Ritz Design built my addition a couple years ago and I've been meaning to post this. Such a masterful job. Everything was such good quality. They communicated openly about both significant and minor changes as the build went along. I get compliments regularly from visitors and neighbors. I have had multiple people walking by stop and ask about my experience. And they've all said how it stood out the beauty of the build. The detail in the interior is awesome. Mine is an odd shaped addition and they did it so well. It wasn't cheap. It was totally worth it. read more

Ritz Design Build - The view of the whole home with the addition on the right. - General Contractors Near Me - San Diego, California

We knew nothing about building an ADU when shopping around for someone to build for us. We selected Ritz because they advertised a one-stop shop that does everything from design to finishing touches. We were guided through the initial meeting to discuss our desires, to meeting with the architect to put our needs on paper, and then Ritz shepherded all of that through engineering and permits. Once construction began, we were assigned a project manager who seemed to orchestrate the trades like a symphony and the build was completed in 5 months, even with the speed bumps of dodging winter rains and adding a fire suppression system. Communication was excellent. We were informed of decisions we needed to make, and were given explanations, options, alternatives during the building process. Of course no build is perfect, however everything was approached with a team view and effort to find the right solutions. I'm grateful for our project manager Adan for explaining pros, cons, and providing suggestions that made the final build even better than originally designed. I'm very happy with my new 2-bedroom 1.5 bath perfect retirement home. With a beaming smile I recommend Ritz to everyone who asks. read more

We purchased our 3-bedroom home in the hopes to open up the floorplan and add another bedroom. We were living out of state and wanted to complete the remodel before moving to San Diego which added complexity to the job. We met with several firms including Ritz Design Build. What attracted us to Ritz were their design ideas and willingness to work with us virtually. Eddie created several design options for opening up the floorplan and had a great idea for adding the 4th bedroom that would be much easier (and more affordable) than our initial plan. Our design continued to evolve, ultimately settling on a completely open concept that required a steel beam and exterior stamped concrete to complete our indoor/outdoor living dream. The Ritz team brought a wealth of skilled contractors to execute our vision. We have nothing but high praise for the quality of work and craftsmanship that the Ritz team put into our project. After the project was complete, we noticed issues with the finish of our new kitchen island countertop. Eddie came to our house to see the issue himself and agreed that the material did not meet his standard for work. Ritz worked with us to replace the island countertop at no additional cost. This was a very stressful, complex endeavor but the Ritz team helped to alleviate some of our major concerns. As with any contractor, we had our challenges, but with Ritz we were able to work through them and keep the project moving forward. In the end, it was well worth it. If you are looking to add on or remodel your home, I would highly recommend the Ritz team. read more

Ritz construction company built our new 450 sq ft ADU. The project included many details and they made sure every small detail is fully executed with high quality. The team was responsive and always respected our time and made sure everything was done to our satisfaction. They accommodated our requests, and took care of any change order with a reasonable price. The ADU came out beautiful. The outcome was 100% to our satisfaction, not even 99%. I highly recommend working with them. We had multiple bad experiences with other contractors and working with Ritz was a fresh breeze. read more

After meeting with 6 different companies we decided to go with Ritz Design Build for our home project. We were nervous as we had heard horror stories from friends about working with contractors in general, but our experience with Ed and his team was great! They exceeded our expectations in each step of the process, from designing what our vision was through the professionalism of the builders to the final walkthrough. Ritz Design completed the project ahead of schedule and constantly was in communication with us which was very important to us. There was one mistake, a window was broken but they took ownership right away and replaced it. We now consider them friends and will gladly speak with anyone as a reference if considering to hire them for work. Just ask Ed for Monica's info. read more

I hired Ritz to do a room addition and modernize the entire front facade of my house last year. The whole crew was a pleasure to deal with, from Eddie on the design, Shar and Audrey on the administrative side, Bill and Sam on construction, and especially Dick as the GC. The thing that stuck out the most to me was their upfront honesty. In my first meeting, Shar said to me "this is construction, at some point during the project we will make a mistake, but we will fix it". Luckily, the only issues we had were some water intrusion problems due to rain during construction but those were easily resolved. When the project was all said and done I think my change orders amounted to around 5% of the original quote. To me, this says they did a good job of thoroughly reviewing all the options up front and so the changes during construction were minimal. It's been exactly one year since the project was completed and everything is still as good as new and we've had no issues. To this day, I still get random compliments on the work from people walking or driving by. I would definitely hire Ritz again. read more

Well you should be warned, I wasn't. I had to sue this Contractor who demolished my home beyond their capability to restore. Huge lawsuit, this guy fought me the whole way, I just have a signed judgement today. Searchable public records. Beware and move on from this contractor. Call the CSLCB and check for open complaints... read more

Ritz Design build did a major remodeling project for our Point Loma home. Working with Ritz, and Ed Ritter, was a very satisfying and smooth experience. The project ended up looking so good that passersby would always stop and comment on how well they loved our home. When we decided to sell our home and move back to the "burbs," our home sold in one day, with several offers being over the asking price. I have no doubt that the work that Ritz Design Build did was very much a reason for our success. Equally as impressive was the fact that Ed, when we called on him to fix a few minor issues raised by the home inspector, responded immediately. The issues were quickly resolved! Ed even had his craftsmen come by and fix issues that were not Ritz Design Build's responsibility. A remodel project is not for the fainthearted. However, you can ratchet down the angst and stress process immeasurably by calling on the Ritz team. If you are looking to do a major remodel to your home, you need to call on Ritz Design Build!! read more

I need to update on Ritz. Although they completed my project almost a year ago, Ed (owner of Ritz) still helps me a lot of thing not related to their business. When I need his advice or some small scale work job. He really support me without charging. I really recommend Ritz even more than before. read more

Ritz Design Build just finished construction of a "Granny Flat" for us. It was, in my view, a quite complex undertaking and I was somewhat nervous at the start. It involved building a small 2-bedroom 1-bath house that was added on a vacant lot behind an existing house. Initially, Ritz called a meeting and with great care created a design that captured all the requirements to meet our needs. It was easy to imagine the look of the new house with their three-dimensional computer images projected on the big screen monitor mounted on the wall. That really helped us see the workability of the floor plan. Their team performed like a fine tuned machine from conception to construction completion. They had many other projects going on in unison but managed to meet every requirement on our project which included being present for city inspections, utility meets with SDG&E and many other demands. They still kept us on track for the scheduled completion. Our Construction In-Charge was Dick Miller and he was outstanding. I give him an A++ rating. He is well versed in all phases of construction, city ordinances, city building codes and just common sense knowledge. Also, he was very accommodating for anything we needed or inquired about and a pleasure to work with. Although we are not in the construction field, we both have a knowledge of building standards and give a very high rating to all those skilled professionals that were involved with our project. They all delivered quality work and were personable to work with. We got to know all of them; electrician, plumber, structural wood framers, roofers, HVAC specialist, stucco, concrete and all the helpers. This was a very stressful complex endeavor but this great team helped to alleviate some of the major concerns. I've heard horror stories from friends about building additions and construction projects that weren't completed or weren't up to standard. You can rest assured that this team won't let you down. read more

From beginning to end, Ritz Design Build provided excellent service. Everyone we worked with was friendly, helpful and honest. They did an amazing job on our room addition and did everything with our budget in mind. Our project manager, Dick, was great at communicating with us on what to expect, our timelines and made sure that our expectations were met. The owner, Shar, ensured that our home and living conditions were not severely interrupted. She seemed as though she was personally invested just as we were. Matt, the architect brought our vision into reality and provided tasteful suggestions keeping our wishes and budget in mind. Every single step was as easy and as stress-free as possible. We would recommend them for any job you need done. read more

BudgeIt came in and saved us after we had found out that our permitted plans that had taken 4 months and $7500 from an architect were unbuildable. They not only drew up new plans and got the permits for us but assisted us in getting a refund from the old permit. Our addition of a bedroom and dining room went up in just a few weeks and the guys from BudgeIt were not only profesional and efficient but also very hardworking and considerate of our young children and dogs. They went above and beyond at every turn and we are so happy with our new space. We look forward to working with Ed Ritter and the whole team in the future. Thanks guys!!! read more

We were very Pleased to do business with Budge-It ! The Entire team gave us 5 star service! Really professional ,Clean and Great attention to detail. They came out to our El Cajon location and took care of our every need. It's Really nice to finally find a Solid company like Budge-It, to get the job done...As well as making all of your visions and dreams become a reality! read more

We had a similar experience as another reviewer, Dave H. Ed came out to our house for a free estimate. Immediately, after Ed walked through our doors, I knew it was not going to be a good experience. Ed told us their company mainly deal with second story addition. We were looking to add 600 square foot, single story, addition in the back of our house. He, further went on to tell us what is wrong with our ideas after we showed him a a rough sketch of our plans. His tone was very condescending. But he took our sketch and said he will have someone from his office call us back with an estimate. No call back or email from them at all. Oh well, I guess we are too small of a project for them. We'll take our business else where then. Word of advice, if you have a small project, less then six figures, don't bother calling them. They will not follow up. read more

We contacted Ritz Design and Build a little over a year ago about potentially adding on to our home. We had a large backyard, but were limited by both a pool and an existing detatched garage. They worked with us to design and build a 621 square foot addition that added a den and masterbedroom suite off the back of our house. To start, we requested bids from four companies, but Ritz came in with the best price and a flexibility that made our project possible. And wow, we got what we paid for and more! Ritz's team of contractors are excellent. They were generally quick, professional, and showed a pride in craftsmanship that is often not seen today. It mattered to the whole team that the work they did was of excellent quality, not just good enough. And they moved quickly once they were able to break ground. From demo to final inspection we were just under five months. Since we were responsible for providing all fixtures, their success hinged on our ability to have things when they needed them. We held up our end and they held up theirs. We moved in to the new space the week before Christmas though final inspection didn't occur until January. As with any contractor, we had our challenges, but with Ritz we were able to work through them and keep the project moving forward. In the end, it was worth all the stress and angst that comes with a project of this size. If you are looking to add on or remodel your home I would highly reccomend the Ritz team. read more

Ed Ritter, and his son are top notch, contractors, and carpenters. Very through, very well priced, and quite easy going. good contractors are really hard to find these days. Many contractors just dont do what they say there going to do, but these guys do that and more. I would highly refer them if you are in need of a home remodel/addition. read more

We selected Ritz to do our home remodel after they did another house in the neighborhood. That person had been through several remodels on other properties and chose Ritz to work on their current house. We were not disappointed. Ritz Design Build has excellent subcontractors that get the job done right the first time. Their designer is excellent and came up with a couple different designs on how we could expand the bathrooms and master bedroom. The design we chose was very efficient with no dead space. They even let us get a late design change in the day the foundation was being dug which made the house that much better. One thing we liked is that Ritz let us have a fair amount of autonomy on the project as far as picking out tile, flooring, cabinetry, vanities, roofing, etc. They will do everything for you if you want, but we preferred to be fairly hands on in the process. This worked out very well and was a win win. Although we did have a few small issues, they were resolved quickly and to our satisfaction. If you are looking for professionalism, exacting standards, precision workmanship and timely execution of your remodel, you will find all these in Ritz. Very happy with the overall result from Ritz Design Build. read more

One star because we have to give it to them. One more star because they answered the phone and actually followed through with an appointment. Which leads to the other part of the review... Though I tried my best to keep the secretary on the phone long enough to explain to her our project status and what we're looking for, it appears that effort was in vain. Leslie (the secretary) was itching to get off the phone during our initial phone call, though I wanted to explain that we are primarily looking for a bid for the labor piece of our project since we are working with a designer in material selection and everything else. So she scheduled Ed, a "senior designer", to come to our home later in the week. She even called an hour prior to confirm the appointment. Ed calls himself a "designer/estimator", so I'm not sure who has the correct title, but Ed made it abundantly clear from the moment he stepped into our home and saw our proposed floorplan from our independent designer that he was ticked off. He was not happy he had to be there. I'm not sure if it was because he didn't think we had enough money to go through with our approx 100k in total project on an approximately million-dollar home because we are young enough to be his children and we wear jeans, or because he thought it was a waste of time for him to be involved in a project where he wasn't the primary and sole designer. He pointed out very early that he didn't think his company would be a good fit for our project, but yet he stayed in our house and kept going on and on about minor details in our (preliminary) design that he didn't like. He was very proud of the fact that he's been doing this for 30 years, and he reminded us of that fact multiple times during our conversation just in case we had forgotten it from 10 minutes prior. In short, he was condescending, rude, untactful to say the least, and certainly not doing very well selling his company's services. Finally, nearly an hour into the visit, when he listened long enough to discover that we were not necessarily against taking our independently developed design and having a one-stop design-build shop like his take over, he actually mentioned that they would love our business--though non-verbally all else indicated otherwise. At one point, Ed asked if we had talked to any "real" contractors about the job--how much more condescending can you get? I mean, if you nicely want to explain why you think you're the best person for the job and why we should choose you, we very well may do that! He said he would get back to us with a proposal within the week. We never heard from him again. SIX weeks later we got an email from the secretary asking if we still needed them... ? In the end, we happily took our 100k+ elsewhere. Ed seemed surprised to learn that we originally found our independent designer on Yelp, as if it is preposterous to use the internet to find home services online--I know that wasn't done 30 years ago when he started his "career". I hope this review will help shed some light on the business practices, processes, and overall attitudes at this company for anyone considering doing business with them. My impression from our consultation is that this company would be a great fit for the presumptuous, snooty, and rich. read more

Our experience with Ritz was one of the most professionally satisfying experiences we've ever had. After designing and building no less than four homes as we traversed the country, first in the Navy and then in civilian life, we like to think we learned something about good design, permitting and construction practices. The professionals at Ritz have, in our mind, re-defined the standard of excellence for us. We built a two-car garage with a small granny flat apartment above it; certainly not one of Ritz's high dollar projects, but you wouldn't know it by the attention given our project from start to finish from every member of the design and construction teams. Many know, at least intuitively if not by experience, that the most important part of any construction project is the foundation. If it isn't plumb and square then nothing else that follows will be either. Sure, a good framing crew can cover up foundation mistakes, but that wasn't the case here. The foundation was perfect (I had it independently checked). And the framing crew? Absolutely the very best I've ever had the pleasure of working on any of my aforementioned four homes. I can say the same for the electrician, mason, painter and on and on. I learned long ago you can tell a lot about a company and in this case a construction team by how clean they keep the construction 'zone' during the day and how they leave it at the end of the day. Not only is it a sign of pride they have in their work, but it is an indicator of how the workers think about their own safety and that of the homeowner. On our last home project, I had to 'get after' the company owner several times for the project not meeting my safety and cleanliness standards. For our Ritz project, I never had to make that call. As I told Ed, the owner of Ritz, his subcontractors, many of whom have been with him for several years (which is almost unheard of in this business) are his competitive advantage over all the other build/design firms in SD. Truth be told, we don't refer to the team that worked on our project as subcontractors; to us they were no less than expert craftsmen. Did the project go perfectly, without flaws? Of course not. I've never had a home build go perfectly, but this one was closer than all the others. Ed was active, engaged and committed to making it right. One of the mistakes was, admittedly ours. In trying to save some money we insisted on a cheaper shower product installation only to have to agree late in the project we were wrong. He had every right to charge us for not only the demolition of the old plastic shower, but then to 'stick it to us' for the new tile installation, especially since our 'change order' delayed the overall project schedule. He surprised us with his generosity and desire to make sure we were satisfied. We are big fans of Ritz and the people behind the logo. We've told Ed and his team to use us as references. We can provide no better recommendation than that. read more

I used Ed and his team for another small project recently and again they were stellar. Thanks Ed. Our family appreciates all you do. I hear you may be offering solar in your projects now? That'd be great. read more

I scheduled for a bid for a condo remodeling job today at 4 pm. It's now 5:40 pm and no one showed up. I just called the office and they are closed. I am taking my business elsewhere and so should you! read more