MB Design & Build

Very professional but too expensive for a garage roof.

It was an Angie's List Big Deal that I purchased. It was good. Martin was great. I’m still trying to decide what the next move would be. They just cleared the paperwork out. It was a great experience. He was responsive and easy to communicate with. It went really well.

The gentleman that came out was very professional. I was planning on surprising my wife with a kitchen re-organization. Martin came to our home, and spent about 30 minutes with me tell me what he could do. He gave me the total cost and it would have been acceptable, however my wife decided she didn't want the re-organization done.

Martins is very fun to work with. He's a great personality, talented designer, and authoritative expert.

Martins gave us a great and beuatiful design with a couple of options specific to the limitations of our ancient bungalow, how big we'd want to make it and how much we's like to spend. While it took a while longer than expected to get the deisgns back, he knew we weren't in any hurry as we're limited in how much we can spend, and with kids heading off to college, we've decided to hold off for now. But we will definately use Martins if and when we decide to go forward.

Submitted plans, nothing extraordinary - was hoping for design guidance. Didn't get it. He submitted drawings but very disappointing. The price seemed fair had we gone that route but we found someone much more accessible with lots of ideas. We seemed to be very low priority for him. Very disappointed to have spent the money on the plans.

It didn't go as well that I hoped. It was more of kind of a to me it was a come on I will give you a brief sketch and then you pay us extra money to get a real sketch and then you can pay more money and you get actual architect to do it so I didn't get any professional design from them. The sketch was more of a email sketch it wasn't like to do anything with so I didn't get a plan. I would not use them again.

Did not use his services.

Martins thoroughly reviewed our needs and designed a beautiful piece. He used an exceptional carpenter to build the piece and installed well. Martins is in demand but found the time to get this first phase of a three unit project complete to meet our needs. He is a unique guy who works well with our designer and is quite creative in his own approach. We intend to use him on two additional important pieces in our new home.

As described previously, went very well.

Easy to get appointment. Was on time. Said he was sorry he couldn't help me as originally planned, and suggested I ask Angie's list but I was satisfied with the service he provided and did not seek a refund. Very personable and easy to work with.

We scheduled the meeting via e-mail. This meeting was a Big Deal special -- 2 hours of consultation. On the day of the meeting, we were both running late due to the wintery weather. Once he arrived, I walked Martin thru my house, and shared my issues (back stairs, need for backyard space, kitchen concerns). It was great to talk to someone about "fixing" my home, but I felt that we didn't connect that well and he did not offer any insight or idea that wanted me to further purse working together on this project, He did follow-up with a drawing like he promised. Overall, it was more of us just not hitting it off.

It was an Angie's List Big Deal that we purchased. He was very nice and very creative. We went with someone else because we were trying to incorporate solar design as well and that was not something that he was familiar with. We would have probably used him if he had met all the criteria we were looking for. He responded immediately. It took a while for the design but we were not in a hurry. He was definitely professional.

He came out and told us we don’t need the winterization and the windows were sufficiently sealed. We didn’t have the work done. We have newer windows and thought they might need another layer because they do get cold. He was very honest.

MB Design & Build were fine. He just sealed up windows and doors. It wasn't the world's biggest job. Responsiveness and punctuality were great.

It was a great experience, they were terrific. The guy was prompt and professional. He was accommodating and cleaned up. He did the work all in one visit.

I think it went very well he arrived on time.We talked about what I wanted and he did it. I am happy with the job.

I wasn't sure what to expect and started asking questions like "What color should the bedspread be?" He was careful to explain that his expertise is in space design; that small specifics weren't what he would provide. And then he carefully reviewed my space. I live in a vintage building in a unit with an unusual layout. He sat or stood in various places and reviewed the space I have and how I was using it. He asked questions to find out what I might want to use the space for and what it is actually being used for. He was very insightful and was willing to brainstorm with me. He had some fabulous ideas. I don't have the budget to do more than one or two projects a year but I would be delighted to work with him and his company. I got the impression that he usually works on much larger projects (certainly, with a larger budget) so don't know I will have the occasion to hire the company. Even so, I got several really great ideas that I can do without blowing the annual budget. A complete reorganization of my living room/office involves mostly moving furniture and getting rid of stuff rather than completely replacing everything - but it would change the whole unit. I already have some friends lined up to help me. The kitchen is outdated and not well-laid out. OK, it's starting to fall apart but it's not in this year's budget. He suggested knocking out part of one wall and relocating the refrigerator - which would greatly improve the function of the kitchen and the flow into the rest of the unit. That's a manageable bit of work before a complete remodel. Most importantly, I got a sense of how to think about space so I can continue developing my home on my own. He did not come to fulfill the Big Deal and drum up more work; he came to be helpful. I really couldn't have spent the money any better.

It was an Angie's List Big Deal that we purchased. It was good and the guy was nice. They came back with some good ideas. We didn't move forward because we were doing other stuff.

It was good. They were nice and very professional. We have a lot of windows, and they looked at every single window. The guy was pretty honest. He said that we don’t really need much of anything, but that he can do the doors for us. He tried to make the deal worth it for us. With regard to price, I think it was worth it, otherwise we would never get our windows checked to see if they were okay or not. We would absolutely use them again in the future.

The gentleman arrived on time and did the work as promised. Furthermore, he went out of his way to do some extra tasks which I appreciated.

The work was done for the lobby, entryway & lavatory of our small business in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, not our home. It was a total remodel of those areas. We run a relaxation spa (SpaceTime Tanks) & Martins Buka, working wonderfully with our input, came up with a fantastic design which captures the essence of a calm atmosphere. The color schemes are perfect and were not ones we would have come up with on our own. The workmanship is top notch. We were all able to compromise on certain things (materials, mainly) to keep within our budget but look as if we'd spent much more. We enjoyed Martins' personality & he has come in several times since the completion of the work just to check in & say hello. We highly recommend MB Designs.

I purchased a Big Deal Coupon for a 3 hour design consultation with 3D plans offer so that I could get a layout for a new living / dining / kitchen area. I received a prompt response, and an appointment was set for 3 days later. On the day of the appointment, Martins Buka was punctual, and thoroughly listened to my objectives and analyzed the space to be used. We both agreed on what would be productive use of the 3 hours I purchased, and he promised to email me the layout I was seeking. It took Martins a bit longer than expected; but he kept in touch to let me know of unexpected delays. When he finally did email me the layout, I found that it had been well worth the wait! He proposed very creative solutions to some of the structural limitations in my condo. In addition, the plan skillfully addressed my needs for increased work space and storage, while maximizing the space available with a very functional layout. All of the items I had requested were there: built-ins, mud room, storage room, plus some pleasant surprises as well, like a smart, two sided media cabinet / storage, and a kitchen island. After Martins sent me the layout, he followed up by answering al my questions, and even provided me some advice on how to proceed on my project. I hope to be able to work with Martins again in the future; he is very knowledgeable, charming, and has a great sense of humor to top it off.

Very poorly, I never received the service I purchased. I was shocked with the experience, as I assumed that a company doing a Big Deal with Angie's List, would be very responsive and professional.

He was prompt, personable and efficient.