A-1 Builders & Adaptations Design Studio

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We found a leak in our basement in December in the Pacific NW (wet weather!!) and used a different company to help us find it. After getting inattentive service from them, we called A-1 Builders to help us. They responded immediately and thoroughly. A project manager came & poked holes in our wall to find the source and gave us all the possible options. We found a walled-in functioning water heater (!) and arranged to have it replaced. It soon became obvious that was not the source of the leak. After further investigation, we found the entire sewer line under our concrete slab was eroded. A-1 quickly came up with a plan to dig a trench the length & width of our home and replace the line. Much coordination was required with the plumber and flooring companies. The project manager and lead guy on site were very informative, helpful, and congenial during the entire 2 month process. The workers showed up every morning at 7am and worked until 5pm. They had Fridays off with this schedule. It was backbreaking work for them and I do not remember any complaining. One day, one of the regular guys did not come to work. He had been professional at my job but apparently had some unacceptable behavior elsewhere. Everyone was very professional about his removal and I was once again assured of this business's dedication to excellent service. Because of the walled-in water heater, a new cabinet and door had to be created to encase the heater. This was done with great skill and attention to detail. A small cabinet for my exposed fuse box was also made and was done in a way that matched the rest of the woodwork/handles in my house. Also, extreme care was taken to protect my furnishings from dust and dirt. The workers did a nice job cleaning up after themselves daily. If any of the workers smoked, they did not do so in my house & they did not leave any butts. I am starting another project now and am using their design division to help finalize the plans. I will have their construction division bid the project.

It went great! Maggie was a pleasure to work with and has amazing vision. She listened to what we were thinking of doing, asked us questions about our lifestyle and designed the perfect floor plan for us. Her knowledge on design and building made it so easy for us!

A1 was was fantastic to work with. They told us what we could expect in advance, had everthing in writing including a time-line of when the work would be completed and progress payments expected. The lead on the job showed up on time every day, oversaw every sub-contractor and didn't leave our job until the day it was finished. He communicated with us daily and took care of every concern we had along the way. They were willing to let us help in the areas which we were able and if we had any problem, it was taken care of promptly and to our complete satisfaction.

Their work was excellent. We provided them with work space and they are careful about not getting dust into our home. They put up plastic to prevent this. They have a schedule but sometimes things come up and they have to switch workers which was not a problem for us. They stand behind their warranties. They work hard and try to finish the project in the specified time. They hire good sub contractors. They are friendly and punctual. They do a good job cleaning up afterward and haul away all of their debry. They work with you if you want to do some of the work yourself. They bring out a port-a-potty for their workers so they do not need to use your facilities. We have used this company for various remodeling projects since 1996.

To tell the story 'from start to finish', as the prompt suggests, for our project would be next to impossible in this space. But the important information that we want to share is that overall,the project went splendidly. Yes there were a few delays..nothing unreasonable...and often due to changes we ourselves chose to make. Yes, the cost went up from the orginal discussion, but again...largely due to changes made by us, or un-foresee-able snags related to safety or code requirements. No more than is expected on any remodel or building project. By the way, at the outset of the project, A1 gave us a clear well-defined written description of what to expect and possible unexpected snags. We felt we had a good idea of what to expect on this project, and any 'snags' were handled forthrightly, promptly, and professionally by A1 Builders. Our experience with everyone working on our project was positive and acutally FUN. Workers were friendly and professional in their behavior to us (the consumers) and to each other...which we found to be equally as important. On a project this size, there must have been moments of tension and/or frustration for those involved in this project, but if there was, it was kept behind the scenes. We saw only a relaxed friendly demeanor....folks seemed to ENJOY their work. We would work with A1 Builders again in a heart-beat, if we had another project to do on our home, and we have heartily recommended the company to anyone we thought might be thinking of a remodel project. Perhaps the most important benefit we enjoyed working with A1 is that they were DEPENDABLE, IN CONTACT, and HONEST about anything that seemed like it wasn't going according to plan. They SHOWED-UP!! It was great.

I guess I covered this in the above window...but please read the comments above...and again I say...from start to finish, Adaptations Design Studio was a joy to work with. I would add that from the financial perspective, Maggie and the Adaptations team were meticulous and tenacious about helping us find ways to re-claim and re-use materials (keeping the project green, and maintain the home's original feel and bones) , and to save on costs, without sacrificing quality. And again, we really valued the way Adapations showed respect for our ideas and helped us to implement them by using their expertise to bring it all together into a cohesive and beautiful space. We highly recommend Adaptaions Design Studios every chance we get, and would go to them without reservation if we ever needed to embark on a remodel/restoration project.

Overall working with A-1 was a breeze. they were always very responsive to us when issues or concerned came up. Every one on the job was friendly, honest and helpfull. Some days we felt the work could of been moving ahead faster but there were many elements of the project going on at various times, which all toke time. A-1 did stay with in the range of the bid, and followed a preset timeline almost to a T. We are extremely happy with the high level of quality A-1 provided us with. They are hold customer satisfaction in high regard, which is a rare find in todays world.

We needed someone to help us decide how to redesign portions of our house to better suit our needs. It was a harder process than either my husband or myself new it would be. All the choices were explored to the fullest. The result being a design that we felt sure about and were not second guessing during the remodel stages. That being said at times we felt there was too much tome spent "over designing" things. Perhaps we were more in need of lots of rough drawings and loose ideas then the finished drawings of so many ideas. Cindy always did a good job listening to what we wanted and what was working or not working and redesigning things. It toke quite a bit more time then we thought is would to get the plans to the final stages. Overall Adaptations did a great job and we are satisfied with the end results. We may not be fully appreciative of all the talent the team has at Adaptaions because we may not be the type of people that need all those details of design. they are good at what they do and we would recommend them toothers for sure.

Explained above. It went very well. I'm pleased with the results and feel safer in my home.

Rick Debrow, owner of A-1 Builders was hired by our temporary council as an "expert" regarding a severe drainage defect caused by the contractor that built our home. He recommended that we paint on a waterproof membrane material to take care of the problem. For this he made more than one trip out to our home and charged mileage and travel time as well as for time spent. Much of the time he joked with our attorney and discussed comparison of their hybrid cars at our expense. We wound up hiring an expert from Seattle who determined that the problem was much more serious and gave us the documentation we needed to obtain damages in the amount of $100,000 more than A-1 proposed we needed. The rate A-1 charged us for this "service" was outrageous.

In both cases the design and build quality were excellent, and we've been very happy with the results. A1 is a great company to work with. They listened and took the time before we started to understand our wants and tastes, and provided a thorough and professional proposal detailing everything from insulation to doorknobs. They then worked with us every step of the way to ensure our satisfaction. All their crew were prompt, thorough, and respectful of us and our property. They did quality work, and above all they accepted responsibility and held themselves accountable for their work. Nobody is perfect, but one of A1's best qualities is their willingness to make things right and even point out their own mistakes when they find them - no worrying about the contractor trying to cover things up until they're gone. We've had bad experiences with contractors in the past, and working with A1 was a breath of fresh air. Kudos to Rick Dubrow for creating a culture of quality, service and integrity; and to his team, especially Patrick and Shawn who worked with us on both our projects.

In both cases the design work was excellent. Maggie of Adaptations took all the time necessary to get to know us and our tastes, made thoughtful and tasteful recommendations, and worked with us to develop and implement our own ideas. Working with Maggie was truly a collaborative effort: she listened, recommended, and incorporated our ideas into the design as well as her own. As with A-1 Builders that did the work, Maggie and Adaptations were never afraid to admit a mistake and take responsibility for making it right. They were also always flexible and effectively managed last-minute changes. On more than one occasion during construction, panic set in at the last minute when we realized we were going to have to live with our choices for years to come, resulting in us requesting last-minute changes. Maggie handled these changes with common sense, aplomb and good humor (one instance she dubbed "the backsplash meltdown"), either incorporating the changes or calming our fears. Adaptations has been great to work with on both of our projects.

The entire process was handled in a timely fashion. The estimate was given and a date set for the work along with a scheduled completion date. More damage was discovered once the siding was removed and additional repairs were needed that were not part of the initial estimate. The workman showed up early and worked for 2-3 days to get the job finished. Where the story gets interesting and what has endeared A-1 to me as a contractor I have used 2 more times since the above mentioned repairs were done is as follows. After the repairs were complete I was anxious for our first wind driven winter rain storm which was the only set of circumstances that the leak manifested itself. It took a few weeks for this to happen and much to my dismay when the rain was driving into the south wall I still found evidence of water coming inside the house in the same spot as it had before. A call to A-1 the following day had the foreman back out to the house to investigate the problem. After some investigative work it was determined that one of the workman had damaged the flange of one of the vinyl windows that they had re-installed. This tear had caused the continued leaking. Now I am sure you are thinking to yourself, why would you recommend someone who make a mistake in a repair job? There is no way that I could have determined that the damage to the window flange was something that pre-existed the work that was done or if it was caused by the work that was performed by A-1. A-1's foreman theorized that one of their workman caused the damage inadvertently when re-installing the window. A-1's owner contacted me and said that they would cover the cost to remove the window and replace it with a new one as it was their error. As it turns out I upgraded to a better window and paid the difference on the window but that was it. A-1 took care of it as promised and the window has been trouble free for 5 years. I was so impressed by their honesty that I have used them for two subsequent repair jobs in the past year. Having dealt with unscrupulous contractors in the past, this was a refreshing change to find someone that actually stands behind their work. I have recommended them to several friends and co-workers who have been in need of repair services. And I would heartily recommend them to you as well.

We met with the designer several times in order to outline our wishes, and then review her design details. We were given samples of tile to look at and compare. We visited cabinet and plumbing dealerships recommended by the designer to pick out our desired styles and fixtures. During the construction process, we met with the designer on a regular basis to review work in progress and go over questions. There were no unanswered questions. All expensed items were explained in detail. When a lighting detail appeared awkward in the 'new' kitchen, we were able to make the needed changes with no hesitation. The designer was able to conceptualize the log structure and adapt the design to fit. (The log walls are not flat or square. The designer made it easy for the carpenter to adjust the fitting of cabinets and counters)

Met and discussed project with project carpenter/supervisor. He took over with preparations (masking, draping plastic barriers) and coordinated floor refinishers and stone counter supplier. The process was well-planned and carried out. We were fully included in progress, and when decisions were required. The work place was kept clean throughout. There were no delays as the work progressed from the first dismantling of wall boards to final finishings.