Turley Architects

As a preparation to listing our house for sale, our real estate agent thought we should get an architect to create some concepts for how a prospective buyer might expand our master bath, which is currently a half-bath, into a full bath. She recommended Chris. We contacted him and he responded very quickly. He came to our house at noon, and he had emailed a pdf of the concept to us by that evening. He was personable and easy to work with. I would definitely use his services again.

I would recommend them. They are a good company. They were really open to changes. Every change that we came up with wasn't a cost factor. At one point, the living room had carpet on the initial build. We changed the whole house except for the bedrooms to tile, and there wasn't any change in cost to do that. There were quite a few things like that.

Chris's vision and skill was instrumental in transforming our property from a tired and outdated house into a modern and highly functunal space. I am so happy with his service that if my clients are thinking about a kitchen remodel, a rehab, or new construction I now insist that they speak to Chris before making any decisions. Chris helps clients envision new ideas and environments and helps them get these spaces built in ways other architects don't even understand. Chris is the only architect I have ever met who is passionate about buildings AND the people who will live in them.

I was given Chris Turley?s name by a mutual friend and I have to admit I was a little hesitant. I wasn?t sure I needed an architect or what he could do for me. The project I had seemed straightforward enough and I thought I could just hire a general contractor and be done with it. I couldn?t be happier with Chris; indeed, my wife and I hope to dormer a portion of a new home before too long?a major project costing at least $75,000. There?s no one I?d rather have by our side during that process than Chris. The job I hired him for, after speaking with him a few times, was a structural one: the front portion of the house (built in 1918) had sunk quite noticeably over the past century. Since it was originally a porch, there was no foundation under it and it was dire need of support or, like California, it threatened to break off. As it happened, I would have needed an architect for the plans in any event. Having Chris by my side throughout the project meant that (a) I knew what was actually going on, (b) I had someone by my side who could talk to the general contractor in a way I couldn?t and who was committed to me, and (c) made the entire process smoother, faster, and ultimately less expensive than it could have been. Chris has a number of virtues that make him a pleasure to work with: he listens, he can explain things in language I can understand, he is open-minded, he is patient, and he is thorough. Is he perfect? I doubt it, but in the things that mattered to me, he was wonderful. He explained the issues before we did a thing and discussed my options. He never made a decision at any point in the entire process (unless it was a purely technical issue) without consulting with me and talking about what was involved. I felt exactly as involved as I wished to be: I wanted to know what was happening, why, and how long it would take (oh, and how much it would cost). Because I felt so comfortable with him and his approach, I relied on him to interview general contractors for me. He shared his evaluation of each one?s strengths and weaknesses and made a recommendation. In the event, we were both very happy with the contractor he recommended. My approach when recommending (or hiring) anyone to perform work is to consider whether I would hire this person or company again. I?ve had mostly excellent experiences with people I?ve hired based on Angie?s List, but I?ve also had some experiences with companies I would likely not use again. I can honestly say that there is not a doubt in my mind that when we are finally ready for our big project, Chris will be my first call.drawings

Mr Turley could not have been more prompt, thoughtful, helpful on the phone. He called me the same day I sent him an email and spent a good amount of time discussing my project and warning of potential pitfalls in my plans. He called even though it was evening and well after work hours. He sent a thoughtful follow up video email this morning with further information. While we are not going ahead with designs right now, I would certainly consider using his company in the future. Seems like a classy outfit.

Turley produced designs for the kitchen and bath that were more than twice the budget. He redid the designs reducing the cost slightly but not to anywhere close to the original budget. When the homeowner requested a refund for failure to fulfill the contract Turley stated that he was "only an adviser" and denied any obligation to produce designs that met the budget. The homeowner sued Turley.

Among the architects we met Chris had the most business savvy. We liked him and his process for developing ideas to design our home. Searching for an architect is somewhat subjective and for us this firm wasn't the best match, although they were a close runner-up. However, I would definitely refer him to anyone.