New Look Kitchen, Bath, & Design

The service was excellent

Done very well. Owner kept me informed about his worker, when he was running later Curtis contracted me with an eta. Before his very friendly and professional worker left, Curtis reviewed his work and asked me if I had any problems or questions. Work was done well and I appreciate how fast everything was done.

You may have heard people going the extra mile, but Curtis goes the extra marathon for his customers! His quote came in considerably lower than other providers for the same work, and in the end, when I wanted to change this, add this, subtract that, he was fine and very willing to do whatever I needed. Never did I get any push back from him or feel coerced to do anything I didn't feel comfortable. He has extensive experience and whatever he cannot do, he is upfront about it and knows people who can get the job done. What I do like too is that he is flexible enough for you to provide the materials for the job, and he can quote you just the labor, or you can buy some of the materials, and he'll do the rest. Curtis' level of communication was excellent as well; one night I recall having a phone call with him around 9 or 10 pm, and the next morning, he had a quote for me at around 5 am. Curtis lives and breathes his job (he once scheduled his personal family time around his work so he could finish my job ahead of schedule). The workmanship and quality are excellent, and importantly, he is licensed, bonded and insured. Long story short, no matter what, always ask for a quote from New Look Kitchen Bath and Design for your next project and you'll see how competitive their prices are and the quality of work they have to offer. He is so willing to help in any way he can and is full of great ideas. He is patient and very focused; he got my job done in a matter of several days (he works Saturdays), whereas it would have taken others a full week! All in all, very pleased and I look forward to working with him or referring him to my friends.

unknown

unknown

They didn't give me what I asked for and they also wasted my time.

My initial review was an A prior to any work being done. To be fair, I did not remove my initial review. This review is based on behaviors encountered while the work was being performed. The work was nice and I got a custom bathroom at the end. Curtis is a salesman. I was extremely disappointed with Curtis? and his workers? behaviors most time. Curtis was usually nice and may have a good heart, but I felt he tried to take advantage of me because he didn?t see a man at my home every day. For this review, I?m only focusing on the issues I encountered because the bad far outweighed the good. I actually contacted the Maryland Home Improvement Commission on several occasions for advice and to report his less than professional behavior. I would not hire him again. I talked to him repeatedly about his conduct in my home. He plays the victim and tried to downplay my complaints as me being petty. He brought questionable characters into my home, two were inexperienced and did more harm than good. He clearly exaggerated his workers? abilities. He had to spend more time fixing what they messed up. He constantly reminded me that he had discounted his price almost trying to make me feel as if I ?owed? him more. I paid him almost 9700.00 for labor and a few materials. I bought my own tile, fixtures, sinks and other materials. He convinced me to purchase Diamond Fusion which is supposed to be spot-free shower glass. This was a piece of crap that cost 250.00. Curtis spent 26 total days renovating my bathroom. He was supposed to be done in 3 weeks. He even worked on weekends, Christmas Eve and New Year?s Eve and still didn?t finish on time. He had some poor workers, with the exception of Luis, George and Mike. The rest of them were a liability. Curtis constantly tried to coerce me into buying lunch, expensive Fuji and Propel water for him and his guys, and he kept telling me about giving him a tip, bonus, Cowboys tickets, etc. He even asked me for an advance twice. I paid him according to our contract. He even tried to guilt me into paying him before he was finished the job telling me that he only had four things left. I didn?t care if he had one thing. He got paid when the job was completed to my satisfaction. I found this to be rather tacky. I had to speak with him about his attitude several times. I asked him questions about my project in my home and he seemed to have an attitude. I had to constantly remind him that he worked for me. He pushed me to my breaking point twice causing me to exhibit behavior that was truly not me, but I refuse to let any person come into my home and try to bully me. It was not going to happen. His team was specifically told they were limited to access my master bedroom to get to my master bathroom and my half-bath which they peed all over my toilet, floor and wall. Instead, they used my kitchen sink, around my dishes and where I prepare food, to fill up dirty buckets. I found a huge piece of hardened versa bond in my sink which could have damaged my garbage disposal. Versa bond was all over my cement and dumped onto my gutter down spout and splash guard. Without permission, they used my in-house bucket and broom. He also used my trash services and dirtied my garbage cans without permission. In our contract, it stated he would dispose of garbage. He also broke my transition strip and didn?t tell me. He lied and convinced me that the one he used for the shower surround matched better and was nicer. Later I found out he broke it and didn?t think he needed to tell me this. I did go off. He warranted it. I had to constantly tell him to protect my hardwood floors which they scratched. I found this after he vacated my home. He did not protect all of my bedroom carpets. I caught him and his workers walking on my white carpet. He placed things on my furniture. His worker also was eating in my bedroom. I had to speak with him about this as well. He came late some mornings. He left early some days. In fact, he left my home one day around 12 noon and didn?t come back up until 6:30pm and expected to work in my house past 10pm. I put him out at 9pm. The agreement was he would work late to get the shower up and running and this had been done. But when he decided to leave my work to go on another job site and expected to keep me up late to play catch up, this was unacceptable. The paint job was so subpar that he had to repaint the bathroom 3 times. He hyped up his painter as the best in the business. My 2-year old nephew could have done better. He cut the granite window sills too short around the edges and refused to replace them. He cut the granite counter top too short leaving very little overhang. He messed up some pieces of tile. He had the audacity to ask me not to make a big deal of small things. Some of his work was sloppy, but I made it clear he would not get another dime if everything was not up to my standards. I had contacted my attorney as well as the Investigator at the MHIC. Finally, Curtis got his best worker, Luis, to finish the job. I had to actually have my male friend come in to make sure Curtis got out of my house. I was warned that this man was slow. He was indeed, but he also tried to get over. He certainly didn?t know what type of customer I was. Maybe he?ll work out better for the next person.

After we played phone tag and text tag for about a week we settled on an appointment. On January 22, 2015, I made an appointment with Mr. Curtis Franics for today Saturday January 31, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. Mr. Curtis Francis did not show up for the appointment. He did not call or text to let me know he was not going to be able to make it. I was very disappointed with the no show and no call. My time is very valuable and I don't like for people to waste my time.

They quoted us for less than $10,000. It was like about $9900. They were very professional. He came in and walked us through every single thing that needed to be done and what was wrong and what it would take to correct it and we agreed that we would buy the materials but he would supply all the rough materials and he's going to supply the granite for the vanity and the seamless shower door and the paint and the labor. He has been in constant contact with us. About every three days, we get a text message or just any contact to find out where we are, do we have all of our materials. He actually met us with us last Tuesday to help us place the order and to make sure that we had the right grout, helped us with the design and the color and everything like that. He has been pretty much kind of hand-holding us which I can appreciate because it has been a scary process and we've had some bad experiences in the past. He's pretty much holding our hands and kinda built in that trust and that relationship so that we can feel comfortable with him so he really just went the extra mile. When we sat down to interview Mr. Francis, he was very cooperative. He had no problems answering our questions unlike some of the other contractors that came out.

The responsiveness is very poor...They use a call service to receive messages...these people ill trained and very good lairs.

Excellent. They we're prompt, courteous, conscientious and neat. They aim to please and to provide good service. They went beyond my expectations.

I had some problems, but the provider resolved them.

The company rep talked to me on the phone and explained a few things during the initial contact by phone. We set up an appointment at our house. He never showed up even though I was waiting way longer than the window of time he gave me. I will never call them again.

Everything came out great. They were reputable company and make sure that everything was done that day. He had to come back out and finish one item. I guess, it is time when over. But other than that, they were professional and everything went well.

unknown

It ended up being more than i could do project wise because i have kids in college, so i didn't know that it would be quite too expensive, but the responses were good, the new look was good. I just didn't have like af ollow up. I felt like he was listening to me so i would definitely chose them, the response was great. he understood what i was looking for compared to other people i contacted.

What I liked about the project - happy that I have a 1978 home with an upgraded kitchen and two bathrooms. I like the kitchen cabinets and Love the golden sparkle granite countertops. I like the ceramic tile that I picked out for the kitchen and both bathrooms. I like how I learned so much about remodeling and the business aspect of it. I'm grateful for the experience. What I didn't like about the project - starting with the contract. Now, that I have a little experience and know the importance of getting a detailed contract that states how much materials cost, how much labor cost, how much overhead and profit. I did not get this from New Look. The contract was one set amount. No detail. I didn't know the importance, and how much a contract like this can leave the door open for what is covered and what is not covered. The time it took - I was originally quoted 3 weeks and possibly less time due to me not being moved into the house yet. It took 5 weeks. I did not like how much I had to clean up afterwards, removing glue, caulking, grout and saw dust from everywhere. I did not like discussing that I had a budget of $18,000, getting a first quote of $17,891, going to sign the contract and advised that the shower door and extra for the kitchen cabinets was not included, bringing the total to $18,931.00. The total now is up to $20,473.00 (excluding out of pocket plumber cost) due to all the things that were not included in the contract. I take full responsibility for the vague contract. Again, I did not know the importance of the detail. Things such as knobs, granite countertop backsplash, the paint & supplies, the guest bathroom tub were extra. The contract included the painting of the kitchen, and two bathrooms, however it said owner will provide paint. I did not like that I was not only asked to provide paint, but also primer, paint rollers and frogger tape, then I was asked to go to Lowes and get more, because they ran out and more paint was needed for touch up. I did not like what I found after the project was complete - damaged tiles, missing grout (I recently had the appliances replaced in the kitchen, once the old appliances were removed, I noticed missing grout from the walls and damaged tiles). I did not like having to contact New Look to come back multiple times for repairs on the work they performed. With the new kitchen sink, new plumbing was installed underneath. I did not like having to contact New Look about 5 leaks with the pipes. After the 4th leak, I asked if a professional plumber could be contacted to come out and the response was "No." On the 6th leak, I decided to contact a professional plumber and pay out of pocket. All the pipes had to be replaced, which cost me $458. I had all the other plumbing checked due to my concerns on the quality of work. So far, all is good. Since I had the plumbing underneath the sink replaced in January, no leaks have occurred. I do not like walking into the guest bathroom and hearing the floor creak by the tub. This was pointed out to New Look back in November and I was told everything is fine, however when you pick up the vent in the bathroom, you can see the sub flooring (the white concrete stuff) chipping. When I stand in the tub, you hear crackling, not to mention the stopper doesn't work in the tub, but no big deal on that, I will replace myself. New Look does offer a 1 year warranty on their work. I do have concerns about their qualify of work and will not be using this company again for future home remodeling.

I was very pleased with the finished product but I had to reschedule my appointment twice before the work was completed. As a result, I lost valuable time and money because they didn't call in advance to confirm my appointments. The only reason I decided to have them perform the work was because they agreed to give me a discount. I provided the contractor this feedback.

I first encountered this provider through a Big Deal. I had bought a big deal and called Curtis to come out and see the project. The kitchen remodel we wanted to have done was quite extensive and the big deal wasn't appropriate so we returned the big deal and got quotes from several different providers. New Look was not the cheapest of all the contractors we got quotes from but they came into it with extensive experience which was also important to us since many things can go wrong in a kitchen remodel. Just the same, you can see from the price above that we got a good price for the remodel. Curtis was extremely communicative. He came out quickly each time we called to either give us quotes or take measurements. His team was able to start the job less than 2 weeks after our signing of the contract and the WHOLE JOB took just 2 weeks. They worked weekends and into the evening to get the job done. While different people came to work on the job Curtis came by himself most days and often spent the whole day here. Since we were at work during most of the job, he would call or text me every day to ask questions (how high to hang the lamp, knobs in the center or off to the right etc.) or report out on progress. As Curtis said himself many times, he believes in regular communication which was great for us since that way we had no surprises after the job as done. Another bonus was the dishwasher. We had been under the impression that installing a new dishwasher would require us to get a circuit breaker installed instead of our old fuse box. This would require a few extra thousand dollars for the repair job. Curtis had an electrician come out who suggested we get a low wattage dishwasher which could pull off of an existing fuse. This was a great solution that allowed us to get what we wanted without the extra repair work. We were not the easiest clients as we often pointed out a little thing here or there that we wanted tweaked or redone and Curtis and crew never even so much as sighed at the extra request. The job is beautiful and I spend many evenings sitting back with a glass of wine and appreciating the beautiful new kitchen.

unknown

Excellent experience with New Look Kitchen, Bath and Design (NLKBD). We had decided that we wanted to update both our Master Bathroom and Guest Bathroom, so we started the process with calling contractors to provide estimates. We ran into NLKBD at a home improvement expo in Waldorf, MD and were interested in their work. We had 3 contractors come out to our house in Calvert County. This is where we met Curtis Francis from NLKBD. Curtis was very knowledgable and provided many design suggestions to us, including some things which we had not thought of which, in fact, saved us money and were great ideas. What I noticed about Curtis immediately was his professionalism and knowledge of building codes which impressed us. Also, he is a licensed contractor. For those who do not know, a lot of responsibility comes with having a professional license. It would only take a few acts of negligence to have a licensee reported to their respective State Board by a Client, which could ultimately jeopardize their business. Obviously, NLKBD did not have this situation, and all they could do was continue to impress us. Curtis Francis submitted to us his proposal which outlined the scope of work, materials to be used (including brands/model #'s, etc.), fees, and estimated time for completion. Although we did have another proposal which had a lower overall price, we found that NLKBD had a more detailed proposal and warranty. Again, we were not surprised that Curtis' proposal was outlined as professionally as his estimate visit to our house. As such, we decided to select NLKBD to perform our project. Permits were obtained by Curtis from Calvert County, MD (plumbing, electrical, and building), and work immediately commenced on the date specified in our executed contract. Four significant points which we would want to draw attention to with NLKBD. (1) Communication - At no time were we "out of the loop". Curtis and his team made extra efforts to keep us informed throughout every step of the project. Curtis consistently contacted us via phone, e-mail, or in person. This made us feel at ease. (2) Respect - Curtis and his team treated our home and family with the utmost respect throughout the entire process. Their work was cleaned up at the end of each day. They worked around our busy schedule. Finally, when you are having two bathrooms completely gutted and renovated - typically this can be a large disruption to the house. Curtis and his team tried to make our family as comfortable throughout the process, which we are thankful. (3) Quality of Worksmanship - Unbelievable. Period. We could not be any more impressed with NLKBD's work. Funny to mention, that there were times where I actually saw Curtis redo an item because he was not totally pleased with the product and/or work. He is meticulous in his quality, and it shows in kind with the rest of his team. Believe us folks, in my line of work, I deal with numerous contractors, and many of them would not do this. This is a testament to Curtis and his team and their belief in giving their Clients great service. Also, the quality of their materials were all major name brands in the industry. (4) Execution of the Contract - KLKBD executed their responsibilities as outlined in the contract which included scope of work and materials being used. Curtis actually did perform a few extra services at no cost to us, because he believed that it made for a better overall product. Of course, he did get our permission to do these extra tasks, and we were very thankful. Final price was in-line with the contract and there were no hidden fees or change orders. Master Bathroom - Entire room was demolished. NLKBD installed a tiled shower with glass enclosure, waterproof shower light, an oversized soaking tub with tiled surround to match, new tile floor, new double vanities with granite, new toilet, new light fixtures, a new pocket door, paint, and a few other bells and whistles. The transformation was amazing and the work is absolute quality. We wanted to point out that the tile work was outstanding. On member of the NLKBD, Derrick, has truly incredible tile laying skills and speed. Derrick apparently has a long history and experience in performing custom tile work, and it showed. We were very impressed with Derrick's work. Guest Bathroom - Entire room was demolished. NLKBD installed a new tub/shower with tiled surround, tile floor, vanity with granite, recessed medicine cabinet, toilet, and again....a few other bells and whistles. Our family would highly recommend Curtis and his team to anyone for any home improvement project. They are Professionals. I believe a lot of their work is repeat clients and through recommendations, as they do not advertise much. This is key in any successful business. It was a pleasure working with NLKBD. Who knows...we may have a few other projects to come where NLKBD could assist us again.

Wow! I absolutely LOVE my new bathroom. Everyday I just stand in my bathroom and look around at the much awaited, much loved transformation. Curtis and his team were exceptionally friendly, professional and respectful of our home. They even played with our dogs during their break and before/after their day began and ended. We initially found Curtis and his company at the Home and Garden Show early last year in Waldorf, MD. As we were walking through the exhibition, we'd been basically tackled at each booth by exhibitors displaying their wares. Curtis' representative Charles did not accost us; instead, he let us come to him, look around, ask questions, and provide us with brochures and business card. We called Curtis within the week and began the process of getting an estimate for our project. Curtis came to our home and took some measurements, asked a lot of questions on what we wanted and didn't want, and suggested some ideas of his own. Within a couple of weeks (or less), he and Charles were back with their professionally designed proposal. Before I forget to mention this, Curtis was the 3rd proposal we'd gotten for this project. The other two proposals came from a designer working for a full-service provider and a designer who would serve as project manager working with contractors of her choosing. While all 3 proposals were closely matched and price difference was minimal in our opinion (Curtis was the lesser cost of the 3), we ultimately chose New Look Kitchen Bath and Design because of Curtis' knowledge of the 'behind the scenes' work. All three proposals made the end product look outstanding but Curtis also discussed HOW he'd get it done...that's what impressed us. His overall knowledge of construction won our signatures on his proposal. Within about a month of signing the contract, work began on the remodel and Curtis kept in constant contact during the day to let me know of his status and plans. He and his workers had complete access to our home while we continued to work during the day. Whenever issues were encountered (when are they not during a remodel of this magnitude?), Curtis promptly let me know. The same with delays due to product shipping delays, illness, etc. He even called me when my dogs escaped the back yard and disappeared; he and his crew stopped work to find them and bring them home. They were respectful of our home by putting plastic sheeting down on the floors to protect the areas they traversed; they hung plastic sheeting and used industrial air cleaners to keep dust contained in the bathroom as best as possible. Money was provided typical of any project like this. The largest chunk was provided when we signed the contract so he could order the initial supplies and products necessary and the final payments were made as installments throughout the process. I would be remiss if I didn't mention 'issues' we encountered and how they were handled. The project was initially estimated to take 5 weeks for the majority of the work and a few weeks after that for the final piece which would have been the steam unit (I hope I'm remembering that correctly). The project did take longer than 5 weeks before we could use the bathroom again. This was not a problem for us since we had another usable full bathroom down the hall. Why did this project run longer than expected?: 1) Curtis is METICULOUS. That's a good thing! If he didn't like something, he'd re-do it. If he wouldn't put it in his own home, he's not going to put it in mine. 2) I changed my mind on a few things after they were done (didn't like the slate tile top on the shower bench seat so changed to granite). Whenever I changed my mind, Curtis would say "No problem, we can do that"...and did it...always with a smile. 3) We added stuff to the project (like the kitchen pod and pendant lights). 4) Steam generator kept tripping breaker. Curtis tried a couple things to fix the issue and, after contacting Kohler, a new unit was ordered which took awhile to get. Once installed, that, too, kept tripping breaker. In the end, larger wiring was required vs instructed. (The shower was usable for several weeks while the steam generator issue resolved.) There were a few very minor mishaps along the way I won't include here because I definitely don't want to sway somebody away from Curtis and his company. Suffice it to say, when these very minor mishaps occurred, Curtis apologized (not necessary by the way) and he took immediate action to ensure it didn't happen again...it didn't. As I said before, I completely LOVE my new bathroom and closet. It turned out so very much better than I ever thought possible. The whole process, from initial contact through completion, was smooth sailing and I enjoyed very much talking to and collaborating with Curtis throughout this project (and also giving him grief for being a Dallas Cowboys fan!). There were no unwanted surprises; the surprises we did get were when we'd get home after a long day we'd race to the bathroom to see what they'd gotten done during the day. Curtis and his entire team were a pleasure to work with. We have a couple more projects upcoming in the next couple years and I'll definitely be contacting Curtis again. I think that's probably the most poignant endorsement for a company...would I use them again. In this case... a resounding YES. I FULLY endorse and recommend those looking for a contractor for a bathroom remodel, or remodel of any kind, to give Curtis a call and decide for yourself. You won't be disappointed and, in the end, you'll be happy you chose him as your contractor. I promise!