Bauman Remodeling

Mike Bauman oversaw the remodeling of a kitchen in my condo. He was great to work with because he's a good communicator, he explained the rationale for doing things and discussed options in a manner that I could understand. His recommendations reflected his experience and these were always reasonable and and always proved to be the best choices. I also appreciated his always contacting me within a reasonable period of time and he answered all my questions and concerns. I most appreciated his ability to keep to timelines. I would definitely hire him again!

We had Mike out to take down and replace a large closet in the master bedroom. It was a complicated job - all the walls weren't straight, but the crew worked through it and we were very happy with the final product. We were most pleased by how responsive Mike was and how he worked with us every step along the way. We'd definitely hire him again, thanks for being such a professional Mike!

Friendly, professional, timely, and great quality of workmanship.

Mike did a great job. Not only was the work to my satisfaction, but he was very responsive and worked with me on design and finish and went above and beyond with some final touches.

Mike and his team were absolutely great. They came in mid-way through a job that another contractor has botched. Mike and his team repaired the poor workmanship of the previous contractor, then purchased and installed all the new decking and railings exactly as I wanted. The deck is beautiful, safe and I couldn't be happier with the work. Throughout the entire process I received photos of progress as I was travelling for work. Best part, it took less than two weeks. Everything was on-time and exactly how it had been quoted. Highly recommend this company!

I can't say enough about Mike and his team. Very thorough, honest, fair and willing to work with home owner's ideas for spaces and design. They make simple projects look expensive. We will definitely be using Bauman Remodeling soon again.

They were responsive and got me a quote quickly.

Overall, timely and efficient with quality work. The carpentry work was excellent including the reworking of the staircase to allow for maximum safety and the design and construction of the cubbies within the closet. Our ceiling was complicated by multiple low hanging pipes but ended up turning out very well. We were given a 7-10 day time frame and at the end of the time we had a new open space that met all our needs.

Mike and his team were able to conceptualize and handcraft a complicated angled built in shelving system into an awkward wall space that had been demolished. Additionally, they built custom shelving for an adjacent closet and an small custom island in a laundry area. Not a single detail eluded these guys. Mike is a very detail oriented person and the appearance of every different trim piece, wood grain direction, and fastener location was planned out. I was quite impressed with the end result of what had been a very ugly and challenging location.

Our front porch and steps were very weathered, and we had Mike and his painter Eddie come out to assess the job. Mike looked at the two porch columns right away and we noticed they were badly rotted at the bottom, which we had not noticed on our own. Mike was punctual about getting us a price quote, and working through a few revisions to the project. He was responsive about scheduling the work and about coordinating with the painters. We are very pleased with the outcome of the project.

After dealing with a very unprofessional contractor (NOT Mike) who poorly installed some crown molding in our guest room and deserted the job, I was leary of hiring another contractor. I put a lot of stock into Mike's top-notch reviews here on Angie's List -- and I wasn't wrong to do so. He and his team are FABULOUS. Mike was responsive to my initial emails and promptly came by to give me an estimate. He was very clear about how he'd do the job and its cost. He was thoughtful and creative in his solutions to the issues my older apartment presented (the building settling and all that means in terms of crown molding), and his estimate was fair. He had to undo a fair bit of the work the other contractor had done. Mike and his team were doing such a good job installing the crown molding, and the rooms were looking so beautiful, that halfway through I decided to enlarge the job and have them install crown molding in our long hallway -- something I hadn't even imagined before they'd arrived. They were finished all the work in a couple of days and the apartment looks gorgeous. A friend of mine -- an artist and a weekend carpenter -- saw the crown molding and said they'd done the job especially artfully. He took their number! The crown molding was installed in anticipation of my mother's visit this month. When she arrived, she was wowed by how great the apartment looks -- in no small measure due to Mike's artful work. (She's a real estate agent and a tough customer ... not easy to please.) THANK YOU, Mike! I will most definitely call Mike again in the future. He and his team's work is top notch.

Mike was very professional and thorough from the estimate through to completion. He took careful measurements before giving an estimate and walked me through a detailed plan. He and his crew did excellent work and kept me apprised of the issues that came up. The work was complicated, as the bookshelves needed to be built around existing windows and doors that were not always level and there were some very tricky corners and angles. Mike and his team were good problem solvers and found a solution for everything that came up without adding a lot of extra charges to the total cost. The final work is beautiful and I'm so happy with the new room. It did take a little longer than expected - 3 weeks instead of 2, which is why I gave a B for punctuality. I understand why, as there were some bad weather days and other complications, but I wish Mike had overestimated the amount of time required. I'd rather have them finish earlier than expected rather than later. Overall, though, I'm very happy and would definitely hire them again.

I could not be any happier with the way the work came out on our porch. My wife and I had a horrible situation where a contractor started the work and then midway through the job stop coming and walked away with our money. We came to find out after consulting with Mike that all the windows were installed wrong and there were other issues. Instead of Mike charging me what other contractors wanted which was 5,000 he chose to help me, which I can not explain how much I appreciate. Although I did not hire him to fix any of the windows, he chose to readjust most of them fixing them ensuring they would work properly. Another really important aspect to consider when hiring Mike is that he is efficient. This is not a one man show. Mike brings a full crew and puts all of his attention into completing the project. Other contractors we were considering estimated this job would take a few days. However, Mike came in and finished the entire job in one day allowing us to move on with other projects. Additionally I have a very old porch which makes it nearly impossible to have perfect craftsmanship. Even with these obstacles, Mike was able to correct these imperfections, which my wife and I were thrilled about. Besides being diligent and hardworking, Mike is a very good communicator and was available to my wife and I throughout the project. This has been an issue for us as it has been nearly impossible to find a contractor that will stay in communication with us. WIth that said, I would highly recommend hiring Mike and will be hiring him for future projects. He is straightforward, honest and his prices are reasonable, which has been nearly impossible to find as most contractors in the area are over pricing jobs.

Mike was quick to call me back and visit to assess the scope of our project. Even though our work wasn't extensive, he gave his fullest attention, making suggestions to enhance our vision. I immediately felt comfortable with his ability and his commitment to quality work. It was clear to me that he would be fair and honest. As the work began, his painters worked around my partner who works from home and they worked long hours to ensure our dog wasn't boarded for long. Even though they worked fast and were efficient, they took no short cuts and were careful to cover everything appropriately, cleaning up as they worked. They even took the time to sand the walls and repair any errors from the previous paint job and cracks from the settlement of the building. Mike checked in daily to see how work was progressing and even helped me with picking out wall colors. As for the built-in, he used his training in interior design to look at how to tie the built in to the features of the room. Once we agreed on the design, he articulated the vision to his team of carpenters who executed perfectly. In regards to the crown molding, he offered suggestions for the size and type we should buy and where specifically I should go to pick out what they would install. Then his crew picked up the supplies and immediately installed the molding. With the barn door, his crew stained it to match the existing wood in the room, ensuring it was a perfect match. Overall, his crew was professional and courteous. They even offered to fix the latch on the side yard gate one day. I was impressed with their attention to detail, high quality work, and customer service approach. As other needs arise, I wouldn't hesitate to use Mike and neither should you. You definitely will get the quality you pay for. I can't tell you the number of compliments we have gotten on the work. It's truly amazing how transformed the condo is by these enhancements.

The initial process went well; he showed up and provided us a quote one evening during a workweek. He provided a quote quickly with details. Mike was not the cheapest but not the most expensive bid. His ability to use a creative approach when reviewing our project and respecting detail was what sold us on using Mike. The project began in March and concluded in October. Overall, Mike's personal level of paying attention to detail is strong. When speaking with him, he instills confidence in hearing you and being able to execute your vision or being adequately capable to adapt on the job. However, Mike's business seems to have grown where much of the work is subcontracted. His main team are stand up guys; Juan (carpenter), Chris (carpenter), Tommy (Plumber), and Mike (Electrician) all seem like honest people and willing to do the job right. However, other subs he used (painter - the owner is an excellent guy, but the workers' attention to detail was only average), his junior carpenter and his floor guy were not at the quality level we expected. Fortunately, Mike truly, truly focuses on making his client happy and he addressed any concerns we had. As we went through various stages of the project, Mike rarely disagreed with any issues we brought up, and always expressed concern on making sure the outcome was good quality. Unfortunately, this dynamic of having some subs or his own junior carpenters that were not detail oriented resulted in significant delays as the work had to essentially be completed two to three times. This delayed the overall project materially as schedules did not always permit immediate fixes, or the fixes were completed in stages and/or in an unsatisfactory way. Mike also was not as present on site as much as we'd expect given the scale of the work, and we often found ourselves having to point out needed fixes instead of having Mike discussing or addressing these issues pre-emptively with us. However, when these issues were discussed Mike ensured that they were addressed and adequately fixed. A major strength of Mike is his focus on not nickle and dime-ing his clients. We had some issues come up that he could have charged incremental $ for, and except for one or two instances did not, instead saying that he'd just take care of it. He provided other "free" upgrades or work orders where he felt they made sense; for example, we contracted to install a total of 8 moldings in the living room and dining room, but as the project went on it made sense to actually install a total of 12 including in the kitchen. Mike did this for no charge at all. Additionally, when the painters incorrectly removed the old crown molding on the 2nd floor as part of an upgrade with the painters, Mike explained that this was customary in order to do ceiling work, but that he would "purchase and install replacement molding at no charge". He could have been hardlined and forced us to pay for at least a portion of that work, albeit we would have argued that charge. But the point is that Mike generally ensures you feel like you are getting value for the job and not being slowly bled dry. At the end of the day, we are happy with the project and how it's turned out. We appreciate Mike's concern with us being happy with the final product. There are some things we wished has gone smoother that we felt were controllable by Mike, including the overall timeliness of completion and the speed of permitting (delays in submitting for permits compounded with general Boston City Hall slowness). Mike also tended to over-promise on timing and not communicate with us when timing changed; we generally had to ask for explanations or revised schedules. Ultimately, our trust in Mike was well founded to have a high quality result and we would hire him again except with an expectation of a longer timeline than indicated.

The work began with Mike bringing a structural engineer to assess the damage. They made a small opening in the ceiling, right below the dormer windows wall. The engineer took all the necessary measurements and got back to Mike and me very quickly with proposed structural improvements. The plan called for cutting the existing ceiling framing and inserting a number of large LVL beams, supported by two columns hidden inside the walls. Then the ceiling joists would be attached to the LVLs on both side. Mike?s crew jumped into the demo work right away, and was also able to put up the supporting walls on both side of the opening in the same day. It seems that cutting through ceiling joists full of old nails and whatever else was challenging, however the most difficult part was putting the new LVL beams into place, which required making a hole in the side of the house and pushing them through that whole. At first that proposition scared the crap outof us, but Mike reassured us that when all set and done, we would never be able to tell that a temporarily hole was ever there. Thankfully he was absolutely right ? the work is all done and the exterior wall is sealed tight and the vinyl siding looks like it?s never been touched. All the work was completed in three days. It is absolutely astounding to us that someone actually approved a living space (children?s bedroom) above a garage ceiling support only by 2x9 joists spanning 20+ feet with no other support of any kind anywhere - CRAZY. You always hear how back in the days things were done right and built forever ? what a load of crap, our house was built in the 50s! Norwood inspector, who approved this building should have been jailed. Needless to say, I can?t express how happy we are with Mike?s work, and how grateful we are for the speed with which it was completed, the professionalism of his crew and the quality of the final product. I would recommend Bauman Remodeling in a heartbeat, and plan on using them for a couple more projects, hopefully in early 2016.

This is the second major renovation project I have worked with Mike on and I am extremely happy with the end product. The workmanship is excellent. The barn doors I ordered had to be modified in order to fit the space and Mike and his crew did an excellent job. As with my previous project, the price Mike quoted me was the price I paid. There were no added charges. This had not been the case working with other contractors. I would highly recommend Mike. He is an extremely talented contractor and has a great crew!

I originally hired Mike for one job: the roof overhang on our 1920's bungalow was never properly attached to the rest of the structure, and had started badly drooping over the past decade. The project took a while to get underway when the winter of 2015 intervened, as he needed to wait for the snow to melt before it made sense to start. Once spring arrived and demolition of one section began, he found that he needed to replace a bit more of the existing structure than planned in order to get a sound fix in place, which made sense to me. The crew made quick work over the next few weeks, and ended up replacing the whole lower roof section including sheathing, rafter tails, trim, and shingles, but this time actually connected to the house's framing. The result not only is a tremendous structural improvement (no more wondering whether the edge of the roof is in danger of falling off!), but looks great too: it fits in perfectly with the rest of the house, and looks like it belonged there all along. At this point I added on several follow-on projects which Mike's crew completed over the next several months. These were mostly inspired by other repairs I'd been neglecting: the whole house needed painting, the front door had a cracked panel, porch light didn't work, back mudroom had a rotted sill and siding, and a rusted door. These projects all proceeded well, and the net result is that the whole house looks great now. Mike had many useful suggestions along the way, such as adding a window to the back mudroom, and adding shelving inside, which is indeed much more useful than what was there before. The combination of all of these projects did take longer than I'd hoped initially, but mostly because I ordered custom doors and light fixtures which took many weeks to arrive -- given the results this was the right call and I'd do the same again. Mike's main crew did about half of the overall work (all the carpentry, woodworking & tile work), and he used subs for the remainder: plaster/painting, electrical, gutters, roof shingles. All of these did great work, and completed their portions on schedule. I plan to give Mike a call (well, text message is more likely) for the next remodeling project we undertake.

Overall, I would actually give the final product an A, and the quality of his workers an A as well. However, I had to fight very hard, and personally oversee the project myself in order to get the quality I ended up with, and I consider that negative experience to be a part of the services. A few examples: 1) There was an unfinished wooden plank put in the floor in the two new doorways, along with various holes along the sides. I had to fight to get the floors finished and the holes closed. Initially Mike was not going to do that work. Mike argued that it wasn't in the contract, but I argued that "moving an existing doorway / building a new doorway", which were in the contract, implicitly should include the floor of the doorway. To me it seemed like a no-brainer that the project wouldn't be finished with the doorways looking like that. 2) There was a large hole in the wall of the bathroom. Several times Mike pushed me to leave a plastic patch panel there instead of closing the hole with new bathroom tiles. He argued that if we left the hole open, we could have easy access to the internal plumbing in the wall. I was clear that I wanted the wall back to the way it was before, as he had promised it would be as part of the project. When he told me he wouldn't be able to find matching tiles, I ended up having to find them on eBay and ordered them myself (which Mike did pay me back for). 3) There was a major issue in the storage area above the washer/dryer where the humidity was skyrocketing when the dryer he installed would run. Mike suggested that this was common and I shouldn't worry about it. However, I measured the humidity before and after 15 minutes of running the dryer and it went from 45% to 85% in that time. After more research, I realized that I could feel the humid air escaping from the vent pipe Mike had installed. I shared this with Mike and he attempted to duct tape the area. When this did not fix the humidity problem at all, I told Mike and received this text: "There's absolultely no air escaping or coming out of the tub, we taped the connection and we could feel no air releasing from the duct. I don't know what more that I could do. Do I have Chris go there at 12 or do we hold off on this for now, cause I'm not sure if there's anything else I can do." I then spoke with Mike directly and told him that if they couldn't stop the humid air escaping with duct tape, they would need to potentially replace the special ducting with a more traditional ducting. This was the fourth day off I needed to take as a result of issues, and I helped Mike and his team solve this issue. At the end, Mike told me that he was glad I had pushed on this, because it turned out that the ducting they used was very poor quality and had numerous holes in the connections, and that I would have ended up calling him in 6 months after the mold had grown if it hadn't been fixed. 4) There were a number of issues with messes being left that I needed to clean up because my neighbors complained, either in the shared basement where they did a bunch of wood-work, or then in the back walkway where they also did wood work, or where it got covered with brick fragments and dust from the holes they made in the brick wall for the venting. They didn't put up plastic to block off the kitchen, so when they did the demolition of the walls, we ended up with the entire kitchen being coated with dust. 5) There were various delays that caused the project to take roughly three months, as opposed to the initial 3-4 week estimate. Mike and his team were so busy with other projects, that they only came one or two days a week, and things that needed to be ordered were forgotten. There were other examples as well. Ultimately, Mike's workers, including electrician, plumbers, and painters were excellent. It was the lack of oversight and communication that caused the majority of the problems. We are happy with the quality of the closets Mike and his team constructed, and with Mike's vision for the work, but I don't think I would hire Mike to oversee a project again, since he was almost never there, and rarely checked to make sure that the details were completed.

I only spoke to him on the telephone.

7He will not get another chance.

Called, left a message, and no response. I understand contractor's are busy, but should have enough professionalism to return a phone call.

Mike started work on time and completed the work only a couple of days late. One of the floor planks still squeeks a little, but overall, the work was done well. His guys accidentally removed carpeting in the bedroom, which was not part of the project. This caused me to have to buy new flooring in that room earlier than I wanted, but it was an honest mistake and it didn't cause too much of a problem. Mike was amenable and his crew courious on this project. He does small projects well.

Very well. Mike and his crew were extremely gracious and detail oriented. Vey happy with the final outcome.

Mike Bauman worked with Eddie Santos to oversee the painting - and later a flooring project - in our two bedroom, two bath, second floor condo. Mr. Santos, owner of the painting company L and E Plastering and Painting which performed the work, projected the project would take up to 4 days, but his men had it completed in 3. They arrived punctually every morning and were pleasant, professional, and very accommodating as they had to work around myself (home business), my mother and our two cats. While we had previously put into storage all of our small furniture items, collectibles and knicknacks, the painters still had to move select furnishings around while they worked, and they never complained or damaged anything (well, one item was damaged, but it wasn't their fault). Their work ethic was such that even though we told them we didn't care if they got paint on the wall-to-wall carpeting - it was soon to be replaced by the wood flooring - there were relatively few spots, and everything else was left as clean as when they arrived each day. After the flooring project was completed, they returned to touch-up the baseboards which had been removed and to fix minor damage done to the walls for an additional half-day project which had been included in the original estimate. The quality of the work appears exceptional to my eyes - the surfaces are smooth with no evidence of brush strokes or drips. We had one wall done in a different color from the rest of the condo, and where it meets the dominant color there is no evidence of color bleeding or dripping. We have already recommended this company to some friends and will continue to do so should anyone ask us for a good contractor, carpentry, or painting service.