Next Level Renovation

I used Next Level Builders on several occasions while living at my prior home in the western suburbs. They always did very good work and I always paid promptly. After I moved to my new place (which needed several repairs outside and in) of course I called Nathan. Nathan came out to the house in May, 2014, took pictures of the areas of the home that needed repair/renovation and said he would get back to me with an estimate within a week. I said fine. After 3 weeks, I did not hear from Nathan so I contacted him and asked him if he was still planning on doing the work and if not, please let me know so I could hire someone else. The summer had already begun and these projects had to be completed by mid August. Nathan said he still planned on doing the work and would get back to me. That was on June 19th. I never heard from him again. This set me back over a month. Shame on you Next Level Builders.

The previous porch columns looked fine but had internally rotted and were a hazard since there is an upper level to the porch. Nathan quickly diagnosed the problem and got to work on it. The porch is on a 100 year old house so the columns had to fit the old look and style and size of the house. The designer recommended period style fluted columns, which Nathan was able to find and worked with me on making sure they were the right size. The project was then delayed for quite awhile, apparently due to waiting to receive the columns and availability of the roofing company that worked on the new drainage system. Once underway, everything went quickly and smoothly and the end result is beautiful, really everything I could have hoped for. Chris, the carpenter, is a delight to work with and went out of his way to fix some smaller issues that were not technically part of the project but he could see they needed to be done. I have great confidence in his work and peace of mind that the porch is not only beautiful but sturdy, safe and built to last.

Next Level was a dream to work with on this. We were referred by a friend and met with Nathan. Our initial meetings convinced us that he was the right man for the job. He met with us multiple times at late hours to accomodate our work schedules. During those meetings we reviewed and fine-tuned the plans. Nathan routinely brought ideas and suggestions for us to consider, but was always conscious of our budget and worked to keep us within budget. By the time we were done with the plans, we were starting to get tight on time for the project to be completed, but Nathan worked with his team to make sure the project completed on time. Nathan and his team worked late into the night several times to make sure our project would be completed on time. During the project, Nathan and the entire Next Level team were friendly, professional and approachable. During a remodel, you have the possibility of finding surprises when you start opening things up. Although we found a few surprises, Next Level was great to work with on addressing those surprises. Throughout the project, Next Level was focused on getting a high quality end result on time and on budget.

Overall we are extremely happy with the services provided by Next Level. The contractors were very punctual and did what it took to get the job done on time. Nate is great to work with. His attention to detail and desire to "get it done right" is great. As an example, the existing flooring was some carpet and hardwood. The plan was to buy the same hardwood flooring and simply tie it into the existing. While installing the new hardwood, they noticed that there was a large bow in the existing flooring. To continue as it was would have meant a very unattractive solution would have to be implemented. Instead Nate decided to remove the existing flooring and put in install all new flooring (at his expense). This proved to me that he is/was willing to make each of his customers happy with the what ever services he is providing. The new custom island and entertainment center turned out just as we had hoped. We were looking for the dark "pottery barn" mocha color for the cabinetry. His team was able to give us exactly what we needed in terms of functionality and the look was spot on with our vision. Great Job!! My only word of advice would be to be willing to bring an alternative point of view to situations. Given that Next Level is in the business of remodeling/home improvement, you are able to see a variety of ways to do remodeling. Bringing that expertise/alternative ideas to the table more often would have been helpful. I will say that the once we came up with a general plan, Nate was very good at getting to the detailed design. Overall we will continue to use Next Level for the additional modifications to our house and would highly recommend him to others.

I chose Next Level because it was listed on Angie's List. Nathan was responsive, came to my home to give me an estimate at which time I asked him if the work could be finished by Thanksgiving. It was finished on the 24th and the person that did the work was punctual, professional and finished in a half a day. My master bedroom looks beautiful.

I was happy with their services. They were easy to get along with and were very attentive to detail. They were very friendly and straight forward. They had very creative design ideas.

We were impressed by Nate’s patience, his cost-consciousness, and his responsiveness and have used him for every job (where a general contractor could be helpful) since (2 or 3 smaller more straightforward jobs) and we have always had good experiences with him.

It is an ongoing job. We have known them for about 5 years. They have done a couple of jobs for us. The mason is very friendly and very approachable. I like his work. He is very creative.

The process was slow, but not because of Nathan. When the art glass was finally finished, we realized that the big piece should have been done differently. Although this was quite an annoying request, Nathan and Howard added what we wanted. When we were not happy with the way this addition turned out, they made sure it was fixed to our satisfaction. The whole process was painless, and Nathan was a pleasure to work with. I wish we had found him before we'd done the whole kitchen.

Our project started as a master bath remodel only, but we decided to try to fix a climate control issue that we have had for years in the master suite. The area is located above the garage and farthest from the furnace. Nate Shanklin brought in a heating and cooling expert to look in our vents for any blockages and to come up with possible solutions to remedy the problem. Foam insulation was added to the walls, insulation blown into the ceiling space and floor insulation was added as well as vent openings enlarged and moved. A skylight was also removed. The bathroom was completely gutted and redone. Nate worked with me on the design for the bathroom and came up with several design options using 3 dimensional computer drawings. He also used my drawings to have custom cabinetry made. Nate went out of his way to help with all aspects of the project: from budget to design, material selection to visiting the site on a regular basis, noticing many little details like placement of the electrical and the appropriate wall and ceiling texture. He made himself easily accessible for any questions or problems that came up. He also designed a double wall to house the plumbing for the sinks that use handles coming from the wall. He did this to ensure the best insulation for the pipes that run up an outside wall. Nate's choice of subcontractors were efficient and did an excellent job. His head carpenter, Chris Nelson, was a pleasure to work with. The workers did a good job of cleaning up after the day's work. Overall, the project went very smoothly.

Our project went very, very smoothly. Would highly recommend again and again.

It was a remarkable pleasant experience, having done a major kitchen redo in Virginia a few days ago. We had a basic concept of what we wanted. Nate, the contractor, listened well and fleshed out the design, making many suggestions that saved time, money and enhanced the final space. He arranged the "dirtiest" most disruptive parts of the job while we were out of town. He and his workers were pleasant, prompt, showed up when they said they would, and best of all they were careful and excellent craftsmen, taking pride in their work. The project stayed pretty much on schedule. The resulting remodel exceeded our expectations...we're entirely pleased and satisfied with the work done by Next Level.

Very well. The crew even worked on a day when it was 20 degrees below zero. They were responsive to my needs, polite and cleaned up after. The only problem was that the supplier for the door and window did not deliver on time.

Nate was awesome. He put together a great iron guy and carpenter, to replace our country looking railing with a beautiful iron railing with first, wood posts and top. He keep us in the loop, at all time with timings and went the extra mile to add the touches we wanted. We are very, very happy and will call them again!

Very well. Our house is over 100 years old, so there were surprises along the way, but we were happy with how they were handled.