CJM Custom Homes

I need to start my review by saying that I'm an overly-critical, and difficult person to deal with when it comes to work being done on my personal property (home, car, etc). Jarrett wasn't in for an easy ride dealing with me, and I'm thankful that he doesn't have to provide reviews on his customers. With that being said, our kitchen is fantastic. After a faulty dishwasher install by another company ruined a large section of our kitchen, I was not looking forward to having to pay for an unexpected kitchen renovation. I called several contractors, but no one was able to come close to Jarrett's pricing or availability. He was actually willing to perform services that no one else wanted to tackle. Since we weren't planning on our renovations, we didn't have the funds to replace all of our undamaged cabentry (which was your average, builders-grade, white generic cabinets). Jarrett was able to salvage our existing cabinets, add new ones where necessary, and make it all look seamless. No other contractor was willing to paint our existing cabinets since they weren't real wood. Jarrett's painter was fantastic, and you'd never know that our kitchen is a mix of old and new. We upgraded our countertops to granite, which look great, and really brought the whole kitchen together. In terms of pricing for the project, Jarrett was the best from day one. Even when our insurance payment came in at less than we expected for the repairs, he was able to work within our budget to make sure we were happy. There were certain parts of the renovation that my husband and I did ourselves (tile, and some trim work), and Jarrett did not try to "push" these items on us, or discourage us from keeping them as DIY. There were some bumps along the way in terms of scheduling, and project completion-time, but that is to be expected with renovations. All in all, we are absolutely thrilled with how our kitchen turned out. I wish we had been able to have Jarrett gut the whole kitchen and rebuild it from scratch, but he far exceeded expectations given the limitations of the situation. I would absolutely hire him again.

Excellent, this complete remodeling project of our home started in August of 2012 and the work was finished in early October, 2012. Over the course of the one year warranty period only three things needed to be repaired and Jarrett Spence, the owner of CJM, was on top of them each time. We couldn't be happier with the quality of the work two years after the construction was done. Throughout the construction process, Jarrett was hands on in helping us undertake this major remodeling job. The home built in 1996 is our retirement home and we had very definite ideas on how we wanted it to be finished. However, Jarrett didn't just do want we wanted done, he was very hands on in suggesting creative and practical ideas and making design suggestions from the structural work to the finishing work, All of these suggestions and ideas were done with our budget and cost, in mind; highly unusual for a builder. It often felt like he was more concerned with what we spent than we were. CJM's motto is "Your Dream, Our Passion". I can honestly say Jarrett believes, by his actions, in that motto. He listened to what we thought we wanted, made sure that it could be done cost effectively, and then ensured the work was done right. Often throughout the construction, if he wasn't satisfied with the quality, the work was redone without my prodding. If there is a negative here, the project took longer than we had planned. Some of that was due to the changes we made, some was due to the fact that Jarrett insisted it be done right. I will trade quality over completion time every time. I highly recommend Jarrett Spence and CJM homes for anyone who wants a quality builder who is honest, sets high standards for himself and his crews and is passionate about what he does. UPDATE: Interestingly, several months after the warranty was out, our shower started leaking. It apparently had been leaking inside the wall for some time. Without question and at his expense, Jarrett fixed the problem, remediated any potential mold issues, and rebuilt the shower.

This was our first remodel and the first real work we have done on a house that we didn't do ourselves - so we were nervous. We called several contractors. Most didn't bother to respond and some that did never showed for the appointment. Jarrett Spence of CJM Custom Homes responded quickly, set an appointment and showed up on time. Even thought the initial project idea was small, he treated us as though it was every bit as important as building a house from the ground up. He spent quite a bit of time listening to what we wanted, measuring and inspecting. He made some suggestions that really improved on our basic idea. Before he left, he gave us a ballpark figure for the work we had decided on that was very close to the actual cost (the final amount exceeded that because we added significantly to the work (covered patio, summer kitchen, landscaping, flooring)) as we were going to do it eventually and it made sense to do it at the same time. I know that some of the reviews said CJM's bid was higher than others and I understand why. Jarrett will not use inferior materials or subcontractors who are not true craftsmen. When he went over the project with us, he pointed out where his materials were more expensive than we might see on other bids, but explained that he was using those materials because lesser products would negatively affect either the aesthetics or function (and he explained how). He also built in allowances, explaining that until he could see what was behind walls and under flooring and decking that he couldn't tell what specific issues and/or problems we might encounter and he didn't want any significant increase in the cost. We didn't want a bid that was artificially low (only to become inexplicably expensive) or work that was substandard so we went with CJM and are glad we did. The final product is amazing!Jarrett met with us and the architect to make sure we were all in agreement about what was wanted and what was possible considering our budget. Once the plans were approved by us, he promptly dealt with the permitting process (keeping us informed on the progress of the permit through the various stages) and started the work. He was very careful about protecting the "living" areas of our home from the remodeling process. He was on site 90% of the time work was going on - if he had to leave he made sure it was ok with us, told us when he would be back and always made sure he was there to inspect and make sure everything was clean and safe at the end of the day. We have a young son and he was especially concerned with ensuring his safety. He repeatedly told the workers that there was a child in the home and that they had to make sure that there was nothing that could cause a child any injury (he clearly understands kids and the trouble they can get themselves into) - and he checked to make sure everything was safe - and child safe - before he left for the day. He was wonderful when interacting with our son - who thinks Jarrett is great (he was disappointed that Jarrett was not there to share his birthday cake and ice cream) and, when I called him in a panic because an emergency made it likely that I would be late to get my son from the bus, he went above and beyond the call of duty and rearranged his schedule to make sure he was at our house when my son got home from school.The subcontractors he used were prompt, polite and skilled. On the rare occasion that something wasn't done to either our satisfaction or his, Jarrett simply called the sub and told them to come back and redo the work. There was never any attempt to "sell" us on the work or convince us that we should accept it. If we wanted to change or add something, Jarrett would tell us if it was possible and let us know the cost. He never "pushed" an expensive change or tried to talk us out of anything simply because it would mean work for him. He clearly takes pride in everything he does and really watched what was going on. If he thought something could be improved, he would have the workers change or redo it - he is very meticulous and detail-oriented. He did an amazing job of coordinating the different aspects of the project and made sure that it was done in proper order (no subs stepping on each others feet or doing work which could damage or compromise completed work (i.e. making sure the roof went on after any work requiring people to walk on the roof area was completed). When the project was done, he was as excited as we were at the finished (and awesome) product. The end result was so much more amazing than we imagined. We would never use another contractor and we have already talked to Jarrett about some other projects, including a kitchen and bath remodel.