Act-Architectural Construction Technologies

Chris met with us several times, at length, to discuss what we want, make thorough measurements, and propose options. He produced several sets of drawings in response to our requests and gave us relevant alternatives for certain aspects of the renovation. He was always timely, produced the product when promised, and showed a lot of energy, enthusiasm, and imagination for the work. His own suggestions were very valuable, showing his own creative thinking as well as his sensitivity to our wishes. He helped us prepare to present these drawings to our local town planner to obtain the initial approval, so that we can now proceed with the detailed contractor drawings. We were also very pleased with his proposed fee structure. Unlike other architects who insist on fees based on a percentage of total project costs, Chris has been very flexible and proposed reasonable fee alternatives. Overall, our experience has been excellent.

It was excellent. It cost me several hundred thousand.

My architect strongly recommended ACT because his plans included several exacting architectural details in a large front porch addition, a newly opened center hall stairway, a dining room tray ceiling, and structural support to replace the wall that had separated the kitchen and dining room. I'm very glad I listened to my architect. Over the past 13 years, Chris and Nicoleta have earned my trust and gratitude by performing as promised and with integrity. In the rare occasion when a mistake was made during a project, Chris and Nicoleta promptly corrected the issue at no extra expense to me. Their problem solving ability was critical to the success of my kitchen. When a vent blocked the opening between my kitchen and dining room, they arranged to reroute it through a soffit, preserving the integrity of the renovation. ACT also scores at the very top of my list in overall value. Quality renovations do not come at a bargain basement price. However, Chris and Nicoleta offered outstanding overall value by providing lasting workmanship and offering advice that saved me thousand of dollars. For instance, when a severe storm ripped up part of my roof (not installed by ACT) and caused flooding in my house, the insurance company's contractor proposed a very expensive and inadequate patch that would not have repaired the core problem. Chris intervened with the insurance company and property performed the roof repair at a lower cost - my house remains dry and tight eight years later. When a shower leaked, the available plumber wanted to rip out the shower pan at a cost of nearly $5000. Chris diagnosed the true cause of the problem as re-grouting the shower tile and did so gratis. Again, ACT solved the problem and saved me a substantial amount of money. Chris also and Nicoleta installed a beautiful skylight in 2008. I was hesitant, but trusted their judgment. The skylight is a centerpiece of my home and exemplifies ACT's practice of recommending improvements that really improve rather than simply trying to maximize profits. Chris and Nicoleta are diligent, innovative, and honest. I cannot recommend them more highly.

I have hired Chris Papadopoulos to build our deck and paint complete both interior and exterior of our house. Chris came up with a great design for our deck and the result upon construction it was outstanding. Chris’s crews have been a pleasure to deal with – very polite and very professional. Chris and his foreman did a great job on scheduling and supervising the progress of work and keeping us in the loop with everything that was planned each day. Both carpenters and painters were very thoughtful and had a lot of consideration towards our belongings while doing the work. They used drop cloths for the floors; they protected furniture and wore booties. The house was cleaned with their own vacuum at the end of each day until work was completed. We are very happy with the quality of work and will definitely hire Chris in the future or recommend him to other people.

I have hired Chris Papadopoulos to build our deck and paint complete both interior and exterior of our house. Chris came up with a great design for our deck and the result upon construction it was outstanding. Chris’s crews have been a pleasure to deal with – very polite and very professional. Chris and his foreman did a great job on scheduling and supervising the progress of work and keeping us in the loop with everything that was planned each day. Both carpenters and painters were very thoughtful and had a lot of consideration towards our belongings while doing the work. They used drop cloths for the floors; they protected furniture and wore booties. The house was cleaned with their own vacuum at the end of each day until work was completed. We are very happy with the quality of work and will definitely hire Chris in the future or recommend him to other people.

I have hired Chris Papadopoulos to build our deck and paint complete both interior and exterior of our house. Chris came up with a great design for our deck and the result upon construction it was outstanding. Chris’s crews have been a pleasure to deal with – very polite and very professional. Chris and his foreman did a great job on scheduling and supervising the progress of work and keeping us in the loop with everything that was planned each day. Both carpenters and painters were very thoughtful and had a lot of consideration towards our belongings while doing the work. They used drop cloths for the floors; they protected furniture and wore booties. The house was cleaned with their own vacuum at the end of each day until work was completed. We are very happy with the quality of work and will definitely hire Chris in the future or recommend him to other people.

Very happy with everything! Ten years later we are still enjoying the new space and the new features--hard to remember what it was like before the addition. But since we just joined Angie's list, I am catching up on reviews I want to share. Some things that stand out about the process: First, Chris Papadopoulis was so easy to work with, as was his on-site assistant, Richard. Both were hands on and kept in touch about anything we wanted to know. Chris worked very closely with our architect throughout the entire project, and we were confident that any detail we mentioned to anyone on the team, would be conveyed to the others. Very much a time-saving and cost-saving way of working. We were always glad to have professional advice and suggestions from the contractor's side and from the architect's side with the confidence of knowing they worked so well together and we could trust their decisions. Second, we were new at home renovating, and were so appreciative of having advice whenever we needed or wanted it, including one late night when we had no hot water and got immediate help, and many times when we had no idea whether we needed/wanted certain types of counters. We followed these experts' advice and are very happy with the granite in the kitchen and the marble in the bathrooms, in the looks and in the way it still looks BEAUTIFUL ten years later. Third, it was so nice knowing we could safely and confidently delegate decisions where we really knew so little, as in specific brands of windows, or cabinets, or plumbing fixtures. We could use pictures from magazines or describe an idea, and then see it happen in our home! I remember on the granite saying I'd like something kind of pebbly, with grays and blacks and maybe a bit of sparkle...and now I still smile at our granite which is exactly that! Last, but not least, we've been pleased with the quality of the work and happy knowing that we can still ask questions and get advice and help from Chris whenever we need it.

Our family owns several commercial locations and Chris Papadopoulos has been providing us with his services for over ten years. He is a professional with high ethics and the quality of his work that he provides is always outstanding. His team is highly skilled and very well trained on meeting strict scheduling obligations, site organization and great craftsmanship. Chris provides strict supervision and solutions to any construction issues that might come up. His warranty is always honored promptly and his prices are always reasonable.

I had ACT renovate my Washington, DC townhouse and it turned out beautifully. The workmen that were in my home could not have been more respectful and courteous. They cleaned up after each days work making life in a construction site more livable. ACT was competitive in their pricing and the quality of the work is impeccable. I'm an interior design professional so I'm very familiar with the the process of home renovation. I say with confidence that they are a great company, professional throughout the entire process. I would highly recommend them.

We have been extremely happy with the work of ACT. The proof is in the outcome: our home is absolutely stunning, the work ACT performed is of the highest quality, and we will continue to use ACT for any and all renovation projects. We learned about ACT from our architect, who is one of the most-respected modern architects in this region and who has worked with ACT on numerous projects. We knew our architect has exacting standards, and so we went with ACT. We were not disappointed. Starting with the bidding process, Chris was honest, straight-forward and reasonable. Throughout the project, ACT was prompt, reliable, responsive, and creative in solving the various, unforeseen problems that inevitably arise in a project of this size. Any time a problem arose, or we were not satisfied with any aspect of the project, Chris was absolutely responsive to our concerns and always came up with a better and reasonable resolution. After living through a project of this breadth and magnitude, we have come to realize that ACT's flexibility, creativity and reasonableness in response to unforeseen complications is perhaps one of the most important qualities in an excellent contractor. That, of course, along with the high quality and beauty of the work. We think the end result speaks for itself. If we take on another major renovation, we can't imagine hiring anyone else.

My partners and I are very glad that we hired Chris Papadopoulos with ACT to assist us with the remodeling of our new restaurant – Brickside Bethesda. We have worked with Chris before on our business location in Adams Morgan and couldn't have trusted anybody else taking over this challenging project. Apart from the regular construction scope, the project had a lot of design elements that needed a lot of detail orientation and supervision. Chris not only handled that professionally but really stepped up in every possible way to resolve any issues that came up and bringing positive solutions to any challenge. This was a major custom job, but he planned, coordinated and supervised his crew and all of his trades in such timely manner that our deadline was met and we could prepare to our grand opening on time. The quality of his work is impeccable. We are very grateful for Chris’s construction skills and expertise and we highly recommend him.

Chris Papadopoulos helped us promptly with our roof repairs when a tree fell on our house, damaged the roof and one of our dormer windows. The job involved some re-framing, drywall, new roof and new window installation and minor painting. His schedule coordination was great and the job was done very efficiently, supervised every day. He was nice enough to start the job although it took a while for our insurance to come up with the funds. His crew was very courteous and the quality of the work was admirable. We had a small warranty list and Chris took care of it in a very timely manner. Chris is very professional and we will gladly refer him and his company to friends, family and anybody who needs work done at home!

We got several prices but we are really glad that at the end we decided to contract ACT to do the job out of all the bidders. It was all worth it. The quality of their work – everything from the craftsmanship of the moldings and coffer ceiling, the painting, the new floor installation and refinishing, tile installation and electrical work was top notch. They also replaced all of our windows and everything looks amazing. The job was supervised and kept clean every day and the place was locked and secured with all lights shut off at the end of each day. Our bathrooms look amazing thanks to the creative and artistic intervention of Nicoleta Papadopoulos that came up with the best tile design and plumbing fixtures to match our tastes. We enjoy our new place very much and plan to hire Chris again to help us with our kitchen re-do sometimes soon.

Our neighbors had their basement flooded and used ACT. They knew we were interviewing contractors as we were interested renovating our basement that was unfinished. They were very happy with their experience and suggested we should give them a call. After talking to several contractors, Chris Papadopoulos with ACT was the one that won our trust and got the job. His price was very competitive and actually more reasonable than others. We were stressed by the fact we were to live through a renovation with noises, dust and people around the house, but I have to say that Chris’s crew did everything possible to keep us as comfortable as possible under those conditions. Plastic dividers with zippers were used and the basement vents were covered to keep the dust getting in the house; they cleaned the debris and disposed the trash in the dumpster provided every single day. They made sure no nails were left on the ground or outside our property. All trades went well and worked very professional. Their schedule was very consistent and followed pretty much same hours of operation. Either Chris or the project manager supervised the job every day and made sure everything goes well. Nicoleta helped my wife with the design of the bathroom and the selection of both tile and of the plumbing fixtures. She did an amazing job. The job was completed on time and it looks beautiful. We are very happy and will hire again Chris Papadopoulos if we need any help with our house.

Chris Papadopoulos helped us with several service calls. This time we had a major plumbing problem. The concrete floor had to be demolished so plumber can work on replacing pipes. Chris was very prompt and willing to put our repairs on the schedule right away. His supervision helped bringing the completion of this job in a record time. His crew is very professional and detail oriented. The cost of repairs was very fair and the quality of his work was impeccable. We will and did recommended Chris Papadopoulos to anybody that might need work done to their home.

I had the best experience working with Chris and Nicoleta Papadopoulos. They were very professional and helpful in every way. Their team was always on time and took the extra effort to keep the place clean while undergoing a renovation. My son was just a baby and they used special dividers to keep the dust at bay. I would highly recommend them and need to come up with new projects in my house. Price was extremely fair and their craftsmanship was impeccable.

Following are the reasons why we were extremely unhappy with his services. - Behind Schedule: The builder was months behind schedule but refused to tell us when he would finish the job. - Shoddy work:The builder did extremely shoddy work in every stage of the construction job - problems we discovered later when we had to complete the job ourselves - loose bolts in structural walls; missing hot water heater; loose pipes; wrong and incorrectly installed drywall in master bathroom; loose electrical wires covered up with drywall; etc. We have photographic evidence of all this. It was a nightmare to discover poor quality work and it took us 7 additional months to finally finish the construction on our own. During this process we suffered huge financial costs and aggravation to complete and correct for all the builder's mistakes. To save money for some parts of the job they hired very low quality subs - the roofer, plumber and electrician were the worst. The roofer had no idea what they were doing and left large holes in the construction which led to heavy damage to the house due to water leaks. - Fraudulent behavior:The builder and his wife Nicoleta Papadopoulos (who we think managed his finances and billing), did not pay his subcontractors and suppliers so we were served with Liens. We realized much later in the construction that they had not paid their subcontractors. Despite repeated requests they refused to release us of all liens for jobs done and where we had made the payments to them for the work done. Similarly, despite our payments they did not install 2 fireplaces and a tank-less water which should have been installed before drywall. They even replaced metal, hard ducts (specified in the contract) with flexible ducts to save money without our permission or reimbursements. - During the entire construction process, the game played by the builder him and his wife was to rush to finish work that would enable them to ask for the scheduled payment from us and not to bother finishing previous work left from the earlier phase - so not all windows would be installed but they would ask for window and door payment; not all framing would be complete but they would ask for payment for framing, insisting that they would eventually catch up. They even lied to us that they had passed inspection (for plumbing and gas) to get the next scheduled payment from us. Only after terminating the contract did we realize that the builder had failed inspection. After we made 7 scheduled payments ( out of a total of 9) we insisted that they finish all previous unfinished work before moving on to the next phase. As he had not been paying his sub-contractors, he was unable to complete the work and so we had to terminate the contract. - Financial Loss: We paid him far more than the renovation work he did for us so he now owes us money. The remainder of the contract money left was not enough to re-fix previous shoddy work and complete the renovation. Other evidence of shoddy work -We were not the only ones to suffer his shoddy work and huge financial losses due to failure to pay subs and suppliers. We are aware of at least 4 other families that had similar problems with the builder. - Be aware: The builder Chris Papadopoulos and his wife Nicoleta have now opened a new company called Green Solutions for Architects (GSA). But since the same people are managing the company we doubt if they would work any differently.

I hope you never have the misfortune of doing business with them. They were recommended by our architect for a $400K+ job and working with them has been a nightmare. They had complete disregard for us and our house and the workers. There were many delays and many excuses and many corrections of poor building practices. Finally we learned the delays were caused because ACT was not paying their subcontractors and not paying their suppliers. I had to take over as GC in January to get the roof and windows on our house because water had been leaking into the structure. We learned ACT was not paying its suppliers and now the lumberyards are placing liens on our house. The dumpster company is placing a lien on the house. The port-a-let company took away the toilet while the workers were there. Then we learned ACT had not been paying its subcontractors and owed them a lot of money. At least one sub contractor reportedly lost his house because he was not paid by the GC. The only good thing is that we learned this before our house was finished. We learned that other homeowner/victims had moved into their houses only to find out that the work was substandard and subcontractors and suppliers were not paid, so they are faced with having to pay large sums of money to have the liens removed. I recently learned they formed a new company called GSA (Green Solutions Architects) under the name of Nicoleta Papadopoulos. I have no experience with that company but based on the owners you should be very careful and do your homework before you sign anything with them. Be sure to run a credit check and check extensive recent references on any contractor you hire!!!