Carl Gramentz Architect

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Carl was good with his follow-up from the initial call, was clear on how the design process would work, gave realistic timeframes for his next appointment & always came on time for our meetings. He also delivered exactly what he said he would & was in contact with our contractor for next steps.

Carl met with us in March 2010. During that initial meeting we told him the drawing plans we needed develop and he introduced himself and showed us his previous work. He was extremely easy to work with and would meet with us late on weekdays due to our busy schedule. He met every single deadline, worked quickly and provided very interesting ideas to make the plans better. On our final meeting in April, he referred several contractors with whom he worked well in the past. We would recommend Carl highly to anybody.

Project detail: We live in a modest single level "rambler" style home with an attached double garage and wanted additional space. We decided to add to the garage for vehicle/shop space and also expand the existing living space immediately behind the garage. Because of the lot size/shape, adding to the house is a challenge. Referral: Carl Gramentz was highly recommended to us by a friend and also by a builder/general contractor (who has worked with him). Process: Carl explains his service, process, and fee schedule at the first meeting. He looked at our situation, listened to our ideas, and produced concept drawings that helped us better visualize the completed spaces. He made many excellent suggestions that ended up in the final design. We found him to be prompt and professional throughout the process. He is also friendly, courteous, and approachable (greatly appreciated - we're finding this to be a rare quality in the remodeling industry, at least for our size home and project budget). Status: We are currently selecting a contractor, reviewing several estimates based on Carl's drawings. Conclusion: We are very pleased with Carl's service and the quality of his drawings. We highly recommend him to anyone contemplating a project like ours.

Carl took our ideas and came up with a design we had not even considered. He was not high pressure and was very easy to work with. He explained exactly what was going to happen and did exactly what he said he would. The cost was extremely reasonable

Carl met with us to discuss drawing up plans for a master suite addtion. He gave us a document that explains his process which includes three meetings and a timeline. We appreciated his organization and detail so we hired him to create our plans. The process was followed exactly as planned. We explained what we wanted and he started the plans. A week later, we met again and went over what he had drawn up so far. He allowed us to make changes and add things we had thought about over the previous week. We shared photos we found in magazines of things we liked about other additions (as he suggested). Again, he worked on the plans for a week (bringing them to 90% completion) and we met again. Then, we added our final decisions on lighting, light switches, and electrical outlets. He finished the plans and sent us several copies.

He is top notch and a wonderful person to work with. He is punctual and very professional. He was once my teacher for drafting, as well. I often refer him to homeowners.

Carl was recommended to us by a friend who was very pleased with his work. And we are incredibly impressed, too. Carl was wonderful to work with from start to finish. Very detailed and professional, reasonably priced and had great ideas. We had a lot of the general layout for our addition figured out before bringing Carl in, but he still brought a lot of smart ideas to the table and his finished drawings are fantastic. We highly recommend Carl.

I contacted Carl via email to ask whether he did the kind of work I was seeking (a Deep Energy Retrofit planning). He responded with a stock answer that we should set up a meeting. I asked again, in particular requesting information on any projects he'd worked on that were relevant to my project. This time, I received a link to his web site as well as encouragement to set up a meeting. His web site provided no evidence that he considers energy on his projects (nor did it show that he doesn't.) I found his responses to my inquiries surprisingly unresponsive, given the specific nature of my inquiry and his "eco-friendly" listing on Angie's List.

Carl was the most affordable of all the estimates we received. We liked his work style and experience. He helped us keep expectations realistic. And we feel like we got almost everything we really needed and wanted. He was very patient with our indecision and inexpertise-we're sure other architects we met would have been so accommodating.

Very well, and I would recommend Carl to anyone. He is great for his experience and affordability. With the scope of our project, other architects would have charged a lot more and not been able to get the blueprints to us in such a speedy manner. He works hard and was even able to put up with my anxious personality.

We were very happy with the drawings done in 2008. We hired a carpenter to begin building the addition in 2010 and during the very beginning part of the building process (framing) serious problems were found with the drawings. This is a detailed description of our experience with Carl in 2010: The architect drew the truss line and bearing point markings in the wrong place on the 2nd story. He was off by 23 inches. The truss line and bearing point markings are all very clearly market out. There is a side view section that is 1/2 the size of the plan sections where there is a small marking saying "brg wall" but shows no support under the truss beams. This side view section also does not include distance/measurement markings. The carpenter was installing the trusses that were made according to the plans and it was discovered that the trusses were nearly 2 feet from the bearing point and were too far offset to support the full roof load. The architect was called out to discuss the problem and the solution was to install a new bearing point all the way to the basement. This required a new footing to be created nearly 2 feet diagonally from an existing column. Once confronted, the architect initially claimed that there would always have been that bearing point in the basement but he forgot to draw it and "unexpected things like this happed during a remodel". When pointed out that something that's supposed to be on the drawing isn't "unexpected" then he referenced me to the small section mentioned above and claimed "My intentions are clearly shown" despite the wrongly placed truss and bearing point markings on the build plans. The architect wouldn't admit to the drawings being wrong in any way and then claimed "A general contractor would have caught that" knowing I'm acting as my own general contractor. Then claimed "an experienced builder would have caught that" and finally "the truss manufacturer should have caught that". The mistake while not a huge deal in the scheme of things does prevent me from getting that pool table in my basement like I've always wanted; The location of the new bearing point post prevents a pool table from fitting. An apology would have been nice. _______________________________________________________________________

From start to finish, working with Carl was a very pleasant experience. He was always on time to our meetings, and very flexible with our schedules. From our initial meeting to our receiving our final working drawings was a time span of only 2 1/2 weeks. He is very knowledgeable of building codes, and conscientious about making the remodeled space harmonious with the existing space. He has great ideas and was able to incorporate them with the ideas that we presented to him. For the first time we were able to see the ideas in our heads now on paper. We definitely would like to work with Carl again for future remodeling projects.

Before beginning work to remodel my master bath, I asked Carl to look at the existing space and create plans to achieve the desired results. I already had contractors' bids on the updating work, but wanted to look at the bigger picture of space design. I explained to Carl that I would like to consider closets, layout of master suite, location of all the bathroom fixtures, and to raise the sunken floor which was two steps lower than the rest of the rooms on the main floor, and keep costs reasonably low. Carl went to work immediately taking measurements. A week later, he presented me with drawings of three alternatives, each of which exceeded my expectations by incorporating improved flow, added functionality, increased closet space, and design features beyond what I had asked for. He did it all at a very reasonable price, and followed up with the contractor to produce detailed prints with building specs. I highly recommend Carl without hesitation for this kind of work. He also arrived on time to the minute on both occasions when he came to my house, and was a pleasure to work with.

Carl's price was extremely reasonable. We ended up picking another provider that we thought would be more involved in the process beyond just architecture. In hindsight we should not have been scared off by his low price.

Carl met with us on many occasions. He was polite, knowledgeable and friendly. He immediately understood what we were attempting to accomplish and rendered our designs in detail. He explained all facets of the design process from estimates to initial designs to finished plans. Further, he didn't rush through descriptions and offered helpful advice and knowledgeable criticism. We were extremely pleased with the results and would refer our friends and family to Carl.

PRICE IS PER HOUR. I WAS EXTREMELY HAPPY.

CARL DID A GREAT JOB FOR US. HE SHOWED UP ON TIME FOR APPOINTMENTS, LISTENED TO US, MADE GOOD SUGGESTIONS AND WAS REALLY EASY TO WORK WITH. PLUS, HIS FEES ARE MORE THAN REASONABLE.

WOULD RECOMMEND TO ANYONE. EASY TO WORK WITH. OPEN TO CHANGE. HAD GREAT IDEAS WE HAD NOT THOUGHT OF. WE ARE SO VERY PLEASED.

CARL WAS GOOD TO WORK WITH. HE WAS ALWAYS ON TIME AND VERY PROFESSIONAL. HE SEEMED TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT WE WANTED AND TRIED TO BUILD THAT INTO OUR PLAN. THE ONLY NEGATIVE THING I WOULD SAY IS THAT WE DIDN'T BELIEVE HE EXHIBITED TOO MUCH CREATIVITY. HE DID SUGGEST 1 OR 2 THINGS THAT WERE HELPFUL BUT IT TOOK OUR PROMPTING HIM TO DO SO. THIS MAY HAVE BEEN BECAUSE HE DOESN'T DO TOO MANY BASEMENTS. WE'D PROBABLY HIRE HIM AGAIN, BUT FOR ANOTHER TYPE OF PROJECT.

CARL WAS GREAT TO WORK WITH. HE WAS OPEN TO OUR IDEAS AND CHARGED A VERY FAIR PRICE.

CARL LISTENED TO OUR RENOVATION PLAN, AND MADE SEVERAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW TO PROCEED MORE COST-EFFECTIVELY. HE EVEN WENT SO FAR AS TO RECOMMEND THAT WE DID NOT NEED MORE OF HIS SERVICES TO FINISH THE JOB, SAVING US MONEY. HE IDENTIFIED WHERE TO GET THE NECESSARY MATERIALS FOR THE JOB. THIS WAS TRULY A ONE-STOP DESIGN SERVICE CALL.

CARL ARRIVED AT MY HOME, HE REMOVED HIS SHOES. YEAH!

CARL WAS WONDERFUL TO WORK WITH & ANSWERED ALL OUR QUESTIONS.