“This was a HUGE project that we had been dreading, and had waited 14 years to do. We bought the house when it was 10 years old, knowing we would need to remodel both bathrooms. We had remodeled the kitchen ourselves a few years after we bought it, without using a general contractor. We were comfortable with all that, but we knew the bathrooms would be difficult and not something we could do ourselves because of some design issues that needed fixing and because they are on the second floor (unlike the kitchen). We first interviewed Alex in early 2013, but after some initial discussions we needed to put the project on hold due to a family illness. In early 2014, we called him again, and he said he was super busy but would come anyway (after we told him that we were not in a huge rush, which I think helped him decide to keep talking with us). So he and his designer (Kathryn Renz) worked patiently with us for the next 5 months to figure out the design, put together a tight scope of work, and develop the cost estimate. (The long duration of time was due to us, not them.) At that point, we then hired this company formally and paid for some of Kathryn’s time.
Kathryn did a GREAT job getting all the measurements correct on the original space, which had lots of weird angles. That was crucial to this project going well. She and Alex proved to be a great team – through her design knowledge (the “do’s and don’ts” of design) and his knowledge of what would drive up cost versus be less costly. During that planning process, the onsite project managers (Bill and Bob) also made a visit, and spent considerable time in the attic crawl space with Alex to figure out if structural permits would be needed for various designs (turned out not to be needed). The attention to detail and practicality continued once the walls and floors were opened up. I was totally impressed when Alex, Kathryn, Bill, Bob, and the cabinet maker (Dan) all met onsite at that time to go over the plan again to verify it would still work and iron out small details (and figure out whether any major problems might arise, which didn’t happen). That “reality check” meeting lasted an hour, and they were super thorough. I had already decided that I had hired the right firm, but that meeting just cemented it even more for me.
After that meeting, it was pretty much all Bill and Bob’s show, plus their subs. They all did a fantastic job. Their work was technically sound. Bill and Bob really know their framing, ducting, etc. They also took care of two notable extra things that came up, which became really important to us once we were aware of them. One was a better engineered structure to support the weight of both tubs, which sit directly above the kitchen. (They mounted a 15-foot-long 2×12 beam to the outside wall, and put one side of each tub deck on that. Thank goodness both bathrooms were opened up, so we could do that!) The other major extra was fixing and upgrading the vent duct that runs from a downstairs shower; the original duct was venting way too high and not working well at all (which we didn’t know until we started using that shower during this project). They plumbed a new duct for the downstairs bath into the new ducting they already were required to install for the upstairs baths (per code requirements). This major improvement to our downstairs bath cost us very little and solved a huge headache. Bill and Bob communicated well, they and their subs contained their dust and mess very well, and they were a pleasure to have in our house. We gave them gifts afterwards because we were so pleased with the work, and with them as people. We especially appreciated that Bob would respond super quickly to texts or phone calls during evening or weekend hours whenever we had a question.
He and Bill were both TERRIFIC communicators throughout the process. Bob also was very responsive in taking care of a couple of small things that needed attention after the work was substantively completed. The fact that we had already made our final payment didn’t mean that we were off their radar screen; they were really responsive, and always prompt. The one or two times they were running late, they would let us know about that well before they were supposed to show up, and they would reschedule if they could see that this was necessary (rather than stringing us along). I also want to point out the quality of the work by the subs and the vendors. See the attached pictures. Dan Adair did great custom cabinetry work (including custom medicine cabinets) for a very reasonable price. Koi, from Lotus Plumbing, was prompt, efficient, and attentive to detail. And Nick, the tiler, did AMAZING work! We had selected a single style of tile in a fairly large size (18-inches by 18-inches), which had to be laid throughout the entire master bath (floor, tub, shower, and toilet room). His precision and layout took my breath away when I saw it completed for the first time.
The lines were clean, nothing was offset in a way that looked odd, and the grout lines and tile pieces flow well throughout the space. People who have seen it have commented on this as well. Suzanne at ProDesign helped us pick out the tile, and was super patient with us as we kept changing our minds. We can’t say enough good things about her and their selection. Another terrific source of help was Sierra at The Fixture Gallery, who helped us with the tubs, sinks, shower heads, faucets, and valves. We are really pleased with all those fixtures, which are much quieter and more water efficient than the original materials. Lastly, I have to give a major thank you to Alex, for convincing us that in the master bathroom we should put the cabinets on legs and then install under-mounted LED lighting.
That is one of my very favorite features in our new master bath. One note on the cost … the $46,200 was what we paid to Alex Freddi Construction for the design and construction work. That included tear-down, haul-away, and basic construction materials like drywall and new vent ducting. But it did not include the new finished materials (i.e., tile, counters, cabinets, fixtures), which can vary widely in price. We paid for those separately, though there were discounts because we were working with Alex. Also, this project took about 8 weeks to complete. And there were usually 2 people onsite at all times, and sometimes as many as 6. So this was a huge job, and we feel the cost was very reasonable given the effort and high quality of the people and the finished product. We will hire this great little company again the next time we need to fix a chronic house problem. They were terrific.”