Regency Home Remodeling

Count me as a very happy, satisfied customer.  I purchased a house last summer that needed a lot of work, starting with an outdated, nonfunctional kitchen and extending to a  lower level rec room that desperately needed old shag carpeting pulled up and a new floor installed, a rear patio that needed a new concrete step leading out, and an unused door that needed to be bricked in to make more room in the kitchen.  It was clear from my first meeting with Bruce that he had the experience, resources and people to do all the projects I had in mind, and I would only need to deal with one contractor.  
Bruce offered great suggestions, including extending the hardwood floors from the living and dining rooms into the kitchen and front hall, and we discovered that the stairs and upper floor had virgin oak floors under the (very old) carpeting, so planned to finish those as well.  Whereas other kitchen remodelers I had interviewed came up with a single plan (that didn?t address some of the major items on my kitchen wish list), Bruce came back with at least five options and layouts--that did take my wish list items into account.  That is, he listened to me.  While his quote was not the cheapest, it wasn?t the most expensive, either.  I was sold.
We were under time pressure to get the masonry work done before cold weather hit, and Bruce got his guys here quickly.  The masons had to reclaim bricks from the garage to fill in the door, and they made it look like a feature that had been planned from the outset.  Amazing.
Once we started on the interior work, I had a dedicated crew working here every day.  Each morning they showed up at 8am sharp, and worked through the day.  They cleaned up each evening before heading home.  They answered my questions with patience and good humor.  Bruce was outstanding in communicating with me throughout the entire process.  We talked beforehand about the best ways to communicate, so I knew when to text him (urgent questions/issues) and when to email him (routine non-urgent stuff).  Texts were always answered promptly, and were often followed by a phone call.  Emails were always answered by the next day.  If we needed a face to face meeting, he made it happen.  By the time we got to doing the floors, I was comfortable enough with Bruce and his crew to go out of town for a week while they did the floor refinishing.  Bruce sent pictures every day to show me the progress, and we were able to work through an unexpected problem over the phone by using the pictures.  (What did we ever do before smart phones??)  Any minor issue that came up (there were only a few, no major ones) was met with a positive can-do attitude and promptly resolved.  The project was finished within the projected timeline, and passed inspections with flying colors.  What more could one ask?
Next up is a bathroom remodel.  Not sure when I?ll get there, but I plan to use Regency.  And I will highly recommend them to anyone who is considering a remodeling project.

One thing about ratings on home improvements, the person giving the rating cannot see behind the walls. About 6 months after Regency Home Remodeling (RHR) installed a new bathtub as part of a remodel there was a lot of water that went thru the overflow drain in the tub. This was a 2nd floor bathroom, and a few hours later we found huge puddles on the living room floor below as well as a damaged living room ceiling. The wall in the room next to the bathroom was cut opened and what was found was that RHR did not create a water tight seal where the overflow drain connects to the tub. Worse yet, they obviously knew the seal was no good because they tried to rectify this by using pipe dope on the rubber gasket, which is definitely not the way to fix it (see pic). The overflow was tested and it clearly leaked like a sieve. The proper fix for this was a $2 part from Home Depot, but since RHR chose to ignore the issue and just close up the wall and hope it was never discovered, we now had a hole in the wall to get to the problem and a damaged living room ceiling. This type of problem may have gone unnoticed for years, only leaking small amounts of water and causing mold to grow, not becoming noticeable until the mold itself starts causing problems.



 

When Regency Home Remodeling was contacted about the issue, here is an exact quote from part of their response: "What were the circumstances that caused so much water to go through the overflow vent (it is not a drain)" They are under the impression that the overflow drain is simply a vent, and that we should not be putting water down it! The only purpose of the overflow is for water to go down it. In a later response from Bruce, his only concern was whether we had any standing to sue, he cited the "right to cure" since we had called someone else to fix it.



 

The overall job RHR did was sloppy and the process seemed to be slap things into place and see if we notice/complain (see pics). They did rework the things we pointed out but this was an exhausting process and after a while we just wanted them out of our house, even knowing there were certain things we would just have to pay for someone else to correct.

  

You may want to search on Galaxie Home Remodeling for things from 2012 and earlier as that was Bruce's previous company prior to RHR. If you do contact RHR and ask Bruce about this or any other unfavorable review, pay close attention to his response as you may notice the contempt he has for such customers. We should have paid closer attention to his response when we had asked about a negative review.

I bought the Angie's list deal for plans for a shower in an upstairs half bath. I really liked the owner Bruce. He is very creative, professional and knows his stuff. I didn't end up using them to do the actual work because of price. However, I would definitely call them again for any future work. I have a feeling it would be a little more painless then the experience I ended up having with another contractor. I do stil believe it's possible to get good quality AND good customer service

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Regency did a great job. At the onset of the project, Bruce came to our house to meet and discuss the project, and he listened to our wants, needs, and priorities. He created design pictures for our new bathrooms for our review and adjusted the designs until they were exactly what we wanted. He had a ton of examples of other work he had done and helped us through the decision process to ensure our final design looked great and was functional. Having these design services built in was huge because we didn?t have to hire a designer separately, and Regency used their designs when submitting permit applications to the city.

All of the Regency employees were respectful, punctual, and skilled. We are very happy with the work that Regency did for us. Our bathrooms are beautiful, as are our new and refinished floors. The work was done exactly to specifications.

We bought a house and had only a couple of months to get this project done before moving in. Bruce and PJ worked diligently to get the proper permits for the work and got started as quickly as possible. The work was substantially complete before we moved in, and this required the crew working multiple weekends and long hours before our move. Bruce knew how important this was to us and ensured that the work got done on time.

Bruce was our main point of contact throughout the entire process. Bruce was very responsive over email, text, and phone. We never had to wait on him to get back to us on anything, no matter how small the question. This was one of the most helpful aspects of the projects as we always felt that we could get Bruce?s attention and have a conversation when needed.

Bruce has a list of recommended suppliers. We found that the recommended suppliers are priced higher than you can find elsewhere, but the quality of materials and service were worth it in many cases. We ended up going with a mix of low-cost materials that we purchased ourselves at Lowe?s, etc. and purchased other materials (bathroom fixtures, tiles) from Bruce?s suppliers. Bruce sent his crew to pick up the materials regardless of where we purchased them from, so we didn?t have to do this ourselves.

Bruce?s services were more costly than some other contractors we considered. However, we believe that the service we received was commensurate with the cost. Bruce stressed at the onset of the project that his prices were all-inclusive and he wouldn?t be charging us for surprises encountered once they started work. This was true; the cost communicated up front was the final cost. Knowing that the cost would not change was important to us as our house is old and we weren?t sure what the crew would find when they started their work. Any additional work that was required as a result of the city inspection process was done without any additional cost to us.

Once the work was done, we had a few minor follow up requests for Regency, and they sent their crew over to address these items right away. For example, we purchased a faucet from Lowe?s that was defective, and Bruce sent his crew over to diagnose the problem and install a new faucet free of charge.

Overall, we are very happy with Regency?s work and customer service and would recommend them without hesitation.

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The demolition was done very methodically and in good time (approx. 7-8 days).  The workers were extremely nice, polite and punctual.  They worked 7 to 8 hours most days.  The big stuff (tile work, plumbing, floor, walls, cabinets) was completed in another three weeks.  It took another three weeks to get the small stuff completed due to late deliveries of some materials. All was finally completed in about 8 weeks which was longer than was estimated. But I was very happy with the results.  They did a really beautiful job!
Bruce, the contractor, was always available and easy to work with.  He was very responsive to my requests and wanted to please me. The only complaint I had was the piling up of tons of demolition debris on my second-floor deck for a week before carting it away.

We hired Regency to do our bathroom remodel, but, unfortunately, were unhappy with the process and the quality of the end result.  We immediately liked Bruce after our first meeting with him.  Even though he was the most expensive quote we received, we decided to go with him because he offered us a discount (was still the most expensive), the contract included weekly meetings and design consultation/drawings, and he said he could get it done in a month--before we moved in.  We hit the ground running and went to pick out all of our materials the next day at stores Bruce recommended. However, throughout the process, our expectations were not met.  (1) Bruce never had promised weekly meetings with us, and when I brought this up after we ran into problems, he told me that he was at the house every day.  This was a blatant lie.  I was home sick for a full week during the busiest point in construction and he wasn't there once. (2) Bruce never provided any drawings or met with us early in the process to review what we wanted. This became an issue when I picked out hex tile for the floors--white, with some black tiles to create a custom border, the main feature of our dream vintage design. When Bruce found out we wanted a border, he called me up to tell me it was "impossible" and tried to talk me out of it. I called three different tile shops, including two that he recommended I go to and all told me that this is something that any professional tiler should be able to do, however, Bruce continued to insist that it would take too much time and tried to talk me out of the idea. I felt he was more concerned about moving his guys onto the next job than making sure we got the bathroom we wanted. Once he finally agreed to do a plain border, his guy couldn't figure out how to make it, so I had to lay out the pattern myself. In the end, we got our pattern, however, it was sloppily done and the grout lines between sheets of tile are noticeably uneven. (3) T he wall tile was also installed sloppily--rough edges on cut tiles, many chipped tiles, VERY uneven grout lines, grout left on tiles. (4) Left a mess--the crew was good about laying drop clothes in hallways and containing the dust on a daily basis, however, at the end of the project, I had dirty fingerprints on my white bathroom ceiling, and splatters all over the walls my newly painted back porch from the wet saw. (5) Did not consult us about all decisions--We were not consulted about the heated floors (we would've sprung for better quality), picking the stone for the window sill, or the glass shelf in the shower (installed with cheap plastic pegs, which I found out were unnecessary in addition to being ugly! We removed them, but now have holes in the tiles).  (6) The project took weeks longer than anticipated, which is expected during any construction project. However, I was frustrated when I found out from my electrician that the crew hadn't been there in 3 days.  When I asked Bruce about it, he told me the bathtub was delayed, so they moved onto another project.  I understand all of that, but what annoyed me was that he never thought to call and tell me this was the case.  (7) Didn't always do what he said he would--because the project wasn't done when we moved in, there was a big mess in the dining room--tools, materials, boxes of trash.  We asked Bruce to have his crew move everything to a back bedroom so that we'd be able to get our stuff into the apartment (front door opens into dining room), he promised to do so. I stopped by the day before the move and it wasn't cleared out, so I called him again and again he promised it would be done before they left for the day.  I came by again that evening after work and still nothing was moved.  He promised they'd arrive early the next morning to clear everything before we arrived with the moving truck.  My husband went over ahead of the movers and again, nothing was moved--certainly added to the stress of a move.
In the end, my bathroom looks nice because of the materials we used, though the terrible tile job will drive me crazy for the foreseeable future.  I would not recommend Regency or work with them again.  But to be fair, I also wanted to give them some positives:  (1) Bruce was pretty good about getting back to me within 24 hours; (2) crew was prompt and courteous; (3) Bruce did send a guy to fix some of the chipped tiles and fill dents crew made in the walls; he made some effort to make us happy with the end result.

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I had a very good experience working with Bruce and the Regency Home Remodeling team. It was a project I was dreading but it had to be done, and I knew I needed to have a project manager help manage it. Enter Bruce. I completely renovated the master bathroom of my condo, turning a large, very inefficient space into a beautiful, serene, efficient room. Bruce was terrific to work with, very responsive and communicative. His crew respected my home and cleaned up after themselves. Bruce's vendor relationships have a lot of respect for him and his crew, and that spoke volumes to their credibility and character. I confess at one point I did have a meltdown due to a combination of different factors going on my life at the time, and I kind of took it out on Bruce. He never flinched; he stepped up, calmed me down, and did everything in his power to assure me that aspect of stress would go away as quickly as possible. We're already planning the next project (kitchen!) and while I'm dreading that one, too, I know it will be even easier. Thanks Bruce and team!

It took 4 weeks but the work was beautiful. Bruce Pinsler helped me with the design and finishes and was always available for questions and requests. The crew was always on time, worked all day and cleaned up every day. They did a great job.

Regency was amazing.  They were one of the first to call me and give me an estimate.  I got other estimates but Regency had the best price and could do the work on the earliest date.  Regency was very easy to work with and they took the time to find the exact tile match for my bathroom so that the entire wall of tile did not have to be removed.  I cant say enough good things about Regency.  They were on time, professional, and cleaned up after themselves.  I would recommend them again and again.

CLARIFICATION:

My previous review about Regency Home Remodeling IS NOT a "D". Unfortunately this review was done

over the phone and the representative from Angie's list did not apply it correctly.

My "D" review is for the Add, at a difference of other ones the DEAL should state FIRST VISIT CONSULTATION ONLY.

and remove "design consultation with 3-D renderings" "final in-home plan review", etc. 

Bob Sturm from Regency Home was nice enough to come on a weekend day to my place and discuss

about some ideas for my kitchen. We agreed to meet again at the end of February after I see the New

cabinets at different supply companies.

The C rate is because this is an incomplete Consultation and should not be rated at all.

Thank you

Carola E.

The Ownder/Manager called and explained the confusion about the appointment. He seemed to be a very  nice person. I plan to have them come over in summer and give an estimate

very well.  we are in negotiations now.

We were quite pleased with the completed work. Demo was done in less than a day and work started the following day. The crew kept the house as clean as possible, protecting the carpets and sweeping up at the end of each day. Little bits of damage caused to other areas of the house (as a natural result of demo & construction)  were fixed to our satisfaction.The tiler was exceptionally talented and came up with solutions to little problems that arose. I consider this a big deal since so much of the bath was tiled. 
 Bruce was responsive to all of our questions and quickly addressed issues that came up  during the installation. He is a pleasure to work with. He was also helpful with paint suggestions when we had a hard time deciding between light or dark colors. 
I would definitely recommend Regency as well as use them again. My explanation for the "B" in pricing is that they were comparable to other companies we talked to - not overly expensive, not overly low priced-just solidly in the middle of the pack.

Bruce has terrific response and follow up skills.  His pricing was fair and reasonable and he allowed me to use his discount with the vendor’s.  His workmen were professional and courteous.  Everything Bruce said he would do he did in the time we agreed upon.  I love my new bathroom and would hire Bruce again in an instant.

From start to finish, Regency was a pleasure to work with.  Bruce and his team walked us through the remodel process every step of the way.  Our remodel was on budget and the work was done well.  The team was very polite and respectful of the fact that I have a small child at home.  I felt very comfortable because any question I had was answered and the Regency team took the time to explain everything that was taking place.  They worked neatly and kept the disruption to a minimum.  I am a very picky consumer and was happy with the finished product.  We will be using Regency in the future for our remodel needs and I will recommend them to my friends and family.  Our bathroom is stunning!  Thank you Bruce and the Regency team.  

I liked that I paid what they told me I would and very courtesy. They are a wonderful company to work with and aim to please. I did not have any time issues with them. Very clean with project.

Overall I would NOT recommend this company as I did not have the best experience working with them (mainly Bruce & Iwona). In hindsight, I would have preferred spending more money and working with another vendor. From the start, Bruce was 30 minutes late to our first meeting, which should have been my first sign that I should not use them. His list of estimates for all of my bathroom fixtures was way off; in fact the guy I worked with at Studio41 basically laughed when I showed him what Bruce estimated. And I didn’t get high end stuff!  There was only one item he was under on, the shower door. Everything else was OVER budget! I really think he just pulled these numbers from his head as they were nowhere near correct. So I ended up being way over my budget.  If I hadn't already paid a $3000 deposit I would have backed out at that point and would have taken my business elsewhere. 
Now for the actual start of work. I had asked for my tiles staggered but they began to install them straight. Iwona then convinced me to keep them straight because of course they didn't want to go back and re-do the work and the tiles would have been ruined which the cost would have fallen back on them. Honestly in the end straight worked but it was still frustrating. They said the work would be done in 6 days (by Saturday) then Tuesday...then Wednesday...didn't end up being complete until the following Monday evening. When I came home on Wednesday night I found my door had been unlocked after they left (they also broke the key to my apartment so I had to get that fixed which they paid for but still annoying). I then realized that night the work was still not complete. I then emailed them to find out when they would be finished. There were some cracks in the grout, a shelf that was not put in the vanity as well as a scratch in the vanity, a messy paint job behind the toilet and ceiling, a space in the floor between closet and door, and some other minor details that needed to be fixed.  When I emailed Iwona and Bruce about it they seemed a bit shocked that there was more to be done as if they thought everything was complete. They asked for a list of items and stated they would come back in two days to finish, NOT the next day! I was pretty upset to hear this when I found out (it's pretty difficult living in a 1 bathroom apartment without a shower for 2 weeks). When Iwona arrived on Friday with the worker she admitted to be embarrassed at the way my bathroom looked. When I returned on Friday the work yet again was still not done.  And the things he did "fix" you could tell they were fixed and they looked VERY sloppy. They then sent a different worker out the next Monday to finish the work.  
All in all, though I am happy with the end result, I am not happy with how it took me to get there. If I had to do it over again, I would not use them, nor would I recommend them to anyone else.