True North Designs

Paul is trustworthy and a hard worker - a combo that is not easy to come by in the construction industry. We are so thankful for the way he took care of our project.

Excellent! They're professional and friendly.

It was all good. Everything was great.

The work went really well. The men were on time as scheduled. They left the property clean. Workmanship was very good. The carpenter in particular was very skilled. I would hire this company again for any other project.

Every worker showed up on time, worked hard, and cleaned up. Paul was available as needed and supervised the work closely. What more can you ask for?

Working with Paul was a good experience. There was a delay from the original start date due to his workers taking vacation without advanced notice, but I appreciated that he kept me updated through e-mail correspondence. I also appreciated that he brought in an outside paint guy to finish the project upon our request, and when the initial coat of pain was not sufficient to prevent the old paint from showing through he was prompt in getting his guy to come back out to finish the job.

Project was completed on time and on budget. Contractor Paul North was personally on site several times a day to supervise and direct work. He checked in regularly with owners to report on progress. All owners were very happy with the results! SEE BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS!

Paul and his company are fantastic! It is so refreshing to find a contractor who takes pride in good craftsmanship, has expertise in his business, and is professional. Great communication, price cannot be beat. He hires the best workers and monitors them himself to ensure the job is done correctly. Lifesaver!!

Paul North's quote was in the middle — not the cheapest, but definitely not the most expensive. It seemed fair, and his reviews on Angie’s List were stellar. This was our first major remodeling project and we were pretty green (and nervous). Paul guided us through the process with a steady hand and obvious expertise. He solved many problems along the way — from compensating elegantly for an incorrect depth provided by our bifold door manufacturer, to working directly with our architect on the best approach to our new roof construction. Building inspections went smoothly. The project progressed consistently with no down time. Paul communicated well and often, creating change orders to document approved items that varied from the original estimate. But, ultimately, there were no surprises around money, and we came in within the contingency we’d allowed at the beginning of the project. His subcontractors were universally great. In general, they anticipated our own attention to detail (I’m a designer and aesthetics matter to both my wife and me). During demolition, Jacob, one of his lead carpenters, thoughtfully saved the section of plaster where we’d marked the growth of our son. Craig, his electrician, was careful to think through locations of all the switches and lights so they really function well in our day-to-day life. Mirco, his plumber, was smart, experienced and easy to work with. I could go on… Probably most amazing, however, was his tile installer. Ewald is a maniac for detail and perfection. Even more concerned with lining up the seams perfectly, with efficient use of tile, with how edges would look, with the relationships between the floors and walls and plumbing elements and glass and window openings than I was (and that’s saying something). He is a master of his craft, and our bathroom is absolutely beautiful. I would certainly use Paul again if we remodel anything further. But for now we’re enjoying living in our newly re-envisioned home.

Paul worked with me from the start in a collaborative endeavor. Communication was good, with respectful discussions about preferences, timing, materials and clean up. The large deck was old and rotted in places. Paul saved what could be reused of the substructure and could have charged more if he had replaced everything. The workers were very competent and pleasant to work with. The job didn't drag on and was finished in a professional way. And, it really looks GREAT!

Paul and his crew did a wonderful job! It was actually wonderful from beginning to end. It took a little while to get a bid because of Paul's busy schedule .. . . but his was a fair bid. For some reason, we had a huge variation in bids for this effort .... Paul's was not the cheapest, but it was far from the most expensive and we liked Paul from the start. Even though this was a "demolish and replace" job, he had some great ideas on how we could do the replacement that made the arbor look much nicer. Paul and his crew were on-time for every part of the job . . .the bid, the demolition, the rebuild (once you accounted for an unseasonable rain!), the painting . . .they always did a good job of cleaning up after the days work so we were minimally impacted by the work going on. There was minimal inspection required, but the city inspector was impressed with the work so there was no hang-up there, either. We had excellent communication with Paul throughout so that we were always aware of the next step. Paul's crew were very nice and very considerate. They worked well together and there was an excellent sense of teamwork. The new arbor looks fantastic and we are planning to call Paul again next year when we move on to bathroom remodeling!

Paul North did an excellent job. Everything was completed perfectly and he was very responsive via phone, text and email. I always got a response within few hours.

Paul North did a great job. He brought in an excellent team who did good work. From the beginning of the process, I liked the fact that Paul was the only bidder who pointed out missing detail from the plan drawings that were critical to completing the build. His attention to detail before the build and during the build made working with him very satisfying. He cared as much about the finished product as I did. We made a number of changes to the original drawing to provide closer to what I was looking for. Paul was a carpenter in his past life and completely understands every detail of how the construction should go. He checked work throughout the build and made corrective instructions to his workers to make sure that it was perfect. Not many contractors will look after your work the way Paul does. Paul also worked with me to let me achieve the final build the way that I wanted to. We had just had a new roof put on the rest of the house last year and I wanted to have the same roofers complete the process by roofing the new structure. In addition, the whole house was in need of a paint job and we wanted to use a painter who had done a lot of work for our extended family. We also chose to refinish 3 french doors sets ourselves; Paul's crew installed them. We also wanted save money and to fabricate and install the baseboards ourselves. In all these things, Paul was cooperative and patient with the scheduling and working out the details. He also worked with me to insure as much of the original siding from the former garage could be integrated which was important from a family history standpoint. The house dates back to 1918 and the siding had warped in places making it difficult to work with. Paul worked with us to figure which pieces to keep and then made new siding to match where critical fit was needed to preserve the original look of the house. I highly recommend True North.

We could not be happier with our new deck. Paul and his team (Jose, Jeff & Malcolm) took my vague description of what I thought a deck should be and built a beautiful outdoor living space. The work quote was broken out, with all materials and labor costs clearly defined for each element (foundation/decking/railing) and work was completed in a week's time. Paul's communication was excellent and minor adjustments to the plans as work was progressing were easily and smoothly accomplished. In short, a home run. Highly recommended.

Paul is a pleasure to work with. He was comfortable working with our designs and schedule, and in particular was accommodating with respect to the fact that we had a baby on the way during the construction, and thus needed the work to be done efficiently and as cleanly as possible. His crew and his subs are all top notch, friendly, and trustworthy. Like any 1953 house would, ours presented some unforeseen issues, but Paul and co. were able to work through them with minimal additional expense. I highly recommend True North Designs.

They were polite, punctual, and bid appropriatly. They were nice to work with. I'm likely to hire them for the job.

He was great. Everything I read about him and his services was true. He really put together a nice team.

A year and a half ago my wife and I chose Paul North to totally remodel the kitchen in out mid-century house. We were exceptionally happy with the results and have detailed the experience in a previous review we posted on Angie's List. This year we decided to remodel our upstairs and we only wanted Paul to do the work. He is meticulous in planning but easy to work and he can offer solutions to the unexpected problems that accompany construction. We are also impressed with the people who work for Paul and looked forward to seeing them again. Paul and everyone he works with are not only highly skilled they are artistic as well. Something that did not look right caught their eye first before we even saw it. In questions of placement or taste they spoke with us as equals and gave options on how to best solve the issue. For this latest remodel we started by having all the carpeting on the second floor removed and replaced with maple flooring. Originally we considered solid maple but found out from Paul and his flooring sub-contractor that engineered flooring offered many advantages. One of the most important of these was that it was pre-finished so that each room could be done separately. With solid flooring everything must be done at once because sanding and finishing happen at the end of the installation. With engineered flooring they could go room by room which allowed us to sleep in one bedroom while the other was being worked on then switch to the completed bedroom as they moved on to the other bedrooms. In addition big furniture did not need to be removed from the room but rather it could be moved to one side while the flooring was being installed then lifted and placed on the newly installed flooring allowing the rest of the floor to be installed. Best of all there was no need for sanding or applying a finish. In addition to the floors, which were dazzling after installation, we had Paul gut our upstairs laundry. This area was hidden behind bi-fold doors and just looked like an extra wide closet. Paul re-route the plumbing, electrical and gas lines and then installed a window above the washer/dryer. This window looks out on the half-acre hillside we own. This side of the house had no windows on it since in the 1970s seeing nature was not the list of must have items (it was for us). To hide the washer/dryer Paul's carpenters installed a work surface above them and hinged doors in the front. Although the size of this area was small the effect was large since we have uninterrupted sight lines in four directions from what previously seemed like a narrow hallway. These two items would have been enough in the bang for the buck department but in addition Paul crew installed a skylight in our dim guest bathroom, replaced the vinyl floor in both bathrooms, replaced all the baseboards upstairs, swapped-out four leaky bathroom faucets with four new ones, replaced a bathroom pocket-door with a solid core door, added new exterior electrical outlets and best of all build a beautiful 35-foot long modern wooden fence along the front of our garden. Actually, I am wrong, TRUELY BEST OF ALL was the repainting of the entire house (3-floors high in the front) in new light and bright colors (the painting sub-contractor did a lot of prep-work and yet kept everything protected and clean). All of the above happened in less than four weeks as well! I hope you can tell we love working with Paul North and look forward to doing more work with in the future.

Paul was very nice and very professional. His work crew were highest quality both in personality and workmanship. They all were very gracious and patient in explaining step by step to me. I am a senior citizen and so I appreciate the extra time they took to help me to understand all that was going on. I would highly recommend True North Designs to anyone who needs any construction or repair work done at their home. I will be calling them again. I am very pleased.

He showed up on time to give me an estimate and show me his portfolio. I authorized him to start work, and he completed it on time, working around my tenant's schedule.

Everything worked out great! I have had some bad experiences in the past and this was a good one! Paul and his team were always prompt, clean, professional, and pleasant to work with.

Great. I wish that I had found Paul North 25 years ago when I first bought this property. He and his crew were on time & on task every day until the job was done. I showed Paul a picture of a deck that I admired, he customized the project for my particular situation, recommended the materials to go with it, and constructed a beautiful deck. I couldn't be happier with his work and his professionalism.

He was a nice guy and competent but his price was higher than the others, that's the reason why I didn't go with him.

The service turned out well. I liked how dependable and responsive they were. They started the work in December and finished up in February. They are a general contractor and all of the different services were sub contracted out. I would highly recommend their services.

Everything went great! Jose and Jeff were very professional, left the place clean and a job well done.