Stone Age Design & Build Inc

This is the fourth time I've used Stone Age Designs. I've used them previously for multiple bathroom remodels and major repairs. Lou and his crew are extremely professional, responsive, and meticulous. I know their work will be top notch. Every day they left the workplace extremely clean and were careful to keep the other areas protected and clean. They showed up when they said they would and regularly provided updates. I trust them completely so they have access to my house (without anyone being here). I'm meticulous and rather picky but I can count on Lou being even pickier. I know that everything will be done beyond my expectation. He sees things that I don't even notice and makes sure everything is done to his very high expectations. I would totally recommend Stone Age Designs/Lou to anyone that is doing any work around their house or office. In fact, I have recommended them to others and they continue to utilize Stone Age Designs for all their work.

It took longer than we anticipated. However, they are a small company trying to juggle jobs and keep everyone busy, which can be a challenge. The quality was a B+ because of some minor issues. We had some disagreements on some aesthetics, tile size, paint color, etc. I ended up finding and buying all the fixtures myself, which was okay. My wife and I have strong opinions about what we like and want. It just took Stone Age a while to understand that we may know better what we wanted for our bathroom. Overall they are a very contentious company and I would use them again.

When we started this project we knew it was going to be substantial so we obtained the services of a professional kitchen designer to make us some preliminary drawings of our remodel so that we would have a consistent proposal from potential contractors. We had no contractor in mind so we went to Angie's list and selected two contractors in our area that high ratings in kitchen remodeling. We also had two contractor recommendations from our kitchen designer. We contacted all four contractors who subsequently gave us bids on our kitchen/living room remodel. Of all four contractors Lou Philippe distinguished himself immediately by asking detailed questions about our design. He clearly wanted to be sure that there was no misunderstanding about what we wanted and what he was going to propose. Part of the remodel involved the removal of a partial wall separating our kitchen and living room. We had no design details on our home's original construction so we didn't know if the wall was load bearing which, if it was, would require some structural modifications to provide support when it was removed. All of the other contractors said it was not a problem and they were sure it wouldn't prove to be load bearing once they started the demolition. Lou said he wanted to be sure before he did his proposal so he provided the name of an engineering firm to do a an inspection and recommendation for support construction if it were necessary. We contacted the firm he recommended who responded immediately and determined the wall was indeed load bearing. Within a week we had drawings approved by our city building department depicting the needed structural support once the wall was removed. The cost of this service was less than $500. We didn't know it at the time, but this proved to be the first example of the quality, responsiveness and reasonable cost of the people Lou works with. I had asked some of the other contractors about getting an engineering review of the wall removal before quoting but they all said it would be more than $1000 and wouldn't be needed. We received bids from all four contractors. Stone Age was next to the lowest, but what really made it stand out was its thoroughness which also proved to be typical of our experience with Lou Philippe. We subsequently contracted with Stone Age and believe we have found the absolute best contractor in our area. The quality of every single piece of our remodel is beyond excellent. The cabinetry workmanship is remarkable. As with any major construction project, we had several times where we wanted to make changes or additions to the design. In every case Lou promptly provided us an estimate of the cost and time impact. When the invoice came it never exceeded, but often proved to be less than his estimate. Before the kitchen project was completed we asked Lou if he could do a cement walkway addition to the side of our house. As usual he promptly responded with a proposal we found to be much less expensive than anticipated. His workers subsequently installed the walkway in short order and distinguished themselves by the quality of their work and the way they kept the workplace clean so as to provide no inconvenience to our neighbor. Now that the whole job is done we are more than pleased that we had the good fortune of selecting Stone Age. I am an engineer by profession and am really interested in detail which made Lou Philippe an excellent fit as he provided complete detail on estimated and actual cost at every phase of our construction. In going through all the estimates and invoices we received during the project I was amazed at how conscientious Lou was at crediting us for every single item included in the original estimate that was subsequently not needed. In reviewing all our paperwork in preparation for writing this review I was astounded to find that our final cost was over $400 LESS than the original contract estimate.

PROPOSAL & QUOTING Lou Philippe is the owner and the business face of Stone Age that operates predominantly in South Bay in recent years. Lou's attention to detail in the initial scoping and proposal won him the job over 4 other quotes. While his price placed mid to high in the range, we felt his proposal was well itemized with helpful estimate for materials. Lou was also diligent in his paperwork. When it came to selecting the materials, Lou had a designer who had strong opinions and tended to pitch only high-end products through her own channel. Because of the conflict of interest, we opted to do our own product selection and procurement. STARTING THE PROJECT Unfortunately the project was delayed by 2 - 3 weeks right off the gate due to their other deployed projects and unresolved procurement issues. It was disappointing as we had counted on Lou to be the project manager to keep us on track as well. We learned to be more hands on with the project from this point on. THE CREW & QUALITY OF EXECUTION Under Lou?s leadership, the quality of work was excellent. The actual crew was led by Daniel Vazquez and his brother Miguel. They were both very courteous and professional - simply the best we've seen. They showed up on time and worked diligently everyday. We lived in the house during the entire 10 weeks. Daniel made sure all the dust barriers were up properly and they cleaned up the workspace and after themselves everyday. As the onsite lead, he also checked in regularly on how we wanted things done and was in practice our main interaction on the day-to-day basis. We were impressed as the crew poured over how the shower and floor tiles would be placed down to every sight line and every single piece. On this particular job, the assembly of the IKEA cabinets was our responsibility. Daniel was able to adapt the units perfectly into the somewhat irregular space that we had. It demonstrated a high level of experience and skills in execution. We couldn?t be happier with the result. Daniel and Miguel absolutely went above and beyond our expectation in this project. COMMUNICATION Lou was on site once every few days and was good about addressing issues when onsite. He was however not always super responsive in returning emails or calls. Many quote requests for additional items went unanswered. SCHEDULE The project went another 2 weeks beyond the original date (excluding the 2-wk late start). COST As mentioned, Stone Age?s price was in the upper half of the range. The project cost cited did not include the appliances, cabinets and closets. Lou?s attention to detail translated into change orders and increased cost. To be fair, there were a few items that he absorbed as a courtesy as well. In all, for the quality we felt we made a good decision. To better manage cost, we contracted out separate jobs including acoustic ceiling removal and recessed light install for the entire house, as well as the final painting of the whole house. ANGIE?S LIST DISCOUNT, NOT We presented Angie?s List coupon in the beginning of the project but was told it was a mistake and would not be honored. Even at review time, coupons are still listed under Stone Age. It was unfortunate and disappointing on the part of both Angie?s List and of the contractor.

The provider came and took measurements for our remodel projects of two bathrooms. We never heard back from the contractor. Even after I called to see if they were still interested in submitting a bid, I never heard back!!

We would like to thank Lou and his team, especially Daniel and Miguel. They were very professional, courteous,clean, on time, friendly, and when unexpected things happened, as in most remodeling jobs, they were very understanding and helpful. We had some issues with kitchen cabinets, but the way it was handled was stellar. Lou will take charge of any problem and work hard to resolve it. We also appreciated Lou's attentiveness to detail and his striving to do things right which is also reflected by his team. Lou was also very helpful whenever we had questions and steered us in the right direction. I love my kitchen! Thanks for everything Stone Age!!

This was our second time working with Stone Age. We had previously hired them to remodel our home's interior, and we were so happy with how that turned out that we wanted them to come back and do our front yard, as well. Lou and his partner Fermin met with me several times to discuss the project, and then went ahead with the work according to an architectural plan. A week or so into the project, we discovered that the architectural plan was not compliant with the city's code requirement for fence height. Lou, Fermin and their crew spent hours trying to come up with a solution that would satisfy the city's requirement. It was a difficult problem because we wanted a flat lawn with a surrounding fence of uniform height, but our street has a downhill slope; the challenge was to maintain a consistent fence height while working with the slope, and not exceeding the height requirement. They worked it out, and then worked doubly hard to try to make up for the time lost while trying to come up with a new solution. Our front yard is now complete, and it is beautiful. We constantly get compliments from our neighbors. They did a fantastic job, and we are completely happy with it. We would be very happy to hire Stone Age again.

They were really good. I would recommend them. They were professional and they did a really good job on-time and within the promised deadline. They got it done when they said they would.

We had asked eight different general contractors to submit estimates/bids for our full house interior remodeling project. All contractors were selected from Angie's list or/and yelp, all with excellent reviews and ratings. Being full time working parents of two young kids, and having a very little experience with house remodeling, ultimately we were looking for a contractor/crew the we could trust to execute on time and close to a proposed budget (and without "sweeping anything under a rug"). The estimate from Stone Age Designs was the most detailed and the easiest to understand. It was also the least ambiguous of all eight estimates that we've received (the labor costs were separated from the materials allocations and the estimated prices of materials were clearly identified). Moreover, Lou Philippe and his crew of Stone Age Designs invested by far the most time in measuring our house, and discussing what exactly we would like to do prior to submitting their bid. We ended up selecting Lou Philippe and Stone Age Designs for our project, and now, almost two month after the end of the project, we could not be happier with their work. The project took three month two complete (very closed to the originally plan). The entire process went very smoothly. No surprises! Throughout the project we had been in constant communication with Lou via email and text. He was extremely responsive: quick email replies any time of the day or night, very detailed invoicing, and always willing to spend time to answer questions. We had regular meetings (typically once a week) at the house, to discuss and inspect the progress, as well as to plan for the next week. Throughout the project, Lou was a tremendous help with selecting materials (tiles, hardwood, paint, accessories, etc). Based on our selections, he did most of the purchasing and hauling himself. In addition, Lou took care of all the permitting, inspections and other city related headaches (with absolutely no delays to our great satisfaction). Moreover, Lou helped us a lot with elements of interior design (I probably should not say "he helped us" but rather write he "did" the design). We had shown him several inspiration shots of what final look of the house we desire. Based on our inspiration photographs, Lou prepared three different layouts, complete with 3D renderings. Similarly for master and kids bathrooms, he offered us at least 8 different layouts. Once we finalized the layouts, the crew quickly went to work. Often, they had to work around the material availability, as we managed to select few of the tile and plumbing products that required an extended shipping time. Both, kitchen and bathrooms were build very quickly (that is including custom cabinets and vanities). The crew was at the house six days a week (and sometimes seven), often working 10 hour days and then more. Both Lou and the crew members did show extreme attention to details. For example, after the interior of the house was painted they didn't just move on, but instead went around the house and carefully inspected and marked all (even the littlest) of the defects that required re-work. Similar inspection was done at the very end of the project. The payment schedule was NOT front loaded by any means, and seemed quite reasonable. Towards the end of the project they surprised us by performing few upgrades that we didn't ask for completely free of charge (e.g. install new doors for a hallway closet doors, extra smooth painting, some additional electrical work in the garage) The crew was very respectful and a pleasure to deal with (for example, whenever we were walking around the house, inspecting the progress, they would always pause and offer explanations of what there were busy with at the moment). At the day of the project completion, we found the house to be sparkling clean and ready for moving in (the windows and mirrors were wiped, the floors vacuumed, they even power washed the back yard and our drive way). The stone age designs also came back few weeks after we moved in to do a quick inspection, and replaced a faulty faucet. We are very happy with the quality of the work and overall experience. Thank you very much, Stone Age Designs!

Three phone call request for a estimate, no reply.

They were always timely and worked very hard. Lou's crew was very nice and I never minded having them in my house. If something went wrong....like a sink that arrived in a million pieces Lou handled it even if it was something I ordered. Lou's customer service was impeccable. He made the experience a pleasant one and everything looked amazing when he was done.

Overall we had a very positive experience with Stone Age. Lou Phillipe, the contractor, and all his crew, were very knowledgeable and did excellent work. At our initial meeting to discuss the project, Lou spent about 5 hours with us walking around the house and thoroughly examining and measuring every area where work would be done. His thoroughness impressed us and made us feel very confident that his estimate of the cost of the job would be accurate. Lou and all members of his crew were wonderful. They were punctual, neat, knowledgeable and professional. They communicated with us throughout the project and addressed all our concerns as they came up. They were available at any time to discuss the project, and also made some excellent design suggestions that we were happy to implement. Even after the project was done, they have been happy to come back to perform follow-up work if we noticed anything that was not entirely to our satisfaction (such as changing some light switches that were giving us some trouble), at no additional charge. They even repaired the finish on a stone bathtub deck that I had accidentally damaged weeks after the project was done, at no charge. Basically, the thing that made us the most happy about our experience was that Stone Age completed the project on time and on budget. They did exactly what we were hoping they would do, with no surprises, and the project turned out even better than we could have envisioned. They took responsibility for the project from start to finish. I cannot recommend them highly enough. We would be happy to hire them again and again.

In many ways this was a typical construction project with various problems and a schedule that slipped out. However, the main difference was in Lou and his men. Lou is a stand-up guy and when problems happened, he fixed them. For example, during a shower enclosure installation, the glass door slipped out of a worker's hand and crashed down into the tub, leaving scratches and dings, Lou ripped the custom tub out, got another one made and redid all the tile that had to be removed to replace the tub. There was really no discussion needed--we talked about the possible repair options and he didn't feel they would be acceptable to him as a home-owner, so he made the difficult decision to replace it. His main workers, Daniel and Miguel are quality men. No worries about leaving my home in their hands, or having my teenage and intermediate school daughters home with them without my wife or I being present. When they're at your house working, it's like having a couple of extra friends in the house. One problem with most contractors is they tell you what they think you want to hear and they are masters of the excuse. Fortunately, Lou is very straight with the homeowner, provides good counciling on design options and seldom needs to make an excuse. Lou and his team are not cheap nor are they very fast. However, they are trustworthy and will deliver a quality job. And when something does go wrong, you can count on Lou to do the right thing. With the uncertainties and unkowns of remodeling, aren't those the most important attibutes to have in a contractor?

My husband and I met with several contractors regarding remodeling our kitchen, but we got the best vibe from Lou. His pricing was also very competitive. Lou and his crew were very professional during the entire remodeling process, completed the work on-schedule, and did a really excellent job. We really love our new kitchen, and have received a lot of compliments! We would definitely use Lou again for future projects, and would recommend his services to our friends.

Lou came and met with us before the project began. First impressions were positive. We knew right away that Lou was our guy compared to the other bids we recieved. He gave us good suggestions on the layout of our bathroom. He was very easy to work with when it came to deciding what prices and peices we wanted from different stores such as our mirrors, light fixtures, tile, bathtub and toliet. He also gave us good suggestions about paint and color scheme for our bathroom. We needed a specific small vanity to fit in our bathroom and Lou designed and made one for us. Daniel and Miguel were here everday on time, were very professional and trustworthy in our home. They worked very hard everyday. They prepared and taped up or home very well to keep it clean and dust free. When they were done for the day they made sure to clean up everything and put everything back where they found it before leaving. Our entire family was very happy and impressed with the work Lou and his team did for our bathroom. We would reccomend them to friends and family for work they may need.

I had three crazy estimates that left me clueless about who I wanted to use. When Lou came, I knew immediately that Lou was the guy for the job. Lou spoke to me in detail about exactly what I wanted and he had the foresight to see problem areas. Lou pointed out that the edge I chose for my stone countertop would not fit with my existing countertop. The lip of the countertop would extend too far out and abut against my window frame. Lou also believed the edge I chose would overpower the rest of my kitchen features and he recommended a different edge and showed me. Lou also measured my counter area that looks like a bar area too. He informed me it was too short for regular tall stools and too narrow for serious dining. Lou paused and asked me what I wanted to do with my bar-like countertop area. I chose to keep it for cooking. I told Lou I would get shorter stools and use it for coffee and casual dining only. I was pleased that my contractor was smart enough to see my issue and tell me about it in advance to avoid disspointment and to allow me an option to change it. Lou knew that I needed trim for the edges of my back splash and the list of things he knew I needed is too long to recall it all. Quite simply, Lou knew what I wanted and what I was missing from my kitchen to make it current. None of the other estimates included electrical and plumbing. The other contractors were stone fabrication and backsplash installation only. Lou's team can literally do it all. My estimate was detailed, it laid out various options I might want to choose, and his estimate was completely accurate. Lou also purchased my stone and tile and charged me the actual material price. One of the issues I had was that the only store I knew that sold the tile I wanted sold it only with the installation package. Another store would not order the Ceasarstone because it competed with their house brand of granite. I was going in circles trying to figure out how to order my material I had selected. All I needed to do was show Lou the samples of the material I wanted and he did all the work to get it ordered. He knew who to talk to get it and had me double check my tile before he ordered it to make certain he got it right. In the end I had Lou do these things to my kitchen: fabricate and install ceasarstone, upgrade electrical system in kitchen to comply with Manhattan Beach City code, added new garbage disposal button on the sink, add countertop lighting, brought lights above stove up to code, install backsplash, assemble new sink and dishwasher, reinstall stove. I also had Lou do a few repairs. I had him fix the grout separation in my shower in the master bedroom and repair the grout in one of the guest bathrooms along the bathtub. Lou's team repaired some wood rot along the base of a toilet. Lou finished the job a bit early and stayed on budget. I am very happy with the appearance. It came out WAY better than I thought it might. I highly recommend Lou and his team.

Stone Age was not the first quote I received but I thought Lou demonstrated a greater commitment to quality than I had seen from other contractors. I wanted custom cabinets in cherry wood and Lou made a decent quote for this element of the job. Previously I had been made to feel that I could only have cabinets stained cherry. Lou also felt he could complete the job in 4 weeks and I liked that. Demolishion began on the date agreed upon. I was impressed that the mess was minimalized in its impact on the rest of the house. Lou and his crew were polite and easy to get along with. They arrived daily on time and worked conscientiously. The custom cabinets had been ordered and measured well in advance so that no time was lost waiting for them to be completed.. The only hitch we encountered with inspections was over the lighting. The city of Torrance had just changed a requirement for the LED lights. Lou had to change out the lights he had initially ordered and installed and we lost a day waiting for the new lights to arrive. We had two problems with the cabinets once they were installed. Somehow, the cabinet maker had forgotten to make the bookshelf for my cookbooks. Once I pointed it out, Lou brought them back in and ordered it. The other problem involved the loss of a drawer in front of the stovetop. The cabinet maker had assumed that no drawer would be in that position because of the stovetop. But, we had had a drawer there before and we didn't want to lose it. Lou was able to fix it without any difficulty and I was very appreciative of his efforts. The final cost was more than the initial estimate because we encountered a major plumbing repair needed at the sink and all the materials we selected were more than Lou had estimated. Lou was very helpful with referring us to suppliers. The job had been promised to us in 4 weeks and it was completed in 4 weeks and 1 day. Lou and his team completed the job with an eye to quality and detail. I was very pleased with the overall result and experience. My kitchen is absolutely beautiful.

Lou and his team were very professorial from start to finish. Lou provided a detailed quote and worked with us to match our budgetary requirements. He conducted the bid/ estimate process in a professional and approachable manner. As we got going, he offered great advice regarding selection of fixtures and provided good suggestions for tile, vanity top, etc. Lou also has a good eye for color and overall design. The quality of the workmanship seems very high. His team prepped and watersealed the new tub with great care and did the best dry walling I've ever seen. The tile work was a calculated, precision process that feels very solid, level, and water resistant. The vanity was outsourced to a carpenter and it looks great. Lou worked hard to find us an amazing stone remnant for the vanity top that matched our floor tile selection. The overall finished product is a beautiful new bathroom with solid workmanship under the hood. One issue is just how busy Lou is. Call it a byproduct of his good work and reputation; he's very much in demand and occasionally our communication wasn't perfect, but everything worked out great. Lou is quick to return calls and we learned that he had everything under control. Upon review of paperwork, Lou keeps very detailed records and runs a trustworthy, respectable crew. They treated my family and dogs with respect and we felt comfortable with his team working in our home. We would be happy to hire Lou's team again.

During every step of this process, Lou and his staff conducted themselves in a very professional, courteous and patient manner. They kept me informed on what to expect next as the work progressed, and took care to clean up their work area at the end of each day, in an effort to inconvenience us as little as possible. Best of all, their attention to detail and highly skillful workmanship (carpentry, plumbing, tile setting, etc.) were exceptional in every way. Lou gave us excellent advice, when it came to choosing colors and materials, and it was clear that he genuinely cared that the completed project met not only his exacting standards but ours as well. The result is that we now have a beautiful new bathroom that's light years away from the one we started with. All things considered, we would highly recommend Stone Age Designs for any remodeling project.

This is the first major project in our house, and we couldn?t be happier with the entire project as delivered by the team from Stone Age Designs / KD Construction. Lou is an extremely knowledgeable designer & project manager. He came in for the estimates, was very competitive with his bid, and patiently walked us through our questions and options. Undoubtedly we had many questions for our first project! The key to success throughout this project was about setting the appropriate expectation and meeting all of them. Everyone on the team, Dan, Miguel, Jose and Gabriel, were friendly, helpful, and hard-working. Not to say that we didn?t run into some issues and didn?t have to change some decisions along the way, but Lou?s team was always there to help resolve the issues. Overall, the project was finished in 2 weeks and all major milestone dates were met without delays. In addition, the team protected our house (walls, floors, furniture) fairly well, although some amount of dust was inevitable. Straight ?A? across the board, except a ?B? on price because this was the highest among all the bids. Although we did spend a little more than we liked, we are really happy with the result and really couldn?t imagine how it would turn out if we had gone with another contractor. Overall, a job well done! If you are considering Stone Age for your next remodeling job, I?d recommend that you evaluate them on the following criteria: - Knowledge and experience. Have they ?been there and done that?? - Access. Is the lead architect / project manager available on a timely basis and helpful with providing options - The caliber of their workers. How long have they been with the company? Can they provide references of quality work? Are they punctual on a daily basis? Based on our experience coming out of this project, they have demonstrated excellence on all counts. I know they will be on the top of our list for our future projects.

An appointment was scheduled to have my condo looked at to obtain an estimate to have work done eg replace floor, remodel kitchen and bathroom, paint, remove popcorn ceiling. Appointment was cancelled by them. I have called couple times since and not heard back. I assume they're too busy and not able to follow-through.

I originally hired Stone Age Designs to install granite countertops and new sinks and fixtures. Their price was competitive, the crew was very helpful in explaining some design / lay out decisions that had to be made, and the work was top notch. During the job, I mentioned that I wanted to have some tile work done in the bathroom and because their work was so good I hired them on the spot to do the job. The price was fair and I am happy with the results. I would definitely hire them again.

We chose StoneAge after interviewing four contractors from AngiesList. Lou's bid was competitive, however, what clinched it for us was that we found Lou to be extremely knowledgable and patient during the selection process. At no point did we feel rushed, and he was happy to answer all our questions. He provided us with an itemized quote which explained all the costs very clearly. Working with Lou and his team (Daniel, Miguel) was truly a pleasure. This was the first time we were undertaking a significant remodel, so this was a bit of a learning experience for us. What I liked about Lou was that he would spend the time to review all options with us, educate us on the pros and cons, give his own preference and still never pressure us to align with it. He gave us the space and time to arrive at our own decisions. Lou is clearly passionate about his work and takes great pride in it. The master bath turned out excellent and we are very happy with the result. On the guest bath, we replaced the tile, cabinets and the shower door and it looks very nice as well. I would like to add that Lou's team is excellent, and both Daniel and Miguel were truly a pleasure to work with. They are very courteous, friendly and trust worthy. On the whole, we ended up spending a little more than we anticipated, however, we are very happy with the result.

I couldn't have been more pleased from the first meeting to obtain an estimate to the final day of work. The professionalism exhibited by Lou and his entire team was second to none. The were always on-time and very respectful of my time and property. I was kept informed with each stage of the project and they were very flexible when I needed schedule adjustments. I had another contractor for a similar but larger project and my experience with Stoneage was far superior. While I hope that my requirements for a Contractor are behind me I would not hesitate to utilize Lou and his team in the future.

I called Stone Age and should of used them. Shame on me I went with another company and had nothing but problems. Stone Age was very professional. Even though I did not use them, they allowed me to call and ask questions. Next time it is Stone Age for me!