The ABL Group

Howard and his team are the best! We needed to update our entry area and dining room, and convert an old iron staircase railing into a modern wooden one. The whole team was easy to work with, started and finished exactly when they said they would, and the result is just beautiful. We are completely satisfied and will hire them again. Many thanks!

Hello: I live in Evanston, Illinois and recently had some remodeling done in my kitchen. I had been walking in my neighborhood and saw one of their vans, wrote down the number and called them. The owner, Howard, came to my house and gave an estimate of the work to be done including painting, installing "edging" (or whatever it is called next to the window frame), re-plastering a wall that had been improperly finished, refinishing both doors by fixing the rips at the bottom, totally repainting and putting on "kick plates." Additionally a bathroom was fully repainted and small repairs were made. I was amazed that all of this was done in two days. Total professional care was used so that there was no paint residue left over on cabinets or walls. The workers (carpenters, painters and similar) were polite, kind, efficient, professional and thorough. I told them that they seemed to be artists and craftsmen ! They also took initiative to show me what else needed attention and asked my opinion whether to proceed or not. They were extremely thorough with every task. I was extremely/totally pleased and, henceforth, plan on using The ABL Group for any and all future home repairs. I thank them and appreciate their highest quality work!

The ABL Group is the pinnacle of excellence. The warm, attentive people, their prompt timing, clear communications and superb workmanship are such a bounty as I have rarely seen. From the first visit by the owner through insurance quotes and design iterations to the many phases of our fully gutted kitchen rehab, the experience could not have been better. We love LOVE our new kitchen. The memory of the experience with ABL is a very good one. WOW

Outstanding work by Howard and the ABL Group in our home! They painted our kitchen cabinets white (from light maple wood; some were in very bad shape!). They assured me the kitchen would look like new when freshly painted white and it does! Billy and team were professional, courteous and delivered in the timeframe promised. Highly recommend!

I love working with ABL Group! They are very responsive and they are very friendly. I have worked with contractor that was very arrogant, but ABL was very down to earth and was eager to help me get my work done. And I worked with Dina, she very helpful. I am very happy working with ABL.

Howard Lipsky and his ABL Group are exceptional. The level on attention to detail was amazing. We recently had a new master bathroom double vanity installed by ABL Group, a relatively small project by comparison to some of their other jobs. Howard himself came by the project mid way through just to check on how it was all progressing. The two gentlemen who were installing the vanity and tile backsplash were meticulous in their work. I would highly recommend ABL Group for anyone who needs remodeling help (big or small jobs) on the North Shore.

ABL did a great job on our living room, repairing water damage around our bay window and painting the whole room. I was impressed by the skillfulness and professionalism of the crew. They showed up everyday at the same time, worked efficiently, and were respectful of the noise as I was home with a baby at the time. Very good first impression of their work and I will be using them again!

We were introduced to ABL when we were getting ready to sell our home, and we needed a bunch of quick minor repairs. We moved into an older home in Glenview that needed some work. Howard and his team have gone above and beyond to coordinate the projects. Their customer service truly is first class. Their workers are highly skilled, respectful, and really hard workers. We're continuing to use them for our ongoing house projects.

We hired The ABL Group to update our kitchen (tile, new appliances), transform our 1970s cabinets into 2017 cabinets (including sand and paint them - and you can't tell they were our old cabinets!), as well as install recessed lighting into the ceiling of our kitchen and into our family room. We also got paint work done in our kitchen, family room, as well as on some banisters in our upstairs hallway that we never got time to paint ourselves. Howard and team did an outstanding job; helping us on color scheme in our kitchen; easily adding on additional tasks we wanted completing on the project (i.e. the banister painting); as well as always listening to our feedback and ensuring things were made right in the project. Howard was always made available when we wanted to chat with him personally, which we definitely appreciated in the process! Even a year later, we still get a ton of compliments on our new kitchen thanks to Howard and team, and I'd definitely hire these guys again for any other work we have to do in the house. Thanks ABL Group!

We have had great experience working with George. We did a brand new kitchen in our remodel. The cabinets are fabulous. Any questions we had were answered quickly. We have an end panel that was looking a but plain after the kitchen was done and George came over to the house and provided suggestions for improvement. The ABL group then hand delivered the moldings that we are using to improve the appearance of the end panel.

Amazing! We have had no improvements to our home since we moved in 13.5 years ago and the house was definitely showing wear & tear. Howard, owner, came out initially to go over everything we wanted and provide a quote. I had originally wanted to have wainscoting installed. Howard pointed out that with the amount of furniture we had, we might want to go with just a chair rail and white paint below as the wainscoting would be mostly hidden and not worth the money. I appreciated that insight and did go without the wainscoting, which was the right decision in the end. Point being, he will give you honest opinions on the work you are requesting. He also has a very experienced eye and will point out things that should be repaired. Once we signed the contract, Howard had a design consultant come out to help us pick paint colors and design the built ins we wanted. This was really nice to have some guidance in this area instead of just winging it. Howard was accommodating as well with the timing of the work as we wanted to have most of it completed while our child was away at camp. He got his crew in there and they finished 95% of the work in the 2 week window that my son was out of town. The employees were all very professional, prompt, neat, and friendly. The quality of the completed work is top of the line. I can't begin to say how incredibly pleased I am with the end result. I feel as though I live in a brand new house! Description of work: First floor - repair large hole & water damage in ceiling; repaint ceiling, walls & baseboards; install crown molding and chairrail. Build & install 2 custom builtin bookcases. Second floor - replace carpet; repaint ceiling, walls, woodwork. Outside - replace entry door to garage; replace boards/steps/posts on deck which had rotted; paint front door; install gutter on garage Other various handyman items as well.

I would highly recommend ABL for any type of general contracting work for your home. We have had their crew out several times for painting along with other jobs and they are FANTASTIC!!!! Howard and his staff and are amazing and we will definitely be using them in the future.

The folks at the ABL Group are personable and responsive. They handle projects in a competant, professional manner. Follow up on any project is important and they are good at this. It is a pleasure to work with the ABL Group.

I used ABL for several services to prepare my house to rent. They painted the entire house, repaired some plumbing issues, made new countertops, did electrical work, fixed our deck, and much more. ABL is a professional company with an excellent crew.Howard, the owner, is friendly and makes sure the service is top notch. He prides himself on building relationships with his customers and he does just that. I highly recommend ABL!

The ABL Group has done both exterior and interior painting and carpentry for us. Over the years, they have repaired drywall, wall papered and fix leaks at our home. ABL's employees are knowledgeable and courteous. They always arrive on time, work all day and clean up after themselves at the end of the day. ABL has always finished on time and on or under budget. I endorse the ABL Group wholeheartedly.

ABL has done several projects at our home. They have done everything from demo/rebuilt an exterior wall, built a large wooden deck, painting and even repaired a leaking master shower that our plumber couldn't figure out. Very happy with all the work. Extremely responsive to any questions or concerns I had. Highly recommend.

We HIGHLY recommend The ABL Group!! We had our kitchen remodeled in early 2016 and are incredibly pleased with the results. Our kitchen looks beautiful!! They are professional, knowledgable, timely, easy to work with, and meticulous in their work. The project was completed seamlessly, on time and within budget. Their post-project follow-up was excellent . . . they were fully committed to our satisfaction. They also painted the exterior of our home and did a great job! True pros!

Outstanding work once again. We are in the process of a lot of painting and ABL could not be more helpful and very competitive with their prices. The workers are great, talented and friendly. We have used ABL for 10+ years and no complaints.

I wish I could give them more than 5 stars! It is rare to work with anyone in this business as professional as ABL.! They're work is perfection! I've used them several times over the past 10 years and each job was excellent. Their prices are fair. They get the job done well and in a reasonable amount of time. Every member of their crew has the utmost respect for your home. When they leave it's as if no one was there. I highly recommend ABL !

ABL is my new favorite contractor. We used them a couple of years ago to refurbish our basement and we were very happy. ABL workers were completely professional and they showed up EVERY DAY, ready to work a full day until job completion. They are now doing work for my son and daughter-in-law and they sing the same praises as me. What makes me particularly confident in ABL's workmanship and customer service is their extremely adept staff from the receptionist to the project head, to the workers. They stand behind their workmanship. I had them come back and tweak a few things (more than a year later!) and they did not disappoint. I totally trust this company and will definitely use them again for other projects, big or small.

The end results of my kitchen and two bathrooms are beautiful! (Give yourself plenty of lead time.) I worked with Trisha who was very helpful with ideas. Both Trisha and Howard were very responsive. They were mindful of our budget and offered appropriate suggestions to fit our needa along with the budget.

We have used ABL several times over the years. Just recently we had our new condo completely repainted and all the woodwork re-stained and varnished. Everything came out so great. Their workers are highly skilled and efficient. All the "punch list" items were taken care of immediately. If you are looking for high quality workmanship you cannot possibly go wrong with ABL. One other thing...if you need help with colors, Howard is outstanding. He went through room by room with us and really helped us get just what we were looking for. We couldn't be happier. Thank you Howard!

As a design professional, I know that I can always count on The ABL Group to provide exceptional customer service, and the highest level quality of work. I give them my highest professional recommendation.

We are very pleased with ABL. We chose ABL originally because of their relationship to Starmark cabinets. The scope of the work was a kitchen, laundry room, powder room and entry way redesign. Their design work was creative, practical, and geared towards what we liked. Their delivery was very high quality - high attention to detail. All the workers were very personable and accomodated our schedule and requests. We would not hesitate to engage them again in future work. The key to our success was George - our designer and project manager. He was unbelievably easy to work with, easy to reach, and responsive. We really appreciated his creativity and ability to push us a bit out of our comfort zone. In addition, we appreciated the personal attention from the owner Howard. He also demonstrated how important each customer is to ABL. He personally helped us with paint and stain colors which we really love!

We initially contacted The ABL Group for some interior painting after a very bad situation with another person/company that claimed to be an interior designer in Riverwoods. We quickly learned that ABL offers a wealth of experience and talent with painting AND other services. Their estimates came back right where it should be for a high quality painter that builds relationships. We asked for and contacted the 4 references provided, which all gave very positive reviews. Ultimately our project expanded to also include a full custom closet design and install, new door installation (where there was a window) and two replacements, and installation of a HVAC solution to turn a 3-season room into a 4 season room. We had received a couple quotes from nationally advertised closet companies to build out a closet room that had never been built out as a closet. I quickly learned that while those cabinets look great, they are often made of pressboard and don't age well. ABL deals in high-end wood cabinets. The quote came in only slightly higher than the pressboard quotes. Painting: We couldn't be happier with the paint job. The quality is high as I expected, but what was exceptional was their help in selecting color. One of the areas to paint was an entrance foyer that sets the tone when you first enter the home. At their suggestion, they painted entire sections with options we had selected to help us pick the perfect shade. In another area, they needed to match a faux painting pattern next to the door that was installed. So they bring in a faux paint matching expert who absolutely nails it. I was truly impressed. Closet: The end result is stunning! We're so pleased with our new closet. Getting there is a long process of back and forth design and dealing with options. That's a part of the process that I didn't like as much, but that wasn't ABL's fault. To their credit, they did a nice job of providing options to reel in the infinite choices. I was very impressed with their ability to deal with things as the project progressed. For example, we installed a "pocket" door between the bath and closet and the wall was brick underneath. They just dealt with it and solved the problem. Another example is the lighting. The room now has an entry from an additional side, but no light switch. Instead of rewiring and tearing up walls, they installed an elegant motion detector that controls the lighting upon entrance and exit. Perhaps I'm easily impressed, but they identified the issue and solved it. Many of the closet companies we talked to didn't include services such as electrical or HVAC. As we discovered, ABL moves outlets, installs lights and moves HVAC vents without drama and importantly without extending their hand for additional payment. I can't imagine hiring a closet company that doesn't provide these services as a part of the package. I will say that their quality and service is done with thoughtful purpose and contemplation. They don't work at breakneck speed. I had a closet deadline and they made it - but only with hours to spare. I'm speaking mainly of our closet, which had many, many moving parts. In hindsight, the painting was fast and easy, so I'll qualify the above statement with if you have a construction project and are in a rush, ask for a realistic timeline. I could go on and on about other elements, but the bottom line is we're very happy with the services provided by ABL and would hire them again without hesitation. They do very high quality work, at very fair prices in a very professional manner.

We chose the ABL Group for a kitchen remodel after seeing their work in a neighbor's condo. Our project was slightly more complex. We met with George and his team, received a fair and very detailed quote and were welcomed to supply items and materials (fixtures, tile etc.) whenever we had a specific item in mind or wanted to keep costs to a specific target. The contractors were all extremely curteous, diligent and competent. The unavoidable "unforeseen" issues were always handled fairly and did not materially delay any work or dramatically change the budget. Any issues or concerns I had were addressed promptly and to my satisfaction. George's detail carpenters and finishing team did an amazing job bringing our vision to life. Everyone from his designer Trisha to his foreman Mike were very patient and quite calm even when dealing with some unreasonable demands I thrust upon them. If you want high quality work at a very fair price, you would be hard pressed to find a better contractor.

We have used the ABL group for over 10 years. They have done painting and remodeling in our home. I always know that I will get professional and caring service. They just finished a small paint and trim job in my dining room and I couldn't be more pleased. I always recommend Howard and his team to anyone in the area

We used The ABL Group to paint the exterior of our home, to replace old gutters with new, larger gutters that they buried under our driveway, and to recall a travertine shower. All of the work was first rate. The entire process was seamless. Howard came over to discuss our needs and define the scope, and then a quote was submitted for our approval. Howard brought in this specialists to talk to me about the specifics prior to starting the project to insure that we were all on the same page. Howard was patient with me as I chose our house color, providing sample colors for us to look at until we were satisfied. His team was completely professional and worked hard every minute that they were on site (all day, every day), until the project was completed. They identified where there was rotting wood on the exterior BEFORE we started so that I was not surprised with additional costs. The paint job is superb and we constantly get compliments on our home. The new gutters have completely resolved the issue of water running along our foundation and seeping into our home. And the shower looks brand new. The ABL team was able to identify and fix the SOURCE of the problem in our shower so that water will not get behind the tile again. They are easy to get in touch with and a pleasure to do business with. I will definitely be calling them for additional projects.

Howard Lipsky at ABL runs a trusted, high quality reliable professional business . We hired ABL Group to build a 2 car garage onto an existing home we were buying . They provided an architect and build a garage of the highest quality and you cannot tell that it was an addition to our house . I am writing this review 10 years later to tell you how great of quality our garage is. Also Howard provided people to shovel our driveway during a snowstorm when we had an illness in the family . First rate company. Recently we called for a quick repair and the crew was out That day and finished the job with it looking like new.

From start to finish ABL is your go to company. Ten years ago I hired them to do a studio and garage. First of all they were 40% cheaper than the lowest bid I got. I hired them. They did a beautiful job better than I expected and I expected a lot. At the time I thought I might add a heater so they left a hole in the wall all framed out for a heater. Ten years later still no heater. Why because ABL built such a tight well insulated room even on the coldest days my studio never got below 35 degrees why heat it? So now I still have this hole in my wall. I called Howard and one week later my studio was perfect. I can't thank ABL enough. They matched the 10 year old paint and didn't just patch the hole they ran all new boards from end to end. First rate job. Thinking about painting or building ABL and Howard are you people.

Howard and his teams were always on time, very detailed and went above and beyond on all of the jobs that they did for us. Howard always stopped by to make sure that everything was going smoothly and it always was. They are great at painting indoors and outside. Had an Electrician and plumber ready to help with fixes and made it all so effortless on our end.

I hired the ABL group to do some painting and some other miscellaneous handyman work around my home and they not only met my expectations, they exceeded them. Howard gave me a very reasonable estimate and stuck to it. From the start, you can see their professionalism laying down sheets in the hall so as to not make a mess in areas they are not even working. The painting was spot on without a smudge or any imperfection. Since we had them match paint to other parts of the house, they used some of the extra paint to touch up a few problem areas that were not part of the estimate. I had a leaky skylight that needed new insulation. Rather than putting more insulation in and having it become a problem down the road, they actually built, a totally new base to the enclosure that did not add significantly to the time. All the little jobs were completed perfectly and efficiently. I am very happy with the ABL Group and will use them for any future painting or decorating.

The ABL Group provides excellent repair, construction and painting services. Within the group are experts in every dimension of home repair services.

We have worked with The ABL Group in many jobs of ours. This company has always been very professional, they are clean and neat, and completed the job in the time specified. Looking forward to working with them again and again. Would highly recommend their work and work ethic. Trish Ballard Ballard Custom Home Builders, Inc.

We've lived here for 34 years. In all that time we've never up-dated our kitchen other than to replace appliances. In the meantime, the quarry tile floor developed many cracks. I'd resisted replacing it because of the disruption to our lives. Then the refrigerator started failing. A new one wasn't going to fit. So a cabinet had to be removed. That's when we bit the bullet and found a designer, Glen Lusby. He suggested some general contractors for us to meet. We met with three. The ABL Group wasn't the least expensive, but they made us the most confident they could complete the work as quickly as possible. In the interim between the time we contracted their services and they were to begin work, The ABL Group sent out their countertop fabricator to make a template so it could be installed as soon as the floor was finished. The same workers saw the entire job through. Andres did the floor and backsplash tile. Lico did the carpentry and touch-up. (I don't recall the name of the countertop fabricators.) And there were two painters. Everyone was unfailingly prompt, professional, accommodating, thorough, neat, and cheerful. Mike, the boss, addressed any concerns promptly and completely. There was only one hiccup. The countertop fabricators didn't shape the corners as our plans indicated. We didn't notice until they had glued the countertop into place and left. I admit to getting a little volatile, but Mike got them back out and they corrected it on site. All's well, etc. The project was completed in three weeks (except for a couple very minor touch-ups) and on budget (except for add-ons we asked for and approved). God forbid we have to do any further construction, but if we do we'd unhesitatingly call on The ABL Group to do it for us.

We called ABL Group to repair a ceiling after a worker fell through from the attic. It was a huge mess! Howard Lipsky provided a fair estimate and he along with his foreman and workers were courteous. In fact, the workers showed up on Day 2 and before starting asked if I had any questions. The job was done on time and perfectly. Howard followed up by phone after completion to see if we were satisfied with the job. We'll hire them again when we have other home projects.

We contracted with Howard and the ABL group a few years ago when we remodeled our kitchen in our Long Grove home. They did a beautiful custom designed paint job in our new kitchen. They also painted several other rooms in our home. They do great work. We were so pleased that we recently contracted with them again to paint and wallpaper my son's new apartment on Michigan Avenue. Once again, Howard displayed why he is best to work with! He suggested things we hadn't even thought of. Highly recommended.

I've worked with ABL over the last 5 years on a number of projects in 3 homes, and I have referred them without reservation to family and friends, both of whom proceeded and hired ABL to complete the work in their homes. They are courteous, professional and complete in their approach to a project. Prompt to arrive, they leave a clean home behind, and come in on budget. Specific projects I've hired them for include: kitchen remodel (install can lights, build pantry, install dishwasher, reface cabinets and paint existing boxes in place, paint wrought iron fence, remove/install replacement windows, investigate a possible leak/spot treat mold/rebuild soffit/reinstall cabinets.