Bauman Remodeling

We are very happy with Mike's work and certainly plan to work with him in the future. I was concerned about how the ballisters would look on the porch door but they look great. It is really quality workmanship.

Mike was very professional and friendly. He came out to assess the job and give us an estimate. He suggested a carpentry solution to solve our problem while keeping the cost down. The work was very well done and completed when he said it would be. I plan to have him come back and install some doors on a closet. I definitely recommend him.

They were very reliable, professional, and perfectionists. I would definitely recommend them.

Out of the 3 contractors I invited over to quote the job, Mike Bauman was the most professional, friendly, and visionary. His ideas - e.g., a french door with windows to let sun into the new room - took our project from a ho-hum functional improvement to a jaw-dropping home beautifier. Mike kept me posted regularly about the ordering and delivery of materials, and was able to schedule the job as soon as the materials were in. We were blown away that Mike and his guys Chris and Juan did the whole job in one day! The price was right, and the work they did was beyond what I expected. They were warm, friendly guys who cleaned up after the job and even disposed of things we didn't want (like our old rug and door). I highly recommend Mike Bauman & Co. They are my official go to guys for any home renovations from now on.

Mike Bauman and his crew were very professional from start to finish, quality of work was excellent.

We contacted Mike about some renovations to an under used room in our 1870s house in JP. We've always wanted a library and, long story short, now we have one. We were impressed with Mike from the moment we met him and Juan, his associate. Mike and Juan and Chris are craftsmen, in the truest sense of the word. I can't imagine working with anyone else anymore. Mike gave us a fair price for incredibly high quality work. He worked with us on the design of the shelves and was very tolerant of the changes we made as we went along . He gave great advice about what he thought would, and wouldn't work. He asked questions at the right time, always checking to confirm that we were on the same page. He came when he said he would come, he did what he said he would do, he charged what he said he would charge. His staff is conscientious and I can't believe how these guys cleaned up after themselves. Every day! Our new library--the shelves and cabinetry, the replastered and painted walls, the repair to the floor, all of it--is gorgeous. The most frequent response we've gotten to the job is--"it looks like these shelves have always been here." And that was the goal. The guys he brought in to do the plumbing and electrical work were also fantastic. It all went so well that we gave them a whole new list of projects to work on, which they did cheerfully. These guys are unbelievable, and I really can't recommend them highly enough. I'm already compiling my list for the next go-round.

Mike, Juan, and Chris came over to install proper house wrap and lead flashing under the deck door and between the deck and the house. They used the appropriate lag screws/bolts to attach the deck firmly to the house. They replaced a few courses of shingles with new cedar shingles where they installed the flashing. They attached the deck support columns securely to the deck. The work was done promptly after the initial visit--about 7 days after the first visit, just before a rainstorm. Cleanup was great, and Mike made a point of showing me exactly what they were doing while they were doing it so that I could see how the home wrap, lead flashing, and bolts all worked together. They caulked everything nicely and cleanly. The whole job, start to finish, took only the three of them half a day, which was great for us because with a newborn at home, we wanted to keep things as quiet as possible. After a bit of rain fell, I confirmed that things were performing as they should. The interior of the house is dry, the mudsill is dry, and the rain is going where it should go (away from the house).

Mike Bauman Remodeling is top-shelf. Mike and his crew came into my condo and did some repairs and improvements that I wanted to have done because I am putting the condo on the market. I can't say enough good things. Mike cares tremendously about his work and he, and his crew, put the time into the work to make it perfect. If you want someone who cares about your home, and making it look great, hire Mike and his crew. You can't go wrong.

Mike is, perhaps, the most careful, thorough, and thoughtful contractor we have ever hired. My wife and I felt so at ease with him from day one that we even joked about letting him babysit the kids so we could get an afternoon out. I am an avid do-it-yourselfer who had grand plans to turn a very small and oddly shaped room into a walk-in closet. This required closing off an existing door, installing a pocket door, matching 100-year old trim work, framing new shelving, and a variety of other tasks. I was not far into the project when my wife suggested I at least talk with a "professional." My ego slightly bruised, I reluctantly found Mike on Angie's list and gave him a call. From the moment we spoke on the phone, I knew I had called the right man. He showed up on time and as expected. He was exceedingly patient with my suggestions for how we should go about the work. He allowed me to assist him in what turned out to be a three-day project. (This would have taken me months on my own?maybe even years.) Throughout the task, I was continually struck by his attention to detail, his creative solutions to even the most overwhelming task, and his easy demeanor. At the end of each day, he insisted on cleaning up the work site regardless of how early work was planned for the following morning. The closet work went so smoothly that we hired him again immediately to install a new outside door in our tenant apartment. Once again, the work was exceedingly well-done, on-time, on-budget. As with the closet, we found several "surprises" when we removed the old door including that the new frame (which was custom built) did not fit the existing opening (a fault of my poor measurements). Here again, Mike remained unphased. The extra work meant adding a couple of hours to an already long day and Mike stayed late into the evening to ensure that the opening was closed safely for the night. What else can I say? How many contractors?even good contractors?care enough about the clients to work past five for no reason other than the clients well-being? Do not hesitate to hire Bauman Remodeling.

I can't say enough good things about Mike Bauman! We originally planned on hiring him to help us prepare our house to sell on the market. When he learned that we were moving due to our daughter's medical needs, he found a way to reduce the cost of repairs as much as possible. He and his co-worker, Juan, found simple, elegant solutions to our problems. The results were simply beautiful. They worked efficiently, did a wonderful job, and they cleaned up beautifully when they were done. It was a truly wonderful experience! Additionally, when Juan devised an easier solution to our shaky staircase, Mike reduced the bill on the spot. It was amazing! Both Mike and Juan went above and beyond the call of duty, and we really appreciate everything that they did for us!

Mike installed crown molding in our living room. When he looked over the job, I mentioned that I knew crown molding was a difficult process-even for accomplished carpenters. He assured me that he had been the "crown molding guy" in his earlier employment. He confirmed that claim because the workmanship was excellent The corner joints are perfect and no seams are detectable. When he gave his estimate, he explained that it was rather high because the job needs two people. He asked if I had any other work that he could also complete since the living room would not take the entire day so we had him also install crown molding in the master bath. He was unable to complete the last return on the molding because his saw broke but he returned 2 weeks later and completed the job.

Mike and team, Chris and Juan, consistently showed up on time, worked very h****** the project, and finished exactly on the day that they said they would. We agreed upon the price for all of the work and materials up front and Mike came in exactly on target - no overages or extras. They completed everything that was discussed for the job and did so in an exceptional manner! I am thrilled with the results of their work! I've had tons of contractors in my homes over the years performing a variety of tasks and have never been more pleased with the results! My floor is beautiful, the detail work that they performed is exceptional, and they are also nice and so pleasant to work with. I would absolutely call Mike again in the future and recommend him to anyone who needs a top quality contractor.

We are thrilled with the work done by Mike and his crew and will absolutely be using his services again. When we bought our house, the previous owners had removed an old, rusted metal railing and did not bother to put a new banister in its place. After meeting with several contractors who promised us an estimate but then never followed through, we found Mike, and working with him was like a breath of fresh air. He returned our call right away, came over, and provided us with an estimate as promised. The job was complicated, but the estimate was fair and reasonable. We were also very appreciative that he did not mark up the cost of materials and just had us reimburse him for what he laid out. We are thrilled with how the work came out. The banister is gorgeous and looks like a piece of art. Mike and his crew were extremely professional and meticulous throughout. The job took several days, but each day when they left, you'd never know that they'd been there because they were so tidy. We have a young child and are extremely reassured that the banister is sturdy and safe; Mike also took extra precaution to ensure that the ballustrades were close enough together so that she could not get her head stuck between them. We have already hired him to do other work for us and absolutely plan to hire him for more jobs in the future. We couldn't be more pleased.

Overall, the project was a smashing success. At the start of the job, the estimate we got for the duration of the work was 4-5 weeks. The job finished in just under 5 weeks. Throughout the work, Mike kept us informed about progress. He kept us up-to-date on what would be happening over the course of each week. Keeping us up-to-date was critical for this project because much of the work had an influence on life at home with our toddler daughter. When anything unexpected came up, Mike was very good at getting in touch with us to walk us through what was happening and check in on how best to proceed. The work area was kept quite clean and neat. I was concerned at the start of this project because I was going to be using Mike's usual crew, except for the plumbing. I wanted to use my own plumber because my plumber has already done a fair amount of work on our house. Initially I was a bit worried about how involved I would have to be in terms of communicating and scheduling work between plumbers and everyone else, but this turned out to be a non-issue. Things moved fluidly because Mike is often available on phone and email. There were really only a few minor issues with this project and Mike was extremely accommodating about them. We had to build a new pipe chase running from the basement up through the kitchen and into the attic, and initially the chase frame was built a few inches too wide. Normally this wouldn't be an issue, but for us it meant that we wouldn't be able to fit the refrigerator we wanted into the kitchen. No worries--Mike and Chris came back the next day reframed the chase without complaint or extra charge. Our initial plans for the new closet door included using an accordion door, but after a few trips to some big box stores, we decided that accordion doors were really ugly, so we asked Mike if he could squeeze a standard door into the space. This turned out to be a bit more complicated than originally thought and required shaving off a corner of the door, but the results were wonderful, even elegant (if such a thing can be said of a closet door). Our attic has what you might call a lot of tough angles, which we knew ahead of time would be a challenge. Mike's plasterers didn't have any problem with it, though, and made nice, clean joints between existing slanted ceiling and walls and the new walls. Mike's electrician Burt Morris did a great job as well. Initially we considered hiring our usual electrician, but Mike's electrician was much more affordable and did equally good work, installing a few outlets, moving some switches and lights, and adding electric baseboard heating to the half bath. I will detail the plumbing work in a separate post because it involves a different company--not Mike's usual plumbers. Overall the plumbing work went well, with one serious problem: the roof vent flashing product the plumbers used (something called a "Kozy Kollar") was not properly installed, resulting in a roof leak. I advise homeowners to avoid using faux flashing products like this and pay the additional cost to get proper flashing installed from the roof by roofers. Mike noticed the problem during the first storm we had after the vent was installed, and I am grateful he noticed it and told me about it as early as he did. We had to get a roofer to properly flash the vent, at a minor additional cost. Mike's attention to detail--even though this work wasn't performed with his subs--saved us a lot of trouble. Mike's plasterers worked quickly and efficiently, but in my experience there are no "clean" plasterers. Plastering is just messy work. The end product was very good and smooth. The half bath floor is 1" diagonal hex tile. It looks great and is holding up well. It was great having Mike and Chris doing the finish carpentry. They were very attentive to detail, working hard to match existing moulding and trim details. If only everyone were so careful and attentive! The installation of the fan vent in the existing downstairs bathroom was full of very tight critical dimensions. I checked the dimensions before the project began to ensure that the vent would fit under the eaves, and I knew it would be close, so I was a bit worried about it. But Mike and Chris spent the time chiseling out just enough space to fit the vent in. As Mike remarked, other carpenters might have just given up and decided to vent out the roof, but he and Chris stuck with it and the results are great. The job finished the night before Thanksgiving, and there was one minor task left to complete: caulking the exterior of the fan vent in the downstairs bathroom. Mike said he'd caulk it weather permitting in the week or so after the holiday. In my experience, such a minor detail--20 minutes of work--would just never get done by most contractors. But Mike came back within a few weeks and caulked the exhaust vent, just like he said he would. Again, the attention detail was terrific.

?If you don?t give me an ?A? rating on Angie?s List my kids will go hungry.? This was what Bauman actually said to us, after he had corrected a series of construction errors that I had found in the renovation. He said it quite sincerely and not in humor, and then hugged us apparently to show his gratitude for our understanding of this matter. We felt very uncomfortable. We had begun to wonder whether we had selected a contractor who did not know enough to perform the work adequately, but he had convinced us not to file a negative report. I began to find serious construction problems from the very start of the project, some of which are outlined in the previous section. I was astonished to find chalk lines for the new front wall veering out a foot from the basement wall. Bauman said that this was because the front basement wall had a bend in it. He didn?t understand contouring the renovation to the basement wall! The misalignment of the framing of the stairway wall became a major area of disagreement. Bauman had made it parallel with the rest of the construction, but it was a wall that had no essential physical or visual connection to the rest of the addition. It was 1 1/4? from the stairs at the top and flush at the bottom, yet Bauman maintained that it should not and could not be changed. Left as it was, the stairwell would have looked awful, with a ?? air gap at the top of the stairs to the plasterboard overhanging the bottom step, leaving no room for stairway molding. Bauman claimed that this could all be fixed with ?shims.? I eventually fixed this framing myself so it is perfectly aligned. Mr. Bauman eventually requested that his contract with me be terminated, allegedly on the basis that I had modified work that he done that I found to be defective but that he had refused to fix. He stipulated that no monies paid to him so far would be returned, that we would pay his insulation subcontractor $900, and that the electrical and plumbing work would be completed by his subcontractors. We accepted these terms because we wanted to have nothing more to do with him and we wanted to avoid any obstacles that would prevent the project from proceeding. It is our opinion that Mr. Bauman?s Angie?s List ?A? rating and Super Service Award are inappropriate. Because some of the errors we found have more to do with basic building practices and lack of subcontractor supervision as a general contractor than those specific to basements, it is our opinion that Mr. Bauman did not, and does not, have sufficient expertise and experience as a general contractor or even as a carpenter to do complex or extensive renovations or additions. Furthermore, Mr. Bauman knows very little about basement renovations, and had no business bidding on our project. We also wonder if Mr. Bauman?s line regarding his children going hungry if we gave him less than an ?A? rating has been used on other customers to shame them into giving him good ratings despite inadequate work. UPDATE: 1. Mr. Bauman misrepresents the meeting at which we felt he inappropriately invoked Angie's List ratings regarding his family finances. At no time did we meet with Mr. Bauman with any concerns about extra costs, except to get them in writing (which he did not do until we pressed him for it). We had the money in the bank to pay the entire cost of the renovation, including any extra charges for changes we had made. It was at a meeting last October that he met with us specifically to get our reassurance that we were satisfied with the corrections that he had made to our list of problems in his work, and to tell us that a rating of less than A would harm his family. It was then that he gave us both a hug to show his gratitude that we assumedly understood this. 2. It is perfectly legal for a resident of the City of Boston to perform modifications to a contractor's work. It does not jeopardize their license. All that a contractor does in this case is to state verbally or in writing that the homeowner's modification invalidates whatever warranty might be in effect for that work. I might add that Mr. Bauman never offered any warranty of any sort to us, despite the statement that he does so in his Angie's List Service Information. 3. I never stated explicitly or implied that Mr. Bauman was not sincere. He is quite sincere, and I believe his statement about Angie's ratings and the effect that it might have on his family was sincere as well. That is exactly the problem. He doesn't understand his own incompetence, and he doesn't understand that you don't say that kind of thing to a customer. I was so astonished that he would say such a thing, that I stated in my report that I wondered whether he had used the line on other customers and whether it would affect their reports. It DID have an effect on us - we had initially decided not to file any report at all because we were genuinely concerned that a negative rating might affect his livelihood. What I have reported is certainly not defamation of Mr. Bauman or of Angie's List.

We are very pleased with the final product. Mike was very professional, patiently explained everything, completed the work according to the agreed schedule and price. It was obvious from the beginning that Mike was very trustworthy, even though we had never worked with him before. He provided an excellent quality work product, and we were very impressed by his cleanup. Mike returned phone calls and since painting wasn't included, he hooked us up with a painter to prime the closet interior, paint the doors, and our bedroom. My only suggestion is that Mike should consider including the priming/painting of the closet in his scope of work because it would have added to the "wow" factor.

Only a phone conversation occurred.

Mike is great! We had him replace old shingles with new shingles which including wrapping the house in Tyvek. We requested preprimed red cedar shingles which he made sure that he got (and even showed me the unopened boxes). We also pulled aluminum wrap off three windows and got a few surprises - Mike ended up having to redo the window frames and he expertly matched the frames so you can't tell the old from the new, except the new looks perfect! He even went out of his way to find trim that was similar to what we had already, not easy because we have an older house. He also repaired crown molding around four other windows that looks terrific. Chris, his cousin who worked with him is also wonderful. They cleaned up their work area every day and were very considerate. Another great thing about Mike was that he made sure that he met deadlines. For example, we had to have an electrician pull our meter off for the shingle job. In order for the electrician to finish his job, Mike had to finish shingling on the side of the house. He worked on the weekend and a holiday Monday to get it done. His quote was very detailed and he was very responsive to any questions that I had. I am pretty detail oriented and kept notes on any decisions that we made during the job which Mike and I reviewed when needed. He's a great find and I would hire him in a second!

We have used Mike before and called him when our painters found rot in three locations. Mike came within two days - he had to squeeze us in between two jobs. He was able to cut the rot out and put in new wood. Since this was on the front of our house, appearance was pretty important and it looked great. He also did some other small repairs that our painter pointed out. Mike was running a little late so I couldn't wait for him but since he had worked on our house I was confident that he would do the job correctly and he did. I would use him again without hesitation!

This was the first time that I have used Mike and it won't be the last. We had an old garage that needed to be fixed up and we called Mike. He gave us a fair quote and got back to us quickly after coming out. He sistered 12 joists to the existing ceiling joists to help support the roof. He also had to repair a wooden sill and a front support beam. I was amazed how well he was able to do that - he cut out the rotten wood and put in new wood and it looked great! He even primed the repairs even though that wasn't part of the bid. He also covered an old door with beaded sheathing which looked great. He finished the job on budget and on schedule. Thanks Mike!

We ended up getting shelves made in the store, and Mike put them together and fastening the shelves together and strapped them against the walls. He did some carpentry to adjust the shelves, making sure they were lined up and aligned them properly (not an easy job because floor was uneven). Overall a very professional job, made sure we were happy with the end result. He and his assistant Chris were very easy to work with.

Overall work excellent. Plastering work top rate, Mike cut the shelving, arranged the shelves. Pantry turned out very well, we're very happy with the results. Mike offered to do the tiling on the floor, but we've used another tile guy for other parts of the house, so we went with our tile guy and used our own painter. Mike can do a lot of stuff, but knows his limitations and isn't afraid to admit them and get the work done by others. Mike is very trustworthy, would highly recommend him and definitely use him again for future work.

Mike did a phenomenal job. After the first day of work, the project wasn't looking like we wanted it. But Mike came back on day 2 and proactively recommended changes to the work. He anticipated our concerns and stayed until 9 pm to get the job done. He was incredibly clean in how he worked and the clean up both days was excellent.

Work was done timely and was of high quality. Mike takes pride in doing a quality job and strives to satisfy homeowner. He is cooperative and friendly.

Mike really did an outstanding job. I had called him for an estimate and he came right out to look at the work. We walked around the house together and he listened to my concerns and told me how he would fix it. I liked Mike right off the bat. He seemed very personable, knowledgeable and straight-forward. I did my due diligence, however, and got a couple of other quotes. Mike struck me as the most knowledgeable and was also the least expensive so it was easy for me to make my choice and he was able to fit me in the following week. My top concern was fixing the rotted sheathing and preventing any more water damage. I knew this was going to be a lot of work so I only expected him to be able to remove the rotted wood and replace it on the first day. Mike showed up right on time and got to work. He knew I was concerned since it was supposed to rain in the next couple of days so he stayed until 7pm that first day to make sure everything was water-tight. In that time he was not only able to replace the sheathing; he applied the necessary caulking, wrapped it in Tyvek and replaced all of the shingles. He really went above and beyond my expectations and I was really impressed with his work ethic. A few days later he was scheduled to come out to fix two of the window sills and the trim around the windows. Again, Mike showed up right on time and got to work. He is very conscientious about his work and makes sure the job is done right. I really appreciated his attention to detail. While he was working I had found another window sill that needed to be replaced. Mike did that one as well and several other minor repairs without charging me anything extra. Overall, this experience was better than I even hoped for. I can not say enough about Mike?s professionalism and the quality of his work. I am really happy to have found an excellent carpenter and would readily recommend him to anyone who needs this type of work done. I only wish there were a higher grade than A to give him.