I unfortunately experienced a slow leak behind my fridge, which required gutting all of the interior walls and damaged my kitchen cabinets. After remediation, I talked to a bunch of remodelers (both independent GCs and design+build firms) to try and get everything rebuilt as soon as possible. A friend recommended Lumina Builders to me, and originally, I was leaning toward another remodeling company, but then I got to meet Alon. Talking with Alon, I quickly realized that we would work well together, and his easy-going demeanor meant I would feel comfortable giving him open feedback and raising concerns, should any arise. With the other company, I wasn't able to talk to the person who would be my project manager, and if we ended up not being able to communicate well, the project could've become a major headache. Because this was an unplanned remodel, I had to put together plans and a design quickly. Alon was able to show me examples of products in their showroom, and also came with me to a tile showroom to look at options. He never pressured me to go one way or another, but instead offered helpful insight and advice. Lumina Builders was by no means my least expensive quote, but I decided having a good rapport with the project manager would make up for the difference. We've all heard our fair share of horror stories with contractors, and having someone I could openly communicate with to handle the challenges and take care of set backs was key. The subcontractor on my project ended up being very challenging to work with, and he took a bunch of unfortunate shortcuts, but Alon made sure to find another sub to fix everything. Obviously, it would've been better for it to have been done right the first time, but you take a gamble with contractors, and the difference here is Alon took care of it, instead of me having to start another search again. That, to me, is the biggest differentiator in working with Lumina and Alon. Some general tips I've learned: - Make sure your contractor actually puts up containment before beginning anything else. Mine said he was going to buy some plastic sheeting, so we left him to do his thing, and I came back to NO containment AT ALL, everything demo'd and dust in every crevice imaginable, all over the house and exposed furniture - including air ducts. When he finally put up some sheeting, it was the cheapest, thinnest plastic imaginable. There's no way to avoid some construction dust, but there are definitely ways to mitigate it, especially if you're living there while construction is happening. - Make sure they also protect the floor, if you aren't redoing the floor, before beginning anything. - Avoid Waypoint semi-custom shaker cabinets if your budget allows it, especially if you have a very active family. I don't know if it's quality degradation (still) because of "covid manufacturing issues," but the painted ones come dinged up, with a very thin layer of paint, and I don't feel like they'll hold up as well as my 20+ year builder-grade cabinets that came with the house. So far we've gotten replacements from Waypoint under warranty, but it's annoying and adds unforeseen delays to your project. Regardless, if you're looking for a design & build firm, I highly recommend working with Alon at Lumina Builders. He'll take care of you and help you bring your vision to life. Looking forward to working together on my bathrooms later this year!
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Fontaine S.