Dreams Unlimited

I've had 2 houses gutted and redone by various contractors and subcontractors and this was BY FAR the worst experience I've ever had with one. It's almost hard to believe. Dreams Unlimited was the subcontractor selected by Pella (we went through Pella) to get a new exterior door and storm door installed. The team of 2 rang our doorbell at 7:50am (we were expecting them at 8:30). Surprisingly, neither of them were wearing masks. And within 10 minutes they started saying they may have to leave because there's a CHANCE of rain. After removing the storm door and some of the old moulding, they then literally started talking amongst themselves for 45 minutes on whether or not to leave. They then decided to leave and by the time they cleaned up and left, it was 10:30am... it still had not rained. It did not start raining until 12:15pm and it was over in 15 minutes. The chance of rain was on the radar for days, so I am not sure why at the very least they didn't cancel the appointment ahead of time. My wife and I had prepared for weeks to make sure we were available (I confirmed with Pella multiple times on the install date given the times) and then Dreams Unlimited left us with no storm door and tons of cold air is now getting through the old door mail slot for the weekend, at least. I then spoke to the owner, Dan, and he proceeded to call me a liar saying he was 2 miles down from where I live and it was downpouring rain there so of course the install crew had to leave. I was so taken aback that I had to confirm that he was indeed calling me a liar about it not raining until 12:15pm (briefly) and he said yes, he was calling me a liar. So we then had to work with Pella on a new subcontractor because I refused to work with anyone as unprofessional as that. My advice: Stay away from Dreams Unlimited and if going through Pella, ask for a different subcontractor ahead of time.

So, glad I found these guys. Great crew!!! Steve, CJ, John, Vlad. These gentlemen show up on time and work non-stop. These guys have a huge amount of experience. They have been certified by PELLA. Which means they have Corporate backing and extensive training, as well as many many years of experience in the field. As far as contracting in general goes, they have seen it all and can do it all. You cannot go wrong if you do get to work with these gentlemen. I am currently working on a project in my home. The install of a glass wall. 10 wood casement Windows stacked closely together to create the illusion of a glass wall. It's the 3rd day of the project, 10 windows are installed and are weather right. Next comes the trim and finishing. Dreams unlimited and Pella have made my wife's dream come true. These guys are meticulous perfectionists. Try them for anything you can dream....

I can sum it up this way: Dreams Unlimited is production oriented, not client centric. They are fundamentally competent, but they do not treat the project as if it were being done in their own home. It could be that this is standard operating procedure for larger shops. However, I am used to dealing with one- or two-person operations, and perhaps they have spoiled me. To Dreams' credit, we have no issues with our new window. The new lighting system is fine except when we use our toaster oven; in that case, the LED lights all "flash" and we have to turn them off. My main issue is with our new backsplash. Even though Dreams installed new drywall, the tiles still aren't even. The accent tiles cave inward. It just wasn't a top-quality job, especially compared to the one we ripped out. There was also an issue with inconsistent tile color, which was definitely NOT the fault of anyone at Dreams Unlimited. However, I know my other go-to guys would have made sure I knew that the color variation was totally unacceptable, and they would have insisted I work with the tile provider to get appropriate materials before they installed it. Bottom line: I will not use Dreams again, I will not recommend them to friends of ours, and I will be sure to stick with my guys who do more than "check the boxes" on the proposal. They actually give a hoot about the work they do, and it shows in the results. All of that being said, if you are someone who is an expert in most or all aspects of home improvement, and you have the time to watch everything they do like a hawk, you would probably have a better outcome.

Dan and his staff were very professional from start to finish. We had all the windows in our home replaced in 2010 when we first moved into our home. The contract we signed for the work was quite detailed. We knew what to expect every step of the way. His crew was at my home for about a week carefully replacing all of the windows. Six years have passed since we moved into the home and we have had no issues with our new windows. We love them! One portion of the windowsill needed replacement and painting but was not included in the contract. Dan admitted fault on his part and replaced and painted the windowsill without additional cost. In 2013 we had Dan come back to replace our front door with a Pella door. His price was very close to his competitors. His staff replaced our door, cleaned up all the debris and left our home looking beautiful! We would definitely use him again and highly recommend his work.

Their pricing was comparable to others. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it. From beginning to end, it was a good job. Everything went fine, and they cleaned up well.

OK, Renovations are not the easiest projects to take on and given we have been renovating for a number of years, I am an educated buyer so ask a lot of questions and admittedly tweak proposals until they suit our needs. Dan is stellar about getting right back to me to answer my questions, research on my inquiries and repricing according to my decisions. He's very professional, polite and direct. It doesn't stop there, though. The Dreams Unlimited team is outstanding! Dan has retained most of his team for a good many years. I'm known to request a particular project foremen (master carpenters) and am pleasantly surprised when timing dictates I'm working with someone else that our different foreman is outstanding as well. And as projects go, there is inevitably times when we need to pause and clarify. Dan and the Dreams Unlimited Crew are patient, kind, willing to take questions, make accommodations as we go along (if necessary). In summary, Dreams Unlimited is a professional operation that provides high quality workmanship. While Dan is no longer in the field, he's always overseeing the business. Very refreshing. This is NOT a 'buy it from one guy then never see him again' operation. By the way, we venture to have 3 proposals for every project we endeavor upon. That often means we may speak to up to 10 (or more, ugh) contractors for a project. Just so you know that we do our research and do not throw all our business one way.

.

.

We've had several home improvement jobs done by Koffel Builders/Dreams Unlimited. They've always been very professional to work with, responsive, and they stand behind their work. You can probably get the job done cheaper by someone, but we've been very happy with their commitment well after the job is complete. Most of their crew has been with them for a long time. They are people we trust to have in our house even when we're not around. I would definitely recommend them.