James Crist Builders just finished our complete home remodel. It was an extensive job, requiring total demo of most of the prior house, then new excavation, foundation, the works, etc. All told we ended up with an essentially new home.
We first met Jamie when we were considering property purchases about 2 years ago. He was very flexible about meeting us at listed properties prior to offers to review current conditions and give us a good sense of what we could do and what it would take to make the house what we wanted it to be. Jamie spent many hours visiting and reviewing no less than 3-4 prospective properties before we ended up buying something. His experience and advice was very helpful in our buying strategy.
After purchase, we interviewed several builders and architects and ultimately decided that we wanted Jamie to build our home. His initial quote was timely, broken down clearly to specific areas, and very competitive. Jamie recommended an architect firm that he had worked with before, and we ended up really liking them as well. We were particularly budget conscious and in general Jamie was able to identify areas that we could save money. Jamie also worked with us and our specific requests for particular finishes and even particular subcontractors. We feel that Jamie, while giving us guidance along the way, afforded us the autonomy that homeowners should feel during this kind of process. (For example I sourced our windows and flooring separately)
Throughout the project Jamie was up to date with costs/invoices, explained and justified any necessary change orders, and generally kept us on a reasonable time line. Final costs were more or less what was expected, and I think the quality of work is sound and beautiful. Julie, who runs the office, is also a valuable guide with finish selection, product sourcing, and overall just does a great job coordinating and keeping subcontractors on schedule. The subcontractors used were generally friendly courteous and I felt honest, a couple of them were particularly fantastic! Jamie and Julie were quick to address small issues we had with subs.
The only small critiques I would have is our time line was extended about a month or 2 longer than we anticipated, and given our prior rental, work and school schedules, this was a bit of challenge for us. Also, while Jamie ultimately took responsibility for anything we didn't like or want or was wrong, (e.g., wrong window size ordered, wrong light switches placed), sometimes I felt he was a bit defensive with some of our concerns, but then again, I think I can come on strong at times.
We would certainly work with Jamie and Julie again and highly recommend James Crist Builders. read more