West End Kitchen Inc

Our experience with West End Kitchen Inc. was wonderful. They did a very organized, efficient remodel of three bathrooms more of less, simultaneously. We even got to stay in the house while it was being done. They were very organized and very efficient about the whole thing. We were very pleased. I can't think of anything they didn't do right. We also used them in the past to remodel our kitchen.

The galley kitchen in our 1960's rambler was 50 years old and looked it. I don't mean retro-chic. I mean embarrassingly shabby. We decided on a complete overhaul, but without moving any walls or making any other major structural modifications. There are a bewildering number of remodeling contractors in the Twin Cities area and choosing one seemed like a daunting task. There are large contractors who do everything from roofing and landscaping to handyman jobs. (I’m always a bit wary when someone claims that “no job is too big or too small”. Some jobs simply are too big or too small for certain contractors.) Then there are the one-man (or woman) operations who try to do it all and don't seem to know their own limitations. There are also the fancy pants “designer shops”. These are typically staffed by interior design specialists with lots of letters after their names like CKD, CMKBD, AKBD etc., and who charge a lot of money—several thousand dollars in some cases—to produce slick, computer generated 3-D renderings that they probably hope will end up in some equally slick magazine someday. Some of these designers wouldn't know which end of a hammer to hold however. We had already suffered the experience of a bad remodeling job some years back and were determined not to repeat the mistake. After interviewing several remodeling contractors we selected Richard Johnson and West End Kitchen, Inc. to do a complete renovation of our kitchen. Richard has been in the business for decades. He has assembled a small group of experienced employees and sub contractors, every one of whom it seems has superlative ratings in his own right on Angie’s List. There is no problem or situation he hasn't seen or dealt with and it was his depth of experience, along with his honest, straightforward, no-nonsense approach to our project that convinced us to hire him. Richard has developed a multi-step process for making estimates and proposals that does not require that the client pay a lot of money up front for design costs. As I mentioned, some of the designers we spoke with wanted several thousand dollars to do some preliminary drawings and an initial estimate. With West End Kitchen, the initial estimate cost us a very modest amount of money, at which point we committed to going ahead with the next step in the process. All of the design costs were ultimately applied to the final bill. Richard is almost obsessive when it comes to scheduling. We were provided with a detailed calendar of work to be done, and that schedule was followed almost to the day. Of course there will always be unforeseen scheduling problems. The test of a general contractor is how he deals with these problems. Richard is a master scheduler, keeping a several projects going at once, using many of the same employees, but always finding time to stop by each job site on a daily basis. Unlike some of the fancy designers, he doesn’t just produce a set of plans and then hand you off to someone else. He takes an active role in each stage of the project, personally supervises the most crucial operations, and is himself an accomplished craftsman. One of the big selling points for us was the fact that Richard carries several top lines of custom cabinetry and has years of experience dealing with those cabinet makers and installing their products. He worked with us to solve some very tricky problems—blind corners, unique storage requirements etc.—and the results are quite satisfactory. Another test of a general contractor is how problems are dealt with. I won’t say that there were no issues. There always are in a project of this size. But Richard was there almost every day, or if not, just a phone call away, always accessible. Problems were handled promptly and to our satisfaction. There were no nasty surprises or hidden costs. Everything was fairly transparent. The rest of our home was sealed off from dirt and noise, floors and carpets were well protected, workers were courteous and respectful of our privacy. Using a temporary kitchen in the basement was no fun, but the inconvenience was minimized to the extent possible. All in all, we are very happy with the cost, the quality of work and the end result, and would recommend West End Kitchen to anyone considering a remodeling project.

I paid $200.00 for a kitchen and bathroom remodel plan/estimate . In six week from the date my $200.00 check was cashed I talked to West End twice, both times I called them . They had nothing to show me, I asked for my money back. I received my refund promptly , just the check . A little note telling me what caused the delay would have been nice .

West End Kitchen was not only the lowest bidder for the project (compared to at least 3 other companies), but we felt like Richard listened to what WE wanted and made it happen - not just telling us how he thought the kitchen to look. He was very patient with the many times we changed our mind about things and was ALWAYS punctual and professional. Great subs and Steve (the project manager) is extremely fast and skilled at what he does. Even with a few unexpected hiccups to the project, they got the whole thing done at the expected time they said. Quality materials, quality work, quality company. We have already recommended West End Kitchen to others contemplating a major room remodel. We were very pleased with the results.

From the moment we met with Mr. Johnson at the showroom to the day the job was completed, we have been satisfied with every aspect of the remodel. The tear down was quick, the work progressed as scheduled, the issues were minimal, the professionalism was always present, the disruption was negligible, the detailing was precise. All this was done in the projected time and budget.

It went very well. Richard was very responsive to any questions or concerns we had, and kept on schedule. The workers were careful when moving items and worked hard to minimize dust and disruption for us. They did an excellent job of cleaning up after the work. Our only concern was the painting and refinishing work. We had to request additional work on some items that were not completed to our satisfaction. Richard was very responsive and ensured all issues were addressed promptly and completed to our satisfaction. Richard was a pleasure to work with, a true craftsman!

They did a wonderful job. They stuck to their schedule closely and there were no hidden costs. Richard was wonderful to work with and available for questions and comments whenever they arose.

I first contacted Mr. Johnson's company, West End Kitchen, in April. I made an appointment with his secretary, which he missed. I called him back after, and he advised me he had nothing in his book indicating our appointment. We made another appointment. He arrived at the next appointment on time, at which I provided him a detailed list of work to be done in connection with a kitchen remodel. He made a sketch, made some suggestions, and said he would reply with an estimate the following week. After receiving no word from Mr. Johnson the next week, I called and reminded him of our meeting and his promise to get back to me. He apologized, said he was busy and would provide the estimate. No estimate arrived the next week. I called again, and he apologized again, saying again that he was really busy. I asked whether he had an estimate and he said he was getting close to a "number", now after the passage of several weeks. I asked him to break down the number into component labor and materials and he said he didn't do that for anyone. He said he would provide only a single number that included everything. I asked him to make an exception so that I could compare his bid with others. He said he would and promised to get back to me within a couple of days. He never called back.

I like that West End Kitchen provides quality work and are always on time. West End Kitchen got the job done right. I needed a project completed recently at my home and West End Kitchen came out and was honest enough to recommend someone else for the task.

West End did an excellent job! They were responsive, they stayed on budget, and on schedule. They were easy to work with, and I already have recommended them.

We met with several contractors before making our decision and we selected West End Kitchens because, although he wasn't as flashy as some of the other companies, Richard was very sincere and seemed quite knowledgeable about the process of not just the construction but the design as well. He charged a fee to do the plans which not all of the other companies did, but I would say it was worth it given the amount of effort he put into helping us come up with a good design. We met several times coming up with a plan that met our budget and picking our cabinetry etc. I was a little wary when we went to his office and most of the floor room samples were things I did not find attractive, but we found materials that we liked and a layout that worked for our smaller galley style kitchen. Richard had a detailed timeline and stayed very close to on track. Most of the delays were on our part and not his. Having heard horror stories from people working other companies, I was quite happy with how quickly it all came together. We had a new kitchen in just a couple weeks. The only reason I am giving anything other than a perfect score for responsiveness is because we had some exterior work that had to be done and it didn't get followed up on in a timely manner. They were otherwise very available and even answered the phones on weekends when we had a question. It was definitely a pleasant experience and the workmanship was solid.

Ricahrd Johnson, who managed the project, was meticulous in planning and phasing it, both helping and seeing regularly how the work was going. He was helpful with suggestions in response to changes I was considering for the new bathroom, and provided detailed drawings of both floor and wall plans. He and the persons doing carpentry, tiling, plumbing, electrical work, cabinet installation and painting were uniformly courteous and pleasant. The brand-new bathroom is a great improvement on the old one, and is admired by all who have used or seen it. I owe Richard and his team my sincere thanks.

We were very happy with our experience. We pushed the limits by needing our project done in time to entertain for Christmas. There was no room for delay. Richard made it happen! We were extremely impressed with the timeline set out at the beginning of the project and how closely we were able to keep to it. We realize this is often difficult to do. Fortunately we were able to make up time where we may have lost it along the way. Richard's extensive experience really came through for us. One of the best parts of the experience was coming home to the completed project. There was not a trace of construction materials to be seen. Just our beautiful new kitchen, pristine and perfectly lit, waiting for us. We are three years out from this project and are still thrilled with the results.

We can't say enough about Richard and his crew. The attention to detail -- with a constant eye on our budget -- is obvious in how beautiful (and functional!) our kitchen now is. They came in on budget, on time, and kept us fully apprised of developments throughout the entire process. We now have the kitchen of our dreams, and we wouldn't hesitate for one moment to strongly recommend West End Kitchen!!

It was excellent work; beautifully done. They were on time, cleaned up after themselves; it was just unreal.

The design of the new kitchen meets our needs perfectly. Work was done on schedule and the carpentry work was finished nicely.

I would suggest engaging these guys early in the process - just the design services alone would be very valuable.

Started out with high hopes and ended up feeling a bit disappointed -- not a lot, but enough to have a mixed feeling about the whole project. The best I can give West End Kitchens in a B. The front end planning/design and project management overall was very good. Sadly, some of the subs used, in particular the carpenter, were less than stellar and just didn't seem all that interested in their job. There was poor attention to detail -- cabinet doors not hung straight, hardware not on center...just stupid little mistakes. The project manager was great with follow up and getting things fixed, but ugh, not what we expected for $40,000. We are happy enough with the overall kitchen. We had no known issues with the subs for painting, flooring, electrical and plumbing. We were not impressed with the sheetrockers -- a few young guys who blew into the project, whipped through it and for which we've found uneven surfaces after having lived with the work for several months. It would be worth getting a bid from them, but only if they've got some of the sub issues ironed out.

It was beautiful. They were such a pleasure to work with. Honest, reliable, courteous. They created a schedule and stuck to it. Absolutely worry free. I could not recommend any business more highly.

Extremely unprofessional and rude service. She was condescending and did not listen to us. The estimate came back 3 times higher than the other two estimates I received. I will never go back to this place. Beware!

We didn’t go with them because they charged $400 to get an estimate. We really liked the owner as he was very informative and had lot of great ideas. The only dislike was that they charged us to get the final estimate.

We had a kitchen with laminate on the walls and countertops (and also some laminate shelving in the kitchen), quite dated looking. Another company we contacted was very concerned about dealing with the laminate issues in the kitchen-- we called West End Kitchen, and they indicated that should be no problem (they seemed used to the idosyncracies of older homes in Saint Paul). Richard came out, had great ideas for the kitchen, including improvements for other parts of the kitchen. We immediately knew Richard and West End was the right firm for us-- Richard and everyone at West End Kitchen were extremely pleasant, knowledgeable, and pleasant to work with. The entire process was stress-free and seamless from our perspective! We highly recommend West End.

We were impressed with West End, from our initial meeting to the end of construction. The planning process, including finalizing the contract and the project calendar, went smoothly and helped us understand exactly what to expect. We do not like making detailed design decisions, and they helped us make choices in a way that made the design phase feel manageable – and enjoyable! We had a good experience with everyone involved in the construction process. Every subcontractor was courteous, professional and thorough. We were impressed with the company’s approach to managing the construction phase and their careful attention to detail. They took great care in advance of each specific activity to protect the rest of our home, to minimize the inevitable dust, and to clean up at the end of every day. The lead carpenter was a fine craftsman. We enjoyed him and loved watching the kitchen being transformed every day thanks to his skillfulness. We felt that they were really watching out for us. They identified a plumbing problem that was outside the scope of the project. We were glad to make the choice to add the work to our project, and we now have excellent water pressure throughout our home, an outcome we didn’t anticipate from our kitchen renovation. West End Kitchen, Inc. came highly recommended from several colleagues, and we are happy to add our name to that list of very satisfied customers.

Unbelievably well. We met with Richard Johnson first at our house, then in the evening, at our convenience, at his business. He was patient, calm, and polite. Because of our schedule, we had a number of delays in signing the contract, and he was patient through all of it. His subcontractors were the cleanest and most reputable workers we've ever dealt with in home remodeling (and we've done a lot). They put down paper so they would not track, cleaned up after themselves each day, did not smoke in the house or leaves pop cans or other debris on our property. They even handled asbestos appropriately when they discovered it as they were removing the interior. Richard was overseeing the job on an almost daily basis, and NOTHING slipped through the cracks. When we had some issues about his proposed design, they were resolved with a minimum of disagreement. They worked around our schedule, were consistently here as scheduled, and were thorough and did not cut corners.

While being out of our kitchen, living room and dining room for two months was not a fun experience, being around Richard Johnson, his crew and subcontractors was actually enjoyable. From the very beginning, when Richard showed up on time for the initial discussion, expectations were set and then met or exceeded. They even changed their schedule to work around our vacation. At the end of each day they cleaned up the area, and left us with an understanding of who would be back the next day and when. The remodeling proposal was very detailed and followed to the letter, which allowed us to know what to expect. During our initial design discussions, Richard made several recommendations, one of which was contrary to what we wanted. He did not push, but gave us the reasoning behind his recommendations. In the end we went with him on one recommendation and not on another. As it turned out, he was right on both counts, and I am glad we listed to his experience. To make it even better, we were charged less than the proposed price. As it turned out not all the sub-flooring needed to be replaced, and the price was reduced accordingly. What makes this more than exceptional in my eyes, is that I never would have known if Richard had not informed me of this. You see, the flooring was completed while we were on vacation. Not only were they always on time, but they were honest, and did an excellent job.