Essential Renovations Inc

My experience with them was very good! The general contractor did a great job of working with us. He had great ideas, and he had many good subcontractors too. He helped us get done in what we needed to in our house.

This was the second job John has done for us, the first being complete upstairs bathroom remodeling in two baths. As before, the work was excellent. John takes special care of the work areas and adjacent rooms. The work has always been on time and if subcontractors are involved, there is good management of their work. Deviations from the original contract (like the critters and the unexpected damage within the downstairs exterior walls) were fully explained and the necessary work agreed to prior to any work being done. All in all, we would hire John again as his craftsmanship is excellent, and John is honest and straightforward with all his communication and work.

John's estimate and pre-construction work-up was thorough and complete. Work was started and completed per schedule (with flexibility built in for variability of sub-contractor's availability and schedule). John worked with us and did not use a dumpster at all during construction, but rather was able to dispose of materials in various other ways. John and his subcontractors were very courteous to us as we continued to live in the house during remodeling. John was also very responsive to changes and decisions that needed to be made based on unforeseen cicrumstances (such as not knowing where ventilation was behind walls in mud room). Written work-orders were used for each change so that decisions were documented and orderly. And once the remodel was complete, John has continued to stay in touch with us to make sure we are still happy with everything.

I felt very confident with John in charge of our project. He handled every aspect of the project very professionally and was here every day. He handled all of the inevitable remodeling issues that came up quickly and in a satisfying manner. He really listened to our concerns and I felt like he really cared about the remodel. He's a perfectionist himself and wanted all the work done right. He was extremely easy to work with and has years of experience that we benefitted from. The subs he employed were clean, professional and respectful. The whole crew was respectful of our family during all the work and I felt comfortable having them in my home. The job was completed on schedule (2 months) and at the cost John had bid. The overall experience was excellent and I felt that John completely transformed our kitchen. I love it and am so glad we did the remodel every day. We went from a dingy, dated kitchen to an open, modern kitchen I can be proud of. I would absolutely use John's company again on any remodeling job we were contemplating. He was a great contractor to work with and he came through with a wonderful kitcen for us.

We called John Melin for a bid on two projects we wanted to do. We also had a time frame for completing the work because we were having our interior walls repainted and needed this work done first. John came the day we called him for an estimate and got his prices to us very quickly. The estimates for the two projects were very detailed and clear, and John made sure we understood them completely. We had a bid from another contractor, too, and the prices were within a few dollars of each other. But because John had such good design ideas about the shelves we wanted, we decided to have him do the work. We wanted glass shelves that would go between two walls, and we wanted them to look elegant. John got all the materials for the door project, and had everything ready so when the painters came they could stain the doors and some custom-made side boards that John had made for the shelves. He also got the handles and other hardware for the doors, and because there were already doors and trim in that room, John made extra trips to the lumberyard to match the exisiting trim as best as could be and to match the color of the door handles. We were out of town during the majority of the time the work was being done, and John worked with the painters to schedule time to do what he needed to do and fit with their schedule, too. When we came home and saw how nice the shelves looked, we were really impressed. The glass shelves had to fit exactly in the space, and they did. They were much nicer than we had even imagined, and they do truly look elegant. John did a great job of designing them, and the istallation of the shelves and doors were perfect in every way. John was always on time, he was always available to talk to (and responded to emails quickly), his prices were reasonable, he cleaned up the area after working, and his work was exceptional. We also appreciated his designing ability. The over-all result was beyond what we had expected, and John was pleasant and easy to work with. We recommend John whole-heartedly.

After our initial meeting, John followed up with me for clarifications. When we had our second meeting to review the proposal, he brought samples of the materials he uses. After the meeting, he followed up again via email.

Throughout the work from initial planning, choosing granite and fixtures, demolition of the old rooms, construction and cleanup, John was meticulous about details including protection of existing carpets, floors, walls and furniture. He monitored each of the subcontractors carefully, and in one case, had them redo some tile that was not grouted to his liking. There were a myriad of dimensional details that had to be confirmed, and these were confirmed with each of the subcontractors. Every piece of the job was started on schedule, and finished when promised. Dust barriers and stair and carpet protective runners were put in place before work began. Cleanup was accomplished each afternoon. Based on our shaky experience with other contractors, John's work was very much appreciated. It is his selection and knowledge of quality subcontractors, followed by meticulous management of their work that is his formula for success. I could have tried the general contracting myself, but would not have been aware of several construction problem areas that were managed with ease because of his knowledge. We are already having him estimate another remodel job for us.