Rene's Refinishing

It was good. Everything came out fine.

Rene is very punctual. The work was done well. I would have preferred a smoother finish (more like the original lacquer). We had to do a fair amount of clean-up of sawdust etc. He charged me $350 for materials when in fact all that was used was masking tape, sanding paper, and a small amount of polyurethane. I pointed out to him by email that there is no way he could have used 3 gallons of sealant on such small areas, but he did not adjust his price. In summary, I expect a higher quality of final product for a high price.

True to the Angie's List reviews, Rene is an excellent and artistic craftsman, efficient and neat, and very attentive to the project through out the process. Rene arrived on time to look at the job, gave an estimate(which was adhered to precisely),explained carefully the process he suggested using on the cabinets, and came up with samples. Rene clearly wants the client to be happy with the work, and observes the furnishings and color palette of the house when making suggestions. Obviously, refinishing is a messy process, but Rene and his team covered everything well and worked efficiently, thus minimizing the inconvenience. The results are great--I'm pretty perfectionistic (well, about some things, anyway!), and Rene's work was definitely an "A." Plus--he's a charming, nice preson.

He is wonderful. He actually ended up doing my neighbor's place and a friend. He is really good.

He was good and it was easy. He was professional and knew what he was talking about.

He did a super nice job of turning beat up cabinets into quite beautiful ones. He left the kitchen super clean even though it is a very messy job.

I would use him for any cabinetry work in my home; I was very satisfied!!

It took a long time because it was not a small job. Rene and his people were wonderful and worked well with other craftsmen doing other jobs. I cannot say enough nice things about them.

I wanted to avoid paying big dollars for full kitchen and bath remodeling-so I gave Rene a call. He came out to the house and took measurements and made recommendations and called back to give me a ball park quote next day (which was right on). I had other contractors working at the time and had to defer working with Rene until it made sense to do so later in the summer. His crew was on time and very professional and my wife enjoyed their company. They removed the old cabinet doors and drawers and prepped the bare cabinets to be refinished. This was a tough job to get grainy wood to look lacquer smooth. They primed and painted inside out and replaced the old doors and drawers with new ones including new hardware. The old hardware was copper with exterior hinges. This was replaced with brushed satin hardware and lacquer white doors and drawers. All the doors look great with nice panels and European hinges. So now I have a modern kitchen, bath and laundry room-thanks Rene! From start to finish it took a little over a week.

From start to finish, everything went well. As with any job, there can be slight misunderstandings or some confusion on details as work moves along but Rene always made the adjustments and made sure we were happy. He was very professional, cleaned up everyday after working and our cabinets look fantastic.

It was a very good experience. His conscientious approach and attention to detail really made the experience top-notch. He is a true craftsman and has a lot of pride in his work. I could leave the project in his hands, as he understand what I wanted and expected. The cost was lower than others that I had received estimates from. Regarding the paneled wall, he had to match very old wood with brand new wood. I was worried about this from the beginning, but things matched very nicely.

Rene and his team did an absolutely fantastic job refinishing and refacing my kitchen cabinetry. Definitely highly recommended - I'd hire him again in a heartbeat. We have a very modern house with white lacquer cabinets in the kitchen - obviously every ding and chip begins to show after awhile, and the refinishing job has to be pretty perfect since imperfections on that kind of mid-gloss lacquer show easily. They did an absolutely perfect job with it all. They took off, sanded, and re-lacquered about 15 taller vertical cabinet faces and about 7 drawer faces, and actually remade three additional vertical cabinet faces which had become water-logged beneath the sink. They also sanded and refinished six white lacquer floating shelves onsite (couldn't take them off), sanded and re-stained a large dark wood bar area between the kitchen and DR, and replaced 3-4 baseboards which had gotten banged up over the years. All of the work looks fantastic - really looks like when the kitchen was new. They perfectly matched the white color and gloss we wanted, reinstalled everything without a single problem, and kept the rest of the house clean by putting up plastic sheeting everyday to prevent the paint dust etc from getting out of the workspace. The cabinets they actually rebuilt are perfectly matched to the rest. Very happy with the work done. Rene was on site with about 2-3 other workers everyday. They worked about 5 full days on the job (8:30-4:30 everyday), and were all great - perfect contractor, highly recommended.

Found Rene on Angie's List. He had the highest ratings throughout. He met all of our expectations and then some. Apart from being a master craftsman (I do consider his work a work of art), he is patient and has a creative eye. We where thinking of going with dark brown cabinets for the kitchen, he suggested antique white, and could not be happier with the result. The concern was that our oak cabinets were very grainy -- no problem for Rene, though, as he was able to meticulously smooth out the grains. I thought his pricing was exceedingly fair. We have many cabinets and doors in the kitchen and in the master bath -- it took over a week from start to finish. Moreover, he came back to install our specially ordered hardware, at negligible cost, even though it took a day and half. Was always prompt, efficient and neat -- a consummate professional. Have been recommending him without any reservation.

It went great. I'm amazed that these are my same cabinets. They were functional, but so ugly. Rene made them beautiful. You have to have patience - the whole process took about 3 weeks. He removed all the doors and hardware, sanded everything down, made a couple of samples to make sure I got the look I wanted, then he painted everything. The guys who work with him are very nice. Every single day they cleaned up before they left. If you don't have the money or don't want the hassle of buying new cabinets, then I highly recommend using Rene to update the cabinets you have.

Rene did an outstanding job. He responded to my calls on a very timely basis and gave excellent advice concerning finish, design, color, etc. He is a perfectionist and this trait is reflected in his work. He was very neat and ensured that my furniture, etc. were protected from paint. Both he and his assistants were very pleasant and professional. The cabinets look new (they're 23 years old!). Before hiring Rene, I obtained other estimates and he was, by far, the most reasonable. I highly recommend him! Family and friends have raved about my new kitchen. As other reviews have said, he is truly an artisan.

Excellent quality work, I am a perfectionist and Rene definitely produced the finsh that I expected.

Rene and his apprentice Gustavo are true craftsmen. I couldn't believe how wonderful of a job they did. I am ordering a custom wood table and told the manufacturer not to stain it, I am going to have Rene come back to stain it for me. See for yourself: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125471&id=655597668&l=9f922ca9b9

Rene is a true professional. He set up his work space with great care for my existing kitchen which made it very easy for me to work and use my home as usual with minimal disturbances. I barely noticed he was there. He was considerate of my time and living environment. He cleaned up at the end of each work day and needed little if any supervision. I would feel confidant that he could complete a job for me next time without any worry on my part. He taped down brown paper with much detail and care so that there would be very little traffic damage to my wood floors. I believe he treated my job as he would have treated work at his own home. It doesn't get much better than that. Sidenote: Prior to hiring Rene I had just undergone a horrible construction experience with people who did not give much thought to the jobsite on which they were working. I was tepid to have another contractor in my house, but Rene gave me faith that it is really all about hiring the right person. His price was slightly higher than another bid, but after I saw the quality of his work and the care he put behind his work I thought he was more than worth it. I'd hire him again in a heartbeat. I wish all of my sub contractors could be as professional craftsmanlike as Rene.

Goodness knows what motivated this rank amateur, (me), to attempt to refinished his kitchen cabinets, but after seven weeks of hard work and painful mistakes, the results, (which including incorrectly stripping the wood, using far too-light a stain and woefully over-sanding my polyurethane coat), left me frustrated, annoyed, lost, and reaching for professional assistance. Every refinisher I spoke to, (Rene included), agree it would be best to go back to bare wood and begin again, but sensing my despair that all my efforts had gone for nothing, (as well as my modicum of pride at even such an uneven result), only Rene agreed to take on the far more difficult task of attempting to make his corrections over my less-than professional attempts. Believe me, it would have been easier for him to start from scratch, but mixing his own stains and meticulously working with a tiny brush, multiple applications of lacquer, (and patience from goodness-knows-where), he was able to match, blend, hide, correct and ultimately elevate my attempts to a thoroughly magnificent and undreamed of result. I still have the pride of ?workmanship?, (at least to my friends), but truly Rene was able and willing to turn this ?sow?s ear?, into the stunningly-beautiful kitchen I cannot help but staring at in wonder and prideful amazement. Thank you Rene! What else? Oh yes; nobody else had been able to find a way to make us of the ?European-style?, hidden hinges my wife had wanted except for Rene. Call above and beyond? Before he was even hired, Rene took a door home and on his own time, found a way to affix the hinges and show me the way a re-stained and lacquer would look. I initially found the results a whisker too dark for my tastes and Rene, in addition to everything else, was happy to redo his own initial efforts to try and match my wishes. He wanted to do all things right, to see if he could carry out my initial vision and most importantly wanted to do everything possible to earn my satisfaction. A success in all counts. Throughout, the kitchen was meticulously taped, papered and protected, and the cleanup, (both inside and out - Rene and Oswald set up their "workshop on the premises") made it hard to believe any workmen were here. The only evidence is the stunning kitchen he left behind. Nice guys and the definition of professional. How many times does a week end you?re actually sorry to see the workmen depart? It happened here. Efforts above and beyond from start to finish. I never asked for drawer interiors of under-side of cabinets to be stained and lacquered. He did it on his own because it clearly would have felt unfinished to his own sense of pride and professionalism. Bravo! And thank you again. Can?t wait to start redoing my bathrooms. (but I think I'll leave the first pass to Rene).

He refinishes cabinets and furniture. Their price was reasonable and they did the job completely on time and accurate when we needed things to be finished. He also did high quality work.

It was a pleasure to deal with Rene. Once we set a date for the work, he showed up on the day (several weeks after the call) and at the time we agreed to. He and Eddie did everything they could to minimize the disruption to my kitchen - not an easy task when every cupboard and drawer had to be refinished. They covered every countertop, the floor, and all my appliances before they began work each morning, showing me how to gain access each evening so I could cook dinner. The swept up each evening before they left, making sure to give me back as clean a kitchen as possible, They worked outside the kitchen in my carport and were quiet and respectful of my needs and the needs of my family. Each drawer front and cabinet door was hand sanded and sealed with a stronger finish than they had had, ensuring better wear over the next years. And when they were finished (ahead of schedule) they made sure every drawer, door, and all the hardware was in place. They even painted the black knobs for me to ensure that everything looked new.

The quality of Rene's work is excellent (he is a true artist). Our house is a 1926 home and there was an incredible number of previous paint layers. which he professionally removed. Thus it took a lot more work than he anticipated. Nevertheless Rene did not ask to revise his estimate and he stayed as long as was needed. Him and his two helpers spent a total of 3 weeks and worked 6 days per week. In short Rene was great, and considering the amount of time he spent, his price was extremely reasonable.

Overall, things went great. Rene first came to check out the project and later provided an estimate. A few days later he came with another person to measure all the areas. After that, Rene was on-site to sand, strip, refinish, install, and complete the project. He was great and stayed in constant communication regarding the status of the project. After each day, the project area was cleaned up. After Rene finished the project, he wanted me to spend a few days in it to make sure I was happy before paying the final bill. Rene also came back to fix one of the file drawers that wasn't staying on track. He was absolutely fantastic start to finish.

Called and spoke to Rene about refinishing our kitchen cabinets. He didn't seem very interested. He asked for our number and then never called back. Thought I should add this since the other members of The List wrote so highly of him. I was disappointed. Maybe our job just wasn't big enough?

True artisan with pride in his work. Does excellent quality work at a fair price. He is honest, reliable and easy to work with. I am planning on using him again very soon. Highly Recommended!