Dream Design Build & Remodeling

It is without hesitation that I offer this recommendation for Dream Design Build and Remodeling, Inc. Dream Design is owned and operated by its founder and President, Richard King. In order to understand the extraordinary positive impact Dream Design and Richard had on my husband and myself, I must say we had another company hired. They were terrible with communication and quality work. Richard and his team of plumbers, carpenters, electricians, and painters are superb! Can't say enough good about them. They treated our work like it was in their own homes.

We'd be excited to work with Richard and the Dream Design Build & Remodeling team on another project! They built a two-story 24'x24' addition to our house over 10 months of construction time and we're thrilled with the results. In fact, we've already recommended them to a coworker! The process throughout was straightforward and easy. The design process was collaborative. The permitting and inspection portions were thankfully transparent to us and fully executed. Immediate term schedules were shared appropriately. Issues were listened to and almost always addressed quickly. Changes and additions to original plans were estimated quickly and either implemented or dismissed with no high pressure tactics. And some upgrades were given along the way when they just made sense. One thing that we particularly liked was how the whole team worked with us regarding our dog. Most of the guys obviously loved dogs in general and ours in particular. She was always excited to greet her visitors and they were excited to do the same. And they were always careful about keeping track of her when entering or leaving spaces she was in so that she was safe. Another thing that we really liked was the availability for communication. We tend to be difficult to reach during the day and ended up contacting Richard later in the evening by phone or text as well as at various times via email. He was always quick to answer or respond. Whether it was answering questions or letting us know what was next, that availability provided a lot of comfort during such a lengthy overall project! All of that said, any project of this size will have some challenges. Areas we'd recommend for improvement are minor relative to the strong positives throughout the experience, but they do exist. We expected some problems to come up, but Richard's responses are what mattered. One example was when the team didn't properly cover the exterior wall during the winter and some water started leaking into our basement ceiling late one evening. We grabbed buckets and towels, and called Richard after a quick triage; his first reaction was to apologize and reassure us that they would repair and cover any damage that this caused. The water got into some brick, so Matthew brought a high quality dehumidifier the next day. Ultimately no permanent damage resulted, so no harm done. Another example was when we got sod in the summer after the project moved fully inside. Erosion was starting to cause problems, so we went with sod. The first two weeks after laying sod are critical for its success, but during that second week it seemed that someone from the team shut off our sprinklers that were on timers already and the sod clearly suffered. It's fair to say that it's not always obvious what will happen by the spring, so we proposed that we'd care for and watch it until next spring; if it doesn't come back healthy, Richard will pay to repair it, and if it does come back then we all win. That seemed like a very fair compromise. Be wary of any review for any project like this that doesn't talk about issues and how they were addressed. We were happy with how Richard moved forward with us and he was a great partner throughout. We are very happy with our new addition and we truly would be excited to work with Richard and Dream Design Build & Remodeling again on another remodeling project!

Richard and his team helped us add an accessory apartment onto our colonial for my mom. The result was a beautiful space where she is comfortable and happy. He also moved my laundry room upstairs and fully remodeled now larger kitchen area. Richard didn't have a lot of room to work with for the upstairs laundry room, but he used every inch wisely! It's functional and beautiful - easily one of my favorite spaces in the house. The kitchen is a cook's dream featuring a large island and a 7 burner range with a double oven. In all aspects of our build, Richard listened carefully to what we wanted and was creative and thoughtful. The results are beautiful! I highly recommend Richard and his team!

The Dream Build Design team was professional, creative and responsive to all our project needs. Working with an older house requires a special team. This team was able to take all our wants and bring them to fruition. Thank you Dream, Design, Build!

Excellent work from design through execution with this team. Richard, Matthew and team were great to work with, professional, and collaborative. Highly recommend this team for your next remodeling or home addition project!

I would highly recommend Dream Design Build & Remodeling! We hired them to build a 17' x 23' addition with basement. Richard, the Owner/Contractor always went above and beyond our expectations. Being handy ourselves, we have always been hesitant to hire others to do work for us, but he quickly eased our fears. His 30+ years of experience really showed! Richard designed the perfect room for us, worked within our budget, supervised workers on a daily basis, and always kept us updated. He also quickly responded to all our texts and calls. His son Matthew is also a hardworking, invaluable part of the team. The workers (Backhoe Operators, Carpenters, Masons, etc.) were always professional and their work was excellent. We absolutely love our new addition!! Richard always said he will do what ever it takes to make us happy. He did just that and more! I would hire Dream Design Build & Remodeling again in an instant.

They built a 700sqft extension attached to my house. Richard is very professional and worked with me on price and customize how I wanted the work to be done. They have deep expertise in building and building materials. The materials they use are top quality and they stand behind their work. I had one issue come up after the build, and they took care of it right away without any questions. After a year, my deck needed to be rebuild. I hired them again and the results are amazing. I have some experience in building decks, and they used top quality materials for the deck. One thing: Don't expect them to be the cheapest. Their price is reasonable, but not the cheapest. It's because the materials they use are top quality. I always look for quality over price.

The job started on time the team where professional Rich King was very helpful in designing the layout and showing samples. The job was completed on time. I was ecstatic at the outcome, they did a great job and I was very pleased. If you plan any remodeling I recommend Dream Design Build &Remodeling Richard King @ 410-608-0069 .

We live in a older home built in 1937 in Catonsville. As in many homes built that long ago, our kitchen and dining room were very small. After living there many years, we finally decided to knock down the wall between the kitchen and dining room. We contacted Dream Design Build & Remodeling based on their many good reviews. We met with Richard King to get his recommendation as to how he would do the remodeling. He created beautiful 3D color designs which helped us greatly to go ahead with the project. Not only did his company do a fantastic job creating for us a new kitchen and open space family room but we then decided to knock down another wall that led into our sunroom. It was quite a job as there was, unbeknown to us, a double brick wall that needed to be removed. Well, they expertly removed it, created reinforcements and remodeled our sunroom as well. The transformation was amazing. We now have our sunroom flooding our family room with beautiful sunlight. And our sunroom, which had become virtually a "junk room," has now been transformed into our dining room. It's an amazing change that we couldn't be happier with as the whole first floor of our home has been beautifully transformed! It was a pleasure working both with Richard and his crew. They were all extremely considerate and bent over backwards to respond to our requests and to do everything that we asked. I couldn't recommend them more!

They have done 5 majors projects at my house and did a superb job

Dream Design Build & Remodeling did fantastic work for me inside and outside of my home. Many projects needed to be done, I wasn't sure who I could trust to take care of my project list. I heard about Richard King, owner of the company, who has been building since 1972, and does every aspect of work and Architecture. The exterior work had to comply with the Homeowners Association guidelines, and Richard spoke directly with the HOA and corresponded regarding specifications. His crew worked every day until the work was completed. Richard supervised everyday and touched base with me on a daily basis. I am extremely pleased with the work that was done. Richard and his crew were a delight to work with!!! I would highly recommend them, and have excitedly referred Dream Design Build & Remodeling to others.

We will preface this review by saying we understand how fortunate we are to have a beautiful home. This review will focus on the process of working with Richard King and Dream, Design, Build, & Remodeling as a realistic portrayal for future customers to take into account when deciding on contractors. While we are happy with the end product, the process was a combination of frustration, confusion, and incompetence. We apologize for the length of the review, but we feel it is important for future customers to understand what it is really like dealing with Richard. The biggest issue when dealing with Richard was communication - whether it was ignoring texts, phone calls, or emails; getting information about quotes and materials; or explaining circumstances. Days, weeks, and months would go by without a single word from him, despite our several attempts to reach him. Frequently, Richard would actively refuse to speak with the “bad cop” in our relationship, because he knew the conversation would be difficult. For example, it took nearly two months just to get a quote for windows, or updates on concrete pours, or siding samples. At no point did Richard, or anyone from Dream, Design, Build & Remodeling, proactively reach out to us to discuss delays or changes that needed to be made. When there was communication, Richard frequently implored his health issues as a reason for delays and argued that the concerns were caused by our project. This was all very nebulous seeming. One would think if the project caused so much stress, then there would be some attention to detail in the execution of the project. On that front, there were numerous oversights that detract from the functionality and aesthetics of the house. In our original contract, outlets were planned to be installed into the floor, however, when pouring the concrete, the electrical was never run. The electrician was particularly elusive. Instead, during the concrete pour, a gametime audible was called to move the main electrical supply from the back of the house to the side, without consulting us and without our consent. While well-intentioned, the execution was bungled and now, in our dining room, we have a PVC pipe that protrudes from the wall, like a serpentine sewer, which is of course, very appetizing. Additionally, the contract had detailed keeping three exterior lights, however, when they removed an old sliding door, they removed two of the exterior lights as well, which we were unaware of until the siding was already installed. As such, the front of our house is much darker than it should be. Rectifying the issue is an extraordinary cost at this juncture, which he promised to fix and then changed his mind and had one of his foremen break the news to us. We recognize that time is always an issue in construction projects. However, the amount of time that would pass between communication or completion of work was excessive. On multiple occasions during the process, Richard had made promises of dates when a livable room would be ready, as we were soon to be losing housing, because we planned around our contracted end date, foolishly in retrospect. We were already months behind schedule, and when we made plans around moving into the house, Richard would call at the last minute to say it wasn’t ready. We would stop by the property frequently throughout the project, and lived in the house for months of the work. On a day-to-day and week-to-week basis, it was very hard to determine any progress. This was particularly evident in regards to assembling Ikea kitchen cabinets, installing countertops, as well as putting up the siding. The completion of the kitchen was of particular concern. We had deviated from our initial contract, in that we took it upon ourselves to source and buy many materials, in order to save money. This included the kitchen cabinets, countertops, flooring, and tile. In our original contract, the installation of cabinets, countertops, and tile was included in the price. However, when we asked for a reconciliation regarding lost payments on their end (which they eventually found, but not after weeks of pushback with check numbers and deposit dates), we were presented with an Excel document, detailing labor costs for the installation of the aforementioned materials, along with credits for the materials. The labor costs, which were baked into the contract, were astronomical. The reconciliation claimed it took 214 hours to install a relatively modest Ikea kitchen with precut butcher-block counters. We were able to decipher that time due to later bills for worker hours at $55/hour. Meanwhile, we were able to assemble the base cabinets for nearly half the kitchen on a leisurely Sunday in less than two hours. We would not characterize ourselves as particularly handy, although we are familiar with the wordless instructions of the minimalist Swedes. Richard kept harping on the fact that it was over a 100 boxes of supplies for the kitchen. However, we took the liberty of organizing the boxes into piles for each cabinet, to speed along assembly, as per the recommendations of the Ikea salesperson. Had we been aware that we would be charged for this time that we had assumed was covered, we would have assembled all of the cabinets ourselves, but again communication was always an issue. This is not five weeks worth of labor, especially for a professional. Therefore the conclusion that one has to draw is either gross incompetence, or active duplicity. The point however, should be moot, seeing how the labor was included in the original contract. It was later revealed to us from one of the other workers that the foreman on our project was let go for “milking” Richard on billable time. It seems we were the ones getting “milked.” This mismanagement is characteristic of the entire process. In the meeting at our home in which Richard intended to pick up the last payment, we asked for clarity on accounting discrepancies to which Richard asked “how much would you feel comfortable paying?” This struck us as an imprecise and slightly sketchy way of responding to our inquiries. For some reason, he brought his girlfriend to this meeting, we suppose to show off his handiwork (which, again, does look **** good). Finally, there was the unwanted discussion of race, gender, and ethnicity. Not only on multiple occasions did Richard disparage groups of people, frequently reference immigrant groups as either not working as hard or as well as their American counterparts (which was the exact opposite of our experience), but also frequently told jokes and did excruciating impressions of people of color. Additionally, he would regale us with long stories of escapades in strip clubs that he was building while we were waiting for subcontractors, who showed up eight hours late. We’re not prudes, but it is 2019. These are just a few examples of unprofessional behavior when we did actually communicate. While the end product is beautiful with some imperfections, we couldn’t recommend working with Richard in the future. The lack of communication, questionable accounting practices, and glacial pace are all indicative of a poor experience that leaves the customer wondering if they were taken advantage of.

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Our basement is now a beautiful, warm and inviting space to hangout thanks to Richard King and his crew. Richard's vision and detail to design is exceptional. He listens to your wants and needs and delivers. The crew was professional, respectful and worked tirelessly. There was a slight delay do to a man power issue but overall we are completely satisfied with the results.

The job went very well with very few problems. We are very pleased with the result.

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We were extremely happy with the planning phase of our projects as well as when the team got started. They were very professional and very friendly. We had prompt response from the company owner anytime we had questions or concerns.The work performed in our home was beautiful. Wonderful craftsmanship from the tile work in the bathrooms to the carpentry in the closet custom made. We would be happy to have them perform any future work if needed They are very trustworthy and stand behind their work. Which was very huge for us as we have had very bad experiences in the past with contractors! Another wonderful thing was that there were very few adjustments made to the original estimate for work. We ended up payign extra for a few things we opted to upgrade. This company will also try to work with your budget when at all possible.

Everything was wonderful. No details were overlooked. This company is wonderful.