RenovateDSM.com - Contractor - Comments

Extreme Electric

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 07:47:08 -0700

As a renovation and remodeling contractor, we use Extreme Electric for most of our projects. Jeff is knowledgeable and a good problem-solver.

Tinker is very good

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:40:44 -0700

I have contracted with Leonard on several occasions. He does very good work, is honest and is quite an interesting person. Gotta love the whistle!

Plaster Repair

RenovateDSM — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 07:43:41 -0800

Zach and his team also do plaster repair - they lead a "how to" session for the Des Moines Rehabbers Club!

Central Iowa Hardwood Floors

RenovateDSM — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 06:35:20 -0700

[Via Michelle H.] I had done daycare for 5 years and we had pulled up some carpeting in the house (due to damage from the kids). It wasn't until we had the carpeting pulled out did we realize that the previous homeowners weren't particularly careful when they painted the various rooms. We decided to just live with it as is until I wasn't doing daycare any longer.

In 2008, we decided to finally get our hardwood floors redone. After calling and getting quotes from 3 of the "big" guys and having my jaw drop at each and every quote, I decided to go a different route. I looked up hardwood floor refinishers on BBB and found Mike's company. After he came over (and before he had even quoted us), my husband was so impressed by him that he decided we would use him no matter what. We were very pleasantly surprised when his quote came in at 50% of the other guys.

We decided to have them done while we were on a 6 day vacation. We gave him the keys (he's SO trustworthy) and didn't look back! We arrived home to beautifully done floors! We had a lot of water damage by our front door, he was able to take care of all but a little of it. We had a bunch of holes - he filled them in so well that you'd have to get on your hands and knees to find them now!

We couldn't have been more happy. I've recommended him to at least 6 friends and several of them have used him and also been pleased with his work.

Update on Joel Barton

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:42:16 -0700

While I still feel that Joel did a great job on the larger stucco repairs he did for us there was a problem with one of the smaller repairs. Rather than putting up new stucco in an area around one of our dormers where the old stucco was missing, he tried to fill the space with Vulkem caulking. The caulking all fell/melted out and stuck to the roof which was messy and difficult to remove. I think if I had notified him of this problem he probably would have come back and fixed it, but the painters actually discovered it while trying to paint up there and I just wanted it fixed so I took care of it myself. I liked Joel, and a lot of his work I'm still happy with, this little bit just left a bad taste in my mouth so I thought I should mention it.

[RenovateDSM says: This is a good example of how important it is to verify work while the contractor is on the job and before he or she is paid the final amount. Even the best contractors can mess up sometimes. Of course it is impossible to verify everything unless you are on the jobsite the whole time - there has to be a certain amount of trust. It's good that you had another contractor mention the issue so you could fix it.]

Interiors

eluna — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:03:04 -0700

I should have mentioned that they do interior painting jobs as well but they only did exterior work at our house.

Outstanding contractor!!

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:11:15 -0700

I have used Troy for several projects and he is very dependable, he cleans up extremely well after himself and he does very impressive work including finish work and trim carpentry. If you want someone who will do the job right the first time Call Troy!!

Plasterer Recommendation

RenovateDSM — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:35:02 -0700

[Via the RenovateDSM e-mail group] We are having our stucco patched by Steve Cunningham. He is a laid off union plasterer w/ 20 years of experience. He has done several interor and exterior projects for us and his attention to detail is superb. His phone number is 515-249-5788. Hope this helps!

Recommendation for Loki's Garden

RenovateDSM — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:26:24 -0700

[Recommendation submitted via e-mail] I had the best experience with Loki's Garden. After being told years ago a dishwasher couldn't be put in where I wanted it, Loki's Garden figured out how to do it -- and in the process they found the pipes were practically disintegrating! Very professional, fixed a major looming problem and made the kitchen look fabulous. New dishwasher, new countertop, new sink and faucet. Thanks Loki's Garden.

recommendation

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:09:39 -0700

Floyd repointed our foundation on a historic home in Sherman Hill last year. He did an excellent job.

Recommendation

RenovateDSM — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:29:00 -0800

[Recommendation submitted via e-mail] Brian Smith of Des Moines is experienced and skilled at wood epoxy window repair. He was a good friend of my late husband's and it was doubly good to have him do some repair on my own house this last summer (2009). I was very pleased with the results and the work he did.

Recommendation

RenovateDSM — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:20:03 -0800

[Recommendation submitted via e-mail] This is a letter of recommendation for Brian Smith of Des Moines. Over the past three years I have retained Brian numerous times to work on my home in Beaverdale. I found him to be honest, dependable and courteous. He always provided quality workmanship no matter what the project. He has reglazed and painted windows, replaced broken panes, the results being my windows look virtually new. He rebuilt a roof on my porch. He has done interior painting and handiwork of all kinds.I have been satisfied in every instance and his prices are very reasonable. I would recommend him to anyone with similiar needs.

Recommendation

RenovateDSM — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:37:10 -0700

[Submitted via e-mail to RenovateDSM.com] We have used Betsy Pokorny for numerous years as one of our approved appraisers. I personally have found her expertise in the Des Moines market to be invaluable. She understands the many different programs available through the City of Des Moines and Polk County, and is able to anticipate what values will be based on these programs. Her knowledge has been extremely useful during this rapidly changing mortgage industry. She is able to keep us informed of the many changes in the appraisal world, and also keeps us informed on what neighborhoods values are doing. We are thankful to have such a detailed and knowledgeable appraiser on our approved list.