Emerald City Construction recently completed a full condo remodel for us. They were a dream to work with from start to finish, and we couldn't be happier with the results. If you are looking for a professional, timely, communicative contractor for your project, we absolutely recommend them.
Project Overview:
We started the process in late 2019, and worked with them in initial stages to determine scope of the project and secure an estimate for the project. Our condo is about 40 years old and the layout and most of the finishes were still original, and it really looked it. So we started interviewing contractors to find a good fit, and scheduled a meeting with Emerald City Construction.
We were immediately impressed with Dmitry. He was very communicative and called out some options that we could consider with the remodel that we hadn't even considered. For example, we had a drop ceiling in the kitchen and assumed that it was for ducting or something; but he speculated that it might have just been a way for the original builders to save money on cabinetry by using shorter cabinets. He said that they could explore removing that, and it looks amazing now that the living room and kitchen have one consistent ceiling. This is just one example, but having Dmitry's expertise in this area was extremely helpful in deciding our final design plan.
They started the demolition in mid January and finished up the project in mid April even with several roadblocks like a snowstorm and COVID-19. Viktor and his crew were fantastic throughout and did a great job on finishing touches so that everything looks professional and accurate. That's something we'd never have been able to achieve on our own. These guys really know what they are doing and it shows.
Budget:
They were toward the upper middle range of bids that came in for our project, and we chose them because we felt their estimate was thorough enough for us to get the financing we needed (and could qualify for) and still have a small cushion for any unknowns.
They were conscious of our budget, and really worked with us to find solutions that met our needs and aesthetic preferences within that amount. It's always risky when you start opening up walls and stuff to know what things are going to look like, so I'm incredibly thankful that they were clear about things in their estimate and invoices so that we could keep track and make sure that we stayed within our range.
Example of Issue Resolution:
Dmitry was great about working with our HOA on a couple of issues where we needed to inform them of changes and/or get approval. Like all big projects of this type, we ran into one issue when removing an interior, non-load-bearing wall that temporarily affected the downstairs neighbor's DSL connection, but Dmitry had a specialist come in and fix it immediately to limit impact to her. It meant a lot to us to know that they were so on top of things and cared not only about us, but our neighbors, too.
Final Thoughts:
Emerald City Construction is a great company to work with for projects. We have no hesitation recommending them. This was the first time we had gone through something this big, and they led us through the process on time and on budget. They helped us refresh our whole home and make it work so much better for us going forward. We're incredibly thankful for their hard work and attention to detail. Thank you Dmitry, Viktor, and everyone at Emerald City Construction for helping us make our existing home into our dream home. read more