Shields Residential Inc.

Shields Residential was responsible for the remodel of our house before we bought it. We loved it so much, we have since hired them to build a casita and a pool deck. Steven has great vision and everything he's done with our house looks amazing. They are excellent communicators and honest about pricing. I highly recommend working with them for all projects big and small.

Shields, a company with midcentury focus and experience, did a gut renovation of our new-to-us midcentury house during the pandemic. That was a challenging time for everyone. The whole construction industry was in chaos, a shortage of skilled trades, and the supply chains were a mess. To make it even more challenging, we were in Seattle hundreds of miles away from the construction site (Palm Springs). Against that backdrop Shields came through with flying colors. It wasn't that there weren't hiccups because there were. That's the nature of this kind of work made worse by covid challenges. But we never felt like anything was out of control which is amazing given the unsettled times. Communication was good; we had frequent virtual meetings to review project progress and what was planned. The status of and available options for each part of the work were discussed. At each step the pros, cons, and expenses were explained. We frequently asked for advice knowing that they understood the house and the climate much better than we did. Because we were new to this type of architecture that was extremely helpful and enabled us to make better decisions than we would have on our own. We were able to communicate with subcontractors as needed and were impressed with their competence and willingness to walk us through the "whys" of different approaches. The process not only produced a fantastic end product but also expanded our understanding our house and how to take care of it. The bottom line is we are ecstatic about how our place turned out. We expected it would be good, but is exceeded our expectations. Having had mixed experiences with other contractors in the past we know that a remarkably good result isn't guaranteed. The fact that we find our house comfortable, beautiful, and welcoming is a testament to the care and concern shown us--and the house--during this journey. We have no regrets and would feel fortunate to have had them on the job. Further evidence--we've asked them to rework our exterior space next.

I had built new homes in the past but I have never done a full renovation, and I was very concerned with having to deal with multiple contractors. Shield Residential was the obvious solution. They handle as much or as little as you like, and all with complete transparency. We absolutely love our newly imagined home!

Steven Shields and his fine team at Shields Residential are fantastic to work with! Shields Residential built our home in Palm Desert, and the quality of work could not be better. In addition, we had an accident involving a glass wall in our master, and Steve and his team came to our rescue...cleaning up a huge mess, and then helping us with the insurance company, as well as restoring our master bedroom to better-than-new condition. Our situation was unique - Shields residential's forte is re-imagining mid-century modern homes (you can see their beautiful work here: https://shieldsresidential.com/portfolio/ ), but when Steve heard of our issue, he contacted us and volunteered to help, which was absolutely wonderful! I also want to mention Laurie, our project manager, who did a fantastic job of communicating with us every detail of the process...offering us options, and making great suggestions for our home - Laurie was a pleasure to work with every step of the way. So, if you are looking for a team that does fantastic, creative work, AND, is there for you, even after your project is complete, we believe Shield's residential is your very best choice! Tim and Jennifer Palethorpe

I recently worked with Steven and his team on a comprehensive home renovation paid bid process, and I am beyond thrilled with the results. From start to finish, their professionalism, expertise, and dedication to quality were evident. I am a first time homeowner who purchased a mid-century home in need of a lot of work. Before meeting Steven I'd had two contractors come through my home and provide me with bids that ultimately had no detail and were full of guesswork. For a fee, the Shields team comes through your home with all the various trades to discuss your project in detail. Then the Shields team complies all of the bids to help create a fully realized budget. You also have access to the individual trade bids. So nothing is hidden. Steven and his team demonstrated a deep understanding of my vision for the renovation, and they went above and beyond to ensure that every detail was thought through. Their communication skills were top-notch and they promptly addressed any questions or concerns that arose. Steven also demonstrated a genuine commitment to customer satisfaction and he actively sought my input throughout the process. His level of collaboration created a sense of partnership and made the entire process a positive and enjoyable experience. Ultimately I wasn't able to move forward with the project due to budget constraints. Had I moved forward with one of the other contractors I wouldn't have known the amount of work needed and ultimately I would have had to spend 2x the budget I had in mind. In a world where I did have the proper budget I most certainly would have hired Steven and his team. I wholeheartedly recommend Shields Residential Inc. to anyone in need of a reliable, skilled, and trustworthy general contractor. Their expertise, professionalism, and dedication to customer satisfaction make them a true standout in their field.

Undertaking an addition during a pandemic is not for the feint of heart. That being said, at each step the quality of work being done was evident. And, now that it is done, we are absolutely delighted. We actually miss our weekly meetings with Nathan Prusso, the outstanding project manager, for Shields. He was fantastic to work with and when issues arose--which are a part of the process-- he was quick to address and solve anything and everything. We also had faith in all the trades people that Shields uses---all were expert and so nice. Eli, their tile guy deserves a special call out for the amazing work of art he created. We also want to note that the financial systems used were easy and costs were in line with the original estimates provided. So happy there were no unwanted "surprises" when the final bill came. And, as the project closes out they are proactively seeking to create perfection in every detail. We could not be happier with all that Shields Residential has created.

We took an a huge project with Steve of tearing out a full size tennis court, building a new pool, building a gorgeous casita to match our mid century house, remodeling the bathroom and redoing all the landscaping as well as some other projects. Steve and his team were absolutely great to work with!

Steve helped us remodel the home down to the studs on our vista las palmas home. He was amazing 1st class workmanship. He also fixed any minor issues after he was paid whenever we called him. He is trustworthy and very thorough. He also was reasonably priced. I would hire shields construction again without question!

Shields did an amazing job with our Casita addition. Blended seamlessly with the Origional house. Can’t recommend them enough. Would use them again without hesitation.

We met Steven Shields at Modernism Week in Palm Springs CA in 2018 and saw one of his presentations about how to restore a Mid Century home. We saw his model home that week that was restored and we knew if we were going to make the leap and move to the Valley and own one of these homes, he had to be the guy to do it for us and we were correct. He helped us restore and update our home in Indian Wells in 2019 and it is beyond our expectations. We even dragged him to 4 or 5 other homes prior to our purchase to review others and he was so helpful and insightful. We told him what we wanted to remodel with our purchase and he made so many helpful suggestions and ideas that they melded just perfectly. We couldn't be more happy with him and his team. I would totally recommend Steven and his firm to anyone redoing a mid century home in the Palm Springs area. He is the best.

Every one of Shields Residential jobs is a one of a kind. Steve is a dedicated contractor with great relationships with his clients and sub contractors which create a great working atmosphere. With a well balanced teams, Steve and his amazing field supervisor, Nathan, are extremely involved in every step of the process helping making onsite decisions, checking quality and contracts for all the little details you wouldn’t know to look for. His experience and commitment truly shows in every project.

We've been doing the electric for Shields Residential's full remodels, new construction homes, and everything in between for four years now. They're great to work with, knowledgeable when it comes to Mid-Century modern, and we hope to continue our business relationship for years to come.

I'm Scott Jones a local realtor with KUD Properties and I have had nothing but a wonderful experience working with Steve at Shields Residential! I come across a lot of clients that are looking to instantly remodel their homes after close of Escrow. My FIRST CHOICE is to refer them to Steve, because of his expertise in Mid-Century architecture, stuning design concept's, use of nothing but high quality licensed sub-contractors and personable demeanor! He treats each and every client like family, sharing his passion for everything Construction, tailored to their individual home! I will highly recommend Shield's Residential in all aspects regarding; remodeling, additions, new construction and design consultation!

We selected Shields Residential in August 2018 to complete a major renovation of our 3,600 square foot home in Palm Springs. Over the following seven months, Steven Shields and his Team supervised more than a dozen sub-contractors to produce a spectacular home. Since our home was to be the 2019 Modernism Week Show House, excellent workmanship and attention to detail was essential. Shields Residential was masterful in working through complex renovation details, requested by 14 different designers to produce a home that would be seen by thousands during Modernism Week and publicized around the world. Shields Residential was hands-on, professional, quality-oriented, transparent, communicative, and an excellent "partner" in the entire project. Each of his sub-contractors was committed to a high-quality result. The project was completed on time, probably because it was required in order to be featured for Modernism Week!! Photos of our home are available in Architectural Digest. We are pleased to recommend Shields Residential very highly.

Steve and his team are terrific. They built a house for me in Palm Desert and we love it! More importantly, they conduct themselves with the highest degree of honesty and integrity. They were flexible with our numerous changes along the way with 100% cost transparency. Also, any issues that needed to be rectified were dealt with easily and to complete satisfaction. I highly recommend them.

My project involved converting a garage into a master bedroom/ bathroom/ closet. And adding an additional garage on the other end of my yard.- and making it all flow into the old part of the house. Without a doubt Steve Sheilds and his project manager Nathan nailed it! Everything I wanted was done well. All of their staff is wonderful and conscientious about their work. I could have hired any builder in the desert. To me tho there is definitely a difference. I did not want a cookie cutter / very vanilla so-so boring conventional master suite. They could have done that too- but what I got was special. Custom work is what I was going for. And a custom look is what I got. Just the idea of converting my garage to a master suite was Steve’s idea years ago. I kept it in mind and when the time was right I had a detailed list of how I wanted it and they have done an outstanding job! A special shout out to Nathan who worked with me in detail every step of this project.— I really feel Nathan is a gem as he really has the creativity and the know how to be a perfectionist at his craft. They are the perfect combination of honest working professionals who know everything when it comes to home building and eras in home design. Trust is huge for me and I trust Sheilds Residential.

Steven and his team are delightful to work with and have completed many projects for me in past 5+ years. I would highly recommend them to manage any project. Their quality of work is unsurpassed for the area and above all else they are ethical, honest and trustworthy. When there have been problems they have always owned up to it and fixed it on their dime. I would recommend giving them a call.

We already knew Steven was going to do a beautiful job with our house before we hired him. We had recently toured one of the new "Desert Eichler" houses in Palm Springs and were blown away by not just the design but the craftsmanship and attention to detail. After a few bad experiences with other general contractors, we decided to cold-call the developer of those houses, fully expecting to be laughed off the phone with our small renovation project. Instead, we were given Steven's contact information. From the get-go, he was kind, funny and assured us that he did both large and small projects and ours would get his full attention. From that point on, he just kept exceeding expectations. He was completely upfront about the fact that his fee -- which is plainly separated from the subcontractor/materials costs on his estimates -- was a bit higher than some competitors, but that when he gave project finish dates, he stuck by them. Since we rent out our house, that is exactly what we needed. And sure enough, he got the job done exactly as scheduled. The photos speak for themselves -- he and his team transformed our house into the home of our dreams. Steven supervised our new kitchen with custom cabinets, our new cement floors, interior painting and countless other details. And he didn't just disappear afterward. His teams came back several times later to check the finishes and tweak details until we were fully satisfied. While every project hits snags and costs usually go up a bit, Steven was upfront about every change and overage and fully understood that we were working within a budget. We've hired him for our third project now, spa and backyard, and can't wait to see what he does. We're grateful to have such an accomplished contractor make our ideas a reality.

Project date: Hired June 2017- Completed August 2018 Absolutely one of the worst general contracting experience we have encountered. We hired Steve Shields, based on his friendly demeanor and down home charm and what we thought was a sincere conversation about his ability to do the job. We actually had a good, comfortable feeling that we had hired the right guy. Our mistake, we didn't do our homework. He came highly recommended from a realtor source we ran into at an open house. Again, we should have checked his references. Little did we know that one our dear friends had hired him to do their floors in their Indio home, and had we known sooner than 4-5 months into our job we would have saved ourselves a lot of heartache. They were extremely dissatisfied with his nonchalant attitude and sloppy performance. No sense of urgency when working with Steve. He quoted us 4 months to complete our job. It took him 41/2 months just to get plans through the city. 13 months to complete our remodel. Here is the problem with Steve and his crew. He is a poor communicator, has no control over his subs, they are unprofessional and sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. No respect for our property, even when we complained numerous times, still no improvement. They would literally step over the trash on job site than as soon pick it up. Here is the list of deficiencies, inadequate planning, and incompetent service he delivered on this project: 1. Quoted us 4 months project time and delivered it 13 months and some things are still not working. Had project manager that was inept at managing and his supervision was just as inept. He blamed his subs for being "sub par" and that it was hard to find good help. I wish he had disclosed this up front to us. 2. The sloppiness of his workers and his indifference to it. No matter how many times we pointed it out him and his crew, they made no effort to improve. He cost me over $ 2000 dollars just in gardening bills alone because his tile and plaster guys used my lawn as trash dump. I sill have to replace the tile in the front breezeway because they made no effort to clean as they went. I have photos of trash upon trash in the breezeway, side yard, pool area, and the interior of the house and his project manager would virtually step over before picking it up after we expressed our disappointment. Him and his crew had no regard or respect for our property. Gates and other walls still have remnants of their sloppiness. Just as recent as this past weekend we were cleaning up scratches, black marks, and boot marks off the floors and walls. It is just incomprehensible. He was to cheap to provide a dumpster on site or a port a potty. 3. No virtual renderings except for a few kindergarten type drawings he sent us. We made it very clear we wanted virtual renderings of all that he was going to do, and he advised he could provide it, but did not. 4. It took him 41/2 months just to get the permits and plans approved. And he covered up the fact that the he did not submit the plans until August. I found that out from the building department. He did not need to demo in early June knowing it could take months to get permits. 5. He took the liberty to throw out my refrigerator with out my authorization or permission. 6. Perhaps if he would have worked a weekend or two or during the holiday season like he said he did, he could have cut off some valuable time. But no, that was out of the question. He and his project manager were more out of town then were in town. Vacation after vacation while my project stalled. No effort to do better even when he acknowledged our concerns. 7. The communication was horrible between him and his crew. For instance, the electrical was an abomination. I cannot tell you how many times his electrician had to go back and repair something he screwed up. The dimmers , the outlets, the track lighting, etc... we would relay to him and it still didn't get done right the first time, second time , third time... 8. He took the wrong measurements for our fridge that I ordered. Did not fit the opening. That cost me an additional $2500. Just par for the course. 9. The shower tile all wrong and had to be redone. Again no communication with his vendors. Time and time again. in fact, the vendors he used were reflective of his indifference and incompetence. Ferguson's in Palm Desert, horrible service and follow up. Never heard from the salesperson after initial visit and consultation. 10. He placed the steam activator in the worst spot in the shower where it could burn your legs. No planning, no communication with his plumber. 11. The garage electrical and lighting was a disaster. Did not work for months. 12. I still don't have a working doorbell because of electrican's incompetence. 13.The pole in the kitchen window. Your crude rendering did not display it, yet it was in until we complained. Yes, he fixed it, but at more expense to me. 14. The sump pump he recommended has not worked properly since the get go. It now cools ok, but makes a loud sound like it's going to give out at any moment. 15. The door to the kitchen doesn't close properly. He had advised us that because of the heat it swelled, but that was not the case. I had a locksmith fix it and it works perfectly now. The screws his guys used were only 3/4 inch and they did not leave enough clearance. 16. Irems stolen from out of the garage. 17. No concept of time management. 18. Did not remember change orders from October 2017 vs January 2018. 19. Totally botched cable line installation with Time Warner/Spectrum. He personally missed three appointments with them. Even after I had him authorized on my account so he could communicate with them directly. i have emails from him stating he was going to be there on a certain day for the appointment and just did not show. His excuse was "things happen". Very unprofessional. 20. Numerous complaints from my gardener about his guys just tearing up the lawn and bushes. 21. The cleaning crew he had come in to clean our place was as incompetent as him. They made more of a mess we had to clean up after them. And adding insult to injury he told us that he wouldn't hire them to clean his own home, he had someone different, but they apparently were good enough to clean OUR HOME. Just Unreal!! I can go on and on, but the bottom line is Steve just did not care enough. His lack of professionalism, disregard for timelines, incompetent leadership resulted in a horrible experience versus what was we thought was going to be a fun project. He took all the joy out of it for us. It was a horrible journey with him and we expressed this to him many times. He insisted though that because he thought we would we be happy with the work and final result, that it would compensate for the dismal and cringe worthy journey. NO WAY!! The way this project has gone does not indicate to me that there won't be future problems. HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE.

We hired Steven to design and build our casita/studio, because he had also remodeled the house we had just bought and we absolutely loved everything he did with that. We had some specific wants and needs for the addition, but we also want to live our lives, so we gave him a lot of freedom with the design and details. He had great ideas that we would have never come up with ourselves that look absolutely amazing right now. Budget wise, we came really close to the estimate and we were able to work out an easy compromise in the end for where we went a little bit over. He is probably not the cheapest gig in town, but you get what you pay for and he was well worth it. You can tell there is loyalty in the guys that work for him, which is always a great sign. Steven was easy to talk to and easy to reach throughout the project. He was a little optimistic about the deadline. It turned out a lot of it was held up by permits/city, etc ..., but when you have a date in mind and guests coming, it's hard not to be disappointed when things take longer. That was a very small detail in an otherwise smooth project though. Oh, and he loves country music, up to you if that goes in the pros or cons list.

We are like another reviewer of Steven's - best and worst clients rolled into one- having backgrounds in architecture, building and design. We knew what we were looking for, how the general process would work (though we had a bit of a learning curve as things are done a bit differently in PS than they are in Vancouver) and would have high expectations of the end results. Steven was one of the only contractors who we interviewed who truly understood and had a real appreciation and passion for MCM homes which was important to us. Steven and his crews (business family) were great to work with and we could not be happier with our 'new' home. We'd happily be a reference for Shields Residential and are sure to work with him again in the future. PS- He's a genuinely nice and funny guy :)

Shields residential is great to work with, as one professional, to another. They are always on top of things, and quick to return phone calls. They are very courteous and fair to deal with.

I first have to say that I am a contractor’s dream client and nightmare all wrapped into one. I have personally renovated a dozen homes as a general contractor in Portland Oregon. My Husband and I bought a second home in Palm Desert California that is a long way from home. The house was a mess. It had been re-muddled several times over the years. It also had an unpermitted casita. We needed someone we could trust with a long-distance remodel. We hired another contractor first. It was a disaster. It took them months to finally provide a bid. It was very incomplete and way off the mark as to what work needed to be done. Everything was an “estimate.” We finally had to fire them. We needed to find a new contractor. We had been coming down to the desert for years. We actually had seen several homes remodeled by Shields Residential during our many visits. Gary, my husband, said we should give Shields Residential a call. It was a good thing we did. Steven was not intimidated by my construction background. In fact, he viewed it as an advantage. He was able to speak to me about technical details, and I understood completely what he was saying. He will go into detail if you don’t understand something. He is very patient and will take the time to explain. He even went toe to toe with the local permits department several times in getting our casita updated to modern building codes. Steven also has a good eye for design. He made several suggestions for changes to the plans that only enhanced the final remodel. Steven even surprised us by raising the ceiling 4 feet in foyer and master bath. It totally changed the whole look of the home. We enjoyed working with Shields Residential so much that we expanded the scope of what we had planned to do to the home. Now there is not a square inch of the home or property that Steven and his crew did not improve. Call Steven! He takes pride in his work and it shows. This former contractor totally recommends Shields Residential for all of your new construction and remodeling needs.

Steven Shields is a fantastic guy and an excellent contractor that I have had the great pleasure of working with for over three years now on many projects throughout the desert area. His work is of the highest quality and of equal import I know he is passionate about taking care with his clients needs while at the same time meeting project schedules & budgets. Steven will take great care of you!

We had a great experience working with Shields Residential. We worked together for over a year across various phases of a complete renovation of a 1961 home. We had to be creative with budget, timeline, and approaches at times and they were partners in that from beginning to end. We especially needed good communication throughout the project since we were renovating from afar. Steven helped set that standard from the outset. The crew and subs used are great. All respectful of our home and craftsmen in their own right. Nathan and Poli especially as they did a lot of finicky finishing carpentry and masonry work that was top notch. The house turned out great. I'm sure I'll have more for them to do as smaller projects arise.

Our first meeting with Steve Shields was a chance encounter at a cabinetry showroom, as we were all waiting to be served. Our quick conversation over woodwork morphed into a working relationship for our the complete remodel of our 1970’s vintage home. Steve was charming and professional from the start. He did his research and found solutions when our budget was not quite as big as our dreams. Shields Residential managed our entire project while we were out of the country. The end result is a home we will enjoy for many years to come.

Shields Residential did an excellent remodel on our home. Steve was extremely professional and followed through on all of our requests. Within minutes of completing discussions with him I received messages detailing my requests and was promptly contacted by any necessary vendors. Everyone worked together to ensure our project stayed within our budget and was done on time.