Lofft Construction Inc

I have enjoyed working with Lofft over the past year and a half. They have a solid team that's capable of excellent work and draw upon an extensive network of sub-contractors in the DC area. Project leaders, Luis and Erick, are friendly and honest guys. Both were very responsive to owner/architect feedback and clearly shared our goal of 'getting it right'.

The work was done on time and on budget by a skilled team. I'm grateful to Lofft for their level of professionalism and care that went into the repairs at my property. I would definitely recommend Lofft and their team to anyone else looking for a competent general contractor in the DC area.

We are very pleased with the results. Alex helped with the planning and was our main contact. He was very pleasant and kept our preferences in mind. Erick was the head craftsman, helped by Everton and others, and they took pride in doing quality work. Highly recommended.

WHOLE LOFFT TEAM WERE TOP KNOTCH ! SUPER CLEAN AND PROFESSIONAL

Lofft Construction was an ease to work with. They had renovated our bathroom and kitchen and could not be happier with the outcome of the project. We highly recommend them!!

I had such high hopes for this project and was so impressed by Lofft at the proposal stage. They came down on their price and I was really looking forward to having them do the work. It however has been horrible. I have however never experienced a project run so unprofessionally and regret the day I hired them. The project was supposed to be finished in March. We are now in October and they still have not finished. DCRA put a stop work order on the project due to Lofft poor decision making on the project and as a result my house was left unsupported for several months. Even after the stop work order was removed they did not make an effort to make sure the rest of the already delayed project moves forward efficiently and with high quality. Moving into the build out phase, different crews have worked sporadically making numerous mistakes that Lofft is now trying to avoid repairing and actually trying to charge me extra for. Subcontractors complain to me that they have not been paid which is why they don't show up and take other jobs between finishing mine. Three different sets of carpenters have worked over the course of the project and made mistakes that all remain in the basement. Three different electricians have been sent, all from the same company, trying to fix the mistakes of the person before. My backyard garden has been used like a trash can and completely disrespected. I have asked numerous times to clean up construction waste. I have now paid too much on the contract and am worried that they are just not going to finish. I fear that I will have to just hire another company to finally finish and take Lofft to court to recover my damages. No amount of money however will appease the pain and frustration the mismanagement of this project has brought into my life. I am still hoping that they will finish and we can end this nightmare amicably but since I keep getting promises that they will finish in 3 days and it has been weeks and months, my hope has died a miserable death. Do not hire this company if you would like to; keep your happiness, sanity, healthy marriage, and only pay what you agreed. I spent countless hours at home babysitting workers trying to catch mistakes. I hired a design build company to manage the project and have had to micromanage to avoid a complete catastrophe. I just want this to be over!

Synopsis (detail below) We are probably 90-95% pleased with the ultimate outcome; however, it was a painful process. In general Lofft does not apply the project management principles that would ensure the work is done as expected and to everyone’s (your, Lofft’s, the subs’) satisfaction. They are nice people, so if you are willing and able to serve as the project manager, taking on the role from the start, Lofft could be a good option for you. It is also possible that if your project is small and/or requires only one area of expertise, e.g. masonry or carpentry, that you will have a good experience. Detail Most of the project management disciplines, as described below with examples, were lacking from our project which made the experience painful for everyone. Areas that needed improvement include scope / requirements, communication, quality, schedule, cost, vendor management, and change management. Scope / Requirements: Lofft originally gave us a quote and provided a very general contract for the work we described. I was not comfortable with this, and so we did agree to work with their architect up front to design and describe what we wanted. We hoped that this would 1) get us as realistic an estimate of cost and schedule as possible and 2) ensure that in the end we got what we had in mind. The design did not include all of the details; however, we were assured that we would sit down with Lofft ahead of each step of the process to work out the details. We did provide a picture of the fence design. The lesson here is that we should have taken the time to go one or more steps deeper into the design and agree much more of the detail up front. We had a number of issues come up around this. I will provide two examples. The first is around the design of the fence. During the design process we provided to the architect a picture of the fence we wanted. I don’t know what happened with this, but when it came time to build the fence, the carpenter started to construct a very generic lattice not at all to our specification. Note that the promise to sit down with us and discuss the details never happened for any of the steps. When we re-presented the design, we were told that they hadn’t known about this and that they couldn’t do it. The fence was put on hold while I (not Lofft) searched for a solution. In the end we got a fence that we mostly like, but it’s not what we had described up front. Additionally, it was agreed (though not explicitly stated in the contract) that the fence would be neighbor-friendly, but when Lofft neglected to complete the neighbor’s side and we reminded them of this, they tried to charge us several thousand dollars extra. We ended up having someone else do it (better) for about a third of the cost. The second example of issues with scope and requirements is around the garage door. The garage door is in the design. It is a door only – no garage. At some point once the door was installed along with all of the hardware required, someone realized that we needed a housing for the motor, which otherwise would be have exposed to the elements. Lofft indicated that this was not in the original scope; however, they, as the experts, should have noted this from the design so that we all could have planned for it. Communication: Communication was severely lacking at all levels on this effort. Examples of small lapses include email responses from Lofft that did not answer the questions or address the issues raised. Examples of larger lapses include not letting us know when to expect workers to be here or what they would be working on when so that we could make arrangements as needed. The worst issues with communication were flat out lies – telling us that they had tried to call or text when we didn’t have missed calls or text messages on our phones or giving us dates for expected work that they clearly did not intend or could not manage to meet. It was clear that the sub-contractors were often as in the dark as we were. Additionally, invoices were vague and required back and forth to interpret. Of all of the issues, the lack of communication and the continual over-promise and under-deliver were the most frustrating. Quality: Some of the work is of excellent quality. Some of the work was of poor quality. My husband spent a lot of time going over the work to ensure that it was done properly. We were able to get Lofft and its sub-contractors to fix some of the most egregious lapses, particularly in the concrete; however, every time I look at the fence, I notice all of the flaws and it incenses me that we spent so much money on it. Additionally, Lofft did not take adequate measures to protect our property against the elements. Twice while the foundation was being worked we had up to four inches of water in the basement – it cascaded in through the openings in the wall. Knowing the forecast, more should have been done to mitigate this risk, especially after the first time. Schedule: For all intents and purposes there was no schedule. The contract indicates that work would start March 18 and be complete June 10. Work did not start until April 6 and was not complete until the end of August. Lofft will indicate that it rained quite a bit in the spring, which is true. We probably lost about two weeks there. Additionally we did end up having to pause to have them fix the foundation as we had suspected. That would have been another two weeks or so. The remainder of the delay was on Lofft. There were many perfectly clear and workable days on which they simply weren’t here. We never knew why (again, the lack of communication). Lofft did kick us off with an online schedule that was supposed to be updated as needed. I thought this was great; however, there was not enough detail for a true tracking of progress, and only once, at my vocal behest, was the schedule updated to reflect the current status. It was useless, which is a shame. It could have been a great tool. In general the schedule was at the whim of Lofft and never communicated accurately. Cost: This really goes back to the scope and requirements. Lofft will allow costs to spiral out of control if you have only general requirements. If you are sensitive to cost, make sure you have agreed with them several levels of detail. In the end we paid 50% over the original agreed estimate. This does not include some items that we bought ourselves, for example, light fixtures, rather than through Lofft. This is all the more aggravating given that from the beginning I asked for pricing for alternatives for the fence and deck and other items and never received them. Of course, this allows Lofft to take full advantage of you just wanting to get the job done. Vendor Management: Lofft uses a lot of subs, which in general is fine. Some of their subs are excellent. Some are not. That said, it was clear that the communication between Lofft and the sub-contractors was just as insufficient as it was between Lofft and us. Additionally, Lofft was not proactive in ensuring quality work from the subs. It was my husband who followed up on this. Additionally, we were instructed to work directly with a supplier to choose materials for the deck and the French doors. Ultimately this goes back to communication; however, it directly impacts the relationship with the vendor. Lofft did not provide correct details to the supplier, and did not check to ensure that details provided by the supplier were correct. This caused delays for both the deck and the French doors. Change Management: If you do not have a detailed design or detailed requirements, expect a lot of change orders. Also expect a haphazard change process. The addition of the work on our foundation was handled as a formal change order; however, all the other little tweaks, again, mostly due to not having super-detailed requirements, were undocumented and hence difficult to track. Conclusion Restated Lofft are nice people. Some of the sub-contractors are excellent. If you have the time and expertise to serve as the project manager (and hold Lofft accountable to this), you could have a good experience; otherwise, you may find it very frustrating as we did. We might consider using them for something very small, but we will never choose them for a more complex project.

I contacted Lofft Construction to get an estimate on a basement remodel. Alex Sanguinetti came within one week and looked at my basement. He told me that he would provide me with an estimate the next day. One month later I have not heard back from him.

Very good, they came in with the lowest cost, had already done a major project on my street at the end of the block and some renovations at the next door neighbor's house. Both gave positive recommendations and based on their knowledge of the neighborhood houses and price I chose Lofft for the work. Alex project manager explained everything and Juan was a terrific foreman, everything ended up exactly as described, would definitely work with them again. All the materials were first rate, Andersen doors and windows, and the new oak floor puts the other upstairs rooms to shame!

This project began back in June - if you're interested in project managing the entire thing yourself, choose Lofft. the communication is terrible. They actually lied to one of their subcontractors and told him I was unhappy with his work, when I was unhappy with their tracking and completion of issues. The workers/subcontractors (particularly the tile guy) did great work. But the managers, Lofft, are horrible. I may never get this work corrected. Listen to the people who tell you there are issues; I made the mistake of ignoring the Yelp reviews, and here I am. They installed my sink incorrectly so that there is standing water in the drain. They keep bringing a "master plumber" over to fix it and keep snaking the drain, but the issue is that they did not install things correctly, so the drain is positioned higher than it should be. Therefore, standing water. I've been asking them to come fix this for over a month, and they are difficult to contact and refuse to come fix it. It's ridiculous and will likely require another major expense to correct. They also scratched my refinished wood floors when installing my stove, said they'd correct it, said they HAD corrected it, and had not. My refrigerator is wedged in so tight that I cannot move it, and they repeatedly blamed this on me for not having a refrigerator on wheels. I've asked them on more than one occasion to come remove a side panel so I can access the back of the refrigerator, and they have not - it's been over a month. This was a lot of money for such bad customer service. I hesitated to pay them their second installment because I did not think they'd complete the work, and they seemed surprised that I was concerned. Yet here I am, with an incorrectly installed sink, fridge issue and scratched floors - oh, and they did not secure the dishwasher in place, so it moves around when I open the door. Sloppy.

Lofft and its principle, Alex, worked closely with us throughout the project. It did take longer than initially projected but some of that was due to changes we made along the way. The cost was reasonable based on other estimates and we have had nothing but compliments from friends and neighbors who have come by to look at the completed work. We thought we were going to have to underpin the foundation to gain the desired ceiling height but Alex was able to dig out the basement to the foundation without going beneath it. This saved us substantial cost and added more than adequate height. We also added a powder room, which was not in the original architectural plan, and while we incurred an added cost it was nominal and more than reasonable. Midway through the project we also decided to replace the old and oversized pipes that run water to the radiators; the added cost was more than fair. Although it was not a part of the design we asked Alex if he could run a line to our kitchen above in order to install a radiator to that space, and he did so without hesitation (he even threw in a small radiator that looks as though it has always been there). If we ever had concerns along the way and thought some of the work did not meet our expectations Lofft responded quickly and made the necessary improvements, but overall there were few problems. We have a beautiful space now with which we are very pleased. It includes a bedroom, full bath, sitting space and small kitchenette, as well as a powder room situated separately form the suite. Lofft Construction is definitely worth considering if you have major work that needs to be done.

Lofft is like a best buy product in that national consumer magazine that rates products. They provide a very good service for the money. I was concerned that they were the lowest price of three quotes we received but everything turned out great.

We had a leaky pipe in an interior wall and once the work was done to fix the pipe, Lofft Construction came and completed the plastering work. In addition, they replaced a wall and door for an expansion of an area and that work was completed during the suggested timeline. I was extremely impressed with the quality of work and will use them again.

This is the second time I've used Lofft Construction and they continue to impress. Alex and his team are great communicators and they deliver outstanding results. This particular project had "headwinds" that were outside of Lofft's control; however, they stuck to the job and did not charge me delay fees. They made the wall and floors of my 75+ year old condo look brand new. Great work Alex and Lofft Construction...thanks for being a great contractor and even better people.

We were thrilled with the end result: the kitchen and master bath are beautiful (ask them to show you pictures). The kitchen designer / cabinet maker in particular was great to work with - very responsive, provided excellent digital mock-ups, and really helped us formulate and realize our vision for the kitchen. We're just less than a year out from them having finished the work and everything is still in good shape - so speaks to the quality of work they provided. Erik (their master carpenter) and Luis (our primary POC) are both great to work with. We ran into the typical surprises of a reno of this scale - the wall we removed had pipes for our hot water radiators so those pipes had to be rerouted, we did some additional plumbing repairs when we gutted the bathroom. For all of the changes, LOFFT was very transparent about the costs and I was able to independently verify that the change orders were both necessary and fairly priced. We were living in the house (in the basement) through the renovations which always adds stress, but they did as best they could to minimize the amount of dust and other impacts on us. We weren't thrilled with the electrician they used - no major issues, but not at the same level of professionalism as the other folks they had doing the work.

AMAZING! I can't say enough great things about Lofft. Our project manager, Alex, was great! He worked with us throughout the entire process, from demo to completion. We ran into very few problems, but it's an old house, so we knew that we would. Alex was always on top on them, talking us through the best solution. He anticipated our needs, understood what we wanted, and made sure that things moved along swiftly. On-site we always had the same amazing guys, Erick and Rolando. They do really great work, were creative, professional, and incredibly friendly. We love the results and get tons of compliments.

Lofft was easy to communicate with, quickly provided an estimate, and promptly scheduled the demolition. The project was completed on schedule. No complaints here. Would call them again.

Lofft completed a total renovation of the main floor of our home and we are very pleased with the outcome of the project and really enjoy our new kitchen! We had an outdated first floor in our 1920s row house with an awful galley kitchen, worn floors and existing water damage on the back exterior wall. Alex (our project manager) and his team did the following: removed load bearing walls and constructed beams to create an open floor plan; replaced the old hardwood floors that were beyond repair; moved the kitchen from one side of the house to the other; replaced French doors with windows (including masonry work); installed new exterior door and windows; moved hot water radiators and installed new pipes; installed new plumbing for kitchen; installed new electric for first floor; installed kitchen cabinets and countertops; installed appliances; tile work; exposed a brick wall by removing old plaster; framing and insulation; drywall; and interior and exterior painting. Throughout the process, dealing with Lofft was a pleasure. They obtained all the required permits/approvals and were very helpful in helping to choose materials which can be overwhelming. There was no pressure to use their suppliers (cabinets/countertops/etc.) although we ended up utilizing many of their recommendations as their prices/quality were outstanding. Thankfully, we experienced no major problems during construction and minor issues were addressed in a timely manner. We would certainly recommend Lofft Construction and will consider them for future projects.

Lofft Construction worked on a full basement remodel, including a bathroom renovation, in the basement of my home in DC and I must say that the project turned out great! My basement experienced water damage after a pipe burst in the kitchen above the basement. The water had run most of the day and the damage was extensive. I hired Lofft to restore and renovate the basement. Our renovation included new flooring, framing, insulation, drywall, painting, electrical, and fixtures. I am very pleased with the excellent customer service I received from Luis (my PM) and his team for being atentive, helpful, and always pleasant to communicate with. The project manager and sub-contractors stuck to the agreed work plan and and completed the work in a timely manner and keeping me informed with progress throughout the entire project. During execution of the project there were some unforeseen changes that we needed to accomodate to and these were clearly communicated to me and handled to my staisfaction. I highly recommend Lofft Construction for your home renovations and I would definitely hire them again for any future work in my home.

Pros: Lofft is an small, professional and honestly run company that preformed mid-priced renovations more or less within the bounds of their initial estimate. They have good sub contractors and bathroom tile suppliers. They did an excellent job with the bathroom tiles and countertops. Cons: finishing touches were often lacking and rarely was there a foreman on site which resulted in delays and oversights. Ultimately, Lofft was willing to address and correct issues.

Lofft made the basement and garage of our 1920s townhouse go from a dank, dreary place worthy of only storing junk into a lovely, sophisticated living and entertainment suite that we are happy to show off to friends and family. The project included replacing old low-hanging pipes and moving plumbing lines into the rafters, digging out the old, uneven basement floor, widening door and window openings, installing a beautiful wet bar and luxurious bath, and digging out to create a new patio under our existing deck. While the process was not without its hiccups, which included some frustrating delays that were in significant part due to DCRA permitting and weather, Alex and his crew worked very hard to make sure our basement was ultimately everything we wanted it to be. It turned out better than we ever imagined!

Overall, working with Luis is a very good experience. This was my second renovation with them (we did the kitchen a while ago). I think that overall the expense of the projects was high, but then again I live in DC so have come to expect a hike for work done. The only reason I didn't rate the quality as an A is that there are a couple of small issues with the work done (I waited purposefully for about 6 months before giving this review to see if there were any other issues). During the renovation, I did have several problems with whatever AC contractor that was being used. Several of the condensation routes were not put together properly and caused leaking. This was all resolved before construction was finished though and there have not been any problems since.

I am very happy with my experience with Lofft. I worked with Luis and Erick and both were professional and responsive. Lofft finished my project on time and on budget which is exactly what I wanted. I am happy with the quality of the work as well. I would recommend Lofft to anyone!

We contracted Lofft Constructions to do a gut and remodel of my entire home, and build out the basement into an entire apartment. Positives: - Cheapest offer we received from five companies. - Overall decent quality. - Stayed within budget. Negatives: - Company boss hard to reach / sometimes not available for weeks. - Many conflicts between boss and subcontractors, as other reviewers have suggested. - Offensive messages from company after work was done. Conflict with subcontractors seems to spill into relationship with client.

We hired Lofft to replace our roof, re-stucco our home, and reinforce our front porch which was sinking. Prior to hiring Lofft, we had met with various contractors and collected numerous quotes. Lofft was not the cheapest and far from the most expensive but we chose them because they seemed to be the most knowledgeable with regards to the pebble-dash stucco finish we wanted and they presented a very professional image. We were not disappointed. Lofft did an amazing job with the succo, the roof, and the porch. We would definitely use them again.