We are completely satisfied.
Over the past 40 years, my wife and I have worked with many contractors, both for renovating our homes, and for renovating dozens of rental apartments that we owned. After a few years, I developed strict criteria for hiring or rehiring contractors that I would recommend to friends.
To achieve a 5-star rating from us, the contractor must do at least the following:
-must have adequate experience handling the type of job that we need to be completed
-must be fully licensed to handle our job and is fully insured
-must have lots of experience working with the town or city where the work is to be done if permits are needed for any or all of the work
-must be willing to give us 3 names of clients who they have worked with over the last 5 years that we can call for a reference
-must present us with a thorough and detailed proposal including costs that are clearly laid out for the work to be done.
-must tell us when and if certain aspects of the job will be sub-contracted to others who are not in their direct employ,
-must present us with ideas on how we can do the work more efficiently and aesthetically.
-must be easy to work with, easy to contact, have excellent communication skills and be able to discuss a difference of opinion without being defensive.
-must keep us up to date on the progress of the job without having to be asked
-And after the work is completed must be willing to return to correct any part of the job that was not completed to our satisfaction
Southpaw readily met or exceeded the above criteria. In our case, Chris Lisinski, as our general contractor, gave us a clear and competitive proposal. He answered all of our questions over several weeks while we were reviewing other bids.
Although we were hesitant to do so, circumstances beyond our control, caused us to be out of state while the work was being done. The work was extensive including gutting our 1600 square foot condo to the concrete walls, covering the popcorn ceilings and adding recessed lighting, upgrading our electrical work including adding the capacity for an EV and a tankless water heater, replacing all interior doors and windows, installing a new kitchen, replacing all flooring and adding 2 new beautiful bathrooms.
Throughout the work we received 4-5 photos each day to show us the progress that day. If I had questions about the photos or other aspects of the job I could count on a prompt reply either by phone or text.
Chris would promptly present me with change orders and costs so that I had no surprise costs at the end of the job.
Before we found Chris, we hired an excellent interior designer named Adrienne to see beyond the cookie-cutter 80’s condo and turn it into a unique and beautifully appointed home. Her design and advice resulted in our having the best-looking condo in our association. In fact, things went so well with them working together that she became part of the Southpaw team after our work was complete. She too is a gem.
Overall, Chris, and Danielle his wife, are easy to work with and diligent . I could not have hoped for a better experience or outcome.