WINDWARD CONTRACTING

I liked their work however after they finished, we found a crack in the ceiling of the kitchen cabinet they installed. I contacted them and sent an email about it. They told us that they will come and take care of it but they never came. So that was quite frustrating. Other than that, they did great. Their price was okay. It was not the best price, but it was fair.

I was immediately impressed with James (owner of Windward Contracting). He was quick to respond to my initial inquiry and was on-time and dependable throughout the project. His team was wonderful to work with and when an error was made of purchasing and installing the wrong hardwood floors, his team immediately corrected the situation with no questions asked. I found Windward to be total professionals who deliver A+ workmanship. I would (and probably will!) hire them again in a heartbeat.

Simply there was very poor communication from James Desarno with us the homeowners. He did a poor job of supervising contractors and decisions and mistakes were made by both James' crew and contractors because there was poor oversight. For example the dry wall team did not show up for 3 days and when they did show up they only work a few hours and did a poor job and then tried to charge us for the hours which they were absent. There was a very simple contract so a lot was left to us or Windward to make decisions on and many times, specific choices were made without consulting us. For example, switching the paint supplier and color we specifically chose, allowing the drywall to finished with a texture when we needed it to be a flat finish, getting the spray foam contractors started before we were ready ( We needed to get the pregnant mom out of the house). We were told (though it was not in the contract) that the tiling work would be done by a professional but it was done by the same guy who did the demolition (he may be underpaid for his talents & did a good job ). The worst part was when the plumber broke the heated floor coil when installing the toilet. They had to tear open the tile near the toilet and did a patch job on the electrical. They were in a hurry to finish our project so they quickly patched the tile (with out using a professional tiler or a licensed electrician) and it looked horrible and I sometimes I am afraid that the patch is a fire hazard. We complained and they would not properly fix it. Kamel, Leroy, & Tony were very good workers and very friendly. The positive was the Windward crew tried very hard to keep he job on time and on budget. There are more then a few great attempts from James and his crew to help us out. For example, we chose our own vanity and granite company which delayed the project. As with most projects like this, we the homeowners changed our mind and added things we went along. James did a good job in the beginning to make accommodations but it seemed that he grew a little tired of us in the end.

We contacted James based on a referral and were not disappointed. We thought we were stuck with a small kitchen due to a load bearing wall dividing the space to our dining room. James was able to redesign the space including removal of the wall and installing a new engineered beam within our budget. What a difference this made for us! Thanks James and Tony for the excellent work!

I had heard countless horror stories from friends that had done remodels, but I ran into very few contractor related issues during mine. James is an excellent project manager and very easy to work with. I knew I could trust him on a variety of fronts: his pricing was always fair and accurate (they stuck to their original bid for the labor on a lengthy project with quite a few variables), the quality of the work was always solid and they did not hesitate to fix / change anything that I wanted done differently, and with only a few exceptions they met the overall schedule we agreed to even after numerous changes / additions. I also appreciated that I could communicate with James over email and get very prompt replies. James and Tony are easy to work with in terms of detailing requirements. They did a great job of meeting with me as frequently as necessary to figure out specifics, talk through different challenges, etc. Another challenge with my project was that I live on a houseboat. This meant restrictions in terms of storage, access to different areas of the house (floats were used in different areas), etc. They always made it work without any difficulties, and also accommodated my continuing to use certain areas of the house.

James et al. were extremely professional and pleasant to work with. Of the three bids that we got, James' was very reasonable and I felt that he was the best of the three (all well rated on Angie's list) at listening and understanding our goals of the bathroom and offering some very nice ideas about how to make the bathroom great. He was extremely prompt at returning our bid and got started pretty quickly after we decided to go with Windward. The Windward crew and the subcontractors were excellent. The gang was extremely pleasant to have at our house and we were very comfortable with them being in our house either alone or with my two-year-old and nanny. One of the subcontractors (who did REALLY beautiful work) was a little crazy but very nice. James was extremely responsive about resolving issues (staying too late, slow, and other problems) with this subcontractor. He was also very easy-going about things that we decided to have done later (e.g. painting) and got these scheduled very quickly. Furthermore, I know that I am very detail oriented about repairs and James handled this better than anyone could possibly be expected to. He got photos and texts and emails from us about things through the process and we only got quick and apparently unfrustrated responses, with total remedy of everything that was of concern to us. He even threw in the cost of the master bedroom painting (it is a huge room with 12 foot ceilings) because the remodel took longer than expected. After they were done, we had a little issue with the overhead (rainshower) shower head leaking and I thought that scheduling a repair would be a hassle but it was taken care of quickly and with only one call. Without perspective of working with other contractors, I would think that this interaction was normal. Now that I have had some roofing done (and am totally regretting that I didn't ask James if he could supervise some roofing contracting - will write that review once the roof is finished), James and Windward have moved to the top of my list of people to call for anything related to contracting. We will look forward to working with them again in the future.

Contacted James on Monday 07/12 to request that he come to my home to provide an estimate for an extension on my home. James requested an early morning appointment (7:30am) on Friday 07/16 because of traffic this would be the most convenient time for him. It was a bit early for me but I was willing to work around his schedule a bit. I called James on 07/15 and left a message to confirm our appointment for the next day, I provided my name, phone number, and address again to ensure he had all of my information. On Friday I was ready to meet James at 7:30am and by 8:30am he still had not arrived. I called and left a message for him at approximately 9am. I've still not heard back from James, no reason for the missed appointment and no appology. I've decided against making a second appointment with James as if he can't keep his appointments I have concern he will be able to keep to a schedule if he were to perform the work we are looking to have done. Very dissapointing.

James/Windward already have many good reviews on Angie's List and I can attest that they are well deserved. It was a big project on a tight budget with lots of different components and complications but in the end James/Windward got the job done. I've been living in the finished product for just over a week and have been incredibly pleased. As for the grades, I docked a point from the Quality to reflect some issues I had with having to really push sometimes to get them to not cut corners. I also had to dock them for responsiveness due to some communication issues wherein a few times info I gave James verbally or by email didn't make it to the team on site which lead to some really unnecessary head aches for everyone. There were also some times at the end of the project where I had a very difficult time getting status updates.

Everything went very well. We met with James and shared our ideas which he was able to translate to drawings for our kitchen cabinetry and bathroom design. The workers took a lot of care in keeping the dust to a minimum (we were living in the basement for the duration). We are very happy with the outcome!

After getting three quotes for a two-bathroom remodel, I decided to go with James. He wasn't the cheapest, but I felt his quote was more honest and was going to have the least suprises. He seemed pretty flexible and was generally a nice guy to deal with. During the quote phase, James was responsive and easy to work with, but soon after I selected him it became harder and harder to get responses from him. For example, 2+ months after selecting him, I was still waiting on a contract from him. I've heard of contractors ignoring you after you sign on the dotted line, but in this case he didn't even have a signed contract. The esitmate for my project was $30k+, so this wasn't pocket change. This was our first remodel and I had lots of questions. At first James responded to my emails very quickly, but then days turned into a week without reply and near the end, he was going 2+ weeks without getting back to me. There were many open decisions to be made and it was clear James wasn't making us a priority. After 2 months of "waiting," James said that he had to push out our start date even further. Had James been more engaged, I wouldn't have minded waiting but after spending 2 months trying to get a contract out of him, let alone any progress, it seemed like the right opportunity to go our separate ways. On a side note, one thing I found baffling was that he sent me to Wallingford (when I live in Kirkland) to look at bathroom fixture showrooms. They didn't have a lot on display and were mostly high-end options. After doing an online search, I discovered a showroom in Redmond that not only was more than double the size of the Wallingford showrooms, but also carried a wide range of fixtures and brands not found at big box stores that were realistic for the budget he quoted. At first I wasn't going to write this review given no actual work had been started or completed. I have no first-hand knowledge of his workmanship or project management. However, after my frustrations of trying to communicate with him after telling him he won the bid, I realized that I wouldn't recommend him to any of my friends and that's what Angie's is all about. As such, most of my ratings are N/A, but I give James an F for Responsiveness and a C for Professionalism.

I am sure the company does good work as demonstrated by some of the comments customers have made in the past. However, for me personally, it took a few days and two messages to get a return call to schedule a meeting to get an estimate. After a meeting was scheduled for over a week out, I realized that I have Presidents Day off so I left another message to see if he is willing to meet on the holiday as many contractors I've met are very welling to meet on weekends. Unfortunately, I never got a reply one way or another. Though I am not surprise based on my earlier attempt to get an appointment scheduled but I was disappointed. How difficult is it to call back to say that you are not available on the holiday and to keep the original scheduled date? After reviewing some of the Fs given by a handful of customers in the past, I called to cancel the meeting. If the company is so non-responsive now to a prospective customer, what are my chances after the contract is signed!

Windward were a pleasure to work with. James and Tony and their subcontractors - particularly the electrician/plumber were courteous and considerate. We were always made aware of exactly what the schedule would be for the work and were kept updated regularly about progress. They were able to accommodate our request that the work be performed promptly and within a set timeframe - in fact they were able to complete the work ahead of schedule. Any changes we wanted to make to the original agreement were dealt with immediately and without issue. A very stress free experience and the new space is wonderful and we are enjoying it immensely.

The entire remodel took approximately 5 months. Windward was very responsive; all the subcontractors they used were very professional and delivered a very good work product. My only suggestion is that you keep on top of your contractors - given the huge amount of details involved in our remodel, miscommunication was bound to happen at times, which is nothing major if you have a contractor willing to listen. Overall, the experience was as good as it could possibly be with a remodel this big.

Excellent, so well that we invited them back to remodel our master suite

Overall the finished project is mostly good. Our frustrations were: 1.) They lost interest in our project after the first week or so; some days no one did any work. 2.) They botched some important details, like installing our closet on top of carpet, despite confirming this specifically. 3.) They installed heated flooring and afterwards told us that, because we put it over crawlspace, it would take hours to heat. If we'd known that beforehand, we wouldn't have wanted the heated flooring. 4.) They assured us they were putting in adequate lighting in the bathroom, but we now find ourselves showering in low light. 5.) They left out a couple of pieces of our closet, and then told they were "extra". The closet company came by and told us they were important structural elements but couldn't be installed ex post facto. 6.) They had us pick out bathroom hardware more than a month ahead of time, but didn't tell us until near the end of the project that one of our choices was no longer available. They then got upset with us when it took time for us to scramble to get a replacement. 7.) They inadequately repaired crown molding in our living room which was unnecessarily removed during the bookshelf installation.

The company representative never showed up!

Overall, the remodel went very well. We were somewhat skittish and suspicious at the outset, having had to fire our previous contractor for numerous problems. We hired Windward from Angie's List and were impressed with their professionalism right from the start. Their estimate and billing forms were explicit and clear, with everything spelled out, including schedule. When we did encounter any glitches, Windward was quick to come up with solutions and implement them. They maintained a positive, can-do attitude throughout the job., and they did their best to keep things tidy. We have recommended them to several friends, and, in fact, Windward will begin a project for one of them next week.

We bought a project house that had "good bones" but needed a lot of work. To maximize a kitchen remodel, that included removing a chimney that impacted each floor. We wanted to get a lot of work out of the way before we moved in... James came out promptly to meet with us and provide an estimate. I liked that in his reviews, other clients related that James was very responsive and his crew was good to work with. We found that to be entirely true! He did a good job of communicating with us when unexpected things arose or when we needed to make various decisions. He provided quotes upfront and gave us options about what could be done (i.e. finding that there was a weird fake wall in part of the kitchen). James finished on his original completion date even though we enlarged the scope of work. I enjoyed everyone we met that was involved in working on our house. Although we weren't living there, I was often there at times work was going on. When problems or complications came up, James and/or his crew saw them through to completion and wanted us to be satisfied with their work. We were!

There were a couple bumps in the road, but we are very happy with the finished project. The demolition was completed in a day and everything was left very clean. The electrician came and walked through the space with myself and the contractor, and did all the things we asked. However he decided to change a light switch to bring it up to code, but didn't consult with anyone about the change. We came home to find the new configuration not what we wanted. I was frustrated that I wasn't called about this or having the reason for the change explained until after the fact. We found a compromise and a solution that worked, but we still have to paint over several holes that were put in the wall. Everything was framed out quickly and ready for drywall. The drywall installation took longer than expected, because of the drying time in a basement without much airflow. One complaint with the drywallers was that they didn't seal off the basement from the house very well, and we had a lot of dust in our living space. They did a great job - the corners were clean and neat, and the surface uniformly smooth. The trim installation was done in 2 days, just because a baseshoe was needed to cover the gap between floor and wall. All in all, a great job - we are very happy with our improvements.

A few years ago we had a major leak in our shower. The work that was done eventually failed, and we decided to rip out the whole bathroom to solve the problem (again) and update the bathroom. After talking to this contracter, and being pretty skeptical from the previous experience, we were convinced that we could expect the problem would be fixed and that the people we were dealing with had integrity and would do quality work. There were a couple of months during which we considered and shopped for the longest-lead-time items, the cabinet and countertop. That also entailed designing the color schemes for the rest of the bathroom including the tile. Once we had the cabinet and countertop ordered, we were ready to go (we thought) and the work began. The first few days required plumbing valves, and that's when we began to play catch-up with the crew. We began shopping in earnest for "the rest of the story": the new tub, toilet, shower, etc. The water damage repair took a little time, and it was gratifying to watch what a thorough job was done "underneath it all" (the crucial part you pay for but don't see later!). They responded to requested changes (a new platform for the larger tub we decided we had to have) without missing a beat. They were attentive to our questions and efficiently dealt with issues that came up (delays in items shipped, the plumbing for the larger tub fitting with the fixtures we chose, etc). We were equally happy with the quality of the tile and shower folks. The work was completed in exactly the timeframe we had been originally told (5 weeks). We appreciated the peace of mind that came with the trust we had in them.

Windward transformed our cold, cement-floored, dark and dank basement into one of our favorite parts of our house. They were very punctual and showed up every single day that they planned to be there. The workers were polite, clean and very professional. We had 60-year old crazy plumbing in the ceiling and they hired master magician plumbers to turn this into a functional and attractive 3/4 bath. They did a terrific job.

He came to our home, did a detailed walkthrough with me, and was likeable and professional. We spent quite a bit of time talking, got along well. Then as promised he followed up with an estimate. After we made an agreement about the work to be done, and agreed on the price range and start date (in January, after the holidays), he disappeared and I haven't heard from him since. I've called and emailed, but have had no response. This was very surprising and disappointing, since we'd apparently gotten along so well. I feel this is unforgiveably unprofessional, and if in fact something had happened or he had the opportunity for more lucrative work he should at least have called to explain he'd be unable to perform what we'd agreed on. Now I've lost nearly 3 months, and have to start the process all over again with someone new.

It was great. There was no charge due to the fact it was still under warranty. They stabilized the cabinet frame work. The people that did the original job came back to fix the door. They were really polite. Easy to work with and they actually strengthened an additional cabinet to prevent the same problem from happening in a different location.

The project went very well. I've heard lots of remodel horror stories but working with James was very pleasant. He was very responsive before and during the project even though he had a number of other projects going on. He was quick at delivering a quote and gave good advice on ordering fixtures and other material. He did a good job consulting us during the project whenever there was a problem or design change. He and his staff took pride in their work and were very concerned with our happiness of the finished product. His staff was very professional and did a great job keeping the house clean enough to live in during the construction. They did a great job staying on schedule. The finished product is high quality and looks great!

James responded quickly to providing an estimate of the work and providing a contract to help me understand the costs, expectations, and contingencies that could impact costs or time estimates. He was amendable to a couple of changes that came up during the project. He gave us recommendations based on our budget and goals. The work was completed on time (start date was a day late), but did not have impacts to the end date. I wasn't completely happy about the communication around the cabinet heights and clearance problem between the kitchen cabinet and the oven range. There should be a couple more inches clearance to allow for my large cooking pots. Notifying me of the potential clearance issues via measuring the cabinets with the existing microwave would have helped make some decisions. Overall, the work was quality and executed well and on time. The bathroom and kitchen flooring turned out well and the Corian counters look quality. Winward did an excellent job and I will likely use their services again.