FIRST CHICAGO REMODELING

I was very excited to hear from this business. I saw great reviews and thought they would perform well. I sent two emails and left a voice mail over the course of three weeks. I never received a phone call or email in return. Very disappointing.

Marian made a good impression from the start, but once the work started (two weeks delay), he wasn't on-site regularly. This proved to be our biggest problem, especially because no detailed lay out had been drawn up (furniture, fixtures, plumbing and electrical). Gutting the old bathroom went very well and, his workers did their best to keep the condo clean. The challenges started when we were well into the plumbing and discovered that the sink and vanity I ordered would not fit in the bathroom. In general I noticed that his workers had a hard time with the metric system of the European items we ordered. The workers did a great job on the stone floor, but had a lot of trouble with the mosaic tiles on the wall, they ended up having to do some tedious rework. The window replacement was done beautifully, but the track lighting installation was imperfect, but acceptable. The paint job looks good, the replacement heating element he got for us was used, but acceptable.

Great! Marian had a great idea on how to redesign our existing shower which had to be replaced because it was leaking. When the work began, his crew arrived on time, they kept me informed on the status of the project and cleaned everything up before they left for the day. Everyday I was amazed at how much they accomplished and how well they cleaned up. The work was completed on time and they did an exceptional job. Our new shower is beautiful. The tile work in the shower is outstanding. I will certainly use them again for other projects.

The workers were always clean and cleaned up well after themselves. Always on time. Everything promised plus more. Wonderful.

Marian responded quickly with a bid and suggested the changes in layout to maximize the visual space in the bathroom. He provided a CD with many examples of work he had done. The project itself started off on the wrong foot, when no one showed up or called on the scheduled start date, which had been set further in advance than normal because of a planned vacation. But once the project began, the workers were on time every day and worked diligently. Marian spent several hours planning out the tile with me, to incorporate 3 different types of tiles and to make sure that the installation was visually pleasing. Marian was always available by phone or in person if necessary to deal with any problems. I am picky and I always felt that he was as interested as I was in doing things right. I am extremely happy with the results.

This was the best contract experience I have ever had. They finished on time and within budget. For a project of this scope and cost, I was very worried about making the wrong decision. We received multiple bids and I ended up going with First Chicago, because I felt that Marian had good ideas, a strong point of view and would not nickel and dime me in the re-scoping process. His guys were super good, paid attention to detail and seemed to want to do the right thing. Our basement now looks better than our primary living area. I wish we had chosen his company for past projects.

I contacted Marian (left a voicemail message) to discuss my project and to set up an appointment to get an estimate. He never returned my call. Of all the contractors that I contacted from Angie's List, he is the only contractor who failed to call me back.

Marian was nice, though a little pushy. What I admired was the fact that he seemed to really think about what we wanted to do and suggested some very interesting alternatives. On the downside, after he left, we never heard from him again. I can respect somebody saying that they are unwilling or unable to do the work, but just disappearing off the face of the earth is rude.

I have called twice and left one message. You can't get to a real person, their system is automated. No one has returned my calls.

The job went very well. Marian's crew was professional and worked very hard. The floors look beautiful and you would never know the cabinets were damaged. The job went very smoothly in the time they were there. They worked quickly, methodically, and carefully on our house. They were sensitive to the fact that we had children and no kitchen... so they set up the kitchen in such a way that we were able to use it to a degree. They left the work site neat everyday, came on time, and were friendly. The only frustration was we had counter tops installed by another contractor and it took awhile to get Marian's crew back after they had finished the bulk of the work. Marian was very accessible by phone and pretty prompt about returning phone calls. Over all we were extremely satisfied.

The entire experience was great. Marian responded promptly to set up an appointment for an estimate. He showed up with a laptop and before and after examples of his work. He wrote up and printed out the contracts in front of us and was ready to start the work within a week. The workers showed up promptly every day at 7:55 a.m and waited in their van until 8:05 to start their work. They covered everything so they wouldn't make a mess and cleaned up as necessary every evening. There were a few delays due to items we ordered taking longer to arrive, but Marian was very accommodating. Each bathroom took about 2 weeks to complete and they are both absolutely stunning. Marian came out to do a final walk-through and brought someone with to fix the minor issues we had (small crack in caulk, sticky door, etc). Marian also put us in touch with someone to make a custom shower door for us and they were great as well. We would absolutely use them again for any work in the future.

Marian Came out for the original estimate of the work. We agreed that he would e-mail me a formal estimate for the first job. I never got an e-mail. I spoke with him over the phone and requested that he resend the estimate- he said he would. I did not receive anything. I e-mailed and phoned him again without response. No e-mail, no phone call, no estimate.

It went well. Marian was great, the workers were great and very nice to my daughter. I would definitely hire them again.

Marian's quote was equal to another quote & cheaper than a third quote from a design place. Marian is friendly, easy to work with and very busy, so we talked a lot on the phone. Marian was flexible & listened to my ideas & requests. If he thought something was not a good idea, he told me why, but usually figured out a way to get the same or better results. Start date was postponed two weeks, but once started, they worked every weekday until completion. Workers showed up at 8AM sharp every morning. Lots of behind-the-scenes work was needed due to poor condition of the old walls and pipes, but the results are beautiful. The visual details and work quality are excellent. They even made an old wall that veered off from the old tile grid look straight & true. Only complaints: water pressure did not improve as Marian implied it would (it IS an old building) & the acrylic tub creaks, but otherwise the job is just perfect. I then hired Marian to do odd jobs and additional painting .

When I called the company's phone number, it was answered with "hello". No company name, nothing; just "hello". After I ascertained I dialed correctly, I asked that someone come out to my house to give me an estimate of installing ceramic tile around a jacuzzi so that I could install a shower in the tub area. The man I spoke to asked me three times how large the tub was. I answered him three times that I was currently at work, not at home and that I just purchased the property so I didn't know how big it was. When I asked again if he could come out to give me an estimate, he said he needed to know how large it was so he could determine if the job would be "too small" for him to take. I asked him if he could determine that by looking at it and his reply was that he didn't want to make the trip in case it was too small. Needless to say, I didn't have him do the work.

The project was completed to my specification and started and completed on schedule. Miriam has very strong customer service skills. He was very responsive from beginning to the end. He resolved all issues to my satisfaction. The only issue I had with First Chicago Remodeling was craftsmanship. I want to emphasize Miriam was always willing to address the craftsmanship concerns I raised, however the project would have gone more smoothly if the work crew was more experienced in the "finishing" aspects of a project.

I sent an email with a request for an estimate for finishing an attic and adding a bathroom. I got no response whatsoever.

Called and left message for Marian. Never got a call back. Was skeptical about using him from some of the negative reviews he had. I guess he was busy and did not want any more business.

We highly recommend First Chicago. Marian gave us an estimate before leaving after his first visit. He had great reviews on Angie's List, so we were quite surprised when his bid came in as the lowest. We showed him our design when we signed the contract and he suggested a different design, including lighter colors to make the smaller space we had look larger. This ended up being a great suggestion and we went with it. He moved his crew's schedule around to accommodate the deadlines we needed to meet. The crew showed up on time the first day and completed the work on schedule. We were out of town when the crew did the work, and some surprises came up (the space we had planned for the shower ended up being too small). We talked through a redesign with Adrian on the phone and he went over to the house and again had some great suggestions. He even went out and bought the new tiles that needed to be purchased due to the new design. Overall the experience could not have been better.

Marian seems like a good guy. He came and looked at the project we want: A two story addition. He gave a ball park estimate, and we were happy with that. He told us to give him two weeks for a precise estimate and we set an appointment. One hour and fifteen minutes before the appointed time, he called and said he was not interested in doing the project. I cancelled clients to be at this appointment. I'm a little frustrated because he waited until the last minute to tell us thus. Additionally, we're presently two weeks further along and now we have to find someone else to be another estimate bidder. Do I get to bill for MY time here? Another thing, he comes fabulously recommended from Angie's List, and he copped out on us. Does Angie's List do anything about that? Could I please get my time back?

The representative was responsive and punctual, and he had good design ideas for the space I wanted to redo. The estimated price was also very reasonable. However, he encouraged me not to seek permits that appeared to be necessary for the job.

Was very content with the work. It started off with a slight hiccup, with the start date being delayed by a couple of days, but they made up for that by staying late and finished on time. The bathroom and laundry room look great. The guys were very punctual and professional. Marian was prompt to call if there was any issue (we had initially wanted a crevice installed around the tub to hold toiletries, but our building construction did not allow for that). He also checked in a couple of times at the end of the day to see if all was okay and on target. Definitely quality work for his price - I got quotes from over 5 contractors and Marian came in at the lowest.

Everything went smoothly, from the time Marian (CEO of First Chicago Remodeling) came to do our estimate, until the time he came to inspect the finished work. He helped us with remodeling suggestions including paint color selection. Our condo looks pristine and very modern and updated: we love it, and the work we had done will definitely help with the resale. The referral Marian gave us for granite was excellent; they were helpful, and did a great job installing our counters. They had a large beautiful selection to choose from. The painters were very professional and thorough. They did a fantastic job, cleaned up every day, and moved all our furniture and belongings so they could paint around our day to day living. Overall, they did a wonderful job, used professional paint, and were very timely. We are extremely pleased with all the work which we had done, and would highly recommend Marian (First Chicago Remodeling), X-travagant Stone, and the painters.

Marian's guys were true pros. They did an outstanding job. They worked long days and did excellent work. Marian had some very helpful design ideas which we used. His bid was slightly higher than others received, but fair and well worth what we paid for the job. The project took almost as exactly as long as he predicted it would and went as planned. His crew was very accommodating to the needs of our two young children and pets as well. I would use First Chicago Remodeling for any future projects and was very pleased with the job that was done.

Everything went great! First let me describe a bad experience with the first contractor I hired. I wrote them a $2000 check. Which they held onto for nearly five months while they kept postponing and postponing! Eventually they flat refused to do the work and returned my money. You can read all about it in my other post. So when I gave Marion a deposit, I was very interested in a firm start date! He promised two and a half weeks. Actually began just one day later. He was kind enough to call to tell me the week before. I was immediately impressed. His guys showed up at 8 A.M. SHARP every morning, six days a week, for two weeks, until the project was 100% complete. Every morning, the guys would pull up 5 minutes early and sit patiently in their van until exactly 8 A.M. They worked all day long and worked hard. They worked with my odd and difficult materials. They complied with my special requests and design ideas and overall they did a fantastic job!