MKE Design Build, LLC

We worked with MKE Design Build for several months on planning a full remodel of our kitchen. For the most part, it went well. Their designs look great and they seemed like great people to work with. Then it went south. At the front end, we let the company know that we were looking for a project with a budget of about $25,000. After going through a thorough process of designing the remodel and doing multiple walkthroughs of the house, we were given a cost estimate of literally a handful of dollars under $25,000, which we thought was perfect. After putting down a 10% deposit and signing a contract, we worked with the company to pick materials in line with the estimates contained in the contract and scope of work. When we received the updated contract, the price went up to $31,000 – an increase of over 25%. We were obviously taken aback by the huge cost increase as we were led to believe that all of our material decisions were in line with the initial estimates. The countertops went up 15% and the cabinets went up 10%. Again, we were led to believe that our choices were in line with the estimates provided. We expected our flooring costs to go down as we decided to refurbish our original maple floor rather than install a tile floor and were told this would lead to a major decrease. The new price was within 3% of the old price and no explanation was given for this. Worst of all, the plumbing cost went up 100%, despite literally no changes to the project that would necessitate any increase. The excuse to this one was that the plumber somehow missed the giant beam that goes across our basement and there was a matter-of-fact expectation that we would pay for what was, if the contractor was being honest, an egregious error on their part in estimating costs. The remaining cost increase was due to a decision to replace our plaster walls with drywall. Drywall installation is cheap, and yet this added over $2,500 to the project cost. We would have been okay if this was the only major change – this was at least due to a material change in project plans and can be explained with a straight face, but unfortunately it was one of many. After having a frank discussion with the contractor and expressing our disappointment, she offered for us to return to the original proposal. We took this offer at face value and decided that we would offer the initial proposal (eliminate the new drywall in the process) and would pay for the increases in countertop and cabinet costs even though we were misled on these costs. We would keep the initial price on the plumbing and the flooring – one of which favors them and one of which favors us, likely for similar and counterbalancing amounts. It was a good faith proposal, based on the contractor’s initial offer and contractor’s cost estimates. We expected a reasonable discussion to ensue, and for us to ultimately reach an agreement and move forward on a project we had spent months working on already. What happened next shocked us. After months of preparations and working together (not to mention a 10% deposit), the contractor responded to a reasonable good faith offer by unilaterally backing out of the project. As I can surmise, one of two things happened. One, the contractor purposely underbid the initial estimate to get us to pay the 10% down payment with the understanding that they’d jack up the price later after we were well into the process, with the assumption that we’d be too far in and would have no choice but to go along with the increases. Or, the contractor got another offer for a project at the same time (January, usually a down time for renovation contractors) for more money and decided they wanted to create an excuse to back out. In either event, we ended up with months of time wasted on a contractor that did not operate in good faith. Although I’m sure the contractor will create some sort of rationale in responding to this, realistically, one of those things occurred. It left an awful taste in our mouths and I’m writing this review so that future homeowners considering this contractor understand what you’re walking into. In addition to all of this, this contractor frequently missed deadlines that she chose herself in responding to action items and also cancelled multiple meetings on us at the last minute. At the time we didn’t sweat this as we just had our first child and were intentionally planning months in advance for a January project. But in hindsight, I think we dodged a bullet. It’s one thing to miss deadlines when planning a renovation, it’s quite another to do so while your kitchen is in shambles. If anyone reading decides to go with this contractor, our advice would be to hold a strong line on deadlines early and often, to not give them a budget range on the front end that they can use to string you along, and to assume that whatever estimate they provide you will increase by 25% when it’s all said and done. We have worked successfully and seamlessly with contractors before and we thought our time with this contractor was going well also. But then they essentially pulled a bait and switch on the price and then backed out when called out on it. Renovating a part of your home, especially a part as important as a kitchen, is a big deal. The process dominates your life as a part of your home is destroyed and rebuilt over the course of weeks or months. Trust and good faith are critical. I would highly recommend seeking out a different contractor than this one.

Michelle and Tom with MKE were recommended by a friend and we are so happy that we chose them! Quality, honesty and follow-through are their strong-suits. They worked with us from the beginning on our budget and adjusted where ever possible.. after finding asbestos, uncovering structural issues, and loosing a job on our end... all while I was pregnant (they do a total clean up after every day of work) and both of us traveling for work (they came and went, locking up and taking care of the packages from the porch for us).. they were understanding and flexible in what surely would have been a nightmare with any other contractor. So happy we went with them and their team; I'd trust them with any project, they are now like family! Specifically, we had a terrible 1950's kitchen that was falling apart and unusable. We removed 2 load bearing walls, asbestos, tore out the old kitchen and a pink tiled 1950's half bath. We reworked the entire floor plan and put in a brand new open concept kitchen and new full bath. It was an awesome experience.