CMRS Construction

i wanted to write some long winded review, or story, but its real simple. form the get go, they were on it. professional and respectful. The team showed up, started the work, and in 4 days all or most was done. simple as that. i dont have a single issue. they run a tight ship, and provide top drawer service. theyll handle all my needs moving forward. 100%. i highly recommend them for any job. and, im not an easy person to work for as i notice every little crack, splinter, missing screw. they made me totally satisfied.

This was our 3rd time using CMRS and we couldn't be happier. As usual I emailed the office with some pictures of our current bathroom floor and our wish list. Daryl promptly came out to inspect the situation and I believe we had the quote the same or next day. Work started about a week later per my request. Pulling up the old flooring which had been glued down was a back breaking task, not to mention moving our sink, toilet and very heavy claw foot tub out of the way. The next day the floor was prepped ( and properly prepped, roof paper was put down - I think that's what it was called?/acts as moisture barrier over the sub floor-, then hardibacker board and was then secured and taped up - all of this was done very well which will save us from future moisture problems/ no corners were cut here). The following day the tile went down, all which were cut perfectly. We had chosen a 1 inch honed carrara marble hex tile on 12x12 sheets with a dark grey grout. All which I bought at a local tile shop. I showed Daryl all of our materials prior to installation to make sure we hadn’t made any missteps. Unfortunately the dark grout stained our white honed marble and a portion of the tile that had been laid down was ruined, our white carrara looked like a grey dirty mess. I immediately stopped the grouting process and reached out to both my tile shop and CMRS to find out what went so wrong. The tile shop responded back by saying the installer should have tested the grout on the honed tile prior to grouting and CMRS responded back by saying CMRS cannot be held be responsible for problems with customer supplied material during installation. Though we have installed hundreds of different types of tile, there are literally 1,000's of types of tiles. We are contractors, not tile experts. There is no way to know every detail of every tile, this is why we had you contact the tile supplier beforehand. I feel both the tile shop and CMRS both made good arguments. I didn’t really have a place to directly point the blame in this situation, although why would a tile shop sell me two products that are not compatible after I explained to them exactly what I was doing and asked many questions – I may never know... In the end, the stained tile was removed and was replaced with sealed new tile and we went with a lighter grout that did not stain. Although CMRS did not cover the cost of the replacement tile they did not charge us for the extra labor to remove the stained tile, replace and re grout. Then on top of that they gave us a discount off our final payment. I felt that was more than fair. We rely on CMRS to guide us through these projects and apply their knowledge so that these problems don’t happen but it is fair to say they can’t have extensive knowledge of every single tile in the world. These things happen and CMRS handled this situation in a very fair way. The new 1/4 round was installed but not painted that day as I had asked it to be. Daryl came by to do an inspection, once he saw that the 1/4 round wasn’t painted, that same day he sent over a worker to do the finishing touches. Everything came out perfect. Once again, great work, fair price and great communication!

The work started quickly, went quickly, but was done professionally and with skill and care. There was no dawdling and no rework needed. Mario is great! The management team of Daryl and Liza are smart and caring and always helpful and willing to work with you. I would work with CMRS again in a heartbeat!

Overall a positive experience again. Daryl and Liza work hard to make sure everything was done properly. There was constant communication and any problems I had were addressed right away.

Daryl came out promptly to look at the job; we received an estimate the next day, liked it, and scheduled the work. The roof joist repair was finished on the appointed day, but it was raining, so the concrete work needed to wall out the skunks couldn't be done until the following Monday -- which it was. All the work seemed very competent, and we're especially pleased with the patching of the foundation: they dug a trench alongside the foundation wall, placed wire screen in it, and filled it with concrete to deter burrowing, and it looks great. Our interactions with the CMRS business office people were likewise unfailingly professional and pleasant. Everything was done on time and within the estimate, and our expectations were exceeded. We've got an old house that often needs a little work, and we will surely be calling CMRS again.

Have used company once before. They did fair (but not good) and affordable work then, far less so now. The administrative aspect of the company was prompt and clear, although they seem most keen to get paid--even before making sure you are satisfied with quality. Never was it, "what do you think about the work?" Instead, it was always, "please pay these monies now." What should have taken a week or two max took a month and it was very clear that we were not a priority client. The built-in cabients we requested are not "wood"--but pressed wood (never clarified)--and they are already crooked, do not open correctly and were poorly painted, never primed (what was supposed to be white is yellow; the pencil/pen marks bleed through paint). Everyone who has seen our cabinets say they look shoddy. The hole that was busted in the wall by workers was not properly fixed and we had to hire someone else to patch, sand and repaint. They never seemed to care about our needs--just wanted to get it done cheaply and quickly. Frankly, after a month of working with Daryl and co, we just wanted them to finish the job and leave and are now having to hire someone else to make the cabinets more functional and attractive. I know there will be a response to this email since all critical reviews appear to receive responses that make the client look like they are wrong. Whatever. Know that they offer, in the contract, $30 for "angies list reviews," presumably only the positive ones. For future jobs, I'm going back to my old contactor. He costs more, but cares more, too.

CMRS's original quote of $4700 was received on 11/27. They answered the phone and emailed me with a great deal of professionalism and were very prompt during the process . . . so I selected them even though their bid was not the lowest. On December 20th (with no actual work having been completed) I received an email explaining that based on feedback from the City of Los Angeles an engineer would need to be involved at a cost of $1500 and an architect at a cost of $1000. I agreed via email to move forward with the work trusting that CMRS had my best interest in mind. On December 29th I visited the City myself to get records on my home and read some of the literature available at the Department of Building and Safety. After considering the scope of damage I became suspicious that such a small project would require this level of review and permitting. I called the City and spoke with an inspector who said the project would only require an Express Permit. Architectural drawings are not required for this level of permit. The inspector told me that the MO of many unscrupulous construction companies is to bid low and incrementally increase the cost . . . he told me to be demanding and confrontational with the contractor. I emailed CMRS describing my conversation with the city and explaining that I felt like I had been given the ?bait and switch.? I was quite demanding asking for justification and a firm timeline for the project (even though it was shortly after Christmas). This began a heated back and forth email exchange in which CMRS informed me that: 1) Express Permits were only for projects under $750 (a lie) - Email Received December 29th 2) That the structure (built in the 1930s or 1940s) once touched would need to be brought up to code . . . this would have been another significant change order. Email Received December 29th On December 30th after receiving insulting emails from the owner Liza Robinson (see other Angie?s List responses where this company was given an F), I opted to terminate our relationship and requested a refund of my money . . . $1280 of $1960 was returned. I ended up going to the City myself, attaining two Express Permits, and hiring one of the other contractors that bid on the project. The new contractor had the project completed and approved by the city inspector within 3 days. Insurance will likely cover the full cost of this project. However, despite the fact that I will likely not need to pay for this out of pocket, I believe that companies that use this tactic to increase revenue should be called out for their actions. At the micro level, this tactic hurts homeowners. At the macro level, it increases homeowners insurance for all of us. CMRS may do beautiful work . . . look at their website! But what it will cost you is questionable. Based on comments I see from other Angie's list members that have given this vendor poor reviews, I believe the owner will comment on the following: 1) She will say I was overly demanding with communication - Once I felt like I was being taken advantage of I did become demanding of the company when it came to communication. If a question in one of my emails was not addressed I called them on it and asked for an answer. 2) She will say that their office was "closed" for the holidays during this process and that they bent over backwards to respond to me. From my perspective, their employees were calling me to collect money during this timeframe . . . and they were responding to emails . . . That doesn't spell "closed" to me. 3) She will suggest that I am somehow trying to game the system or am somehow dishonest . . . I do not stand to profit from this. 4) She will suggest that I do not understand the permitting process . . . Believe me, unfortunately I had to learn it. MY LESSON LEARNED: Contractors are not your advocates. They will profit from expanding your project . . . so if you get a change order QUESTION IT! Keep this in mind when doing a project.

The pool gate we initially installed to separate our pool from the yard became uneven. Most quotes had put the repair at over $1000. Daryl explained how a quick, relatively inexpensive, fix could make the problem irrelevant. He took the extra time to make sure the job was done right, including spending an extra hour to ensure that he could put on an extra coat of paint. Very complete. Very kind, very thorough.

Daryl came out for the bid but I didn't receive the bid for over a week so went with another company. The job was small so I think the bid should have come in within 5 days. Perhaps they really didn't want the job.

Never were able to get them to come out and bid the job

He did a very good job. He was very responsive. He is a really nice guy. He is very ethical. It ended up costing a little bit more than I anticipated, but that's no fault of his.

Contractor arrived on schedule, looked at the project, said it would cost less than originally estimated, and proceeded to remove the posts, taking no more than 1/2 hour to do so.

Hired them to paint the exterior of my house which is stucco. They did not know how to patch the stucco cracks properly. They painted my windows shut. They kept saying they'd fix the problems after I paid more money but there were way too many problems to fix. Sub-standard work. They wouldn't use any primer even after I asked them to. They used the wrong fillers and the wrong texture, they left many cracks and holes unfilled. They were using the wrong tool to spread the filler. I paid another contractor to look at the work and they agreed it was very poor; cutting corners with everything. They told me they would fix everything at the "walk through" at the end, after i paid them the majority of the total price. This made me extremely uncomfortable. I told them they had to fix the problems or i would not pay them any more money before continuing on. They came and got their equipment the following morning. They left a mess of paint chips in my yard and scratched my flagstone in numerous places with their ladders. They left trash on my property. The painters themselves were very nice but the owners and manager of the project did nothing to put me at ease or fix my issues. They took over 2 grand from me and just left my house there with the paper and tape over all of the windows.

They did the painting for me but could not do the wood repair that I needed done. They only charged me for what they did and I ended up going with someone else to fix the wood. They gave me no trouble at all when I switched in the middle of the job. They sent me a receipt that I needed to give to my insurance company.The woodworking was very specialized and I do not fault them at all for not being able to obtain the materials I thought would be necessary for my insurance company to allow.

It went well, with an acceptable amount of bumps along the way. We got bids, and Daryl was prompt and detail-oriented during the bid, including taking photos of relevant areas for future reference. His bid was competitive and detailed, so that we knew what each task cost, rather than just a bottom line total. Liza kept us informed as the first day of work arrived, including being very accommodating toward our pets. The work was performed as advertised, and anytime an issue came up, there was a phone call or an email to make sure we were involved in the decision or at least informed of the cause of the delay. There was only one issue that came up that ended up adding expense, which was that there was an additional sub-floor under the carpet in the master bedroom that had to be removed to allow the new hardwood to match up height-wise with the other floors it touched. They made sure we were aware of the consequences of our choices and the additional cost was nominal. The workers were polite and consistently there when they said they would be and it was overall a very positive experience. Now that some time has passed, the results far outweigh the petty gripes that came up during the job. That being said, here are some detailed issues we experienced: When they were finishing the bedroom floors, we were forced to camp in the living room, which was fine, since it was supposed to take four days. However, between getting the color and finish just right and some other unforeseen setbacks, it ended up taking two weeks and four days. Luckily, our bathroom has direct outdoor access, otherwise it might have been impossible, rather than just inconvenient. However, the resulting floors are beautiful. There were also a couple of times that there was miscommunication between the workers, Daryl, and ourselves. For example, when painting the master bedroom, the worker asked what color we wanted the doors (either to match the trim or the walls) and we answered. However, as time went by, the doors were never painted, so when we brought it up on the last day of painting (which happened to be the last day of the job), Daryl was surprised and told us that painting the doors was not included in the scope of work. However, he did it anyway, with no additional charge. Also, to be fair, we share in the responsibility for the miscommunication because we were not as clear or proactive as we should have been and any concern we ever communicated directly to Daryl or Liza was addressed completely. Finally, I got the feeling that the sense of urgency to complete the job escalated greatly on the final day. Whether that was because the next job was looming or the workers' schedule worked out that way coincidentally, we had the most attendance and the most activity by far on the final day, and all told it was a four week job. It was as if they were working to a deadline we were not aware of, and it led to us finding a couple of minor flaws after they left (like a threshold that was laid down but not attached) which they promptly fixed once we notified them. On a more positive note, they re-re-screened one of the doors at no charge after our pets decided to charge at each other through the newly repaired screen. Bottom line, if you can communicate your expectations, they will do everything in their power to meet them. We will be using them again, without a doubt.

CMRS is fantastic about communication, from the very start and throughout the project. Responses from Liza and Gretchen were always very prompt, especially over email, which was the most convenient way for me to communicate. And Mario is the absolute best on tile - his attention to detail was fantastic! The project took longer than expected, part of which was due to city permits and waiting for inspections but part was just the scope of work. Overall, though, I'm thrilled with the results and would have absolutely no hesitation about working with CMRS again!

Daryl came to look at my house and prepare an estimate. He was punctual, professional and seemed like a very nice guy. In the end I went with another painter because the CMRS bid was higher than others.

Daryl came out and looked over our project. Then he brought some of his crew over to discuss our options for the various aspects of the project with us -- Corey and Randy for the deck and fence and David & Mario for the pavers. Daryl had several cost saving ideas for us including not having to demo all the concrete, but rather just build over it. We had a formal quote from Liza within two days. Corey started work on the Deck about three days later. They all worked together and/or separately on the various aspects as needed. Each part of the project was done to the highest standards. They all were very neat and professional thoughout the project, which took about a month because they were hampered by a few days of rain. We could see that the whole crew was dedicated to doing all the work properly Each day we received an e-mail letting us who and when the workers would arrive. Daryl came several times to oversee the project and make sure everything was proceeding properly. We had a couple of unexpected issues -- things we had not realized until the work actually was in progress. Daryl came over several times as did Liza to discuss our options and make suggestions which were always practical and cost effective. They even did some extra work for us at no charge to solve some of the details in question. At the end of the project my husband and I both felt that we were very lucky to have worked with the entire CMRS crew. It was a great experience and we highly recommend them. We'd had some terrrible experiences in the past with contractors being flaky and doing mediocre work, so we are thrilled to finally have found a company that we can absolutely trust.

This is my second time using this service. The office is very nice to deal with. All details got clarified to everyone's satisfaction befor the job was started. They are very good at grasping what it is you need to have done. They were able to finish my job quickly, and everything was skillfuly done. The French door overhang, in particular turned out to be just what I wanted, and was constructed and finished with great care. I would not hesitate to use this service again.

Good experience. CMRS did very good work. Fairly punctual. They know their stuff. They never caused any delays, in fact they seemed anxious to finish the job and move on. I caused some delays (as did my neighbors) and they were easy to deal with on this. We had a small dispute on the bill due to some ambiguous wording in the contract-- I proposed a compromise on it and they accepted it. I would normally have stood my ground without suggesting a compromise but they earned some goodwill-- you an't say that about contractors often.

They were very responsive. They gave us the best quote we saw, and they were pleasant to deal with. They did really good work.

There was an issue. I have a tenant in place and she did all the negotiating and problem solving in the property. It seems that there was a problem with the guy that they sent over. Apparently, he had an attitude problem. It all worked out in the end, but I am not sure if I will use them again in the future. I spent $1200 on the job. I didn?t meet them personally. There was a problem with the work he did. It was substandard. Apparently he was called on it and he had responded very aggressively to the criticism. In the end, it was resolved. They worked on it until the work was done to the right specifications.

I liked them. They are definitely coming back. Their prices are a little bit high, but it's worth it for the work they provide.

I have used their services in the past too. They did a great job with the door. They made a good effort with the leak even though that really isn?t their specialty. I am planning to call them again to help me repair some flooring and drywall. Daryl himself came out. He and his crew made minor adjustments to the way that the hinges were on the door and it has been perfect ever since they did that. They tend to be pretty fast and they provide diverse amount of services. They can do a lot of different things. They are very helpful when you are not quite sure where to go to. They are also helpful when you want them to come out to look at the job to see what they can do. Their prices are good. They were pretty responsive. I would use their services in the future too.

Daryl came to give me an estimate on building a new deck. He suggested to not build a new deck but refurbish the old deck and replace the rotten wood. To build a new deck would have cost double the money. He did not have to do that. Every other bid I had never even suggested refinishing, for that matter most of them never even bothered to show back up. I also asked him to give an estimate to repair a leak in our daughter's room that had been leaking since it was built 11 years ago. (The original contractor refused to fix it saying it was't his responsibility!). The deck was never built properly to begin with, many of the railings were never completely flush. CMRS put in fresh railings replaced every rotten board, slanting them away from the house for proper drainage (who knew?). The deck was stripped of the old paint sanded where necessary and then painted with deck paint that they recommended. My daughter's room was another matter. Once they started working on finding the source of the leak it was discovered that the whole exterior wall to her room needed to be replaced along with the windows, which had rusted due to water damage. The windows were larger than standard windows available at any of the outlet stores, so Randy found them through one of their sources and ordered them. Took a few extra days, but it was worth the wait. Daniel, their "mud man" did an almost artistic job on the ceilings and windows making them smoother than before. A Picasso of mud and paint. Randy and Corey worked so hard and showed a great deal of concern about making sure the work was done correctly. I felt it was not only done correctly, but with care. This is not a slap dash organization. With each change from the original work that we agreed on I was given a written estimate detailing the work and the responsibilities. This was much more professional than never having anything in writing from other contractors. Daryl gave me a small "lecture" on maintaining my deck and how best to keep up with it so that I never am faced with this problem any time soon. He made it seem effortless and I will not be so intimidated about the process now that he explained how to do it.