Project Description:
Renovation of a 1967 era 2200 square foot single story ranch style home including the following: project planning, design assistance, asbestos & lead testing and abatement, gut & rebuild two full bathrooms & a powder room, fabrication & installation of custom vanities with Silestone countertops plus storage cabinetry, installation of tile floors & tub/shower surrounds in the bathrooms, replace all windows and exterior doors, frame & install three new exterior multi-panel door sets, removal of old siding & faux stone, prep for and apply new stucco, plaster old floor-to-ceiling fireplace, relocate all supply plumbing from slab to attic, install tankless water heater, install additional electrical circuits & multiple LED light fixtures (both internal & external), remove "popcorn" ceilings & skim coat, gut and refinish a 300 square foot patio room, perform multiple small modifications to internal walls plus widening of doorways, significant amount of drywall repairs/replacement, painting of the interior and the external eaves, installation of new hardwood flooring throughout (except baths which were tiled),installation of new baseboards and casings, and perform a myriad of small finishing details associated with a project of this size.
Performance:
San Diego Master Craftsmen (SDMC), owned by President Jon Hammer (licensed General Contractor), prides itself on thorough project planning and top quality construction. Mr. Hammer is selective in the projects undertaken to assure that the client’s priorities (quality, cost, & schedule) align with SDMC priorities, with quality being priority number one. SDMC limits the number of projects undertaken at one time to assure that Mr. Hammer and his staff will have the time to be thoroughly involved with each project from start to finish. For this house renovation, the project was divided between a design phase and a construction phase, with separate contracts for each phase. The design phase contract was at no cost to the clients as long as the clients proceeded to the construction phase. For the construction phase, this project was split to accommodate the client’s wishes to live in one half of the house while construction was performed on the other half, and then vice versa. Dividing the construction into two phases extended the project schedule as it meant all trade personnel would have to do their work in two different time periods. This scheduling approach was appreciated by the clients whose priorities were quality #1, cost #2, and schedule #3.
During the design phase, SDMC worked diligently with the clients to define in great detail the project tasks and materials list. Significant effort was spent to minimize any construction surprises, even opening walls (with permission) if needed. As a method to assure quality, SDMC screened and carefully selected only subcontractors (the “craftsmen”) that are proven, very experienced, and generally highly rated on various review sites. All of the project subcontractors visited the project site during the design phase to participate in the planning and estimating, thus helping to avoid the risk of construction surprises. This process also enabled the clients to meet and assess the personnel who would later be working on the job site; it was a positive experience. Although the clients spent considerable time and effort to describe the detailed project objectives and do preliminary designs, SDMC provided an excellent designer, Heidi, to work with the clients to refine the designs and assist in the picking of finishing details; she was very helpful and a pleasure to work with.
The construction phase was completed without any significant surprises, a tribute to the thoroughness of the design phase. There were only two change orders, both of which were initiated by the clients. The quality of the craftsmen’s work was consistently good to excellent; any call-backs were of a minor nature or touch-ups. Noteworthy outstanding work was performed by the craftsmen in the areas of cabinetry, tile setting, drywall, ceiling finishing, flooring, and stucco. A particularly challenging construction task was the alteration and finishing of the master suite to be aging-in-place friendly including a curbless walk in shower with linear drain; the finished result is both functional and beautiful, and has already served as an example to prospective SDMC clients. There were two schedule impacting problems during the project, neither of which were the fault of SDMC. The first and biggest problem was a high-end purchased front entry door set that would never close properly; SDMC & the clients teamed cooperatively in a ten week dispute with the door manufacturer who finally agreed the door set was faulty and then manufactured a new set which took another six weeks. SDMC adjusted the construction schedule to work around the problem as best as possible, but the door delay did impact project finishing by a couple months. The other problem was with a tankless water heater that sporadically would stop heating water during showers. Again, SDMC worked diligently with the manufacturer, retailer, and plumber to attain resolution for a difficult problem due to its intermittent nature. Both problems must have cost impacted SDMC but never did they balk at standing behind their contract and completing the job as expected.
All of the personnel on the project were professional, courteous, did not smoke on the job site, and never gave the clients any concerns about their presence. The clients were especially appreciative and thankful for SDMC’s on-site foreman, Rick; his attention to detail and creativeness reflected his lifetime experience in the field. At times, the clients felt the project cost may have been a little high, but acknowledge that attaining meaningful cost comparisons for a project of this scope is difficult. In the end, the clients recognize that obtaining quality work from professional & reliable trade personnel has a price tag, thus the clients feel the project cost was fair for the results attained. The clients therefore recommend SDMC be considered for any medium to large remodeling project, especially where quality has a higher priority than cost.
We came in and stripped all of the stucco off, reframed the roof lines, straightened walls, refinished the windows and doors, added a patio cover in the back, and did a general face lift to the entire house. It made an eyesore turn into a real Encinitas gem!