the project management side, this is where I personally appreciated your services the most. Our formal weekly progress meetings and daily phone calls helped both sides resolve and items before they became major issues. Like any construction project, we had change orders and unforeseen items that were uncovered, but you let us know that this is something we should expect at the beginning of the project so we were prepared. The thing that helped was your proactive approach and communication in addressing these items as it made everything easy deal with and helped keep the project on time and on budget. While the before and after photos on your website speak volumes on your quality of work, please do not hesitate to have any prospective clients contact us to discuss our overwhelmingly positive experience in working with you as well. Sincerely, Tim Sullivan Los Feliz, CA

The reason that we went with him is because we thought that he was very honest, and there was something about him that we liked. He has a lot of integrity; he owns the business. It is not a huge company with tons of employees. We liked that he was the owner and he was the one who came to our house to draw up the plans, and he was the one who is going to be the general contractor. We thought that we could connect with him and that he could stay within the budget that we asked. He answered all our questions and he has the right personality; he doesn’t have a salesman personality. He is good at what he does. We have already paid the price for the plans because he drew our plans for us, so as an architect, that is pretty much been completed and I am happy with it. We are happy with the price and punctuality too. So far he is good. He has done everything he said he is going to do. We are expecting him today with an engineer today.

I asked if he could give me an estimate on the work that needed to be done. He said he couldn't do the work because of his reputation, but he could get someone else to do it. He didn't fulfill his obligation through the Big Deal, because he wouldn't even give me an estimate

Leo from Human Nature Design & Construction, was very Professional and with broad knowledge. He help us finish the project on time. He deliver what he said he will do from the beginning up to the end. We was very happy with the final result.

Contractor provided a quote for work to be done and estimate was too high as it included only labor and not materials.

After assessing the situation with the service provider, we decided that the scope of what I needed done was much too small and would not be worth the money. He suggested that I get a refund for the deal. While I didn't actually end up using his services, I appreciated his honesty. He was very professional, showed up on time, and he had some excellent ideas. I would recommend him.

We purchased an Angie's List "Big Deal" for a week's worth of a general contractor's time. The deal read that it was a great time to "finish up projects you've been putting off" etc. We have an older house and our window sills and door frames really needed a bit of love, so we figured this was the perfect opportunity. Leo was perfectly nice on the phone, and quite friendly in person, however he made it clear very quickly that this sort of thing was NOT what he normally does. He informed us that he was actually an architect and didn't usually do general contractor work at all. He seemed not only disinterested with our project, but opposed to doing it at all. He made no bones about the fact that he only gets a percentage of what we paid Angie's List for the "Big Deal" and effectively told us that our project was not worth his time for what he would be making on it. During our initial meeting with him he looked at our project and told us that we could get our money back from Angie's List if we decided to not go with him. We read this to mean, in no uncertain terms, that he was overqualified for our little job and didn't want to be bothered with it. Its a shame, Leo was a very nice guy and we would have loved to work with him, but his elitist attitude and total disregard for our project (and total disrespect for the deal he was participating in) definitely means we will not be calling him again, even if we ever need an architect. I suppose Angie's List is also to blame for listing him as a General Contractor when he clearly felt that he was not, but if he signs up to participate in a deal he should honor that commitment.

I called and scheduled an appointment to go over the work I had in mind. While the man was here, he was very friendly and personable but seemed uninterested in doing the work. I didn't want a big renovation job done, but had a to-do list of many little things around my home. I did have a hard time initially connecting with him, which I know is fairly common with Big Deals and he wasn't the most responsive company I've ever worked with. I don't have any big complaints, he seems like a very nice guy, but I will find someone else who wants the work.

I purchased their offer for a contractor for a week, 40 hours of work, plus some additional planning and organizing time. Initial contact, they felt that the 40 hours would come close to covering the project. We were removing one wall between the breakfast eating area, and expanding the room for an additional 5 feet, to give us more room. There was two can lights to install in the added room, and we needed to close up the door in the laundry room to the outside, as we had a 8 foot sliding door in the existing eating area. One 24" wall had to be re-framed, and we needed to some drywall work, texture, and painting. The first caution that I had was when I was quoted $5,000 to get the permit, which I ended up doing myself on a walk through basis. It was fairly cumbersome, as we had to be signed off by plan check, the Mulholland corridor for any exterior changes, and finally the building permit. After we got the permit, he re-quoted the project, and ended up being more than double our highest bid. He subtracted the value of the coupon but was still over $5,000 higher.

Leo came to our house. He was on time and very professional. We did not come to a meeting of the minds, so no service was provided.

Throughout the project development and construction, Leo provided his personal time and attention to questions and made sure that the plans met code requirements and that construction was completed according to specifications. His crew was always prompt and courteous, and responsive to our needs.

e when he called to tell me he could not do the work. Polite, professional. On the other hand, Angie's List took quite a long time to process and refund my payment of approximately $1300.00.

After a phone conversation, Leo came out and we discussed a room I wanted constructed, including a partition wall, closets and removing an exterior door, reconstructing the exterior wall, moving a solar tube and possible installing others, repairing a large hole in the ceiling and installing recessed lighting in the entire ceiling, installing a dropped ceiling in the other part of the existing room. Later, I received a proposal for $5750 for design and drawing up plans for the room, a remodel of the bathroom and a room built on to the existing garage. The $5750 budget included design, permitting, drawings, floor plans energy calculation, trips to the City Planner for the building permits and submitting a final set of plans to the City. What the contractor did not include was any mention of the $1299 Big Deal I paid for. I asked about the $1299 and Leo said he had to pay Angie’s List to run The Big Deal, that the payment didn’t really count towards the work and that construction would be a separate budget after the first stage work was done. After discussion, he did say he would revise the estimate to reflect what I paid, but I have received nothing. I believe Leo is probably a good architect and may be a good contractor. However, this project has gotten off on a wrong foot and I think it best to terminate it now.

Leo from HND Construction was very professional and detailed with his work. He guided us from the beginning to the end. He knew what he was doing and he was trustworthy.. His workers were on time for work and at the end of the day they cleaned up the job site so that it was clean and organized.We felt it was not as difficult to stay at home during the construction as we thought it would be. Leo stayed in our budget and finished the project in the time frame that we hoped for. Although we knew that the Construction process could be stressful and unpleasant, Leo and his workers made the process easier than we expected. We are very satisfied with the Human Nature Design crew.