New Angie's List Report

A great way to start off the week: a gleaming report on Angie's List. Not sure if you use or have heard of Angie's List, but it is a online community where the customer pays to have a membership. With that membership comes an expansive list of service providers, "from plumbers to roofers", who other community members have used and have reviewed. The businesses listed on Angie's List, i.e. Meyer Brothers and Sons, have no control over what reviews people post, so it provides a real, honest reflection of client's experiences with the businesses they use. Below is the unsolicited review followed by some pictures of the items the client highlighted:

Overall	A
Price	A
Quality	A
Responsiveness	A
Punctuality	A
Professionalism	A

Categories: 

Architects & Building Design
Cabinet Making
Carpentry - Woodworking
Electrical
Remodeling - General
Remodeling - Kitchen & Bathroom

Services Performed: 

Yes

* More Weight is given to a report where work has been completed.

Work Completed Date: 

April 09, 2012

Last Modified Date: 

June 05, 2012

Hire Again: 

Yes

Approximate Cost: 

$75,000.00

Description Of Work: 

To begin with their architect came out and sat down with us for about two hours discussing what we wanted. Sent us by email an estimate and preliminary design. We decided to move forward. He came back out and went through everything in great detail. He measured and checked walls to see exactly how to open up our space. Gave us starting date and were their on time every day. We gutted our kitchen. They tore out tile in our living room and den. We had all new natural cherry hardwood floors. Enlarged doorway from kitchen to dining room. Crown molding in kitchen. New LED recess lighting, new pendant lights and LED strip lighting. Beautiful functional custom cabinetry with pull out drawers, hidden spice racks, lazy susan organizer and cookie sheet organizers. They moved our not so old dishwasher and range to basement and hooked them up. We needed cabinet to go in where they took two out. They even came up with a reasonable option for that. Also made cabinet for liquor and glasses in our dining room. Did granite counter tops and tle backsplash. We were told the project would take six to eight weeks. It took 5 weeks. They kept us informed of schedule at all times. They cleaned up the mess every night.

Member Comments: 

It went GREAT! They were very respectful of our house. We were kept informed of schedule. They cleaned up every night. Showed up when they said they would and worked full days. It was suppose to take 6 to 8 weeks but only took 5 weeks.My new kitchen is awesome. They also kept me informed of pricing. I was below budget with tile, granite and faucets. We did not include appliances in their estimate but they told us to try Pâté Appliance. They gave us a nice package deal. If you are looking for a honest, hard working, good design builder, I would highly recommend Meyer Brothers and Sons. The price included design, total kitchen remodel, powder room updates with custom cabinetry and vessel sink, custom cabinetry in dining room and hardwood floors throughout our first floor except for family room, moving old appliances to basement and making cabinet for basement.

Latest Kitchen Design & Photos

Custom designed, hand-built kitchens are one of our favorite things to do at Meyer Brothers & Sons for a variety of reasons. From a design standpoint, it is fun, yes fun to take our knowledge & expertise in kitchen design - from aesthetics to functionality - and merge that with the clients unique needs & ideas. Often times I hear from clients something along these lines: "I found this picture in a magazine and really like the hood design but nothing else... my neighbor has a cherry kitchen I love but the stain is too dark and the cabinets lack functional storage...I was watching HGTV and I decided I want to go with this kind backsplash tile & granite..." From there the design path begins and unfolds through the creative design process demonstrated in 3-dimensional drawings. Through a series of adjustments, improvements & appliance specification integration the final design comes to life. Once it is finalized, the rest of the crew takes over to convert the theoretical drawings to the built reality; resulting in a truly unique, one-of-a-kind, locally built kitchen that is more of a work of art than another functional room in your house.

 the before

 the design

 the after

__________________________________________________________

 We removed the walled pantry and created this cabinet pantry only 10" deep to allow room for the island w/ seating

 Bar hutch in dining room adjacent to kitchen

 A walnut wine holder as a small gift from us to our client

 Island featuring turned "urn" columns which are replicated on either side of the stove: notice how the top follows the column profile

 Wood hood with with insert & half columns on the pull-out spice racks

 Custom wood hood with Corinthian style carved corbels, side spice storage & carved vineyard onlay located on breastboard which is replicated on wood bridge over sink

 The material palette: 2 1/4" oak floor with a natural finish, cherry cabinets featuring roped molding with a natural finish, stainless appliances, granite tops & olive green glass tile back splash

One example of a 2-stage crownmolding

Architecture Merger

I met with a client recently who wants a sunroom addition to the back of their home, but seemed to have a real desire for an overall plan of how the addition may fit with and be complimented by an outdoor patio and landscaping. I took this as an opportunity to get off the computer and do things the old fashion way. The university I attended started each student in the College of Architecture and Planning with a year of overlapping studies. It wasn't until the second year that we declared our major within the college. I haven't had many opportunities to practice what I learned with my brief introduction to landscape architecture, so I thought I'd take this one. With a little help from Photoshop, my hope is that our client may gain some ideas and begin to dream with me on what design opportunities they have in both the built & natural environment.

How to Find a Great Contractor

I came across this article from www.insider.retailmenot.com written by someone out of the industry and thought it was good advice to anyone considering using a contractor, like us! And if you heed her advice, feel free to check us out on Angie's list...don't just take our word for it, listen to our customers.

"Job Well Done

How to work with a contractor, from the initial search to the final payment

by Trae Bodge

So you need some work done on your house. Unless you’re experienced or just downright adventurous enough to do the work yourself, you’ll need a contractor to manage the project for you. If you don’t have a go-to person you already trust, it’s time to get out there and start searching for the right person for the job.

Where to Begin

Do some research on the kind of job you want to have done. Redoing your bathroom? Look at Houzz.com or DesignSponge.com to get design ideas and This Old House or Do It Yourself magazine to get a sense of what’s involved. This way, you can speak intelligently to the contractors you interview and be better prepared to make the big decisions.

Finding the Right Fit

There is obviously the phone book, but other people are the best resources for good, reliable, licensed contractors. If you have a listserve in your community, check it for reviews of local contractors or utilize services like Angie’s List, which offer more than 500 categories of reviews—everything from painting and plumbing to roofing and remodeling. Be sure to ask friends, neighbors and co-workers as well. And don’t forget Yelp!

The Interview: What to Look For

Once you have several names and numbers in hand, reach out and make appointments for home visits.

When you meet, be ready with questions and as much information about your project as possible. Rusty Meador, a contractor in Wilmington, NC, gave me the best advice of all: “Go about hiring a contractor just like you would any other professional. Would you go to a dentist that has a dirty waiting room and tries to sell you a lot of things you don’t need? Then don’t hire a contractor that shows up late for meetings, gives you a poorly thought-out estimate and rarely returns calls.”

References

The contractor should be willing to provide references (and photos of their work).  Check them. Here are some questions you can ask of the person who hired the contractor previously:

• Was the project completed on time and on budget?

• If something unforeseen came up (it usually does), how did the contractor handle it?

• Did they regularly arrive/finish on time?

• Did they clean up after themselves and their crew?

The Estimate

If, at the end of the first meeting, you think you have met a candidate, request an estimate of work. Here are some things to look for:

• A detailed timeline

• A list of any permits that need to be pulled (including the fees and time required for each).

• Does the estimate include materials? The contractor may have his/her own sources lined up, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do some comparative shopping. If you have a Home Depot or Lowe’s nearby, check the sales pages online, while also inquiring in-store to see if they have a sale coming up that is relevant to your project.

• A list of additional crew or other experts (like architects or inspectors) and make sure their fees are included.

• If the estimates you receive vary widely, ask why. There are legitimate ways to save money and then there is cutting corners.

Once You Have Chosen Your Contractor

Your contractor will draw up a contract, and you should read it very carefully. Here are a few things to look out for:

• Every phase of the job should be clearly mapped out, including when and how materials need to be ordered and when payments are due. You will ideally want to pay in installments and owe at least one-third at the end of the job so your contractor will feel more motivated to stick to the schedule.

• Make sure the contractor’s insurance information is included and that his crew is covered by workman’s compensation (you can call the insurance agency to confirm).

• Will the contractor be managing 100% of the work or will you be chipping in (a good way to save money), by doing demolition, painting, etc.?

Tip: Because it’s common for the work to slow way down near the end, you can also build little bonuses into your contract, to keep the timeline on track. Also, pay by check so you have a record of every payment.

Trae Bodge is a beauty and lifestyle writer based in New York City."

Local Forest to Local Furniture

Here at Meyer Brothers and Sons, we value & appreciate the beauty & sustainability of natural wood. One of the most rewarding experiences we have is seeing a dying tree turn into a family heirloom, continuing the life & beauty of creation. Below are images of what that looks like for Jerry's bedroom furniture suite:

Standing dead walnut tree

Dick's job is the first step in the process

The walnut logs loaded up and heading to the saw mill

Here's the rough saw mill

 Logs are cut, dried & surfaced at the lumber yard and this is what they look like delivered back to our shop

 First step of furniture making: the cabinet facing

 Gluing up the wood for the tops

Kreg screwing the walnut plywood box together

 Routing the rails & stiles for the bed headboard & footboard 

Sanding the center panels 

Gluing the rail & stile together

 Inserting the center panel

 Creating the ends of the headboard & footboard

 Example of traditional wood peg joinery

 Construction completed, waiting for the sprayed clear lacquer finish

Side table with custom inlay, which is featured in all the tops

The side panel was specifically chosen for it's unique character and will be the first thing seen upon entering the room

 Dovetail machine

 White oak & walnut dovetailed drawers

 The finished product installed

What started out as a tree now rests in Jerry's house as an heirloom which will hopefully last several hundred more years...

New Remodeled Bath

Here are some pictures of a newly completed bathroom remodel. We were able to push out 2 walls, only about 1' each, in order to gain a little more space in the tight bathroom. These minor adjustments made a major difference in how the bathroom feels & functions. Finished off with custom cabinetry and decorative tile makes for a great transformation.

And here are the clients remarks on Angie's List:

Report Date: March 10, 2012

Categories:  Painting - Interior Remodeling - General Services Performed:  Yes * More Weight is given to a report where work has been completed. Work Completed Date:  February 06, 2012 Hire Again:  Yes Approximate Cost:  $26,500.00 Description Of Work:  Tore out walls to enlarge guest bath. New bath fixtures, tub, toilet, cabinets, sink. Also new crown molding in foyer and painted foyer, bath and all areas affected by remodel. Tiling on floor and surrounding tub. Member Comments:  the best remodel we have completed. Was always kept up to date on schedule. It was to take two to three weeks. Took exactly three weeks but we added crown molding and foyer painting to the project. The cabinets are absolutely beautiful. Just adding a couple feet in each direction makes the bath seem a lot larger. We had another contractor tells us it was not feasible to enlarge the bath. Every day they would put dropp clothes on my carpets to keep them cleaned. They sealed off areas with plastic to keep the bedrooms clean. Every night they would clean up. When they were done painting the two story foyer, the hung my mirror which is approx. 5 ft x 3 ft. Back up and a very large piece of artwork. I didn't even have to ask. This was very much appreciated because my husband I wouldn't been able to do it and would have to wait until we could get some help.

Overall A Price A Quality A Responsiveness A Punctuality A Professionalism A

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED WHEN COMPLETING THIS REPORT

How much did the final cost compare to the original estimate? right on

How does the value of the work compare to the price? I got more than my money's worth

How far in advance did you schedule the work? within a week

Did you find the company through Angie's List? no

If no, what was the other source? Friends

Why did you choose this contractor? reputation

Have you used this company before? this is the first time I've used this company

What did you like most about this contractor? Dependability, quality of work, cleanliness and pricing

What did you like least about this contractor? Nothing

What surprises came up during the course of the work? None