J Allen Smith Design/Build

I am sharing my experience with J. Allen Smith Design Build to assist others in the DMV area in making informed decisions. One year after paying a $40,000 deposit for a basement renovation, the project remained only partially complete. Despite all installments being paid on time and in full, I eventually issued a formal notice of contract termination due to unresolved delays and quality concerns. The owner, Jesse Smith, acknowledged this in writing, stating: “Understood, I agree and will begin providing the documentation requested.” A subsequent accounting review indicated a substantial overpayment for the work actually performed. However, upon my request for a refund of the unearned funds, the contractor levied an additional $21,107.42 in "Demobilization" and "Time Lost" fees—charges I have formally disputed as they were not outlined in our agreement. As of this writing, Mr. Smith has ceased communication. He has failed to return any portion of the funds, including the $18,491.55 balance that appeared as an overpayment balance in his own accounting (even after his inclusion of the disputed fees). For further information regarding the status of this dispute, please refer to: Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC): Case # 1028-2026 Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection: Case # 26-OC-092727

We have been so impressed with Jesse and his team from initial meetings discussing the scope of our project to the beginning stages of construction. We have never before embarked on a large construction project and were worried about cost and doing our part to understand all of the steps involved given our busy lives. Jesse has listened to us from the very beginning of the project and has stayed focused on what we wanted and our priorities and has not waivered from that over the past several months as we worked with the architect to design the project and through all of the COVID-19 craziness. He is a straight shooter and a very skilled communicator. He has patiently answered numerous questions and we feel like we have a good handle on what to expect over the next few months. Jesse really makes us feel like we are part of the design team! It's actually been fun so far, which was a really pleasant surprise.

Jesse and his crew were, from the beginning, professional and courteous. We looked at several contractors in our area and went with this group because of a few factors - pricepoint, comfort level with Jesse in our first few meetings, and of course his work is everywhere in our area right now so we saw quite a few of his finished projects. We finished our addition - we doubled our small center stair colonial by pushing out the back top and bottom to make a kitchen/living area on the first floor and a large master suite up top - in July of 2019. I write this review now because JA Smith Design/Build has a policy wherein after a year they come back out and touch up issues that have arisen over the year. At least in our case, these were all minor and simply spoke to a year of living in a house - the build and such have proven perfectly sound. I'd recommend these guys to anyone looking for a contractor.

Jesse recently helped design and renovate our master bath. This is our third renovation project with his company and we love working with him. Jesse is filled with enthusiasm and a love for his work and it shows in his creative ideas, problem solving and finished product. His team works very efficiently and always meets deadlines. Would hire him again in a minute....oh wait, I already did!

We were newbies to the renovation process when we hired J Allen Smith and we're so happy we chose them to work with. They gave us a realistic budget, did a great job of keeping us updated throughout the process on any changes that popped up, and completed the project before their estimated delivery date. Luis, the project manager assigned to us, was really good with communication and such a pleasure to work with. Jesse also checked in with us often so we felt like we had the ears and eyes of the whole company on our renovation. We also liked that the company offered a client portal which kept all of our paperwork in one place and put our project on a calendar that we could reference. We passed every one of our inspections the first time; windows, doors, siding, etc, all arrived when expected-it was a really efficient operation. We hit one snag during the build due to the age of our house but we were presented with multiple options for addressing the problem and they helped us work through a solution that was the best for our house and budget. All around we had an excellent experience with J Allen Smith and we'd recommend them to anyone with a big home renovation project.

Had a great experience with J Allen Smith Design and Build. Excellent customer service, professional standards, attention to detail and superior design instincts are hallmarks of this company. Will definitely be calling them for our next project.

We are pre-construction but have so far had a great experience working with Jesse and J all Smith. We are in a historic row home and have needed a longer than normal planning and permitting process, Jesse has been great in walking us through all the key elements and getting us ready for the eventual work. He has also been very helpful in assisting when our 1890's has tried to decide that it doesn't quite want to make it until construction date. Quick, knowledgeable and straight forward.

I am a consultant specializing in helping contractors set up accounting and job costing systems for effective management and oversight. I worked with Jesse intensively between December, 2010 and December, 2012 and continue to assist him in getting ever more useful information from his accounting software. Jesse approached the challenge of setting up an effective office system in the same way, and with the same care and foresight that he approaches his customers' projects. He is a planner. He envisions an outcome, selects appropriate materials and timeline, and engages the assistance of competent professionals in the completion of his objective. In additional to the expectation of professionalism and excellence that he transmits to those who work for and around him, Jesse himself is personable, engaging, exacting, and dedicated to providing a pleasant experience with a quality result. Melanie Hodgdon President Business Systems Management, Inc.

My husband and I hired J. Allen Smith Design/Build to complete a whole house renovation of our 1922 row house in DC. They did a complete demolition of 3 floors, brought the electrical up to code, took one bathroom to 3 full bathrooms and 2 half bathrooms, restored hardwood floors and most of all made a outdated kitchen to a new modern updated one. They also, repaired the main roof to the house, placed the front porch which was in terrible shape, and gave us entry to the basement from the front of the house to the newly renovated basement living space.

I have been working with J Allen Smith for several years now, as an Architect/Builder Design build team in which my firm, archi-TEXTUAL, does the design and they do the building. They have proven to be reliable, honest, and produce very high quality results. For me as an architect, having a go to contractor that is capable of working in a collaborative way in order to achieve our common goals is extremely important. Unlike many other builders, J Allen Smith are not afraid to setup to the challenge of constructing clean, contemporary home renovations and additions while help to keep the project on budget by suggesting alternatives that may be more cost effective to build. I will continue to recommend them to my clients as my contractor of choice.

Hired for trim carpentry and then a design and build master bathroom. Gorgeous results! Truly the most talented, honest team I ever had the pleasure of working with! Do not look any further-hire them now!

I work with J. Allen Smith on the design and specifications for their roofing, roof insulations, siding, sheet metal and gutters. Pleasant to work with, has the same personal goals for their projects as I enforce on my design build projects. J. Allen Smith puts the customers wants and needs first in their design and application.