Associated Housewrights LLC

I am grateful beyond words for my beautiful new front porch! Meri's design honored the original 1932 bungalow character while refreshing it with a charming contemporary look. She went above and beyond to prepare several design options each with varying budget implications. Todd's tenacious attention to craftsmanship and detail produced a superior built structure that will last for years to come. Bill Remis finished the interior door frame with masterful meticulousness. For the final phase, Jay and his Five Star team with nearly surgical precision completed the finishing exterior paint. Boone's conscientious management of every step, obstacle, and element of the project was executed with kindness, graciousness, humor, and most of all conducted in the highest of professional standards. His keen eye for perfection caught small anomalies missed by others. I know I have forgotten many of the other team members, but know they are recognized and appreciated, as well. The entire team made the experience, from start to finish, just so easy! I never had to fret about orders or deadlines because I knew the project was in excellent hands. Every single member made me smile or laugh with their easy going spirit. I just sat back and let the magic happen! My new front porch has become a neighborhood destination for the many strollers, joggers and dog walkers that pass by daily. I've lost count of the admiring comments and heartening, "Love your porch!" as strangers stop to chat. Many report on watching the progress over the months with eager anticipation. In an odd way, during these difficult pandemic times, I think people found some comfort in seeing something superbly built that is enduring and a reminder there is a future. You all helped to not only design and build a stunning porch, but perhaps unintentionally gave others needing a little distraction and reassurance that beautiful things can happen in gloomy times.

Very well-good coordination and easy to work with. Professional.

We asked AH to bid for us on a basement remodel of our 90+ year old home. They were told our budget was $40k. They were told our top priority was to have the space match the rest of our house. They took us to prior jobs that were nothing like our home or our desired remodel. They made us pay $2000 for a design, which we were told we would "own" before they would bid for us. The bid came in at $90k, double our budget, which was terribly offensive. When we asked to bid the design (which we liked) to other contractors, we were told that we could not have a design with measurements on it unless we built with them (making the plan essentially useless). To get the bid down to $40k, we had to use the cheapest finishes out there (think the sale bin at Menards). Their final budget included a lot of nebulous "time and management" charges, which could balloon way up. When we got our basement bidded out to other contractors, the estimates came in at $58k and $62k, with top end finishes that matched the rest of our house. So: Tippy top price, not great service, not listening to the customer, trying to suck every dollar out of you they can.

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Assoc. Housewrights did careful expert job on the work THEIR EMPLOYEES WERE DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FORr. But they insisted that we employ an outside contractor that THEY chose for our roof (our roof had to be replaced and adjusted due to kitchen remodeling). That eventually wound up costing us extra amount $18 K later when we had to hire another roofer to clean up the job and repair water damage. We think assoc housewright should have helped us with additional roof costs since they insisted that we work with their roofer ONLY. e.g. their roofer put on the wrong type of sky lights for our slope of roof and it caused water damage. Fortunately RIdgetop roofers fixed everything. If only we could have worked with them

We truly enjoyed our remodel experience with Associated Housewrights, and are still impressed by the quality (as are our friends and family - not to mention other contractors who have come over). The design process went through several iterations; the team was willing to work with us to make changes as needed. We uses some of their ideas, but had a lot of leeway to create the kitchen we wanted. They have an interior designer on staff; she was helpful as a sounding board, but we found that we had our own specific ideas and style so didn't use many of hers. The work took about 2.5 months, largely on time except that there was some delay waiting for cabinets and countertops to arrive. Nothing more than we could handle. The communication was great; Mike, the lead carpenter, was fantastic and always clean, prompt, and cheerful. The other staff abd subcontractors we met were also top quality. Scott would stop by on occasion to check in on us and see how work was progressing. They are spendy! We blew our remodeling budget for the decade (which wasn't a surprise - their estimates were in line with the final cost) but have an awesome kitchen to make our neighbors jealous. I do think we got what we paid for: a top notch modern kitchen - we'll just have to put up with less quality on our future projects. I hope we don't regret it!

Associated Housewrights says its motto is "Listen, Design, Build." Listening is their key; they listened wonderfully. Scott Shimanski brought in Rick Hoekstra from Kitchen Ideas Center who listened some more. Within a week there was a design for me to approve. I made a lot of selections. I got a start date. They told me it would take 10 weeks, but it took about 8 or 9. I wanted lots of light, the ability to see my birds and gardens and lots of storage. I got a wonderfully useful and bright kitchen which is open into my dining room. Brian Evans was assigned to be the supervisor on my job; he kept me informed regarding progress. Mike Achten was "my" carpenter, and he made sure that the site was protected and all the rules for lead abatement were followed and that everything was cleaned up every day. He brought energy and enthusiasm to the project. I enjoyed their presence even though I had to cook on the grill or in the microwave in the basement. Everyone they had come in was a real professional, very pleasant, very skilled. I could not have been happier.

They replaced a rotting porch and rebuilt the bases of 3 supporting columns. They built decorative new post for the porch. They also did the masonry for the porch which included removing the old bricks and replacing them with new one's. They weren't cheap, but they were like true artisans of old Victorian houses and my porch looks like the original one. They would absolutely keep it up with the period of the house. However, you get what you pay for. It was worth paying them and I know a lot of people who wouldn't get their porch repaired for 11000 $. They were wonderful and they were the best guys in the world. I plan to use their services in the future as well.

They did a very good job. They have their own engineer so he was able to work with us on the planning. He had good ideas for us on options on how we would go about the project which we ended up using. They have a project manager for each project. They met with us atleast once a week and always kept us up to date on where the project was at and were on schedule minus the exception of time in which the materials were delayed. Other than that everything was on time. They have some employees and also have a group of subcontractors they work with regularly and when they told people to show up, they showed up regularly. The quality was excellent. If something was not done well enough, they would have someone redo it. If we noticed something unacceptable they would take care of it. They were just very good to work with all the way around. They are more expensive than others, but did a great job.

I think I've said it all.

We are very pleased with the outcome. The carpenter assigned the job (who I knew from his work during the remodel of the other house) was experienced, very pleasant, respectful of the property, on time, and focused on the work at hand. He cleaned up the site before leaving. The cost estimate given prior to the work was accurate.