Ambrose Custom Builders, Inc.

This is a thank you letter for making our homebuilding experience exceptional. We were extremely hesitant about building our retirement home while living out of state, but our fears were unfounded. You and Brigitte and the crew inspired our confidence from the start and made the entire build stress free. If you remember, we came to you after six months with another builder that ended up fruitless and frustrating. By our first in person meeting, Brig had drafts and floor plans reflecting our vision that far surpassed our months with a (very expensive) architect. By our second meeting, we were confident and ready to proceed with the build, COVID economy be dammed! Jim and the build crew are craftsmen of the highest order, and we looked forward to seeing them every site visit. Subs Matt, Alan and Tom were exceptional as well. Well done putting together such an exceptional group of tradesmen. The house was finished months early, and on budget. We moved in, our small punch list was done immediately, and there is not one single thing we would change about the house… .your attention to detail and to our design vision are notable. Thank you again for making our modern farmhouse a reality! Please consider us as a reference of the highest order and we will be glad to share our experience and open our home to any future clients. Charlie & Susan Hartland VT

Chris Ambrose renovated our home in Woodstock, VT this past year (2020). We couldn’t have been happier with the renovation; it exceeded our expectations. Chris and his crew were all very professional, hardworking, respectful individuals. They were very skilled in their individual trades and took pride in their work. Chris Ambrose, as the construction manager, was very professional, organized and responsive to us, throughout the project. He provided a lot of options and suggestions and was very open to changes as the project progressed. Chris was also great at monitoring the spending and how it aligned with his original proposal. When changes were made, Chris kept us informed of the impact on our spending. Chris was also great at coordinating the various outside resources and supplies that were needed during the construction. This was not an easy task, especially given that COVID-19 impacted that project timeline and availability of supplies. Brigitte Ambrose was the designer for our home renovation. We bought the house in 2019 and when we met Brigitte, we gave her our thoughts and ideas for changes and from there she came up with some great options for the house. Brigitte was able to propose ideas we never would have thought to do. Both Chris and Brigitte were recommended to us through the Real Estate agents were worked with when we bought the house. They were both great people to work with on our home renovation.

My husband and I used Ambrose Customer Builders for an almost complete renovation of the first floor of our Vermont home, including the addition of a new dining area and screened-in porch. We used Ambrose for both the design of the space and the construction. Both Chris and his wife Brigitte (who designed the layout of the space) are very creative and have a wonderful sense of design, color and style. They understood the overall look we wanted and how we planned to use the spaces in an open concept design, and as a result were able to aid us in the multitude of decisions required. The changes in the design and flow of the space have made a huge difference in our everyday living. The quality of the construction is top notch, attention to detail is paramount, and overall both Chris and Brigitte are easy to work with and responsive to their clients' needs. I would highly recommend Ambrose Custom Builders for a renovation or new build.

Words alone cannot express our satisfaction regarding our experience with Ambrose Custom Builders and we would recommend them without hesitation. From initial concept, design and construction, through final details and finishing touches, Chris and Brigitte exceeded our expectations time and time again, all the while keeping a keen eye on quality and budget. It is evident in the way they conduct themselves that they are not only consummately talented, but they truly love what they do for a living. We are proud to say we have an Ambrose custom home. We are even prouder to call them friends.

Chris, Brigitte and their team were so outstanding and amazing. Their excellence in every possible category - professional, knowledgable, wonderful aesthetic, craftsmanship--so far exceeded what we had hoped for, time tracking, cost tracking, impossibly on time and on budget. We had a vision - but what they came up with and created was so far beyond what we'd hoped and dreamed - every single day we remark on the comfort and satisfaction of our dreamy hideaway. We initially had some concern about being at a distance during much of the construction, but there was absolutely never a problem. We ended up having 100% confidence and trust in Chris and his truly outstanding team. Many of our neighbors commented on the punctuality and consistency of the team's work. Chris seemed to know and had figured out exactly how we wanted the house to turn out, his vision and wonderful taste expanded and informed our ideas, we soon had total trust in Chris and his team to make decisions and figure things out, and he was constantly in contact with us about any details or questions that arose. The amount of incredibly granular detail that he carried in his head was astonishing, even as we know he had multiple other projects going on simultaneously, we always felt he was giving us 100% of his attention and we were constantly astonished by his focus. The craftsmanship was outstanding, every single thing was built with such care and attention to detail and the quality is superb. Again, lots of communication with the team about the details, and they made tons of recommendations and suggestions to constantly improve the ultimate look and feel of the place. We've done renovations of other homes in the past, and had actually had wonderful luck and results and felt that the work had been excellent, but the level of professionalism and commitment from Chris and Brigitte and the Ambrose team was heads above - they are simply outstanding. It is impossible to express our joy and gratitude to them all.

Choosing Chris and Brigitte to build our house in Vermont was one of the best decisions we've ever made. The Ambroses have everything one could want from a partner for a project such as ours: professionalism, integrity, attention to detail and terrific taste. At all points during our engagement with ACB, our expectations were exceeded. We would highly recommend them to anyone considering a project such as ours.

Chris Ambrose was the ultimate professional. He and his wife Bridget helped us to design our dream house. He then built it just as we wanted it. The project was finished quickly and did not exceed our budget. We love the house and recommend Ambrose Custom Builders to everyone.

We hired Ambrose Custom Builders to design and build our vacation home in Woodstock. Chris Ambrose is outstanding in all phases of the project. Chris took us through all the very difficult decisions needed to build our beautiful custom home. In the 9 months it took us to build our house we learned to trust and respect his opinions in any of the decisions that needed to be made. His attention to detail and his pride in his work is a reason to hire Ambrose Custom Builders.

If you’re looking for a Design/Build firm with impeccable attention to detail, look no further than Ambrose Custom Builders. Their projects are well thought out, planned and executed thoroughly. Chris is always a pleasure to work with and is a great communicator of his client’s needs. Their projects have ranged from traditional quintessential Vermont to modern contemporary, depending on the client, but one thing they all have in common is quality craftsmanship completed by a great team of people!

Delightful to work with, outstanding communication, great quality craftsmanship, creative solutions and pretty close to a worry-free demo and construction. We highly recommend a partnership Ambrose builders. On time, on budget, trustworthy, you cannot ask for more.

The team at Ambrose continue to exceed expectations. We've had several renovations made to our century-old home and each time they have exceeded expectations with their design ideas, speed and execution.

Ambrose Custom Builders, Inc., updated our rental home with our budget in mind, in a quick and timely fashion. Chris did creative quality work that made a very ugly investment (an "oh no what did we do") into an adorable rental home. They have a keen eye for what would work for what you have. They understood our vision on their first suggestion and the end product was the vision we talked about!!

Everyone on Chris' team was unfailingly skilled, diligent, personable, and helpful, while Chris himself was pure delight to work with. Not only does he have masterful skills and a keen aesthetic sense, but he ALWAYS responded to my messages and engaged fully with my thinking and my questions. He had excellent suggestions for third-party vendors of lighting and other accessories, and he walked me through at least two hearings before my town's design review board. I found Chris to be generous, collaborative, resourceful, creative, highly organized, and totally reliable. Not a day goes by when I don't feel grateful that he was available to manage the renovation of my house.

The Ambrose team - Chris and Bridgette - have guided us during several projects in various cities in the US and Canada. We used a cookie-cutter house plan because we were building in a remote village in Canada, and they both worked on the plans to make it more custom and to better fit how we live. We have also asked them to come up to Montreal to give advice on potential home purchases (structural soundness, design, cost) and had them spend days redesigning a final purchase. We've also been to two Ambrose projects - house and a fancy 'barn' (which is really a small house). Everything is of such high quality, so well designed and planned. I like that the company is very clear and upfront with pricing, honest about their capacity and timelines and so fun to work with. There is no team like the Ambrose team. You won't go wrong hiring them.

Chris did a complete home renovation for us and did an outstanding job! No detail was overlooked. He listened to us and worked with us on every aspect of the home. The results were wonderful. Easy to work with, a skilled, professional crew and always available. Proud to call he and his wife our friends!

We have had the good fortune to use Ambrose Custom Builders twice in the last 5 years. The first time was for a renovation of an old Condo in town that was tired and outdated. From the first meeting with Chris Ambrose my husband and I understood immediately that we were in good hands. The entire project was done long distance as we live in Florida and Chris kept us informed and helped make smart decisions from afar and I have to commend his patience with my flights of fancy as I overthought each and every decision. My Husband was particularly grateful for Chris' reining in some of my unnecessary expenditure on such a small project. The end result was more than we could have hoped for, beautiful craftsmanship and attention to detail totally transformed the condo into our dream getaway. More recently, we hired ACB again when we upgraded to a house. This was a much bigger job with a complete renovation and configuration from top to bottom. This was a home that had had all of its original character erased over the years, what should have been a charming historic cottage was now a sterile small roomed house that needed just the right touch to make it shine. Hand Hewn beams were added throughout, walls opened up, new Farmhouse kitchen and bathrooms, structural improvements, all done with the sensitive eye for detail that is the trademark of Chris Ambrose. Again, Chris guided me to make good choices with lighting and fixtures and was so enthusiastic about the project that from beginning to end the process was a fun experience. The timing of completion was crucial as we had a big move to arrange and true to his word all was ready on time and we even had a reveal day not unlike those on HGTV. So to finish, what I will say is that on both occasions that we used Ambrose Custom Builders the experience has been amazing, resulting in two homes that were sensitively renovated with outstanding craftsmanship. Chris Ambrose treated both projects with the same attention and enthusiasm even though the first was small in comparison. Chris loves what he does and it shows in his approach to each project, he walks into a space and instinctively knows what it needs, he listens to you and translates your wishes into more than you imagined. If I ever have another renovation I would feel confident in just handing over the keys to the house and saying "Chris we trust you, call us when its done." Oh how I wish I had another home for him to renovate, or better still, build from the ground up.

After purchasing a fixer-upper in Woodstock, VT, we asked Chris Ambrose and his team of craftsmen to help us in turning the old cottage into the getaway we imagined. It was a pleasure to work with Chris from start to finish. His understanding of both our short and long-term goals, as well as his creative vision, enabled us to build a beautiful home which we can enjoy now as well as a home we will continue to improve upon over the coming years. Chris and his team turned a dated old ranch home into a gorgeous and comfortable living space. His imaginative detail not only helped to keep the project affordable, but he managed to salvage the crucial elements of the original interior to keep the home looking like the gem it was built to be. He suggested keeping the original maple kitchen cabinets and re-worked them into the new deisgn. He suggested we keep the original cast-iron tub and built-ins in the bath and pantry areas, providing essential storage space that looks like a page out of Pottery Barn. He built custom trimwork to marry seamlessly with the original woodwork, and suggested finishing details that not only perfectly enhanced the completed design but worked very well within our budget. We are thrilled to have worked with Chris and will only to go Chris for our future home redesign needs. He is an exceptional crafftsman as well as a thorough and knowledgeable business person. He also is a really nice guy.

Ambrose Custom Builders, Inc. built our lovely Vermont Greek Revival Farmhouse. It is a gorgeous 2300 square foot home, leveraging energy star and green home standards, high efficiency systems, reclaimed material and multiple beautiful architectural details. We can't recommend them enough!

I met Chris when I was hired to build a custom shower he and his wife had designed. Walking into the near complete renovation project is was obvious Chris had great attention to detail. The tile I installed highlighted other colors in the master suite.... All the trims were fluent throughout the house, color schemes all seemed to work well together. All the hardware used in the kitchen, bathrooms, foyer to even the shower and lighting fixtures complimented each other nicely I thought. I have since done a few more projects with Ambrose Custom Builders and thoroughly enjoy the unique ideas Chris and his team come up with.