Castle Building & Remodeling

The designer was very friendly and on time. She came to our house to see the bathroom, take measurements, and listen to what we wanted to do with the room. After some time, she contacted me to set up an appt to see the proposed design. We met at a Castle office, and she reviewed the design and costs with me. The design she proposed had little to do with what I requested (she forgot that I said that I really wanted a sink cabinet, and that I preferred a bath, but would be ok with just a shower), was overpriced and not impressive or interesting. The ideas didn't seem to be very original, and the design software that produced a portrayal of the design looked terrible. I was not able to get a sense of how the design would look or work, and was not satisfied with it. The estimated cost of remodeling an approx 5'x9' bathroom using the basic versions of everything (wall covering, tiling, etc.) was $22,000.

It went well. I was satisfied with the job.

She came out to our home and measured the bathroom. A few weeks later we drove to the showroom to see the results. We were really impress with the results.

It was a very interesting experience and I got a lot of very good ideas. The consultant was enthusiastic and pleasant to work with. The next step would be spending more money for a detailed design and I am not ready for that yet.

Basically we feel completely ripped off and discouraged as we fully believe we wasted $500. This is basically a tale of two different persons at this company; the Sales Manager and the Lead Designer. Troy (Sales) was very professional, communicative and made the first meeting very pleasurable. Sadly that is where the good stops... The lead designer, with the exception of the kitchen, only drew renderings of our ideas and offered very few of her own (see other reviews here). She fully ignored 1/3 of the main floor in her concepts. A line item within the statement of work that both parties signed included 2 hours for exterior design. What we received was a picture of our house with a new paint color and said "you could do some stucco" . Frankly for 2 hours of Lead Designer time we expected more than a change of paint color... At the presentation of the designs she was so rude that my wife almost walked out on the meeting. When we asked for the estimate to be broken down into phases instead of one large project she actually said to us "that would mean I have to do an estimate for each room, that's a lot of work and I'm not going to do that". If you search the other review's here you'll see some of the same comments and we truly wish we had been Angie's List subscribers before engaging this company. In the end I purchased software for $60 and achieved the same results (and used these drawings to have the other contractors bid on our project). We will not recommend this contractor based on our experience. Update (June 2013) -- After several emails to the Sales Manager and one of the owners Castle gave us a $150 refund. While we appreciate their effort (at our instigation) as it offset the costs the experience was still not one we look back on fondly.

We met with the designer at their office to go over the plans. We asked for one change in the plan and the designer said she would get back to us. She never did. Therefore, we felt that we could not continue with this company. Also, we thought the estimate may have been high.

Excellent. On time and very professional.

They were very nice, however, after getting a bid to remodel two bathrooms and our basement - adding a bathroom, bedroom, storage, family room - their bid came in more than twice that of any other contractor we have spoken with. There was nothing that stood out about the bid that would have explained the price. I gave them a chance to re-bid and also asked for a bid for just our shower, for which we had purchased the Big Deal, and never heard back.

We paid $55 for someone to come to our home and measure to give an estimate for flooring installation. I have now learned that this is a free service with all other flooring companies. I very much wanted to support this small local business yet the products are too pricey and they charge for in-home estimates which should be free. I will take my business else where as I have found the same product for much cheaper on Angie's List with a different company.

The Castle representatives we worked with were helpful and knowledgeable. The work was scheduled promptly and completed on schedule. We were very pleased with the appearance and quality of the new vanity and toilet.

This was the best connection I have had with remodeling in our home since we purchased it 35 yrs ago. the designer listened to us and assisted in getting exactly what we wanted. She helped adjust the plans to fit our budget. The construction management and all the subs were extremely responsive to our questions and requests. the house was always cleaned every day when the workers left. this was a huge surprise. I would strongly recommend this company for any remodeling project.

Natural Built Home, Inc. were very helpful in helping me choose a material for my kitchen floor. They answered all my questions about marmoleum and the best way to install it in my home. I did my own removal of the existing vinyl tile and base molding. Unfortunately, this left a really sticky floor from the residue adhesive. Even though this added an additional task (putting down a neutral powder) and additional time for the installer, he was very gracious. The installer did a good job, cleaned up the site and was very professional. I like the marmoleum product and would have it installed again by this company.

We were pleased with the quality of the workmanship. The workers were extremely neat and tried hard to keep the ceramic tile dust out of the rest of the house. They were polite, courteous and very competent at the installation of the new plumbing and tile.The completed shower looks great. We were pleased that they were quick to respond to problems -- the shower door not closing and the exhaust fan wired to the wrong switch. Those things were corrected quickly. The front end of our experience, however, was frustrating. We had a deadline for completion so we were hoping that they would move the project along quickly. But at our first meeting, the project coordinator had not passed along our measurements, so the first meeting with the designer seemed to be wasted and we had to return on a subsequent Saturday. We had hoped to add to the shower project the replacement of the vanity and sink. It took many weeks for that to be priced, and when it was, the price was so expensive that we had to drop it from the work to be performed. They did not offer any lower-priced alternatives. Of course, all this delay at the front end meant that they did not get the job done by our deadline. We also had a misunderstanding of how the pricing would work for the Angie's List Deal. The deal was $2,499 for a full shower replacement, but that deal was priced using specific tiles. We wanted to use tile consistent with the rest of the bathroom. I was surprised when we were charged for the full price of the tiles we used with no adjustment for not using the tiles that the deal was based upon. So, financially, I am not sure that we got a good deal. But, we did get a shower that looks great with great workmanship.

She was very nice, but did not get my design concept. Her ideas were basic with no real "design".

Over, the experience was good. They were profession and prompt in all instances. Ultimately we didn't go forward with the remodel because of a change of plans on our end.

Planning went well though it took a long time - but there was no hurry. Start date was delayed because the wrong shower was delivered. No one showed up on proposed start date - following inquiry, we were told they would start the next day, and they did. There were several breaks in the schedule due to incorrect items being ordered or supplied - shower door, grab bars. All workers were polite and pleasant, but there were many instances of missed communication between the contractor and sub-contractors, and their own staff. Small things like how to find the parking area - information was not passed from the office to workers or subs. And larger things like misplacement of shower grab bars, because no one paid attention to where the factory-installed backers were. The door did not close properly, and was finally trimmed and fixed several months after the project was finished. Delays caused mainly by communication issues between the contractor and suppliers meant the project was not completed in the promised six weeks, but a disagreement about the meaning of "substantial completion" meant no refund, only a gift certificate for future work. The final project is definitely satisfactory, but too many issues with communication and coordination mean we are reluctant to use this contractor again.

Overall experience was good. The designer was very friendly and helpful. The estimate was quite a bit above what we were thinking of doing for the master bath so we are now deciding what direction we want to go.

I questioned the order that they did things. For example, they painted the upstairs, then sanded the wood paneling on the lower part of the walls, which were also scheduled to be painted. Needless to say, the paint job was ruined when the sawdust stuck to the fresh paint. They put one coat of white paint over previously dark green baseboards and a new cap piece in a stairwell, but didn't fill the space between the cap and the board. Along with the gap, there were visible green streaks. When I pointed it out, I was told it was just a shadow. So yes, I puttied/painted them myself the night before carpet installation -- AND paid them to do it. My biggest complaints involve details. They failed to stain the ends of the new trim boards they installed. There are still some that are not stained. They were supposed to poly the beams and wood trim in the kitchen, but missed a lot. Again, it's still not finished. They used a thinner board to replace a damaged section of baseboard so the subfloor is now visible in front of the replaced piece. They were supposed to fix a trim board over a doorway, but just slapped a little stain on it and called it good. The gash caused by the tornado is still clearly visible. They also failed to complete items that were included on our punch list. It also appeared that they were overbooked. There were weeks when we would see only one worker for part of a day. Twice the guy who did show up told me it was his first day. We were clearly not Castle's priority, especially after we'd paid for most of the work. What really motivated me to write this review was the reviewer on 1/6/12 who complained about the fee for the kitchen remodeling design. We had a similar experience. The day we signed our contract, we also picked out new kitchen cabinets. We chose the style and the color. The footprint was to be identical to the already existing cabinets. They didn't design anything. We were asked to pay a $350 kitchen design fee that day, which we were told would be subtracted from the contracted amount. It wasn't. They charged and credited us for our payment, but then billed us the full contracted amount. And then imagine my surprise when I saw that they are now offering 25% off kitchen designs, which are regularly priced at $250. So not only did they fail to subtract the payment from their contracted price, they also charged us more than their advertised rate.

They were prompt, very detailed in the estimate.

Castle Building & Remodeling's staff has helped me out a number of time with finished carpentry work. They have always been on time, professional and fair priced. I have also recommended Castle to other client/friends and they have always made everyone happy.

All services were provided promptly and professionally. 'The scope of services were priced high. The bathroom would have been absolutely beautiful with the suggested products but more than we need for a basement bathroom that is not used regularly. We provided a budget and the bid was out of our price range. Castle suggested options to break pricing down over a 2 year period but we decided that the scope of work was over the top.

Excellent skills with the computer rendering program. Great to see the design in multiple views with 3-D type rendering. Not very imaginative with the design but responsive to suggestions for changes to the original design. We have not started on the actual remodeling. Price for them to do the work seemed high

Full disclosure: I was displeased even before the designer came to my house because very shortly after I purchased the Angie's List deal, the company (Castle) offered a Groupon for the same service for less than I paid, so that colored my whole experience. The designer was very professional but clearly had style preferences that differed from mine. She did have some good ideas. The first meeting we arranged at her office to go over the finished plan did not work out; I went to the office at the time we had arranged by email, but no one was there. I think the work she did was worth what I paid, but I'm glad I didn't pay the normal price.

Very well -- we were satisfied and felt we received a good value for our money.

We were very happy with this project! TJ did excellent detail work tiling the bathtub surround, then went above and beyond to get the niche exactly as we wanted. He worked with our custom accent tile and also went out of his way to match some grout on the floor where the wall meets floor tile. Everyone I worked with at Castle Building, from the receptionist to TJ, who actually did the work, was professional and courteous. The work site was cleaned up well, and also set up well to protect hardwood floors from the front door to the bathroom. I highly recommend Castle Building and Remodeling.