Chi Renovation & Design

I think they were great, but I have not gotten a quote from them yet and I do need one. They came out and saw the job. I had a great deal of faith in them. I called them over the weekend and said I really would like to see them get this because I saw a great deal of knowledge and planning in what they were doing. They just did not look at a wall and say, okay, we are just going to take this down and put this up. They really did know a great deal about what they were doing. So I hope they do come back with a good quote. If they don't I am going to have to go with another company because this project really is just about demolition of paneling and putting up drywall. There is not a h*ll of a lot more than that to it.

My home was built in 1906. 2 contractors came to discuss this job with me before I found Chi Renovation and Design. They disappeared before even giving me a proposal. When I saw the mess that accompanied taking down the ceiling in my basement, I understood why. I later learned that coal dust tended to accumulate in this space in these old homes.Stoyan and his crew did the job as quickly and neatly as possible. I had another heating and plumbing contractor then come in to re-do those things. That went smoothly and Stoyan worked well with them. The crew then renovated the bathroom and it is lovely. It is exactly as I envisioned it and is cute, cozy, and workable. I couldn't be happier. I will finish the rest of the basement next year and will work with Chi Renovation again then.

Teled provider for cost estimate appointment and spoke to young woman named Julia. She attempted to identify exact location of service request. After further attempts to locate our whereabouts, Julia asked if she could call me back in a few moments explaining that she needed to check with the "assignment manager" to ensure that the company did service as far south as we resided. No one ever returned my call. I did suggest that the company needed to update their profile to specifically identify their service area only covers northern Chicago and surrounding northern suburbs. as Julia did express her uncertainty that the company went to the south side of the city.

I had shopped around before settling on Chi Renovation. I was attracted by their competitive price and existing accolades. I had previously use them for a bathroom design so the transition was seamless. The company enlarged the master bathroom.They installed a dual vanity, replaced floor and fixtures and converted the tub to a walk in shower. The renovation took longer than I had anticipated. Some of the delays were due to scheduling conflict, waiting for municipal inspections and, the weather. One of the features of the project was a skylight. This was a major feature and the last thing to be finished. The skylight illuminated the area that, previously had no natural light. Definitely worth the wait, this part of the reno had to be done when the weather was reasonably hospitable. In all fairness I have to take some responsibility for the delays. The trades men were professional and efficient. My indecisiveness when selecting some of the finishings prolonged the process. Jonathan,the project manager was patient. He offered his vision for the project, made sure I understood and, was on board with everything. He solicited my input throughout the project and addressed all of my concerns.

We used Chi Renovation to do a ground up kitchen remodel in our home. The project went smoothly and Chi Renovation did a great job. Larry came out and gave us a quote and was the only person to come out and say they could do exactly what we wanted with the budget we had in mind. Other companies came out and told us it would be double what we were expecting and wouldnt work up any sort of design plan without us shelling out thousands of dollars to retain their services.. I was a little worried that Larry may have under quoted us or would try raising the cost later, but no such case....Chi Renovation did the job for exactly what was quoted, within the time frame they quoted, and it looks beautiful. Larry is extremely trustworthy and did everything he said he was going to do. When we did our final walk thru and pointed out some scratches on the new cabinets, he was quick to replace them at no charge, without an argument. He went above and beyond to make sure we were happy and the project was completed to our satisfaction. All in all, I totally recommend Chi Renovation. They do great work, they are extremely trustworthy, their prices are reasonable, and they will guide you through every step in the process. When we re-do our bathroom next year, I will use them again.

We wanted to remodel our kitchen for several years, but it's hard to spend that amount of money to do it. So when our water line to our refrigerator leaked and got under the tile causing them to crack we knew it was time to do it. I joined Angie's List and began researching companies. After getting several estimates from the top rated companies, we went with Chi Renovations for a few reasons. 1. The price was in the low to middle range which we were comfortable with. I didn't want to go with the cheapest and have the work reflect the price and we didn't want to go with the most expensive in case unexpected things came up (which they did). 2. They were a local company and each time we called Jonathan (it was many times) he was very responsive and would come to our house to talk at anytime. 3. We received beautiful 3D renderings on what the new kitchen would look since we were taking down the wall that leads to the dining room so we could put in a breakfast bar. 4. Lastly were the reviews and references they had. After we picked Chi Renovations, the fun started. We got to choose all the things that would go into our new kitchen and immediately realized how overwhelmed we were. Jonathan helped us every step of the way, from picking out the cabinets to coming with us to the tile store and the granite showrooms to the final details of the hardware and faucet. Then the demolition happened. We had heard horror stories that our living area would be covered in dust and that we should go live in a hotel at our parents house until it's complete. We were very surprised when they put tarps that completely contained everything. The workers were fantastic. They showed up at 8am every day and got right to work. Around noon they stopped for about 30 minutes to each lunch that they brought with and then got right back to work. Before they left they swept and cleaned up all their tools. As we began tearing things up, we found that the electrical was not up to code. They also recommended replacing the galvanized plumbing while the walls were already removed. I'm glad we agreed because as soon they removed the pipe, we could see it was almost totally clogged. We have watched enough renovation shows to know that things always come up which is why we didn't want to go with the highest bid because we would have been over budget. They were very honest and worked with us and village to make sure everything was done properly. The completed kitchen turned out better that we ever imagined and they were right on budget except for the unforeseen items and upgrades that we ended up selecting. I would use Chi Renovations again and I would highly recommend them for any renovation projects.

Extremely satisfied with the job! Had them remodel my kitchen and build an island for cabinetry and counter space. Two things I have to say about this 1) First, I had no idea what I wanted. Larry Lambert, my project manager, designed the whole thing for me and presented me with a couple of options. I needed it..other contractors rely on a lot of input from the customer, but this is just not my field. He walked me through a couple of options and he did a great job. 2) The timing was superb. After being delayed a ton by a different contractor for a different job (also did a great job), Chi Renovation stuck to their schedule beautifully. They came in over my Christmas break (I am a grad student) and got most of it done by the time I was back in school, even in the cold weather! The subcontractors work quickly too! When they say they will finish the job by a deadline, they will be done. Would absolutely, unequivocally recommend them, and use them again!

We hired Chi Renovation & Design to redo our kitchen entirely. Our kitchen was done in 2002 and it was pretty shoddy work and the appliances had gotten very old. We did not change the layout to where we would need to do any plumbing work but some electrical work was done.Larry worked with us to finalize the design of the kitchen. He got us in touch with some stores and people for the materials and he managed the whole process. He let us know when we needed to go buy our appliances, sink, light fixtures etc. He coordinated with the appliance store so that the appliances do not take space in our house for weeks before they were needed. We send him pictures of the backsplash we wanted and he took care of the purchase. He would come over when it would work for our schedule and he was very responsive and very flexible throughout the process.The crew was absolutely great. We have an open floor plan in our house and the kitchen is in the middle. Before they left every day, they would clean up everything and take out all of the trash. The crew came early one of the days because we needed to talk to them so that we are not inconvenienced by being late to work.Larry also got us in touch with someone for the countertop that had a gread selection and took a lot less time to finish the countertop than other places we had talked to. Also, we ended up needing to have a bit of the floors refinished which was not planned/budgeted for and they did not ask for extra money or delay the work in order to get that done.When the plan had to change a couple of times because things couldn't work out the way we had planned, Larry advised us and made sure the revised work was still to our liking.When one of the drawers that was delivered was the wrong design, Larry came himself over the weekend when we were free and installed the right one.It was a great experience and we would rehire them in a heartbeat if we had any more renovation work!

NOTE: Company returned after seeing our review. Sent workers to redo lattice, clean up carpentry and sand overall. Appearance is much better, though one wood split was apparently not repairable. Difficulties in the first place may have been aggravated by Lior's being out of the country. We'd been planning to build a deck and replace back stairs for some time. During the process of getting estimates from contractors, one pointed out that the supports under our two sun rooms were shifting and required replacement. Apparently these had been porches in the past and were later enclosed. We decided we wanted a general contractor to do the work since it involved structural support and the layout is quite complicated. Lior came out within a few days of my call and talked about the general concerns. He later proposed building a foundation underneath the porches and a supporting three-sided wall. The original price quoted over the phone was quite reasonable so we scheduled a meeting to review the written proposal. In hindsight, it should have been a clue that he had not included a payment schedule, which he hastily made up and scribbled on the written proposal. He appeared to have put the proposal together in haste. He also asked whether we wanted city inspections, which suggested he was willing to do the work without them (we weren't.) In addition, there was an additional $5000 architect fee for an outside company. Since the summer was underway I felt some urgency to get the project going, so we signed the contract and made a down payment. He assured us that we would receive a sketch which we could discuss before developing plans. Instead, several weeks later we received a full set of drawings which did not meet our needs. The additional size of the deck then included an additional $3000 charge. A second clue should have been that all changes were verbal only, with no offer to put them in writing. After some delay in getting the permits the work began. Back porch was demolished, footings poured for deck and work finally began on the deck and stairs themselves. I was surprised that all digging was done by hand (for support beams and foundation). Finally the porches were supported by wood (not jacks), a foundation poured, and four supporting posts built. Lior explained that there was no need for additional support and that the city had signed off on the existing supports. They placed a sloppy lattice work around the deck and underneath the porch. Work finished in December. Several aspects of this project were disturbing. First, the crews did not clean up the area once until the end of the project. And even then it was a mess, requiring us to wait to make the final payment until the project was complete. Project manager Lior left the country for two months near the end of this project, requiring us to communicate with the workers who spoke little English. Second, when we made our agreed upon third payment, he assured me that the only payment yet to be made would be the final payment upon completion of the project. Nonetheless, he called me from out of the country to request early payment which I refused to make until the work was indeed completed to my satisfaction. Due to his absence his partner (unfamiliar with construction) oversaw the conclusion of the project. Big gaps in the vinyl siding remained. They claimed they had not agreed to repair it, but they had said nothing to that effect ahead of time, nor told me I would need to plan for that, so they eventually brought in a siding installer to do the work. Ironically, the siding was the most professionally done part of the project. I had to point out every missed detail along the way. The new structure appears solid and we like the general layout of the deck and stairs, but the carpentry was initially rough, and the lattice work flimsy. This has now been corrected.

Overall, the site visit went as planned. I described my ideas and Daniel noted and asked follow up questions. We agreed due to holidays that 1/15 would be a good time to have a follow up and deliver drawings. Drawings were not delivered on 1/15. I followed up and they were quickly delivered a couple days after. However, that drawing delivery did not have the dimensions which was noted as included in the Angies deal. I followed up again and again it was remedied a few short days later. Overall, the price quoted was high in my personal opinion. Also, the back and forth it took to get the drawings and items i purchased through Angies List required additional back and forth. I considered it pretty straight forward and was only looking for all items noted in the Angies description. I figured it could have all been delivered in 1 clean delivery.

I would give Chi Renovation 5 stars and would definitely use them again for any future work we need. We needed to convert a very large shower stall into a bathtub (the shower tile was in need of replacement so we wanted to put in a jacuzzi tub since we had plenty of space: ~4'x6'). Also, on the other side of the wall that split our bathroom and the closet in our spare bedroom, we wanted to put in a washer and dryer. Since we were first time homeowners, this was our first major project, so basically, we knew nothing about what we wanted, other than 1.) jacuzzi tub, and 2.) washer and dryer. So, there are a TON of other details that you have to think about! Who knew! Anyway, Chi Renovation walked us through the entire process. They gave us a bid that they stuck to like glue and they guided us on picking out tile, a tub, location of electrical, etc. We worked with Jonathan who made the whole process very easy. The guy who did the work, Eric, was pleasant and kept the place fairly clean (as clean as you can reasonably keep a space that you're doing demo and drywall in) during the process. My husband and I are really busy people who work and travel a lot. And, Chi Renovation was super easy to communicate with the whole time. Jonathan responded to phone calls and emails on the weekends and evenings which was super helpful for us and our schedules. All in all, I felt like they were reasonable in price, professional and courteous and, more than anything, helpful in thinking through our project with us. Would definitely recommend and use again.

The service for the big deal from Chi Renovation has been so far so good. They have fulfilled the big deal service. They finished the big deal part of the service but we haven't decided to do a project with them or not. I just had the sense that they were professional. The gentleman who came out was nice and helpful. I had them come out several months after I purchased the big deal because of some scheduling issues on our end. There were no additional charges other than the 49 dollars for the big deal that I purchased it for. They have reasonable customer service and they are committed too. We had a big deal and for what they did and for what we paid I think that it was fair.

Originally, service was offered on a discounted basis through Angie's list. We made an appointment and were visited by a salesman for the company. After taking measurements, the man left and sometime thereafter, we received the sketches of the three rooms. However, what we received was less than we had perceived we would receive, namely, very detailed sketches of the three rooms. We were unhappy with the results and explained it to Angie's list. After some time, we were contacted directly by the company about our situation and they offered to return our money. We accepted their kind offer and felt that there seemed to be an initial lack of understanding of the offer on Angie's list. We thanked the company for the reimbursement and would hope that this lack of initial misunderstanding re the Angie's list offer would not deter others from doing business with this company.

Larry was profession, and he listened to what we wanted, and offered his opinion when needed. His drawings were clear, and his pricing was broken out by element. We were very happy with his pitch, and may end up hiring him as the contractor on the project.

I had paid for this service in December, and wrote a review that was positive on the ideas of the provider, but negative on the drawing that was sent to me, since it included none of the changes we discussed, and seemed useless for any future workers. I heard from ChiRenovations right away, and within a couple days, Davyd came out and redid the drawings, which are wonderful. Thanks!

I have a pretty awful bathroom on the second floor that I need to do something with. When I saw this deal, it seemed like a great place to begin, and in many ways it was just that. The workman had some great ideas, like recessing some closets into a crawl space, and reframing part of a wall to accommodate a pocket door. He was clear that his company was expensive, and did not then give me a hard sales pitch. He also let me know that some ideas I had would be really expensive, like adding skylights or a light tube, and why they cost so much. The things above are great. Where i had a problem is that the plans he gave me showed only the existing walls, and not the reconfiguring we had spoken about. This might be my own misunderstanding of what "full set of plans" means, but what he gave me will be of little or no use to me whenever I do go ahead and do the work. I am definitely using his ideas, though.

Chi-Renovation appeared to have good reviews and the design sensibility we were seeking. Called to set an appointment as we wanted some input regarding time frame, costs, etc before submitting a final offer on a downtown condo. Very rude girl answered the phone by asking if I was so-and-so (I am not). I had to ask her if I had reached Chi-Renovation and her response was "Yes but I thought you were someone else." Shaky start. After explaining what I was looking for she simply said "No, we only deal with homeowners. We don't look at projects before closing." Really? Never heard that one before. If she is the public interface for this company they have problems.

Nice guy, professional and thoughtful. We ended up not going forward just due to a likely poor RoI in our neighborhood, but would have gotten a formal bid from them if we had moved ahead in the process.

He was very receptive and took time discussing ideas and possibilities. He was very professional and easy to get along with. He was open to discussing various budget options too, which I appreciated. I will definitely use him and Chi services again

Jonathon was very informative and professional. The design that they gave me was good, but I did not go with the actual recommendation.

I hired Chi Renovation to do a full kitchen remodel. I wanted a more modern, spacious kitchen with granite counters, cherry cabinets and a glass backsplash, and this place did a great job! I absolutely love to cook, so having a great kitchen is a huge priority. The kitchen in my condo was, um, sub-par when I moved in, and it needed to be totally gutted and remodeled. I wanted kind of a unique backsplash and custom cabinets, and Chi Renovation was totally accommodating. I also re-did the floor (it is a wood floor). The best part of the renovation (and usually there is no best part of renovations!) was that I was kept informed of any changes in the timeline, and Chi Renovation set expectations every step of the way (timelines, changes in timelines, budget, etc.) I am extremely happy with the results of the remodel and how the process went. I strongly recommend Chi Renovation to anyone who is looking to remodel!

The Bad: I'll lead with the bad because it's the only reason the company is getting a B rather than an A. When I met with the project manager Larry, this was scoped as a 3-4 week project due to the age of my building. It's a 1910 building that went condo in the 1980s. Since this is our only bathroom, we arranged to stay with my in-laws for a month. The project started on November 3rd. We finally moved back into our home on December 22nd, nearly 2 months later. An extra month of 60 mile round trip commutes and having to pay for parking downtown was not pleasant. Demolition was completed and my new tub was installed November 12th. I received messages from the contractor (not the PM Larry) that indicated work was progressing. Imagine my alarm when I visited my home on November 22nd and it looked no different than it did on 11/12! I escalated the issue to Larry, and to his credit, he replaced the contractor/laborer, and work resumed after the Thanksgiving holiday. Once work began in earnest, it did take 3 weeks to complete. The good Larry worked with me to answer my numerous questions around tile selections, design options, and give me the best bathroom for my budget. He was extremely apologetic about the issues with the first laborer, and worked to make things right. His customer service was appreciated. I also want to comment that the second laborer who worked on the apartment did a great job particularly around his finish work. My husband commented in particular on the nice job he did with the painting, and I appreciated that he worked with me to adjust my design to work within space constraints. The project cost matched the estimated budget, and the completed bathroom was exactly as I envisioned it looking. Gone is the ugly cream and black tile and the white cabinets that gave the bathroom a dated look. In its place is a spa-like bathroom in a warm beige tile with multi-colored slate accents, and dark wood cabinets that pop against the soft blue-gray walls. The renovation greatly modernizes my home and adds value both aesthetically and when it comes to resale down the line. I am extremely pleased with the final product -- just not how long it took to get there.

The provider came to measure the space and had measured it incorrectly. We received plans, but it took several weeks. The final estimate came in December. We decided not to go with the company. They were not able to provide us with any design ideas that we hadn't already thought of ourselves.

It was not a good experience. We didn't feel that the people were competent or focused on our problem. For example, they designed our bathroom or they give us a bathroom design -- the shower was reversed from the position it should have been in. We discussed having two mirrors; I gave them a 3D view of bathroom with one mirror and it was just totally inadequate. It cost $50 with their big deal but they wanted more.

It was the worst conversation that I have ever had with a service provider. They clearly do not need any further business and are definitely not advertising their products properly. After I mentioned that I am interested in discussing refacing cabinets in the phone conversation, the woman informed me that my project might not be big enough ($$) for them if I want refacing even though they advertise their capabilities in refacing. She said she wasn't going to assign a project manager to do a consultation unless I gave her all the details of what I wanted to do on the phone down to each part being replaced and what type of materials. After I told her that I didn't need to work with a company where they are acting like they are doing me a favor or asking me to in essence beg for their business, she tried to change her approach as she obviously knew that she was being very abrupt and rude (maybe someone came in the room and heard her). Then she said that of course they would send someone out to do a consultation but then in essence told me that while they would try to quote refacing but there is no guarantee. That would make sense if these were OLD cabinets but they are NEW as of 2008. I just want a whole different look to the kitchen of this house that I bought last year. She knew that. I was offended that she would waste my time sending someone whom , as she admitted, would quote new cabinets and ignore my request. I don't have time to waste on this nonsense.