Erick Allen Designs and Remodeling

It didn't!

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Very Well

This is not your ordinary general contractor. He actually does the designs himself and he is very good at what he does. They did an excellent job. They were professional and we were very pleased with the results. We would highly recommend them.

We are the original owners of our 30 year old home, and it was trapped in the '70's! For several years we considered remodeling our kitchen but didn't have a clue where to begin. Fortunately for us our daughter and son-in-law decided to re-do their kitchen, and that's when Erick Allen entered the picture. We got to see him "up close and personal." Their project turned out perfect, and we said to Erick, "We want that!" Erick spent several Sunday afternoons at our home getting to know our essence, watching us move around our kitchen and family room, chatting about our likes and dislikes. (All at no cost!) We are not visionaries, but "No problem", Erick is very creative and has great vision. We discussed budget, wants and needs. We wanted "the bottom line" with no surprises in the end. He wanted us happy - we got it all! Erick is an extremely professional, courteous, personable man emblazoned with a very happy face. He has a small crew of polite, professional "Jacks-of-all-trades." They are dedicated hardworking men who take pride in their work. They showed up on time and often we had to "shoo" them out at day's end. They were driven to please us. One of Erick's mottos is "No problem," and he worked hard to make it that way. A very nice plus to this team is that they are totally trustworthy. There were many times when we were gone for the day, yet we totally trusted them to be alone in our home. We even gave Erick a key! Erick made our lives so easy. He took us on "road trips" to see how things could look, and he shopped and picked out things with us and for us. He would continue to come back until we were totally pleased. Our '70's home looks better than the day we bought it thanks to Erick's vision, attention to detail, personal touches and craftsmanship. His goal is "Always that you will be as happy with him when he finishes as you were the day he started."

Erick gave me an estimate. His workers showed up when promised. Performed the work neatly and quickly. The took away the old tub. The whole project only took 1/2 a day.

I have a friend who had a spa entrance shower designed and installed by Erick. After sereral conversations with Erick, I had him submit a design and estimate for a spa shower area, complete bathroom re-models and custom furniture for the master bedroom. The estimate was a little more than I expected to spend but, after looking at other options, I decided to go with Erick..I'm glad I did. Erick not only had excellent suggestions as to utility, looks, and choice of materials but, he also accompanied me on purchasing trips advising me on color selection, style, material, and applicaton. Personal touches like outlets in cabinets, under-sink storage with outlets for hair-dryers, curling irons,and hidden media components for a new big screen TV in the master bed. Like the ad says, cost of re-model..60M; attention to detail and hidden benefits..priceless. Any adjustments or minor additions we required have been handled promptly and professionally. We're extremely pleased with and are really enjoying everything Erick did. He has since done some other minor work and will always be our first choice for anything we decide to design or change.

From start to finish everything went just like I wanted it to. Erick and his crew showed up on time, were neat, courteous, and professional, and did everything they could to make this go smoothly. I was never excluded from any decisions and all Ericks designs were right on with what I wanted. He was really able to interpret my likes, dislikes, and styles into a design that fit right into my home, style, and budget. My fireplace mantle with raised granite tile hearth and media center with matching tile top gave my living room a whole new look, and once Erick and his men got the flat screen mounted on the wall above it and all the cabling hidden in the wall it really took off. All the crown, base and casing went in without a hitch. I have very high double vaulted ceilings and was told by other contractors that it couldn't be done or would be very difficult. I voiced my concern and was told not to even give it a thought. Next thing I knew it was done. Ericks selection of crown, base and casing really compliment each other and add a whole new dimension to my home. My family absolutely loves it. Then I mentioned that I needed lighting and ceiling fans desperately in some of my bedrooms. Erick gave me a quote right there on the spot and the next day they were starting on it. It looks like the lights have always been there and now I can actually see in those rooms. I love the dimmer switches he suggested. Then we took my old office and gave it a really nice rustic look that I really liked so I had a room to display some of my western artifacts. After that it was fluorescent lighting in the garage to replace that one lonely bulb on the wall, exterior outlets for my fountain, deck, and patio, and replace the outside wall lights with newer nicer ones. Erick was able to suggest a few places to go to help me save a few dollars on the ones I really liked. Then he put a pantry cabinet in the niche in my kitchen so that I could fit all my foodstuffs in and built a really beautiful display cabinet, with lighting, and bookcase for my new office area. All in all this was the best project I have ever had done in my home and I am very very happy with all the results.

Our experience with Erick and his crew was absolutely amazing! We met with Erick several times before the project began and each time we became even more impressed. Erick was extremely professional, knowledgeable, passionate and energetic. His design ideas were incredible and unique, while still being practical. Erick was patient and willing to answer all of our questions. Erick has very high expectations of himself and his crew and the quality of their work is amazing. It quickly became clear that Erick knew exactly what we wanted, so we turned over many of the design decisions to him. That was the best decision we could have made! Not only did this eliminate a huge majority of the stress that comes with a remodel, the choices he made were perfect and much better than if we had made them ourselves. Everything complements each other and the rooms flow just wonderfully. We had so much confidence in Erick that we even asked him to choose all of our paint colors (he selected 12 different colors) and it turned out beautifully! Our remodel took about eight weeks, which was quick considering how much work we had done. With very few exceptions, somebody was working here six days a week (and most of the time, it was a crew of 4-5), often 8 hours or longer. Every day we saw measurable progress, which was so exciting. There were many times that there were several projects in progress simultaneously and we always felt like our remodel was the priority. Erick?s crew was just awesome! They were professional, hard working, courteous, patient, dependable, attentive to detail, communicative ? we could go on and on! It was great that we saw the same crew every day and that little of the work was done by subcontractors. John designed the perfect media center. It?s functional with storage, but beautiful too! We were especially impressed when he built a custom fireplace mantel out of the different moldings we used throughout the house. What a great idea! We also appreciated that Erick showed us where we could purchase all of our A/V wiring at a reasonable price and were pleasantly surprised when we came home to find Erick setting up our A/V equipment himself! Almost a year later, we are still so amazingly happy with our remodel and with our choice of Erick. While we were happy that things moved quickly and relatively smoothly, we were most impressed with the design ideas and quality of work. We can?t wait until our next project with Erick!

We were very pleased with how this project was handled. We had a special request that the work be finished in time for a surprise 50th birthday party for my husband. We had guests coming from out of town who had never seen our house before. Erick's team started when he said they would and had our house looking beautiful in time for the big day. Erick is very friendly and professional. He always promptly answers your calls and addresses any conerns you have right away. Erick has a gift for getting a feel for what you are looking to do and envisioning how to put it all together. He has a special talent for color combinations. He chose colors that I would not have thought of and in doing so he totally transformed the look of our house. We couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out - so much better than we expected.

They started the job on time, and completed the work when they said they would. Erick walked us through the entire process, from selecting the flooring, to appliances, doors, window, and lighting selection. They do a professional job.

From the first time we met with Erick, we were sure we wanted to work with him. However, to be certain, we looked at other companies to do our remodel. We went with Erick Allen Builders because of Erick himself, a knowledgeable, enthusiastic and innovative professional. Erick?s design suggestions, color consultations and job bid made us excited to start the project. One of the finest aspects of working with Erick was his commitment to helping us achieve our dream kitchen within our budget. Erick provided hands-on expertise at every crucial step in the process from the initial demolition to the final installation of the hood above the cook-top. His personal touch was on every facet of the remodel, from installing a light switch to repairing a dent in the flooring. No job was too small for him, even though he is the owner and creative force of Erick Allen Builders Design and Remodeling. Erick went with us to pick out the granite counters and the tile backsplash. He showed us many ideas and options, and encouraged us as we made our selections. He recommended many local places and websites where we could look at options for appliances, hardware, and lighting, and save money! Our project?s success was not just because of Erick, but also because of the exceptional craftsmen whom he has hired. John Hobbs creates beautiful cabinetry and crown moulding, Scott Nance is a wiz at electrical and plumbing, and Andreas Juarez has an eye for detail. The tile installers were meticulous and the cabinet finisher was a master artist, creating a custom color for our island. And they were all very patient with questions, comments and ?what if?s?. Each tiny detail was handled with the same commitment and expertise as the major parts of the project. Our project was tailored to us at every step. We were comfortable with every decision and had more fun remodeling our kitchen than we could have imagined. We are very particular and our finished kitchen turned out beyond even our highest expectations.

This entire project actually started as a kitchen remodel and gradually grew into the basically whole house adventure that it became. When we first met with Erick Allen to discuss our kitchen remodel he brought so many wonderful ideas and designs to the table with him. After a relatively brief discussion he was able to come up with a kitchen design that we fell in love with. He was able to increase the size of our island, incorporate a lovely sidebar with a plate display area, and utilize all the space my high ceilings gave me that my old kitchen layout wasted. Now I have a storage area for my seasonal kitchen items and they?re out of the way until needed (once a year). He included a terrific pantry that makes storing the convenient kitchen items so much easier, a small bookcase on the end of the island for my cookbooks, and under cabinet lighting under all the upper cabinets. It really highlights the granite that Erick Allen chose for our kitchen. It is beautiful and fits my tastes perfectly. I have a peninsula area my sink is on that looks out into the family room and, by increasing the depth of the countertop there when he was designing it, now it seats three and has beautiful pendant lighting that he added over it. He really took our activities in the kitchen and how we use it into consideration when he was designing it. Once it was done it seemed like we?d had it for awhile, because everything was just where it should be. All the appliances fit together with very comfortable positioning and are very user friendly. The color he selected for the kitchen cabinets and walls was a perfect blend for our home. All the new cabinetry and granite in the kitchen fit right into the old house seamlessly. Which is what led to the rest of the work. It was the old house. We decided to have something done in our family room and when we approached Erick with it his response was ?No problem.? He designed a beautiful beamed ceiling with tongue and groove paneling and crown surrounding it. In the beams are the lights for the room so that they aren?t inserted in the paneled areas and really helps draw your eye to all the wonderful work up there. Then he installed a surround sound system for the media center on one of the walls and designed a great mantel for our fire place with a wainscot panel above it to display our artwork in. It really dressed up our fireplace and made it the focal point of the room that it?s supposed to be. At one point we were concerned with noise from the second floor being heard on the first floor by the people watching tv. We mentioned it to Erick Allen and next thing we know the problem is solved. He contacted a blown insulation company, they came in a insulated all the spaces over our family room, no more noise. One great advantage of having a designer who is also a contractor, he already knows what to do to fix the problem. After we were done with that we decided to have our old billiard room turned into a second

I gave Erick an idea of what I wanted and let him suggest designs - he's great at coming up with ideas that I would never have thought of (including extra space above the refrigerator with a false front instead of a cabinet - in case I ever needed to buy a larger frig). He took me shopping for granite, tile, lighting, etc. and advised me on where to find other items (for one project, I didn't have time and trusted him to buy the appropriate items). He accepted without question my minor requests for changes as the projects developed. He has an excellent crew who do quality work, and are reliable, quiet, and careful. Erick checks all work to ensure quality. He wants his clients to be happy!

Erick chose a wonderful six color design. The color scheme is gorgeous. I've received compliments from my neighbors on the new appearance of my house. The workers that came to do the painting and repair work were very professional and courteous. I will definitely contact Erick again for any future home remodeling projects that I do in the future.

This project went the way that every homeowner wants every project to go. Erick came in before the demolision phase of the project and went over the entire design of the bathroom with us to make sure we understood what was going to be happening and what would be placed where. It was so wonderful to have a general contractor and designer all in the same person. He was able to lay out the bathroom and capture enough space in the master suite that we ended up with both a jacuzzi tub and a very nice sized shower. (both at his suggestion). The cabinet design is absolutely perfect! We have a drawer under the doors in our sink cabinet so we can actually store bathroom supplies there (just the right size for toilet paper) and still have all the bulk area under the sink for larger items. My personal favorite is the styling drawer he designed into the vanity. My blowdryer and curling irons all fit in this drawer with the cords inside and an office strip in the back everything is plugged into. No more clutter on the vanity top and when I need it I'm not digging through a drawer trying to untangle cords to dry my hair. My husband loves the electrical outlets in the medicine cabinets. He's able to keep his toothbrush and trimmer fully charged without them being out on the counter with cords running everywhere. We have an additional outlet under the sink (which turned into a great place to plug my roller set into when I need it) so we have no problems with lack of outlets. All this and we still have plenty of drawer storage for all the bathroom necessities. My husband and I each have our own sink and side of the vanity and plenty of room. All of the colors and tiles that Erick selected were beautiful. The paint complimented the tile and the woodwork and the tile was ideal for the granite he chose. All of his design ideas were right on the mark. Thankfully he was able to convince us to go with natural stone instead of ceramic. It looks so much better with the granite and, as we learned, helped to greatly increase the value of our investment. We had a friend of ours, who is a home appraiser, come over after the projects were complete and she told us that we had basically doubled the investment cost of the projects into our home. One of the main reasons she sited, besides the granite and jacuzzi tubs, was the natural stone tile. The other items she pointed out to us were the full tile backsplashes behind the vanities, the full tile surround for the tubs and shower, the additional lighting in the rooms, and of course the cabinets. When we explained to her that Erick had designed the bathrooms, after discussing what we wanted, and had selected all the paint and tile color combinations, she made sure to have his card when she left. The attention to the small details really mean alot too. Like the fact that the shower head is alot taller than standard, which is great because both my husband and I are tall people and we no longer have to slouch to shower.

Erick Allen used our desires and his expertise to design all aspects of the project. He provided pictures of the plan and kept us posted on the project. His design ideas are one of the things we love the most. He never stepped on our toes, but ensured he understood what we wanted and made recommendations. His crew was polite and diligent. They worked much longer hours than typical contractors. They stayed late and worked weekends to ensure the project was completed on time (and it was). Being without a kitchen, we appreciated that. We have used Erick Allen Builders for smaller projects over the years as well, and his crew remains largley the same. Erick was always available when we needed him. He accompanied us to the granite yard to help us select a slab and tile, he gave great recommendations on where to buy items (i.e. light fixtures, appliances, plumbing fixtures), and he was always available to answer our questions. He didn't start the project until he built and delivered the cabinets to our home, which meant there was no waiting. All messes were cleaned up daily. The crew took care to cover and protect our home from as much mess and damage as possible. They even washed our car which was parked in the garage when it got dusty from the project. We constantly receive compliments on our home and we are so proud of the improvement. He made a small space look quite large! Erick Allen's work is not cheap, but you definitely get what you pay for in the case. Our drawers and cabinets are higher quality than those in brand new million dollar homes we have visited. Plus, Erick made sure we were completely satified after the project was completed.

I couldn't be happier with the work that was done. The workers that came to the house were so experienced and professional in addition to being super nice people and efficient, neat and tidy. There was no wasted time and no mess left at the end of each day. These workers made the whole experience almost fun! Erick Allen (owner) was constantly in touch with me to be sure everything was going as I expected. We decided to paint the inside ourselves and Erick chose such wonderful colors for us. The colors that he picked (inside and outside) were so unique and modern, they make the house look like a model home. My real estate agent was thrilled to see cutting edge colors used. I will definitely contact him again for furture remodeling projects when I get another house .

We are completely impressed with the high level professionalism and efficiency of Erick Allen Builders as we have used EAB for numerous remodels and upgrade services in our home and have been completely satisfied. EAB continues to exceed our expectations on creativity of ideas, reliability and standards well above any other contractor service. We are pleased to highly recommend Erick Allen Builders.

Erick and his crew arrived at our home, on the date and time specified, and immediately started to relocate furniture that we could not move, and masked off all areas of our home that might be affected by dust from the demolition of our kitchen, and even some areas that wouldn't be just to be certain. Flooring protection was laid down in the areas needed and the whole process went much quicker than I would have thought possible. His crew was, at all times, professional and courtious. There were many items that we missed in cleaning out our kitchen, and these were immediately brought to our attention so we could make a decision on them. All electrical, plumbing, and drywalling was done where needed and special attention was given to different appliances to ensure they would be accessible where we wanted them placed. During all this his crew was patient and polite, putting up with many questions from these homeowners, and putting all our concerns to rest. The cabinets were completely custom to fit our requirements and kitchen size. We had drawers where we wanted, doors where we wanted, and a few really cool combinations suggested by Erick that have made my kitchen "the talk of the block" Once this was done all the crown moulding went in. The transformation was immediate. My plain Jane first floor got a facelift and looks absolutely gorgeous. The finisher that he recommended made the cabinets more beautiful than they already were, and he also was very understanding and answered my questions so I understood what would be taking place. When all was said and done, my kitchen was gorgeous, my crown moulding was beautiful, and I actually had a wonderful experience with the entire operation.

The crown moulding materials arrived a few days before the installation, which was fine with me. It was already primed for painting. He measured of the approporiate length for the wire and cables and spliced them to the current system. He routed the wires and cables to the new location, then set up his saw for the moulding and began with the inside cuts, then moved on to the outside cuts and finsihed off the bullnose corners with a the most detailed precision cuts. I was amazed.

The job went perfect. He removed both of the applicances, made a small adjustment on the electircal for the oven that the developer should have done and installed the oven. For the dishwasher, he needed to build a skid for the oven to sit on so that it would be level. This was huge as again, the home developer did not tile underneath the dishwasher location, and that created a problem for making the new one level. But as always, Erick had the solution.

The job went very well. Everything was effortless on my part, and perfect on his part. In my prior work of over ten years of experience in cleaning up other peoples construction nightmares, it was great to find someone who knows how to do the work they are contracted to do without any aggravation.

It went well. They were very precise and punctual. Laid down a matting over the carpet and cleaned up each day. They spent about three days on the job and it all met out expectations very well. They gave us hints about dealing with mold, cleaning up the marble, clearing out the drains and other tips. They were very informative and let us know what was happening and gave us ample opportunities to ask questions. They even came out after work hours to clear the shower drain, which was emptying out slowly. They finished on time and everything went very well. It was our first time using them and I probably ended up spending a little more than budgeted, but it was definitely worth it in the end.

They were always on time and they were clean and nice. They cleaned up everything, each day they were here. The finished project was just as I wanted it to be. I really love my new bathroom.