Remodel Works Bath & Kitchen

Their designer (Mary Jennings) was very helpful and spent a lot of time with me going through options. Having items on display in their showroom was also really useful. Once the design was completed, I was provided with a daily schedule and an itemized list of work to be done. At several points along the way I was asked to verify that they had the right piece to install or that I was happy with the placement of an item. Their communication from beginning to end was superior. Amazingly, they kept to the schedule-not a characteristic frequently seen in contractors! The workers were also conscientious of my needs (to contain dust, primarily) and ran the air cleaner even when I wasn't home. It took a long time, but the job was done well. 
They are more expensive than most remodelers, but the effort they put in to making sure things were done correctly and the way I wanted them, and the absence of delays and lame excuses made the extra cost worthwhile. You get what you pay for. I recommend them highly.

Great job under very challenging conditions.  We had less than 2 weeks from the time we closed on the purchase of our house until we moved in. We wanted to get the bathroom remodel done in that time and Remodel works made it happen.  It was very convenient having the entire job coordinated by one company.  Very professional crew.

I'm not sure when it came out. There's a clamp at each end of the door. It could have been cracked and no one saw it. If you dont see it, it could have been traveling. I went to clean it, then i saw the crack. I got a UV light, you could see it was a traveling crack. I have a warranty, I told them all I want is the glass, I would hire someone else to fix and replace it. I was polite and appreciate there work. I just want to the parts and I would do it versus having them come out and do it. If it exceeds over $48 for a 100% mark up. I can't get the door or the glass to replace it from the company. They will not sell it to a customer because I'm not a wholesale company They may only sell it to the company who originally ordered the door  from them. I've been very appreciative for all of the help people have given me, however, no one is now responding. All I was trying to do was order a part and I need to order it from the manufacturer. The company is being unresponsive , leaving voice mails with constant no call backs.

This is the second project we used Remodel Works for. They did our bathrooms several years ago. We could not be happier with the results of both jobs.
We did not want to get bogged down by working with a company that did not provide a complete solution from design through final clean up. We got that from Remodel Works. Here is just a few items they provided for us:

1. Design
2. Cabinet Recommendation
3. Appliance Recommendation
4. Project Plan
5. Project Schedule
6. Project Management
7. Craftsmanship
8. Quality Workers
9. Daily Updates
10. Daily Cleanup

We had eight days from the close of escrow on our new house until we had to be out of our old house.  We gave the specs to Remodel Works knowing it was a tall order to get the job done before we moved in.  They pulled it off and we are very happy with the results.  Timely, cost effective and quality workmanship.  We would definitely recommend them and we will use the again on our next project.

From start to finish the process was seamless. Remodel Works is very professional. I called they came out and we talked about what I wanted to do. They measured. Mary was my designer. I went to the design studio picked out my products. We discussed when they would be there and what they would be doing. The day the project started I was provided a schedule of what they would be doing and when it would be done and they were on track or ahead of schedule for the entire project. That included sub-constractors as well.

The only glich in the whole process was the bull nose tile used in the bathrooms. I used tile from Arizona Tile. The field tile and the bull nose tile are not manufactured at the same location so this lead to color variation in the tile. We came up with a fix and I'm completely happy with the result. However, it might be better to incated that this might be an issue before hand and or use a different manufacturer. 

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Project went smoothly. Even with a cracked shower pan, they were able to make up time.
Everyone who worked on bathroom from project manager to the guys who did the work
Were very professional.

The whole project went very smoothly. I had a list of jobs to be done each day and they were done on time, professionally and with wonderful attention to detail. Everyone I dealt with from sub-contractors, project manager, designer to workmen were professional, competent and friendly. When they left at the end of the day all the mess was cleaned up! I have nothing but praise for the job they did, I now have a brand-new, wonderful bathroom which I will enjoy for a long time. I felt they listened to me, my concerns and answered all my questions. I had little experience picking out tubs, toilets, etc and they were very helpful and patient while I went through and made decisions. Their showroom is a big help because you can see bathrooms in different styles. I'm very visual so this was a huge plus for me.  I am shocked at how smoothly the whole thing went and will use them again. Oh, and did I mention they finished on time?

This company was very professional.  I felt they were legitimate and by the book.  They laid everything out in a contract from the beginning, and they never hassled me if I wanted to change anything.  I appreciated the degree of customer care I received.  They were really really good.

The job went fine outside of damage to my wall mounted microwave for which I had to replace a $50 part.
Although these guys are very pricey.  I had hoped that I was getting a high quality experience for the money I was spending.
I'm most disappointed in the fact that they failed to tell me I would be losing counter space in my already small kitchen with the remodel by putting in a double versus single sink which I don't need as much as counter space.
I'd prefer to have my old kitchen, additional counter space and 15K that I spent on the kitchen honestly.

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Remodel presents very well. Initial contact with Remodel was always professional and they listened very well to our needs. They were open on best strategies to reduce cost and I feel they genuinely worked to reduce our costs knowing we had a tight budget for the size of our project. They were prompt and thorough in their estimate and when we decided to move forward they were even more thorough in determining all aspects of the project. Remodel also put us in contact with GGR who took care of all exterior wall renovations, roofing and demo work, who (in a separate review) are a fantastic company to work with.
After this, Remodel had both highs and lows. There was an initial miscommunication that we, as clients, initiated to resolve and had it not been for the professionalism of GGR's representative, it may have spiraled into something more negative. Nevertheless, work started and went very well to start. The bathroom reno was completed promptly and on schedule (despite a minor error in the tiling that didn't match plans). All recommendations from Remodel were good ones and made the best use of our small space.
The kitchen was a different story. While our project manager continued to be a good manager of our project and fine to work with, the cabinet installer on the project was not as professional or diligent as some of their (or GGR's) other staff. Combine this with errors three times from their sub-contracted cabinet maker that pushed back completion 3 months after the expected completion date and we were frustrated (as was our project manager). We had to very thoroughly inspect a lot of the detail work that was completed by the less-than-professional cabinet installer who appeared to cut corners and be rough with some of the cabinets.
That all said, I don't doubt we had an unfortunate experience. Wherever we held Remodel accountable to an error, they stood by it and made an effort to rectify it. They worked to appease us by offering a meal giftcard and installing a piece of equipment for me that was out of their scope free of charge. Due to the ineptitude of their cabinet maker, they also discounted their work. My advice is to check who they are using on your project as a cabinet maker (make sure it isn't the one from our job!) and if you are unhappy with one of your workers, don't be afraid to tell you project manager. That was our mistake for waiting until the end to share our thoughts on his work. While I don't doubt Remodel has done excellent work for many people, I think we may have been one of the unlucky few who had a mediocre experience.

Excellent!! Prompt estimate, excellent plans and explanation of those, choice of quality of products, detailed work schedule, excellent communication with the workmen and supervisor, cleaned up thoroughly each day, work was completed ahead of schedule, and couldn't have asked for it to be any better.

We visited their showroom and selected new 12 in x 17 in "fired" tile for shower walls and ceiling and counter-top-basin-bowl material - both beautiful material and beautifully installed. "Obligatory" floor tile was 2 in x 2 in fired tile. Not pleased with installation of floor tile. Was concerned that rough floor was very uneven and would affect "lay" of tile and assumed uneven lay would be smoothed when tile was placed. Not so. Tile was placed on uneven subfloor and attention to even spacing of tile was sloppy. Not pleased with groutting. Spacing between tiles too deep - means more trouble with bacteria and stains. Alignment of heavy glass walls and glass door could have been better. Given expertise of company, would have expected their team would have means to align and attach heavy doors - not an easy task, I realise. In today's world shower "pans" are made of elastomeric material - far superior to old method. My system is a Schluter(sp) product - excllent except for one element. Their system includes no method to capture hair - all goes down the drain, which beggs for the plumber sometime down the line. I contacted Schluter and discussed with them. They said that they tried some solutions and gave up because none of them worked. I came up with a solution but they could do better - very disappointed.

They do excellent work and they give you a complete schedule of what work they should be done each day, the process, and who's going to do it. They give you a complete cost breakdown and they don't deviate from us so there aren't any surprises.

After the initial visit from the "designer" salesman, I was encouraged by his credentials as the former owner of a defunct but recognized kitchen remodeler.  He provided a rough verbal estimate of $50,000, and stated the he could design a kitchen for $1,000, at which time we signed a contract.  I was shown cabinetry in their advertised "12,000 sq ft showroom".  It was more like 2,000 sq ft plus 10,000 sq ft of office and warehouse area. The plans were separate for the bathroom and the kitchen.  After the contract was signed, I had to personally draw up the house plans and plot the house on the property for the City of La Mesa as part of the permit process, as it was not included in the original bid.  Additionally, at the cost of several hundred dollars, I had to hire an outside plumber, to evaluate whether or not a sewer "back flow prevention device" was needed for my home, even though it was the last home on the top of a hillside cul de sac.  Once this was accomplished, I was given a "preview" of the 2 separate sets of plans (one for the bath and one for the kitchen), even though they had a common wall.  During this "preview" we discussed the cabinetry selection as well as the types of materials used.  When I learned that a low quality garbage disposal was being used, I looked into the cabinetry and other items and discovered they were mediocre in quality. The project superintendent then came out to the house and went over the project with me.  He indicated there may be an additional cost for another electrical circuit that was "needed" in the kitchen, as "building codes" would require a separate circuit if their were more than 4 outlets on 1-15amp circuit in the kitchen, they actually installed 5.  (Strangely enough, upon final inspection, I spoke with the building inspector, who expressed that 3 "probably" could have sufficed).   Having been stunned by a cost over-run, low quality disposal and mediocre cabinetry, I asked to speak with the owner.  I wanted to back out of the contract.  The owner made concessions about the garbage disposal and stated that he would include the upgraded backsplash for the kitchen. The project did not include flooring, counter tops, or appliances. The owner stated that if I pulled out of the contract, under California Law, I was responsible to him for his loss of about $11,000 of profit on the project.  At this point, I felt compelled to continue with the project.  During the various phases, a question came up, regarding connecting the new lighting and electrical to the main panel, which had to be newly installed for a solar system that was also being installed.  The electrical sub-contractor apparently did not bid the job for complete wiring to the electrical panel, and another cost over-run was incurred.  (I can not understand, bidding a job for kitchen and bath remodel and NOT include the costs for connecting the electrical to the main panel!!!)  Remodel Works rebuttal was that it was a cost of meeting the building codes required by the City.   (My questionable thought on this type of response, is: Would Remodel Works have built the project some other way???).  I had one change order, which I felt was justified.  This change order was for additional cabinetry behind the kitchen "island sink" to replace the lost storage space that occurred when the ceiling hanging cabinets between the kitchen and family room were removed.  This change cost an additional $6,000 and included changing the size of an adjacent glass wall cabinet as suggested by the designer.  Unfortunately, access to the glass wall cabinet is next to impossible without getting a step stool or ladder and actually climbing onto the kitchen sink and eating counter.  The cabinet doors do not open enough for access.  I was able to supplement this cost by not replacing the bath tub and surround or installing the tile floor.  I was able to find another contractor to install an acrylic tub and surround at a much lower cost.  I have to commend Remodel Works on their timing and ability to get their work done expediently, on time and relatively neatly.  TOTAL COST OF THE PROJECT not including the bath tub and surround, flooring, appliances, counter tops, and electrical connection to the main panel was about $312.50 per square foot.

The kitchen designer was outstanding and solved all the problems we wanted fixed, with a completely new layout. He was completely right about how the layout would work out in practice. I love love love my new kitchen!
The designer did fail to discuss lighting alternatives. Once the work was complete, we were very unhappy with the overhead lights. My suspicion is that he was trying to keep the cost down, and in fairness, I did not express any interest in the details of the lights during the design phase. But when we saw bare fluorescent bulbs, we felt they were completely unacceptable and had them replaced with LEDs. We really doubted that anyone would want those lights, unless they were just trying to do as cheap a job as possible within the constraints of current energy-use regulations, like for a flip or a rental, so we were unhappy that we had to pay for light installation twice instead of just buying better lights in the first place.
The company is absolutely committed to staying on schedule. One of the reasons I chose them was that I thought they would offer minimal hassle and I absolutely believe they provided that. A kitchen remodel is an enormous pain but I cannot imagine that this much work could get done with any less headache. There were some mistakes and some problems, but we never doubted the project manager's commitment to "make it right."
I felt they could improve their oversight of subcontractors and their internal warehouse operations. Also, it seemed that some requests would "fall through the cracks" if I did not continue to follow up myself. I think most of that is because they stay really busy because their reputation keeps them in demand. And they definitely work on improving their processes so whatever mistakes I saw aren't likely to happen again.
Their employees are professional, careful, and extremely polite. They all show the same commitment to doing a good job.
I will use them again for a bathroom remodel when I get around to it.

He was wonderful.  I highly recommend him.  We didn't even know there was construction going on in our home.  He was on time with every aspect of the project.

The project did start late by a few days and ended 2 weeks beyond expected date.
The workers were extremely professional and did an excellent job.
The project manager was responsive and kept me informed.
The overall job looked beautiful and was exactly what I was looking for at the end.