When it came time to choose a contractor for the new “Senior Living” wing we were adding to our house, we looked at several well-respected contractors, but in the end chose Schneider Contracting mainly because they had recently worked on another project with our architect, Jane Ann Forney of Forney +, and she highly recommended them for their work ethic and quality of workmanship.
We knew we had made the right decision from the beginning, and Brad Schneider, grandson of the founder of this 60 year old company and one of its principals, quickly became our “new best friend.” Friendly, humorous, charming and extremely attentive to what we desired and required in our addition…he turned all the aspects of what could have been a stressful time, into a real joy to look forward to each day.
Early on when we asked if there were places where we might be able to save money on the project, Brad worked with our architect to see what could be done, and was quick to point out where a cost could be cut that would be unnoticeable in the overall project, but just as quick to insist on sticking to the original plan if it was something that affected the integrity of the overall design.
Brad paid attention to things that, we quickly found out, were above and beyond what could be expected from a contractor. We met with a cabinet contractor several times to make certain we came up with exactly what we wanted in both design and functionality. These meetings were set up by our designer, Garison Salinas of Columbus Design, and he included Brad, mainly, he thought, as a courtesy. Brad not only sat through all of these meetings, but contributed meaningful suggestions every step of the way. Garison said that was the first time he had ever had a contractor spend more than a cursory hour or so in these planning meetings.
Our original house has intricately detailed brickwork, and because matching it was essential in making sure the addition was seamlessly integrated into the house, Brad had to make certain to find brick that was a perfect match. It turned out that the brick used to build our house in 1941 was used brick at that time! So Brad was challenged in finding what was probably 100 year old brick for the addition. To top it off, the original brick was of a different size and coloration from that used in the current day. The first trip to the brickyard resulted simply in a promise from them that they would call each time they received a new lot they felt might match. On the third trip, Brad was rewarded with enough brick that matched the house to do the job. We were so very happy that he understood the importance of this match to us. An example of how easily this could have gone wrong was that we had been told by other contractors, that matching wasn’t a big problem – if the brick colors weren’t right, they would just paint the individual bricks to match. – Another nuance not picked up by other contractors was that the mortar was totally different in composition and color from newer brickwork, but Brad was aware of that as well.
Brad was also very attentive to making sure that details such as water drainage was carefully planned and grading was done in accordance with the very strict codes imposed by our community...and to insure, that the hardwood floor exactly matched and was perfectly level where the addition joined the original house…and had millwork throughout the addition but especially on custom bookcases made to exactly match the original profiles …and to make sure the hardware was of the same style and quality…and have the shutters custom-made to match those on the original house, and, and… (hopefully I have impressed you enough with Brad’s thoroughness and attention to detail….)
We can’t say enough good things about the whole Schneider crew from Cindy in the office, to Mike, the lead foreman. Always there for us; Mike never was confronted with a question or a problem that he didn’t calmly listen to and take care of in an ever-smiling and pleasant manner. Each of Schneider’s subcontractors was highly professional and dedicated to his or her craft. Because we were building in the summertime, we often had lunch sitting on our patio eating and visiting with whoever was on the job at the time. Truly nice people.
Oh, I guess the ultimate compliment to Schneider is that Columbus Design immediately got Brad involved in several of their projects for other clients, including one that had been stalled for over a year because of construction issues, that is now proceeding beautifully with Schneider. The only unfortunate thing about this, is that we no longer see our “new best friend” daily as he’s devoting too much attention to all these other clients. He does come back to visit occasionally so are learning to be gracious about sharing him with others.
We can honestly say that our experience with Schneider Construction was an absolute pleasure and we are delighted to give them our highest recommendation.
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