Better Builders

We used better builders for a mother in law attachment to our house. The scope of their work was full construction, plumbing, new foundation, framing, siding, windows, front porch. This was a very entailed project that took about 9 months to finish. I have done many remodel projects with various contractors and i will say that Better Builders and Chris Bergman far exceeded my expectations. Up front I will say that Better builders was the priciest of 4 quotes that I received for this project, but their attention to detail and addressing potential issues for this size of project made me feel more comfortable going with them. (The other 3 bids overlooked many possible issues) The next thing I will say which was a wow factor for me was their level of communication, daily briefings, and my main contact Chris Bergman. I honestly can't remember when I received as much customer service, great communication, and overall a feeling of being cared for as working with Chris. I can't even count how many times I felts he went over and beyond to make sure that we get the project exactly that I had planned for. With the final project being done, the workmanship and attention to detail is by far the best I've had with any of my remodels. I joked with my wife that maybe the reason we've always had issues in the past with other remodel projects were because we didn't go with the more expensive bids. You will not be disappointed with better builders and I would highly recommend asking if Chris Bergman can be your project manager.

Better Builders is aptly named. Seth and Luke were mainstays at my house for 3 months, arriving promptly every day at 8am, and cleaning up everyday before they were out at 5pm. Don, the PM (worth his weight in gold), was at my beck and call - making himself available whenever needed. Everyone involved with the project was professional, courteous, and customer-service oriented. Yes, they cost a bit more - but you get what you pay for. I’m someone who barely has time to manage my family never mind contractors - Don did that for me and way more efficiently than I could have ever done. The design process with Amanda (from Housewarming) and Pete B from BB, was so much fun for me - having waited 10 years to refinish our 1954 kitchen and bath - I was ready, as were they, with great ideas to supplement my own research. In fact, 2 appliances (Best hood and Sharp microwave drawer) I would never have known about had it not been for them and the Best hood might be...well...the best thing about the remodel. :) I highly recommend Better Builders. Their customer service is bar none. They get a B vs an A on price only because they’re was some sticker shock. And this may be unfair because I believe the driver for that is more so related to the lack of workforce in these jobs, which allows the subcontractors to drive up their prices. In addition, Seattle has a healthy economy, driving competition even further. I’d do a special call out to the sub who did our bathroom tile - so patient with me and willing to brainstorm on best design, as well as a call out to the gentleman who did an outstanding job on our hardwood floors. They (BB) choose the best so expect to pay Nordstrom prices but also know the work is going to last way longer, or be that much superior, than anything you’d buy at Forever 21. Sheila Nishimoto/West Seattle

I called and talked to the front desk person, who made an appointment to talk to the owner of Better Builders the next day. I get a call at noon the next day, and speak to Bill Babb. I explained to him what I was looking for and then asked him what it would cost for the remodel. He gave me a high estimate of $175k. I then asked him how much to do a small bathroom, and he said $60k. Wow! That's way too high for my budget. I then asked about the bedrooms, how much to remodel the rooms ... $50k. How can a bathroom cost so much to remodel? Sorry, Bill, too rich for my blood.

Better Builders just finished structural work, kitchen/bathroom updates & added a covered deck for our home. The structural issues were tricky & three other construction companies had not been able to find a solution. Better Builders found an absolutely eloquent solution of vaulted ceilings that kept the structural wooden rafters exposed. Our house has truely been transformed! The team went out of their way to ensure our input was incorporated throughout the process and the overall cost was very reasonable. I could not have asked for a better experience and would highly recommend them!

Better Builders was great to work with. We ended up not having the work done, but we met with them a couple of times and they were great about providing us with all of the information we needed to make a decision. The price of the renovation was simply too high for us, which is likely more due to market conditions than anything.

Very well - timely communication, quick, professional work.

Besides the plumbing and electrical issues, they worked with me to figure out extensive soundproofing needed to maintain the livability of the main house. The result is a very quiet and livable apartment. I thought the bid was too high but hired them anyway based on my previous experience with them. Once they started working, it was immediately apparent that doing the job right involved more work than I had anticipated. Keep in mind that they are a general contractor, so the price is going to reflect that fee. For that fee, you are going to get a company that keeps their word. They show up and do what they are supposed to. It was the same trustworthy crew that worked on my previous 2015 remodel.

See above- one was a significant renovation from tree damage, one was a new kitchen and one was a consult for a client with a rotted deck.

Always professional, always have great ideas. A pleasure to do business with!

Didn't hire them. The estimate to remodel an approximate 10X8 bathroom came in at over $30,000. Felt they would have done a good job, but couldn't justify spending that much when we could get it completely gutted and redone for 1/2 that amount.

Very professional. They worked to their schedule. Some jobs took less time. The job took about 12 weeks. We really enjoyed working with this company and they have great workers.

It was 3-4X the normal rate. They were also suppose to do some repairs and never showed up.

No go, no response or communication.

NOTE: The above price includes sales tax, architect fees, engineering fees, and permits. The property is designated as Environmentally Critical Area 40% steep slope. I haven?t included the cost of the work we did ourselves. Our goal was to remodel the house to live on one level with aging in place in mind and later on be able to create a legal apartment in the daylight basement. In order to downsize we would need to add on to our house. It was also very important to us that the remodel not look like a remodel. We wanted to work with Better Builders based on word of mouth, reader recommendations in the West Seattle Blog and Angie?s List reviews. In early talks with Bill, the owner, he suggested that my husband and I could do some of the work ourselves as this would keep costs down since we had a tight budget. His willingness to be so flexible won us over. We partnered with them and they did a fantastic job of making our vision come to life. The construction schedule they presented us with was realistic. Once they broke ground the work continued for three months. They didn?t disappear for days on end like other contractor horror stories people tell. They stuck to my budget and I didn?t get nickel and dimed. Any problems that came up were quickly resolved which made for a stress free experience. Their project manager Pete is a master at problem solving. We had only two communication problems. One involved the architect not including us in a very important email and the other involved contract terminology about something that was unique to my project which resulted in an extra charge. Overall everyone was incredibly professional, punctual and terrific. They all treated us like our project was the most important thing even though they were also working on other jobs. We ended up with a high quality, seamless remodel that has completely changed our lives for the better. Ultimately, whoever you choose to work with involves going with your gut feeling. If I had to select one word to describe this company it would be ?Trustworthy?.

Honestly, I wish I could afford to use this company. Because everything else I've encountered about them is awesome. I contacted them hoping they could do my front yard, which was totally nonfunctional for us when we bought the house and which we were preparing to strip down to the bare soil and redesign from scratch. Every contact with them was kind, courteous, and professional. Their designs were terrific, and done by computer to give us detailed renderings even when we hadn't yet paid them a dime -- something most companies seem to save for committed customers. They were patient with us on the phone and they sent someone out to go over the designs with us in person and walk us through the details of their price estimate. The problem is only that you get what you pay for; and this company which handles so many details perfectly consistently seems to come in at full twice what anyone else charges for the same job. I've asked them for bids on a couple of other projects since then, hoping that was a fluke -- I *expect* to pay more for a company this good, really; that would be OK, but I just can't afford to pay two or more times (once it was almost THREE times) what other good, solid companies with the same level of professionalism and almost the same level of detail and quality are asking. It's too much, for a jump in quality which *is* two or three times what some other companies might offer, but which is not two or three times what the *best* of the others offers. I can get nearly the quality of Better Builders for half their price, and that's just not enough difference to be worth that great a price jump. But if I had that kind of money to throw around, I admit it would be nice to work with the best sometime; and from everything I've seen (I've walked around and looked at some houses they've built, in addition to the estimate and design they did for us) they really are the best. They're just not so completely head and shoulders above everyone else as to be worth charging two or three times what even the best of the others are asking.

We thought it was too high at the time but it may not have been. We did not use this company for our remodel.

It's been a couple years since we had a large remodeling project with the provider. We've asked them about items throughout time and they've been very responsive. They had a set of plumbers come out to fix the pot filler for us and they have been absolutely phenomenal! They stay with you and follow-up with you. They do things as if it were their own house and go above and beyond.

Very professional, neat, cleaned up after day. Completed on time and on budget. Went according to plan.

Pete came out promptly and gave me an estimate, but we didn't hire them right away. Once we agreed to a date that would work, Pete came out with Fred and the work went smoothly, and was done in a professional way and done well. I was impressed with their work and I would recommend them to anyone.

They were very prompt and professional. The drywall looks great.

Overall, this has been a miserable experience. I signed with Better Builders because they had good reviews on Angie's List and promised that they would have my staircase completed up to code within a week. 3.5 weeks later, I was standing on my shoddily-built staircase with Mike pointing out all of the flaws (the stairs squeak, the wall between the stairs leans to one side, the walls were painted the wrong color, the clearance does not meet code, the floor tiles were not replaced, the new drywall under the stairs was not textured, the extension of the buttress that runs along the wall is uneven, there is paint-bleed on the trim, there is a hole in the bathroom drywall from someone carelessly punching through the wall, etc). On top of that, they refused to haul away a 780-pound deck that had to be removed. Having lost faith in the ability of this company to do quality work, I stopped payment on my final check, I then discovered that the job needed to be permitted, which ran contrary to what I was told at first. I brought this up with the main office. They danced around the issue until I threatened legal action against them, at which point they got a permit and had it inspected after the fact. (Very shady, but at least I have a document signed by the City.) If I had known that this would be the experience, I never would have signed with Better Builders. This has been a waste of time, energy and money.

It was a hole in the ceiling that prompted us to call Bill at Better Builders, but we had been eyeing some other improvements around the house so we took the opportunity to get an estimate for it all. Bill came out and assessed the work and was very prompt in providing an estimate. Then, Pete came over to explain their approach and talk us through the logistics and timing. They were very amenable to our schedules and preferences. And more importantly, very patient about explaining the plan to our novice ears . Both Pete and Bill are very thorough-minded and professional, as were the other people on the project. They arrived each day (very punctual) and cleaned up after they left. And, we'd see the progress each day when we got home. They took care to match existing fixtures and were also conscientious about offering environmentally friendlier options (paint). It was a great experience and I would readily go to them again for our renovation needs.

Overall Better Builders performed a high-end large scale remodeling project that we just love. We highly recommend them.

He's on time and detail oriented. He's just great to work with.

Bill established trust from the begining with his calm, straight-forward demeanor. The steam shower took a while to arrive, so Bill had wisely delayed tearing up the existing room prior to the arrival of the shower. When it finally arrived, everything was coordinated beautifully and overseen daily by his employee, Phil Faulkner. Our home was well-protected and then well-cleaned afterwards. His workmen went the extra mile to ensure our satisfaction and adjusted to changes mid-stream calmly. They even helped me fix a doorlock while waiting for a subcontractor to arrive. We are very pleased with their workmanship and will certainly use them in the future.