We interviewed 5 general contractors. We were looking for a "Design & Build" contractor. Many contractors use a separate designer who charges you by the hour for design work. Unfortunately, when it is done that way you have no idea what your design costs could be. REF, (owned by Ryan Found) was willing to provide a design which his bid was then based on.
The original scope of the job was going to be just the kitchen, but we also asked for a bid on the master bath as well. Before Ryan presented the bid he met with us a number of times to make sure he understood exactly our vision of the remodel.
When Ryan presented us with the bids he brought Eric Goranson with him. Eric does all of Ryan’s design work and presented us with the actual designs with the specific details, and CAD images. Eric came up with a perfect solution and included a few unique items that were not discussed but were perfect for the remodel. We kept each one. This work product was given to us before we signed the contract or paid any money.
The contract bid from REF was such that it would allow us to remodel both the kitchen and the master bath.We also got a bid from the another contractor. The numbers were not much different than REF’s. However, the presentation by Ryan and Eric was by far superior to the other contractor’s.
We felt very strongly that Ryan was customer oriented and that he would do a great job. Since all down-to-the-studs remodels come with surprises, he told us that regardless he would make things right. (The only items on the contract that could not be determined was lead and asbestos abatement, and lucky for us neither turned out to be an issue).
My wife and I have hired many contractors over the years but this was by far the largest project we’ve taken on. Once we selected Ryan, he presented to us the complete timeline for the project. Specifically, what work would be done on which days and when the project would be completed. He posted them at the work station he set up in the house, and we were told of any minor deviations ahead of time. He assured us he could complete the project on time and on budget (no surprises). Frankly I’ve heard that so many times I found it hard to believe, but Ryan’s professionalism convinced us that he could do it. So the time came to write a check for half of the contract price. My hand started to shake and sweat built up on my brow. This was a lot of money and I was handing it over to someone I had never hired before. My fear and anxiety turned out to be completely unwarranted.
Ryan was very hands on during the project. He has 2 project supervisors and at first they were both at the house. It was immediately obvious that Ryan’s customer-first philosophy carried over to them as well. However, it was Sean who was ultimately the supervisor our project. During the construction, regardless of the questions we had, Ryan and Sean took as much time as we needed to have our them answered. We’ve hired contractors for remodels before and typically once a project supervisor is on the job you rarely, if ever, see the head guy again. This was not the case with Ryan. He frequently showed up to monitor the project to direct Sean and the subcontractors. Both responded to my texts almost immediately, and all emails were answered the same day.
During the construction whenever a subcontractor came into our house for the first time Sean brought them to us and introduced each subcontractor and their employees. This was a new experience for us, and it greatly reduced the stress associated with remodels. I even joked with Sean that he had become a member of the family (in a good sense).
As the project progressed it became clear that Ryan was keeping the project on schedule, and that the work would be completed on time - which it was. But for a change we made near the end of the project, the work was completed on the exact day Ryan had promised.
Another thing I need to mention is that whenever I’ve hired a contractor even the smallest change we requested turned into a change order and an additional charge, There is a standing joke that contractor’s make their real money on change orders from homeowners who once the project has started they see things they didn’t like and didn’t foresee.This never happened once with Ryan. While he explained any major change might result in additional charges, the other ones would just be considered part of the original contract. During the project we did ask for a number of things to be changed, but Ryan never tacked on any additional costs.
Moreover, if we thought something had not been done the way we wanted it done, there was never any question. Ryan just had the change made. No questions asked. If we pointed out something a subcontractor did that didn’t seem right, we never heard a word back. Instead the subcontractor returned, usually the next day, and corrected it. In the end all of Ryan’s subcontractors turned out to be excellent.
There was a problem with the supplier of the semi-custom cabinets we installed. The cabinets were very well made, but aesthetically, the finish on many of the doors were unacceptable. Whichever ones we found unacceptable Ryan simply returned them for replacements. Again, Ryan did not question our judgement on this. He just took care of the problem. We never had to deal with it. His customer-comes-first philosophy is real and he followed through to make sure we were happy.
So how did the remodel come out? Fantastic. The end result exceeded our expectations, and we feel our money was well spent. This was as stress free as i could ever imagine a remodel being. Ryan genuinely wanted us to be thrilled with how the project came out, and we are. We’d hire hm again in a heartbeat. In fact we wished we’d used him on a family room remodel a number of years ago that didn’t meet out expectations.
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