Knockout Renovation Svcs., Inc.

Keith & the Knockout Renovation team blew us away with the level of professionalism and expertise. His head guy Genci was a master of all and exceeded all expectations on his craftsmanship and tile work. Highly recommend him for any renovation needs! A+++++++

They tell you what you want to hear so you will sign contract then you find out how inexperienced they really are. They don't even know how to use the software program for billing correctly. Imagine all the headaches from that alone... Might be good to use for a single bathroom remodel but I definitely do not recommend using them for anything more complex than that.

They did a full kitchen renovation for me. It took quite a while but the results were beautiful. They gave good customer service and great design advice. I would have preferred a wider selection of appliances to choose from but the ones I have are fine.

Knockout Renovation handled everything from start to finish. I was very satisfied with the result.

Knockout took on our ambitious full home remodel and helped us realize our dream home! We moved into an outdated 3 floor row home, which required a bunch of work and by the end of the project they had remodeled our kitchen beautifully, added a half bath, redone two full bathrooms, refinished our floor, removed bulky built-ins, put in a nice banister for our main stairs and more! We are thrilled with the design and the space is super sleek and new-looking!!

It went really well! Every question I had along the way was answered, and I was kept up to date and informed as the renovation progressed. Really happy with the communication and the finished product!

After an impressive presentation by Keith, the owner, I decided to hire Knockout. However it soon became apparent that Keith was mostly in the background and that his project managers are the people I would be dealing with on a daily basis. I was assigned 2 different project managers, the second hardly better than the first. From the beginning until the end it was email after email with stuff constantly falling through the cracks; mistakes being made. These project managers were not professional or good at dealing with people. I was quoted something like 50k in the beginning and the final sum was more than 4 times that. To be fair, the project grew and changed a lot but Knockout wasn't experienced or professional enough to accurately predict and prepare me for the cost and scope of the work. The work itself was shoddy in places and the finishing work left a lot to be desired. The final straw was the bathroom remodel. The tiling was so bad I couldn't believe my eyes. After a lot of screaming and yelling they agreed to redo the bathroom tiling; and thats the only reason I'm giving them 2 stars instead of one; because they realized and corrected their mistake.

My experience with Knockout Renovation (“Knockout”) was a total nightmare and I would never recommend them to anyone. I chose Knockout and was willing to pay a higher price to completely renovate my bathroom, including the replacement of the tub with a shower and the installation of marble tile and high-end fixtures, as well as and to replace my kitchen countertop, based upon the reviews and ratings from Angie’s List and the Rachael Ray Show, as well as Knockout’s representations that it is an “all-in-one design, product and remodeling service that adds up to a streamlined, cost-effective, time saving process”. Nothing could have been further from the truth in my case. I cannot begin to describe the huge amount of stress, aggravation and inconvenience that I had to endure, in addition to the vast amounts of time and energy I expended in dealing with them. I live in a co-op apartment building in Manhattan. As I only have one bathroom, I had to move out. Demolition began in mid-June 2019. According to the contract, the job was to be completed in eight (8) weeks, after all tiles, fixtures, countertops and accessories were chosen. Keith Steier (“Keith”), Knockout’s president, assigned a woman named June Hawkins (“June”) to be the job supervisor. In August 2019, Knockout installed the mosaic floor tiles on the shower walls(!) even though the contract specifically stated that only 3”x 6” (subway) tiles were to go on the walls. Hence, all of those mosaic tiles had to be ripped out. Then, despite the fact that I was told that June would lay out all subway wall tiles on the floor first before installation so I could check on the quality and the veining patterns (which the tile supplier also told me must be done as all lots of marble are different from what you see in the store), June did not do so and permitted the installation to proceed on two walls without my approval. It turns out the veining pattern was way too busy and so those ties had to be removed, and I asked June to order other lots of the tile for me to choose from. It took approximately six weeks to receive and decide on the tiles, which were installed on all bathroom walls by the end of October 2019. However, just after installation, most of wall tiles began to stain! It turns out that Knockout applied the wrong grout. Keith blamed the marble supplier, who denied telling June to order the grout in question. Whatever the case, all of the wall tiles had to be entirely ripped out again and replaced with new marble subway tile which had to be chosen and ordered. Consequently, all bathroom fixtures, including a very expensive Kohler smart toilet, had to be removed. Then, after all of the stained tiles were removed, I discovered that Knockout never obtained the required electrical and plumbing permits from the NYC Department of Buildings! When I asked June about the failure to obtain the permits, she said that "it just fell through the cracks"! Then, she admitted to me that she had never supervised a renovation job in New York City before. Once all of the stained tiles were removed, I discovered that Knockout failed to comply with the written directives my co-op's Building Architect set forth in his letter dated May 20, 2019, and on which Keith signed off. The directives required, among other things, that all shower walls be rebuilt and framed with water-resistant cement-board from floor to ceiling. Instead of doing so, Knockout only applied a liquid waterproof sealant to the underlying 100-year-old original masonry. After numerous phone calls and emails between Knockout and the Building Architect, and after the electrical and plumbing permits were finally obtained in mid-January 2020, Knockout complied with the Building Architect’s directives and installed the cement-board in March 2020, almost a year after Keith signed off on them. Also, in or about March 2020, I was told by a subcontractor and a vendor that Knockout had bounced checks on them, although after I advised Knockout’s bookkeeper, Knockout paid them. Then, in May 2020, June, the “job supervisor”, simply vanished! Keith didn't know where she was and emailed me asking if I had heard from her, which I hadn’t. He then assigned someone else to the job. Thereafter, in July 2020, after the replacement tile was installed and the sink, vanity and toilet were reinstalled and I was finally able to move back into my apartment, I discovered that: o The Kohler toilet’s pump had been damaged during the removal and reinstallation and had to be replaced which, fortunately, was covered under the warranty. o The new Caesarstone vanity top for the bathroom sink was chipped during either the removal or the reinstallation and had to be replaced. o June did not correctly measure the Caesarstone seat for the shower bench which then had to be remeasured and reordered. All work was finally completed in September 2020. It then took another three (3) months or so for Knockout to provide me with closeouts of the two permits, documentation showing that all subcontractors and suppliers who worked on my job were paid in full, and to provide me with a waiver of lien. This whole process, from start to finish, which was originally supposed to be take eight (8) weeks as per our contract, took approximately eighteen (18) months (notwithstanding that work was not permitted to proceed during January and February 2020 due to the pandemic). I had to retain a lawyer and an architectural consultant as a result of this ordeal. I wanted to fire Knockout but finding another contractor willing to complete a job started by another contractor is next to impossible. There were other instances of unprofessional and incompetent work too numerous to mention in this review, but the foregoing sets forth some of the most egregious instances of Knockout's failure to perform work in a skillful, professional and competent manner.

Knockout did an outstanding job on the bathroom renovation project. The office staff and contractors were thoroughly professional and attentive. I was very pleased with the quality of the work and the entire experience.

I renovated my whole apartment in Upper East Side, New York City. The quality of the work was amazing and the project manager made sure all finishes are done perfectly. They come with you to shop materials and guide you to buy things that matches your expectations. They are easily reachable and extremely responsive to the calls and any inquiries during the work. They should improve their speed on getting approvals and paper work were needed.

They don’t do small jobs like mine.

Knockout Renovation did a full gut renovation of our apartment in the W. Village. The team is a pleasure to work with. They are professional and pleasant. Their initial estimate was highly detailed so we knew exactly what was included and what was not. Bids from other contractors were very general and left so much to interpretation. Whenever there were surprises during our renovation (as there always are in a gut renovation) Knockout worked through it with us in a fair, trust-worthy and reasonable manner. Their workmanship was top notch. We have not had to use their 7 year warranty yet but have great confidence that if we do, Knockout will be there to take care of any issues

The project went well and the results are beautiful. I'm very happy! Knockout handled all the filing with the building managing agent, were very responsive if I was unhappy about how something was looking, they have a 7 year guarantee on their work and products purchased through them, billing was fair and transparent. Owner responds to your emails and concerns fairly immediately.

Knockout had the vision that I lacked to turn these two depressing rooms into rooms that thrill me every time I enter my apartment. They took care of everything -- one stop shopping -- which is what I needed as a busy person running a company. From the first consultations, to the drawings, to the demolition and rebuilding and finishing touches, it was a pleasure to work with them. My friends and colleagues are blown away by what they see.

It went really well. Keith and Ana were very responsive and hands on in managing. The quality of work was excellent and in the year since then, they have been responsive when I have reported issues and dealt with them promptly. I would highly recommend them for anyone who is considering a renovation

I had designed the basic layout I wanted and Knockout Renovation followed my ideas and improved upon them. They came up with great ideas to maximize space and create a home for us. Timing worked great ? on schedule. They were neat and the building constantly commented on how wonderful it was to have a company come in gut an apartment with no mess, noise or disruption. I can't say enough about Knockout. I would definitely work them again ? from design to construction to finishing.

Everything from start to finish was handled well and explained with thorough detail. Knockout understands the challenges that busy, career-focused New Yorkers face, and that's why they coordinate everything from design, coop board approvals, product ordering and the renovation work. Home renovations are stressful, there is no getting around that. However, having dedicated, experienced, highly trustworthy professionals who are fully committed to ensuring client satisfaction and a gorgeous end result is worth paying a little bit more for in my opinion.

Everything from start to finish was handled well and explained with thorough detail. Knockout understands the challenges that busy, career-focused New Yorkers face, and that's why they coordinate everything from design, building & coop board approvals, product ordering and the renovation work. Home renovations are stressful, there is no getting around that. However, having dedicated, experienced, highly trustworthy professionals who are fully committed to ensuring client satisfaction and a gorgeous end result is worth paying a little bit more for in my opinion.

It was a very good experience. I changed my mind about what renovations I wanted a few times and they worked really well with me. They were very understanding and accommodating. They were very patient as I decided what I wanted to have done. The workmanship was very good.

It was a pleasure working with Keith and Loredana on my kitchen renovation project. I had never undertaken such a large and costly project before, and Keith turned a potentially intimidating and sprawling effort into a straightforward plan. Loredana is an excellent designer and has a knack for understanding the needs of clients with little or no experience in home design. She's a little stubborn but it's OK because she's always right. Knockout is a full-service firm and works directly with co-op or condo boards if needed so you don't have to handle the paperwork. They also work with their own subcontractors and suppliers and prefer to purchase materials through them. The end result is pricier than a lot of contractors but the savings in time and effort made up for it in my case. I would definitely work with Knockout again in the future.

I called Knockout on 5/24 and Steve answered my call. He said they do the work I was looking for and would get back to me with "his guy" shortly. He followed up with a phone call stating he was having a hard time getting a hold of people on a Friday afternoon, presumably because of the holiday weekend. He did, however, follow through and get (unbeknownst to me at the time) a subcontractor to set up an estimate. Gent Shpuza (a subcontractor for Knockout) came to my apartment with reasonable explanation and estimate. The written estimate came in higher than spoken about and was very unprofessionally written up. It lacked company name, license number, etc that a Co-op board requires for work approval. Additionally, Gent mentioned, while at my apartment, that he was not part of Knockout but was "called in when the job is too small for Knockout." Ironically, he wore a shirt with the Knockout logo. After requesting a more formal estimate with specific written information on it (company name, license number, etc), my email was ignored. A follow up email was also ignored. Finally, my brother called him and he sounded annoyed and disinterested. He said he'd send the updated estimate in a few days. That never happened. All in all, the whole situation took about three weeks, time off work, and no outcome. It was a waste of time and unprofessional way to handle the situation.

There were complaints against them every day .

Right from my initial phone call I was impressed. They listened to what I wanted to do, explained to me about their company and set up an appointment to see the kitchen. Henry was right on time and was enthusiastic about the project. He carefully took measurement and pictures. We discussed ideas about what could be done and he totally understood what I was hoping to accomplish. He promised a to return in a week with a labor quote and some ideas on material. A week later he returned with Keith Steier the owner of the company to review the proposal. They came with impressive letters or recommendation and Henry also had a CAD rendering on his I-Pad of what the new kitchen would look like based on our discussions. This was more then I expected. Keith and Henry went through the labor proposal with every item detailed and outlined. It took a few weeks of back and forth before we got the proposal exactly as I wanted it, and I must admit that it was more then I expected it to be but because I genuinely liked and felt comfortable with Henry and Keith I went with it. And I was never once sorry about my decision. Henry took me shopping for materials and appliances. At one showroom he found a floor tile that was so beautiful we decided to build the whole design around it. He used the same tile on one wall to create a "feature wall" and modified the color of the cabinets to match. The result was striking. Henry made the process exciting and fun. We were all set to begin. Keith came by with his construction foreman and project manager. Unfortunately Henry was no longer with the company due to personal reasons and I was assigned a new project manager. I was nervous but Vivian picked up just were Henry left off. Everything went like clockwork. The construction crew was neat, professional and courteous. And most importantly, consistent. The same guys were there every day. They were constantly busy. Every day saw progress. When they caught up on the roughing they switched to painting. When the painting was done they worked on the floor and then the cabinets. They did it all and to perfection. Not one day in the entire 7 weeks of the project was missed. Vivian kept on top of everything and Keith was approachable and involved. When I decided to add some items they took care of it right away. The billing was fair and easy to understand and the punchlist was handled promptly. The end results are magnificent. Everyone that's seen the kitchen can not believe how well it came out. I still marvel at the detail and craftsmanship. Did it cost more then I expected it would? Yes it did, but there were no hidden costs, no massive unexplained change orders, no headaches. Everything was done on time and with high quality. And the bottom line is you get what you pay for. I would not think twice about recommending Knockout Renovations to anyone looking for a first rate contractor.

When the guy came, he told me I would have to make a hole in the wall so he could see what was going on. I didn't think I should be the one to make a hole in the wall, so I ended up going with another company.

They were great. They were very professional. They gave us a quote that was mind-bogglingly detailed, compared to the other companies' quotes. They broke down every single aspect of this very large job. The quote was about 30-50% higher than the other quotes. They were extremely professional and very nice to work with.