Good contractors?
Hello all, we are about to start a multi-stage renovation process of our brownstone in Park Slope and hence looking for a contractor. Can you recommend a good one?
Hello all,
we are about to start a multi-stage renovation process of our brownstone in Park Slope and hence looking for a contractor. Can you recommend a good one?
Re: Chris Marcoux — I like Chris a lot personally, but we did not have a similar experience as @Brooklynista in that he was not on site regularly, went on vacation twice during the job, and various mistakes were made by his workers that needed to be corrected. While attention to detail was generally good (with a couple notable exceptions), there were some dubious design decisions made on detail issues. So don’t assume that because he is higher priced, you can forgo any design specs, even on minor details. (To be fair, I would apply that rule to any contractor, no matter how well-recommended — a lesson learned.)
His tile work was very good on some custom hand-made tiles as well as basic subway tile installation in our kitchen.
There was a near-complete failure, however, for him to oversee his recommended electrical contractor, Joseph Weinstein, who, among other oversights, somehow forgot to pull two new electric lines (which we had contracted and paid for) into our kitchen before the walls were sealed back up and painted. This required additional demo after we had already moved in and had the place cleaned. It was only discovered during an electrical inspection, and could have easily been missed altogether.
I can perhaps write off our negative experience with Quirk as, um, a quirk, but I would stay away from that electrical contractor.
Radius Construction Inc. provides full service construction as well as design services. They work primarily in Brooklyn. The finished product will exceed your expectations. The link below is to a New York Magazine Article featuring the contractor and his home in Boerum Hill, a great example of one of his past projects. The website is http://www.radiusconstruction.com and he can be reached at marc@radiusconstruction.com.
http://nymag.com/guides/brooklyn/style/16787/
High-Tech Construction Co. are brownstone specialists that provide quality service and work. They have had many brownstone projects in Brooklyn that were successful and I was one of them. Micheal offered me the best deal after hassles with multiple contractors. With a good deal and a finished project I had nothing to complain about. His brownstone portfolio is quite impeccable (take a look at it). You can reach Micheal at 1347-792-1266. Best of luck!
Broad Channel Builders Corp.
http://www.broadchannelnyc.com
Also I’ve worked with
Prospect Builders in queens
Good luck!
I recommend AllRenovation Construction, I hired them to do a gut renovation project of a Brownstone in Windsor Terrace. First off they were extremely professional, their estimate was itemized per phase, they took me to several on-site jobs to talk to current clients (one of them was a brownstone which helped me tremendously). They provided a word document full of references, I had only 2 change orders due to items I decided to add mid-way through the job. Finally, the project finished on time which was very important to me.
My contact is the owner Pietro Calabretta. You can reach him at pietro@allrenovationllc.com or via AllRenovation’s office at 718-351-4099.
http://www.allrenovationllc.com
Feel free to contact me as well if you have any questions regarding a Brownstone renovation.
Best of Luck,
Allan S.
917-748-1451
While you are considering contractors I suggest speaking with My Home USA. The owner is Mayan Meltzer. My Home is quite a success story. They are easily found, and are very concerned about customer satisfaction.
Dear all,
Thanks a bunch for the recommendations! Really appreciate everybody’s input.
Chris Marcoux of Quirk Ltd. 718-230-1650. I’ve recommended Chris a number of times on this forum. Not because there is anything in it for me to do so. But, rather because, as homeowners, we’ve been through the wringer with so many unhappy experiences with contractors and after hiring Quirk to do a major kitchen reno for us, we feel we finally have a contractor we can rely upon and trust to get the job done right. To me that’s some good news worth sharing.
So, if you’re looking for GC who knows brownstones well (and owns and lives in one himself), assumes a hands-on role on the job every day, is multi-skilled as a tradesman (especially in carpentry) yet thinks like an artist, pays lots of attention to detail, hires really great subs and will involve you in every important decision of the project, Chris is your man.
That said, beware that he’s not perfect. He’s a human being and a general contractor, after all! (:). He’s also not the cheapest contractor you will meet. But, again, having lived through a substantial reno from start to finish with Chris in charge, we would definitely call Quirk again for our next significant project.
As an architect, I’ve performed a major renovation with Mike Streaman (pre-TOH fame) and can attest that he’s definitely very good. I actually just spoke with him a couple weeks ago about doing a project similar to the TOH brownstone, but it was too far away to make it economical for him.
I’ve also been using Ronald Baker ((718) 404-4572)lately, with much success on similar projects.
I would recommend both very highly. The choice depends a bit upon budget and personality.
Mike will operate more autonomously, rarely consulting with the architect/designer and making more decisions on his own. To be honest, and I say this still having a good relationship with Mike, I wasn’t always happy that he didn’t come to me with his questions. When I saw his solutions in the field, they were sometimes not what I would have chosen, but when I got over my ego, I realized that they were good decisions. I think because of this he’s a bit more expensive, but worth it.
Ron’s very different. He and I work more closely during the construction. For me as the architect, I prefer this because it keeps me in the loop more. His quality’s great and his prices are a bit lower than Mike’s.
All that said, I would be happy to recommend and work with either one again and again.
Jim Hill, RA, LEED AP
Urban Pioneering Architecture
jim(at)urban-pioneering(dot)com
www(dot)urban-pioneering(dot)com