B Kufus & Company

Excellent service - on time, ability to be flexible in terms of scope. Very creative when needed and always does a quality job. Can provide a range of solutions. When costs changed, mostly because I wanted to add things or extend the scope, Brian was very clear about pricing. Brian did a number of projects for me over the years and I would use him again. I have referred friends to him and they have been happy with the results. The best thing - his crew cleans up every day when work is finished.

Bryan did an outstanding job fixing and replacing our existing cabinet hinges and sliders, some of which had worn out due to age and others that were not installed properly when the kitchen was originally remodeled by the previous owners. He came to the house three times, first to assess the situation, then to take detailed measurements, then to do the work. He prepared most of the wood runners in advance. We were impressed by the amount of time, detail, and painstaking labor he put into this project. We were also impressed by his professionalism and his perfectionism. His price included all of this detailed time plus all the materials. We would definitely hire him again for a larger remodel; he showed us many examples of kitchens, bathrooms, and additions he's done. He came highly recommended by a neighbor, and now we are happy to recommend him as well.

The project went very well. It started on time and ended on time - it took about a month. First, I had a spare toilet installed in the basement so I had something to use while my only bathroom was torn down. At the same time, I had a new laundry tub installed in the basement, and the old concrete one removed. Plumbing was all brought up to code as well. When the project started, Bryan provided me with a schedule of the work to be done from start to finish, as well as contact information for all the subcontractors. Everything was done on schedule, and inspectors showed up on time so the project went very smoothly. My house was built circa 1925, so my one bathroom is very small. The tear down to the studs took one day. There was one hiccup in the project, and it happened right after the tear down. During the middle of the night, a shut-off valve failed, so I woke in the morning to hot water spewing out of one of the valves. Thankfully, there was a hole in the bathroom floor to the basement, so most of the water simply ran down to the same area that I had cleared out to install the toilet. Really no damage in the basement, as all the water eventually ran to the drain down there. There was some damage to the finish of the hardwood floor right outside the bathroom on the main floor (the water was spewing that direction), but very minimal. I called Bryan at 6:15 a.m. that morning to tell him what happened. He and the plumber arrived in about an hour to finish cleaning up and fix the problem. The plumber subcontractor was great - just in case he also replaced the valve at the water main. This was the only problem I experienced in the entire project. Bryan brought in subcontractors for the plumbing, electrical, and tiling. I had picked out one tile pattern, however the tiling sub advised that I use another which actually would look better, and would save me a lot of money. I am very happy with his suggestion. I got great advice about what toilet to buy, as that was the only fixture I cared about (wanted something reliable, higher quality, low-flow). I wasn't picky about the sink and bathtub - I just took what the plumber advised. I ended up with a Kohler toilet. Can't remember the brands of the sink (wall-mounted) and bathtub. But they look great. I had picked out Kohler faucets and wall fixtures. I purchased all Kohler items through the plumber, so warranty would go through him. (Might have been cheaper to buy myself, but I didn't want to worry about paying extra labor costs if in a warranty time-frame) Bryan and I went over early where I wanted the towel rungs, shelves, etc. to go, so before they put in the wall he was able to install something behind that would allow for easy, strong hanging. The bathroom exhaust fan was new - they decided to build a box for it and send the exhaust through to the side wall of the house. It's a Panasonic fan - very quiet. I had an LED light fixture (with dimmer) installed over my re-finished medicine cabinet (I re-finished this myself). I took the mirror from the medicine cabinet to Alchemy Mirror Resilvering in St Paul. It's kind of a vintage medicine cabinet and I liked it. Besides, I didn't find anything I liked better anyway. So I fixed it up to look like new. I also had Bryan install some small cabinets over the door that would accommodate toiletries. They look great - custom built with beadboard on the front. I'm really happy with these, since my house has very little storage space. I did all painting myself. I also had a shower screen installed and I did a lot of research on this (had only used a shower curtain in the past). A friend suggested I look into the screens of the ilk that are used in small bathrooms in Europe. I found two manufacturers in the US that did these - Kohler and another manufacturer in Florida. They both looked like great options for different reasons. The Florida-manufactured product was half the price of the Kohler Minima screen. However, the design of the Kohler Minima shower screen was fantastic. The Kohler Mimina screen is a tri-fold screen that folds back accordian-style when not in use, so it makes it easier to clean the tub, and also isn't in the way when taking a bath. I opted for the Kohler Minima screen, which I purchased at Home Depot. Bryan had never seen or installed these screens, but he said he was always willing to try new things. He installed the screen and I am so very happy with it. It works exactly as I had hoped. When in use, the shower water stays in the tub area and doesn't leak behind the screen anywhere. I had looked for reviews of this product everywhere, including calling Kohler asking for referrals (they couldn't give me any), and calling other plumbing contractors. I found none. So, my review is that this product is fantastic - looks great, is excellent for small spaces, works as advertised, and installed relatively easily (took two people who followed Kohler's instructions exactly). Bryan and crew cleaned up the workspace every day. I have two dogs in the house and the crew was good to them as well. Some of the caulking around the tub and sink shrunk quite a bit in the first few months, leaving some gaps. Bryan came and patched those up for no charge. All in all, I am extremely pleased with how smoothly the project went from beginning to end, and I like how the bathroom looks.

The project went pretty smoothly over all. I have worked with Bryan before on other projects (window replacements) and know him quite well. I did not investigate other installers because I knew Bryan would do a good job and would do the necessary legwork to find me the right product. At first I talked to him over the phone and said I wanted a new steel entry door. He thought a steel door was overkill for a porch entry door, and thought I should just look at a storm door. He made some suggestions and said I should look online or go to Scherer Bros to look at some options. I did look online, and picked one out. However when Bryan came to measure the door space before he ordered it, he admitted that a storm door wouldn't work in my case. We would have to look at another kind of entry door. At this point he took the information on what I wanted and found a door that would fit the space. It ended up being a steel door after all. (The door was ordered from Scherer Bros.) It was ordered and he had it installed within two weeks. It was installed just before it got quite cold outside, so, as yet, it has not been painted. Bryan billed me for work completed only. He will bill separately for the painting later this spring. I am very happy with the door. The style and quality was exactly what I was hoping for. And the price was about what I expected. The door was made by Masonite.

Bryan Kufus was easy to work with. He provided a competitive bid for replacement windows and advised on best brand, options, hardware, etc. I purchased Marvin replacement windows. In order to take advantage of stimulus funds, I needed to move quickly from bid to execution, and Bryan was able to accommodate an accelerated schedule. Also, Marvin was able to provide the product in a timely manner. It took about a week to install all the windows (17). His crew was neat and cleaned up well after themselves. Bryan was always available to answer questions and came over several times in the process to make sure his measurements were correct and that the project was going as expected. One blip - Scherer Bros goofed up his order and we were short one window. But Bryan had it installed as soon as it became available (Scherer Bros also gave me the window at no cost, as they hadn't even figured it in the bid either). Bryan also recommended that I clad the outside trim on my house in aluminum to match the new windows. Great suggestion! The trim was in dire need of a paint job and wrapping the trim in aluminum saved me a lot of work for years to come! He also suggested that I change some of the trim on the front of the house so it would match uniformly the trim around the windows - basically put in wider boards. It really improved the curb appeal of the house overall. He also weatherstripped my front and back doors - for free. He also did a few other little odd jobs as necessary. I opted to finish the interior of the wood windows myself - stain and finish. Overall it was a great experience and I'd definitely use Bryan Kufus again. He gives sound advice and definitely had my best interests in mind as he offered suggestions on fix-up priorities.