Striking Renovations

The job was promised by the very attentive owner Doug Kropp in 1-2 weeks. He had a crew leader Paul who kept everyone on track and on time. Even though labor day holiday fell in the 2 week period, he had a worker here. All the work was custom and looks as if it was part of the existing now 19 year old home. I highly recommend this team of excellent professionals.

It went wonderful. All the guys were so sweet and professional. They worked hard to make sure everything was perfect and to my liking. The quality and workmanship is top notch. They cleaned up every night after they were done, got to work right on time each day and diligently worked all day long. I will be using this company again in the future for sure.

My wife uses the laundry room every day and they helped make a good suitable shelf for that room to help her out. They used good woods for the job. They showed us the differences between the woods they use. They also put up some shelving in our garage. All the work looks beautiful.

Nothing bad or negative concerning the contractor. It was positive that he admitted he could not develop a better design than I had already designed

Project was for my elderly mother. We had difficulty getting a contractor who was willing to do a job this small and still pull the necessary permits for St. Louis County. We received multiple bids, and John's was the most favorable, as well as the one we thought would do a good job. John showed up when he said he would; he was very professional and conscientious - as well as upbeat and happy, which helps :-) He showed up when he said he would; dealt with the inspectors; he also performed some of the work with his site super (Brad). They worked with the inspectors. We also had an issue after the job was finished with a dryer vent came loose on the outside; John came out to fix the problem right away, even though he had already been paid. No extra fees; very happy with the result. Final cleanup could have been slightly better: but 30 mins with a broom and a mop and it was taken care of ; I was glad to have a reliable contractor who was willing to do a job this small.

I couldn't ask for a better crew than John's. John was always very courteous, helpful and stayed on point. Everyone on his crew was just as professional and attentive to detail. Even though the project took a day or two longer than expected, the end result was well worth the extra time and effort to make everything just right.

That was great. They were very competent with what they did. The quality of their design was very good.

The man was polite and friendly. However, his bid turned out to be twice TWICE the cost of the two other bids I asked for. I hired the company that gave me the bid that fell in the middle of the spectrum. He was a nice person, but the price was just too much.

He was very professional, on time and prompt. I had him do my bathroom. He got me the plans within 48 hours of meeting me.

My wife and I are professionals residing in University City (I'm an attorney, she's a graphic designer). We bought an old home (built 1949) with no master bathroom, but with a vision to install a master bathroom where there was a large walk-in closet that had an existing window there. We bought the house with a construction loan to be able to pull it off. In our previous home, while we had updated a couple of bathrooms over the years and updated our kitchen, we had always used good handyman types, but never a renovation company. The difference between Striking Renovations and prior work we've had done is indeed striking. Night and day difference. We spoke to several prospective contractors over the phone and met with 3 at the house. One was far more expensive, roughly estimating $60,000; one was a lot cheaper, estimating $30,000. One of the contractors actually seemed a bit worried to take it on. When we first met with John Yacovelli of Striking Renovations, what jumped out at us immediately was his enthusaism and "can do" attitude about the project. While not the cheapest quote, he was far less than the highest quote too. Once we signed up with John, for the most part, the entire process was suprisingly very smooth and his partners and employees were extremely professional and courteous in our house. At the beginning, John took us on a shopping trip with him to pick out the tile, fixtures, etc. for the bathroom. We went to approximately 4 different places with him, spending a little more than half the day, etc. John gave a lot of good advice and it was a relatively painless process. Soon thereafter, the demolition of the walk-in closet began. It took I think a week or less to fully demolish and begin framing out the new bathroom. One of the main people to work on our project was Billy. We were very comfortable having him (and the others) in our house; he was extremely polite and pleasant to be around and clearly is very good at his craft. Frankly, all of them were. We were a bit worried early on about strangers being in and out of our house each day, the disruption, mess, etc. However, they cleaned up at the end of each day, never overstayed their welcome, worked around our schedule when we could not have them there, and other than the normal construction noises, we'd barely know they were around. We thought it was a very high level of professionalism. The entire project took about 8 weeks, which was the estimated timeframe given. It likely would have been completed earlier but for the delay on the arrival of some of the fixtures we picked out. However, John built that into his estimated timeframe and finished roughly when he said they would finish. The couple of times that we expressed a concern or observed something not being to our liking, Striking Renovations took care of it without hesitation and without hassle (never once did I have to plead or negotiate for them to make something right -- although, to be truthful, there were very few issues that we had to raise anyway). The customer service and desire to satisfy us was very good throughout. In the end, we have a truly stunning (and "Striking") beautfiul brand new bathroom, a large master closet along most of one of the walls in our bedroom, and a new hallway/linen closet that is still much larger than the average linen closet. As an aside, one of the great benefits Striking Renovations provides is various side projects that you may request while the main project is going on. They were very fair and affordable on a few side projects for us. That included installing a new gas line for a new gas range (and installing and setting up the range itself), moving a light fixture and cutting in a vent connected to our HVAC system so that heating and cooling would reach an enclosed porch that is used as a guest room and office. They did a great job on all of those side items and we found the charges to be very fair given the quality of work they do. I never felt overcharged on any of those side projects, but I have many times felt overcharged by less skilled handymen in the past. We recommend Striking Renovations without reservation. I would tell anyone who is doing a meaningful renovation of any kind to call John Yacovelli and talk to him (and meet him) about it.

I though John Y. Was a dream come true. He really seemed to understand what I was interested in doing, he was willing to talk about different options and design ideas. It also seemed that he was fine with my need to get a final plan together that I could send to a family trust for financial approval, which I was clear and open with from the very beginning. We spent a month and a half meeting and planning and doing extensive perpetration for the final plan I needed to be able to present. Then, all of a sudden, something changed... Dramatically! I wouldn't get prompt calls back like I had been getting, the cost of the entire project almost DOUBLED, John seemed irritated by the process we had gone through to get to the final plan although he hadn't expressed any concerns before, and most importantly, I got an ultimatum. He needed 5000.00 right away to put us on his schedule. He states that other customers needed his attention and he couldn't help me further. Now, I had NO PROBLEM with understanding that he wanted to get paid for his time and work, it's just that we had thoroughly discussed how he would give me a final set of papers detailing the costs of the project so that I could request the funds to pay him and for the complete project with. He never game me these.! If he had, I would have sent the, in and we would have been able to start right away. From the best I can figure, John just got bombarded with too many contracts to handle and forgot about what we had discussed. He must have gotten frustrated with the process I believed we had agreed to, and/or ran I to some unexpected financial needs. I LOVED his work and wanted to go with him. Had he not stopped returning my phone calls and given me the final bid and drawing, regardless of the large financial jump after a month of working together, he would have had himself a paid contract. His designs and ideas were excellent. I am still upset that I don't have the bed and bath he designed because it was exactly what I wanted. But I do NOT need a contractor who goes incommunicado then throws it back at the customer. I did not change what I was doing, he did. It's too bad for both of us I guess.

Our project was completed to a standard that exceeded our expectations. When John first came out to see our house he listened carefully to our needs and vision for our home. He also made suggestions and gave us information we needed about the realities of such a large project. Soon he had prepared drawings for us that provided a more concrete presentation of his understanding of our wishes and a common focus for more idea development. We were initially very impressed that John seemed to understand our taste and lifestyle and he developed a plan that was not only functional and beautiful but highly personal. The major part of our project was a complete kitchen renovation, including the removal of a wall to open the kitchen into the dining room, the removal of a peninsula, and expansion of a window. Additionally, we replaced all of the ceilings and floors on the main level of the house. John arranged for an interior designer to meet with us and later take us shopping to select cabinets, tile, lighting, flooring, and countertop. We were told that the project would take 6-8 weeks but in fact all of the work described above was completed in exactly 30 days! At that point we had to wait a week for the quartz countertop to be installed. Under a separate contract, Striking Renovations then installed new doors on the main level and completely renovated our basement. We were extremely pleased with the quality of the work and the professionalism of all the workers in our home. All were very knowledgeable, conscientious and hard-working. Equally important to us, however, was that we were very comfortable having these people in,our home. Every day there were two to four men working on our job. Friends had told us to expect the workmen to "disappear" for a week or more while they managed multiple jobs. That was not our experience. Additionally, these men were friendly, cheerful, polite and respectful of us and our property. We completely trusted them, whether we were home or not. One aspect we would like to see this energetic young company develop would be the area of communication. We did feel that sometimes we waited too long for returned phone calls and that we were not always on the same page with verbal requests or questions. We eventually started clarifying important information by email-that seemed to eliminate further problems. But overall, we are VERY SATISFIED with the work, the people and the results we experienced with STRIKING RENOVATIONS. We recommend them to friends and neighbors and will be calling them again for future projects.

John came to the house and was very personable and professional. Told him what I wanted and mentioned we "won" 1000 off cabinet refacing at home show, but that I wanted to do the family room and wall and maybe kitchen at a latter date. Measured and told us he would get back by Fri on a bid. Didn't hear from him until Mon, he decided to play golf on Fri. so recieved a bid via email on Mon with a bid on a new kitchen with the wall removed! But no mention of other work in the family room, dining room and living area. He called to see what I thought of the bid and when I mentioned the original work I requested he said they would "Throw that in". He did follow up with a new bid that included the family room. We did go see his work of a kitchen and it was beautiful, however I did not do business with them due to not listening to what was a priority for me vs him being able to give me a beautiful kitchen, and a very vague specifications on his bid. Also telling me he would get back to me on Fri and then not hearing from him until Mon because it was nice and he wanted to play golf made me uncomfortable on how reliable he would be once the work was started.

fine but design didn't work for us. provider did not follow up with changes as promised.

Overall the project went very well. John Y is the 'front man' and sets up the design and helps with product choices. I worked with an independent designer as well, so for the most part they worked well together. The real gem is the crew and the two other managing partners, Bill and Brad, who work with and oversee the crew. If there were any issues, Bill made sure they were corrected. We did experience some miscommunication, so it's a good idea to hang onto emails and any written correspondence and double check sizes/plans prior to ordering items. However, the workmanship was excellent. And the project would have been finished a week early, had we not encountered an issue with an order. Project was extensive. Bathroom - rerouted plumbing; new plumbing and electric; new subfloor & drywall; tiled shower/tub area; new tub/shower; new ceiling; lighting; sink/toilet; moved doorway to make new access and install pocket door. Kitchen - new drywall; subfloor; plumbing; electric; cabinets; countertops; sink & fridge; removed window and installed larger window with window seat/cabinets; backsplash; lighting. Tile work was especially good.

The provider level of service and the plans they presented to us we're average. When they came to present the designs to us, we discussed making changes/revisions to the "plans" and that there would be return visit that never occurred. They missed some details that we asked for in the plans: We asked for a window in the shower and none was presented. The price estimate for the bathroom re-so was very competitive. As far as the basement design was concerned, there was little "creativity" used in the design. It was fairly straightforward in that it encompassed the space, but there wasn't much thought to the usability and division of the space to create bedroom/living area/laundry/storage.

They really did a great job. I just called them back today.

Company did everything they said they would do in the time they said they would do it. Excellent work, promptly completed with no surprises. Have just emailed them to see if they would do some more work for me in other areas of my house.

We contacted John on 3/10/14 and he came out on 3/11/14 and gave us a time (about 4 hours) and cost estimate. We agreed on the following Monday morning at 8:30. Brad and Dan arrived at 8:30 and started removal of the old sink. Within an hour the sink was out and prep for the new sink started. The installation was completed with in 3 hours. The friendliness and honesty exhibited by all three men showed their professional and business attitude. They come highly recommended by this customer.

They designed a bathroom for me. John was very easy to work with and very responsive. He sent me designs of what he thought he would work. It was definitely worth it to get the design beforehand. They were a very nice company. However, I went with another company who could source all the materials for me.

We bought the 'Big Deal' offering kitchen plans for $50. We really didn't know what we wanted to do with our kitchen, so we thought this might help us decide. Ultimately, although the price was great, we decided not to go with Striking Renovation's plan. To be fair, we were open to ideas for how to make the most of our very small kitchen space, but the plan they produced really wasn't workable when we marked it out on the floor. A proposed island would have left only 18" for an important thoroughfare through the kitchen (to the basement steps) and we felt that would not allow for good flow through the house. We did call John back about six months later requesting a bid for a bathroom remodel (this time we knew what we wanted and just needed someone to do the work), but never received a call back, so we went with another contractor. My marks for responsiveness and professionalism really are more to do with this aspect of our interaction than our original one; we had no difficulty getting in touch or getting an appointment for that service.

Was a wonderful experience. We love our basement, it is EXACTLY what we had in mind. The floor plan John came up with fit our needs and he came up with really great details that made it unique. He kept within the budget and worked with us to pick the best materials and products for our needs. John has a great eye for design and was a tremendous help through the entire design stage. The team he has at Striking Renovations are a great group of guys. We can't say enough about Billy, Brad, and Ryan. I am a stay-at-home mom so was around on a daily basis and they were all very professional and courteous. They cleaned up the mess daily and they went above and beyond to work around our needs as a family (ie doing the loud stuff around my kids naps and putting plastic up daily so no drywall dust came into our main floor). As we came up with new ideas and "tweaks" along the course of our project, the construction team had a total "can do" attitude and gave us just what we wanted. We will definitely be using Striking Renovations for any future projects.

John is professional, courteous and optimistic. This is exactly what we are looking for on this project. We were impressed by his presentation and immediately felt comfortable having Striking Renovations in our home. We are happy that he does not take any job that comes along because we want to know that our renovation is going to be top priority once they start working. So far we had one meeting and today John and his coworker are doing measurements. We are excited to be starting this project. We will update once the project is completed. Probably the work will not begin until some time this winter.

We never got a chance to "go." Striking Renovations isn't taking on any new customers. So...why are they on Angie's List???

I liked them but I found someone else to do the work itself.