Graves Design & Remodeling, Inc.

Do NOT hire Graves Design. What should have taken 3 months took over a year! From start to finish there was nothing but problems. We signed a contract in August and went to his show room on Traford Ln. in Springfield which had recently been updated with some beautiful cabinets. His assistant drew up plans for us and we chose cabinets. The drawings were sent to us and upon review, I noticed several discrepancies in measurements. I brought these to the attention of the team and they made some changes, but I would later find out not all issues were remedied. Come October we inquired when the cabinets would arrive and to our surprise it sounded like they hadn't even been ordered. After all that, the cabinets still arrived in the wrong sizes. This set us back several more months as we ended up having to reorder several. On top of that, no trim was ordered. There were no kickplates, island trim or anything for moulding. Once the second order arrived, there were still problems with the island cabinets being too tall on one side. Doug suggested we just rig them and make the island an inch taller than the rest of the kitchen. I said absolutely not. I then sat up for hours one evening trying to think of ways to make it work so we didn't have to wait yet another few months for more cabinets. I came up with a plan and we ended up doing a two level island with a bar on one side to accommodate stools. As a customer, I should never have had to be this involved in correcting the contractor's constant mistakes. Along with this, throughout the process Doug was hard to get ahold of and would never come to the home to check on things unless I insisted he did. Even then, he came once or twice over the course of 3-4 months of construction. Working with all of his subcontractors was ok, but they were not well coordinated. For instance, the countertop company showed up before the cabinets were installed. They said Doug told them that the kitchen was ready with cabinets. They came from a long ways away, so they measured what they thought would work. Of course they were wrong and we had to have new countertops cut adding more time to the process. Beyond this, we had wood flooring in our living room that came up to our kitchen tile. I told the contractors countless times we only had a few pieces of wood to replace what they might need to move, so they should be extra carful to keep anything they could. On the day they removed flooring, a large part of the wood floors were removed without care. In the end we waited another month for them to go find something similar and make it right. As the tile flooring went in, it was fine, but within a few weeks the grout started to crumble. After speaking with Doug and his assistants several times, we finally got one of his contractors to fix it. Unfortunately several months later grout started breaking out again and after months of trying to contact Doug again, we are still without a reply.

Terrible Experience. Signed a contract, made a downpayment, and no one contacted us for months except for grumpy excuses. After 8 months of no work, we asked for our money back and were threatened with a lawsuit for asking for a refund. Hired a lawyer and threatened to sue to get our downpayment back. After 13 months, we finally got our money back. No work was done and we wasted 13 months and $1000 paying a lawyer. Do Not Hire!

This company has been awesome! Helped us with building an addition onto our home, and they pulled all permits. They are excellent and Doug is really knowledgeable and helpful. They give classic good customer service and very hard working, professional and smart staff members as well. They all appear to be trained in house. The finished product is great. They even did a 3D computerized design drawing for us, to help us see exactly what our addition would look like before it was started, so that we could sign off on it. Thank you!!

Graves Design and remodeling was flexible and worked with me on a transition to a new home. Once re-quoted, the work "rolled" into place with well-coordinated overhang, roofing, siding and gutter work all completed within 2 weeks, once the project was outlined and defined. This took some time but, ultimately was very happy with the quality work and focused way the work was completed. Doug, owner is very willing to work with his clients to suggest alternative approaches and more modern design trends. He's personable and helps the client develop the best design plan within the scope of the project. Would recommend especially if you want to be in contact with a hands-on pro who knows the ins and outs of the various trades.

The team at Graves Design and Remodeling was outstanding. We had a basic idea of what we wanted with our kitchen renovation/expansion. Caroline did a great job adding design elements - both functional and aesthetic - that really improved our basic idea. Chris and his team were fantastic with the demolition and reconstruction. They had really good attention to detail and craftsmanship. They gave good advice when there was a decision to be made that I wasn't sure of. They were also really good about handling small changes in the project without nickel and diming for every little change. Even during COVID, they were good about keeping close to schedule. They've been attentive to the small punch-list items at the end of every project. At least one of our neighbors has already done a project with them, after asking us who our contractor was. We will hire them again for our next project.

The craftsmanship of the team is outstanding, even down to the slightest detail! We feel the higher quote was well worth the quality of work. The professionalism was excellent and response time very quick. We would highly recommend and will definitely call again for any future work.

My wife and I are extremely satisfied with the work completed by Graves Design and Remodeling. We offer our strongest recommendation that you consider Graves for your future home projects. We hired Graves to complete a master suite remodel, which included a full bathroom renovation, and annexing a bedroom to create a spacious walk-in closet and home office space. From the first conversation we had with Graves to the last day of the job (and beyond), we were treated like family. I cannot emphasize enough how important that is when dealing with a design and build firm. My wife and I had never hired a design and build firm before, or undertaken a remodel on this scale. The Graves team was patient, efficient, neat, respectful, trustworthy, and fair. The work product was catalogue worthy. If you are so lucky to be able to work with Graves, you should look forward to Caroline’s beautiful design work, Chris. M’s customer-first attitude as a project manager, and Doug’s masterful experience as a general contractor. As a team, they are remarkable. We look forward to working with Graves again and again.

Graves Design and Remodeling converted an unfinished basement space into a cozy extra bedroom. The project went very well, from start to finish. It stayed within budget, and the team was responsive and pleasant to work with. The work was extensive - they excavated and installed a new egress window, installed new lighting, switches, and outlets, built in a closet, installed and painted new drywall, installed new padding and carpet on the floor. The attention to detail and commitment to the project exceeded our expectations. I would highly recommend Graves Design and Remodeling to anyone looking for a home improvement contractor.

Graves helped us with a new porch for the front of our house. They were great to work with from design through completion, and were careful to ensure they completely understood what we were looking for. Finished product is fantastic - thanks Caroline, Chris, and Doug!

Graves Design & Remodeling helped us transform our outdated kitchen into a place where I love to cook! Our designer walked us patiently through each decision so that we were certain to wind up with a finished product that would be sure to please. Each of the crews that were involved in the project were polite and did excellent work. Graves delivered on time and on budget, meeting or exceeding all our expectations. Looking forward to holiday entertaining in our new kitchen!

We are very happy in our renovated house! The crew was hard-working, punctual, responsive to my comments and suggestions, and very good at paying attention to detail. The woodwork was especially fine. Since it was such a complicated job, we had some scheduling back and forth, but my calls were always acknowledged. I felt I was in capable, trustworthy hands throughout. Doug was forthright about the gas lines in my 80+-year-old home and we compromised with gas fires and wood-burning stoves in fireplaces, that look very nice. I feel this is a company that stands by its work and its word. We were all so pleased with the kitchen that Caroline, the designer, had it professionally photographed for the Graves website.

Doug Graves and his team completed a water damage restoration and a new kitchen and bath. They were personable, professional and took care of every detail. Would definitely hire them again and highly recommend them.