In July of 2015 we hired Seattle Design Builders for our remodel -- we had met them several times, and over email we confirmed they had the job, and they confirmed they could work with our budget. Upon being hired, SDB asked for several thousand dollars to develop a detailed budget that would honor our project ceiling of $200K. Pete Pilkington -- the owner of SDB -- insisted that this would be a useful working document. Two months later, Pete and Barbara invited me to a "budget review." This was September 23, two months after we paid for the "detailed budget." At this meeting, the budget they presented was not detailed -- it was a template that had been hastily modified to have our name at the top. It had details for a deck build on it which was a leftover from a previous job. There were no bids from subs attached -- electric, foundation, HVAC -- all of these should have all been bid out by then. Instead of providing a real working template for our remodel, Pete Pilkington of SDB spent the majority of this meeting railing against our decorator. Our decorator, who we have worked with since 2008, and whose work has appeared in Domino, Elle Decor, House and Garden, etc., has very high professional standing, and having worked with her for years, we know her to be a consummate professional and exceedingly polite. Peter was offended that she wished to confirm tile measurements for the new bath and kitchen. I had been cc'd on Pete's angry emails to her and her staff, but in person he was also extremely sour. No real substantive budget review took place, and my husband I were concerned about Pete's angry attitude. When I told our decorator about the bizarre behavior she suggested we find someone more collaborative. But we held on.... A few weeks later, on October 27, we received a second budget that was $80K more than the original $200K we had agreed on at hiring. It had a new staircase (not in our job) and lots of millwork that did not relate to our project, and again no HVAC, electric or other sub's bids -- again, SDB had charged us thousands for this budget and even three months later, it was $80 grand over and STILL INACCURATE! This same day, October 27, Pete and Barbara Pilkington took me to see a job they was wrapping up -- the millworker who did this house would be doing our house, they said. The millwork was TERRIBLE and DEPRESSING -- kitchen drawers didn't open and the stove was not flush -- it jutted out at least three inches from the "custom" cabinetry. The estimate from SDB had $22K for this same millworker to build custom cabinets for our new kitchen... there is no way I would tolerate this shabby work. Because of this terrible craftsmanship, and because of the steep change in budget, my husband wrote an email on 10/28 -- I quote: "Pete, Thank you for this and for your time yesterday. I am hoping that we can get this budget down closer to $200K, per our original conversations. Can you work with us to find additional places to trim?.. - The kitchen cabinet budget seems steep... can we look at alternative bids?... Thank you again for working with us on this.... Best, Andy". Pete responded with an email quitting (less than a week before the start date), and saying our request to observe the agreed-upon budget and find a different millworker compromised his values. He then wrote there was a way to "salvage" the job, but my husband refused.
SDB charged us thousands for a budget they printed out from file. And their professionalism was so sub-standard -- beyond the shenanigans with our budget and their contempt for our professional decorator, they made fun of the height/stature of the clients at the house they took me to, and they also made light of this same client's veteran grandfather having a prosthetic leg. So mean-spirited.
In sum, SDB will waste time and money with unprofessional conduct. SDB has refused to refund the monies we paid for the "detailed budget." Since their budget was a joke for the monies paid, and their conduct appalling, we warn people to stay away!! We have since met a number of contractors who will respect our budget, and time, and are polite and professional! read more