The Fix It Chick

While I appreciate the fix it chick trying to explain the blow off, it wasn’t necessary. Is she saying «future customers please call me because only sometimes I am too busy and will have to turn you down. See I explained my business situation and that „no“ isn’t pleasant to tell customers, but I do my best to please.» I feel when you get a «no» there is another solution out there that is better for your situation. I have had enough work done by unqualified handymen that has cost me to fix their bad work.

I contacted Kristi after reading the Unilocal reviews and looking at her website/​remodeling pictures. She met with me in the spring to discuss remodeling my 48 year old kitchen, and after that first meeting I was ready to hire her. Our project began June 1, took a couple of months, and was worth every single minute. We had the kitchen completely gutted and rebuilt. Kristi’s crew did an excellent job. Every person involved was polite, knowledgeable, and best of all, cleaned up after himself. Kristi stayed in touch with me daily, including many weekends, and routinely showed up to inspect the work. She has a great eye for design and worked tirelessly to stay within the constraints of my budget. The most challenging aspect of the remodel was to preserve old hardwood floors in my kitchen. Fitting 2015 cabinets and appliances within a 1967 floor plan is not easy and required everyone’s patience and persistence. There were some unexpected discoveries of plumbing and wiring issues which were revealed after the kitchen was gutted. Kristi brought in the experts needed to take care of the problems. She is able to be a big-​picture thinker while also being a hands-​on project manager. My kitchen is now finished and it is beautiful! I am so happy to have taken this journey with Kristi. She exceeded our expectations, always did what she said she would do, and always did it with a big smile on her face. I highly recommend her and would use her again without hesitation. She is a gem.

My wife and I really wanted to give a better review than this, but we have to be honest. We really liked Kristi — she was very personable and knowledgeable, and presented herself professionally. First, we had Kristi and her Fix-​It-​Chick workers repair some siding outside over a window and they did a really nice job with that. We also had them repair and texture several places on walls and ceilings in several different rooms throughout our two-​story house where there were minor cracks and in the kitchen where I had removed one of those large 4-​foot long fluorescent lighting boxes. Kristi said that when her crew got done with the repairs, we wouldn’t be able to tell where the repair was made. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The texture doesn’t quite match and even though I’ve painted the kitchen ceiling twice it’s very easy to see where the repair was made. I was also a bit frustrated that they sprayed texture onto half a wall in the master bedroom to fix a 3-​inch repair, requiring me to paint the entire wall. Seemed like their texture sprayer only sprayed one way — wide. They politely came back twice to re-​repair part of the kitchen ceiling but it still looks repaired. We’re having to hire another contractor to get it right.
UPDATE 02/​11/​2015: After the above review posted to Unilocal,Kristi was quick to respond and offered to send her crew out again. We thought about her offer but decided to use another contractor that we recently had hired to remodel our master bathroom. The other contractor was able to fix the major problem areas and match the texture to the original. Richard H.

Kristi is a champion and I recommend her highly. We had a fixed budget and a big dream for our master bath, Kristi was able to achieve our dream bathroom within our budget. Her communication was amazing, we always knew on a daily basis what was going to happen, what needed to happen next, and what unknown structural issues needed to be worked around. If there was an issue, Kristi walked us through it personally, and presented affordable options. She explained everything in a way that was understandable. Unknown issues were always addressed in terms of costs, which made staying on budget easy. Although our bathroom remodel was small, we felt like we were her biggest project. Her design sensibility is excellent. Her team was comprised of professional craftsmen, who were always on time and delivered to expectation (and were also simply just great people). We’ve hired her for three more renovations projects based on her work with our master bath. Kristi will deliver!

Thank goodness for Kristi! I had a water intrusion and asked her to come by to evaluate. Turns out that, in addition to needing to replace some wood trim around exterior windows and doors (then paint and caulk), I also needed a little roof installed to protect the door from rain. Kristi did the research to have one fabricated, and it was going to be rather expensive doing it that way. She was sensitive to cost issues and began a search for a ready-​made little overhang that would go with the very modern exterior of my home, and she found the perfect one, both style– and cost-​wise.
Kristi and her crew have a great work ethic — responsive, show up on time, do beautiful work, and clean up the work area. I always felt like I was in good hands and could trust her.

I have a 1980 condo in North Central Austin. A friend referred Kristi after I complimented her bathroom remodel. I met with Kristi, shared my ideas, showed her sample materials I wanted to use then got on her calendar. I didn’t mind the wait as we had good chemistry and I knew she’d be the perfect person to gut my master upstairs bathroom and add new floors to the master bedroom.
Kristi and her entire team of partners were amazing. At times done if them felt like family and that’s a great feeling when you have a 6 week project in your home. Kristi even helped me solve for a hot upstairs by bringing in her HVAC partner. Sure it was scope creep but we ended up moving the AC to the attic from downstairs and adding new air ducts.
We replaced carpet with bamboo flooring in the master bedroom and stair landing. As part of the process squeaky floors were fixed and the floors were reinforced.
The master bathroom was a complete gut. Instead of explaining it, just check out my pictures.
I’m already saving up so I can find another reason to work with The Fix It Chick again!

I have a 1950’s home in north central Austin and hired Kristi and her crew to remodel my master bathroom to keep with the midcentury modern feel of the house. They stripped the bathroom down to the studs and replaced pipes, drywall, tile, all of the fixtures and the bathroom window.
Kristi was very helpful in giving her feedback on the design side of things, and I was very pleased at the quality of the work overall. The couple of mistakes that were made throughout the project, she was quick to own and correct without making excuses, which can be very difficult to find. Very pleased!

I will start by saying that I am a shamefully unhandy man. I bought my first home recently and it needed some major work. Kristi came on a recommendation and I don’t know where I’d be without her. Maybe homeless.
We started with electrical work them moved to creating a more functional laundry room, did a full kitchen remodel, living and dining, and most recently closet expansion. Everything we’ve done has been based on her original renderings which were almost eerily my style. I sent her a few pictures from an idea book and she nailed it with her designs, while staying flexible enough to tweak details as I’ve constantly changed my mind about things.
Every project we have done so far has come in under budget, was completed quickly and looks great.
One quick example of her awesomeness … Her main guy Sylvester (also awesome) had mistakenly removed some bottom kitchen cabinets instead of refurbishing them. Instead of making excuses or doing some other «contractor things» she offered to install brand new cabinets. FOR FREE. I paid for materials but it still came out cheaper than the original estimate to refurbish them. Awesome.
She makes the process fun, is always available to talk, and at times has seemed even more excited than me about making my house look great. Can’t recommend her enough.

Kristi just finished a whole kitchen remodeling, as well as trim install and painting. She came UNDER BUDGET, and I have the kitchen of my dreams. She even met me at Ikea to help me with overwhelming choices. I trusted her so much I left for a 2 week vacation while the work was being done.
She was responsive, prompt, funny and a designer to boot. I tend to be picky and she made everything right. She is not afraid to do the job herself, and twice came over to correct something her subcontractors had not done right.
I have referred my son to her, for a whole house remodeling. She has a wicked sense of humor, and seems to have become a friend. I would never use anyone else again, and cannot recommend her highly enough.

I cannot say enough about how much we appreciate The Fix It Chick. She is absolutely phenomenal at planning, implementation, design, and follow-​through. We have used Kristi for several projects in our house, including a complete master bathroom rebuild, a fireplace facelift, and for odd jobs. First of all, she is wonderful at assisting her client in getting the ideas or the pictures out of your head and into the project. She works with quality materials, but keeps things in budget, and she has a great crew of folks working with her. For me, I was initially concerned having strangers in my house because I have small children, but her crew is safe, friendly, and professional.
When our bathroom was remodeled, it was because of water damage and we had to do it. Her cheery disposition, professional and courteous attitude, and timely project plans really alleviated much of the stress associated with that situation. She was almost always just a phone call away when we had questions, and she gave us her best.
When we wanted to re-​do our very dated, 1980’s style fireplace, I just called her to tell her I wanted something «different.» Within 2 days, she had a completed project plan that was absolutely stunning and so extremely affordable, I thought it could not be true. When we started, I had no idea what I wanted and now I have something so beautiful and classy that it is the focal point of our home.
Kristi and her team are absolutely wonderful, and I would highly recommend them for your next project. She is skilled, competent, and trustworthy. You will not be disappointed. Additionally, she has done many homes in our neighborhood, and everyone has been equally pleased.

Kristie has always been very nice, prompt and friendly. She still is all those things. I had a minor project that would have been a pain for me (removing grout where it was erroneously installed and stabilizing what I call the «kick plate» to the garden tub) and she was able to get this taken care of for a very reasonable fee, including the materials. It could not have gone smoother or better. Definitely contact the Fix it Chick if you have something you need done. She is now saved in my iPhone contacts. :)

We’ve used Kristi for 2 projects in the past 5 months and we’ve been very happy with the results! She is extremely easy to work with and has a lot of good ideas for people like us who don’t know a lot about home remodeling. Both times we’ve used her the projects have been completed EXTREMELY quickly and have looked wonderful.
We definitely plan on using her for other projects in the future!

Since I bought my house a few years ago, there have been some lingering repairs that I’ve kept procrastinating. The back of my house is some crappy masonite siding and the bottom of it has some water damage that needed to be fixed. I knew Kristi was from my neighborhood so I gave her a call. She gave me a quote plus a 10% neighbor discount and I decided to procrastinate on it some more.
Several months later, I called Kristi back up and she gave me a new quote as costs of materials had gone up. Plus her 10% neighbor discount was only for a limited time.
She came over in the morning after I had already left for work and completed the job. She came back in the afternoon to collect her money and she said she’d give me the 10% neighbor discount.
It’s been a few months since the job was finished and it’s working well. If I ever have anymore odd jobs and repairs around the house, I’ll definitely be calling The Fix-​it Chick.

Kristi was great to work with. She worked hard and brainstormed with us for custom solutions for our custom needs. We’re definitely planning to work with her again!

It’s been a while, so time for an update.
We recently called on The Fix It Chick again, this time entrusting an outdoor «remodel» to her.
We have a pretty good-​sized lot, and it just killed me to water so much grass year after year. Kristi came up with an awesome-​looking, cost-​effective xeriscaping plan for our front-​side lot (it’s hard to explain) that looks so great, I’m kind of kicking myself for not doing it last year like she suggested, when I first asked her about it. Yay procrastination!
We put ourselves entirely in her clever little hands, because when it comes to the great outdoors, I totally don’t know what I’m doing. Rocks and bugs and pollen and dirt, not my cup o tea. And I’m very glad we did. It looks great, and it’s something I TOTALLY DON’T HAVE TO WATER. Many of my neighbors have complimented the work, and one has already asked Kristi for an estimate for similar work!
Since it’s the Fix It Chick, there were the things I knew I could count on: the work started and finished on time, the crew was always pleasant to be around, the workspace was cleaned up every day at the end of the day, and the invoicing made sense and was cost-​conscious.
And did I mention: no more watering??? Yeah. Pretty sweet.
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Original Review:
Kristi the Fix It Chick handled our bathroom/​bedroom remodel. We’ve worked with other, bigger contractors before so we knew what to expect: double the timeline, expect to pay 25% more than what the estimate says, and just go ahead and start cursing now. Not so with The Fix It Chick!
Kristi and her team showed up exactly when they said they would. They did exactly what they said they would do. They were accountable for every cent on the easy to read, easy to understand estimate, with no surprise charges or ridiculous extra bill for every nail. At the end of each working day, the folks cleaned up after themselves, leaving everything neat and clean. While they were there, they were professional and polite and knew what they were supposed to be working on. They told us what time they’d be arriving the next day and that’s actually when they’d show up. They finished on time. And the results look fantastic and are really top quality. Kristi is clearly personally invested in ensuring that you get a superior result. I appreciated that she didn’t just implement what I asked her to, but that she gave me her personal opinion on how things would work/​look best — not all contractors have that ability, as I’ve learned from sad experience.
I am very pleased with what the Fix It Chick has done, and will definitely use her on our next project!

We recently worked with Kristi, The Fix It Chick, to fix up our front landscaping. The difference is night and day! We went from a one dimensional, overgrown green mass to a colorful, layered landscape of plants, perennials and annuals. She recommended things we wouldn’t have thought of that looked amazing all put together. I don’t think there was a plant she didn’t know about.
Kristi is the unique combination of fix it know how and design sensibilities. If you need someone who can help you with projects around the house while giving you either new ideas or second opinions on your existing plans, Kristi is your person. We plan on calling her for our projects from now on. We can’t recommend her enough.