singular design build

Jim Bargfrede did a basement and kitchen remodel on my house, I would not recommend him for any project based on my experience. The last straw was when Jim hired painting sub-contrators that dry sanded all the trim paint on my 1925 house spreading lead dust everywhere. An abatement contractor had to be hired and my sofa as well as many of my belongings had to be discarded. I was not able to enter my house for 2 weeks while this was happening. Jim was not lead paint certified which is the law for contractors in WA state if you do work on more than 6 ft of it. Jim hired an inexperienced guy to do trim work, the guy spent two days unsupervised trying to trim a window and was not able to complete the job. Jim was installing hidden hinges on some doors and I discovered he was about to screw them into the drywall, searching on Google for a minute I was able to find an installation video by the manufacturer of the hinges that specified adding a wood block backing to the door frame due to the depth of the hinge. Jim could not provide a detailed project plan which meant that there were constant delays due the lack of coordination of lead times on materials and the project took 3 times the original estimate, I stopped working with him after the lead paint incident so he never even finished the job.

Jim at Singular Design helped me with several projects I had at my home and my rental, as well as with the extensive remodel of a friend's house. In all instances, he had shown himself to be honest, reliable and considerate of the homeowner's budget and needs. The first project he did for me was to fix the drainage of my rental, which had water seeping into the basement. Jim had re-laid the downspout and drainage, fixed some of the gutters, so the water was no longer coming into the house and drainage was much more efficient. He then gutted my commercial storefront by pulling up carpet, taking out the existing built ins and upgrading the electrical and bathroom to something more rent-able. In my own home, he completely re-did my kitchen, which still had *vintage* (and I use the term very loosely) metal cabinets, of varying shelf heights, and degrees of rust. He took out a partition, which opened the space up - then re-wired the kitchen and installed new cabinets and flooring. We worked together in choosing the style I wanted to convey by bringing over flooring and cabinet samples. Although we hadn't worked on anything that required any designing, Jim was quick in understanding the design I wanted and provided me only with things that he knew would interest me and was within my budget. Jim is very thorough and his workmanship is commendable. The new laminate floors in the kitchen were laid perfectly, on level with my existing oak wood floors that ran throughout the rest of the house. Jim had maximized the limited space i had in my kitchen by suggesting a little spice cabinet and a tall utility closet/garbage containment area which I hadn't even thought of before. As a result of Singular Design, my kitchen is now the most welcoming room of my home - a place where everyone wants to gather. And although my husband discourages this, I do think our bed should fit in there nicely, provided we get rid of the fridge. In an industry where honest, quality and reliable companies are hard to find, Singular Design is a great find. The only reason this is not a full five-star review is because of the price - which is a little more expensive than some, and Jim's availability. Due to his popularity, Jim is usually only willing to take on bigger projects, with smaller projects when he gets a chance. I'm sure this review will give him more business, and he'll be booked 5 years out, even if I need him to hammer a nail into the wall.