Classic Home Improvements

I had my roof replaced in January 2015. The job was done quickly, on schedule, and to my satisfaction. The workers were professional, considerate, paying special attention to my 3 Hounds, one of whom will take any opportunity to escape an open gate. Everyone I dealt with at Classic Home Improvements was wonderful.

Been working with CHI as a subcontractor and find the staff to be friendly and professional. Project managers are on the ball and work hard to please their clients. Would highly recommend for home remodeling!

The present review focus on the implementation of the project as I already described our bid process with CHI.
Our project lasted 3.5 months and involved major structural kitchen remodeling with renovation of our entire flooring in our first floor. Although we had upfront all architectural, designer and engineer plans, it was a plus to work with a professional company that reviewed every single detail before, during and after project completion.
Office: Yvonne and Kelley, thoroughly constructed 3D visual plans (²⁰⁄₂₀ CAD) and reviewed scales of our project. Indeed, they picked up details that were overlooked in our original plans that could have affected ultimate look of our remodeling project. Dan, the manager, well rounded and organized, provided all the required legal documents timely as agreed prior to start the construction according to law. Nicole was timely providing me the pdf documents of every single payment and keep me updated with balance and logistics of the project.
Project manager: Mr. Larry Chase, deserves a special mention, he is well-​manner and spoken, impeccable listener and detail oriented. Trust him. He will make sure every sub-​contractor delivers impeccable work as detailed in contract and plans. More importantly, if something unexpected happens, he will immediately take care of the matter and fix it for you. For example, resolving an unexpected plumbing issue. I’d like to highlight his work integrity, reflected in two things: stayed within budget and even credited money when final labor was not performed as originally planned. I used this credit to complete some additional home work.
A special note is the honesty of every worker involved, this is paramount whenever you have ‘strangers’ working closely with your most treasure asset: your family.
After going through this experience my recommendations to the average educated costumer are the following: first, do your homework and put in writing as detailed as possible your scope of work. Second, plan unexpected 15% for both your budget and any provided agreed timeline with your constructor. I found this last part very important, because like when having a major surgery, if something unexpected arise during the surgery, you don’t want your surgeon to rush but rather to do it well and only once. I believe that the same concept applies to construction. Third, if you are a formal, detailed-​oriented person and like quality, consider strongly CHI, they will exceed your expectations for their work integrity, workmanship and well-​planned process. Certainly, they are a cost effective-​option for the outstanding quality of work they deliver. I recommend CHI highly.

I had a meeting with the sales rep, George, a few days and remain uneasy. He is a very nice man and spent a lot of time at my home. I appreciated his patience and customer service — top notch presentation. However, I would never use this company. I am in the process of expanding my kitchen by 7 feet into my driveway with some upgrades (countertops, cabinets, etc.). Due to the expansion, I expected to pay around 50k or so due to the additional square footage and age of the home. No problem.
Well, I guess I had «Stupid» written on my forehead that day when the estimate provided was from $ 109−154k (without selecting the cabinets and finishes)!!! And, only a 1 year warranty! What disturbed me the most was when I was reviewing the estimate, there was a «rework» fee ranging from $ 24-​$ 35k. Now, if a contractor is taking measurements for plans and creating lifelike 3D designs, as an experienced company/​contractor, you should have a good grasp on the scope of the project. Of course, there are always minor adjustments needed, but not to the tune of $ 24−35k! As a company, if they don’t have the knowledge and experience to predict such costs in the estimate, why should a consumer pay thousands of dollars for the mishaps/​rework? I remodel my home every 5 years and have never heard of this practice. I still wonder if there is no need to do any «rework», is the money returned to the customer??? Hmmmm…
Nonetheless, since their visit, I have had two additional estimates from reputable contractors for $ 37k and 42k. I have three more companies coming next week and I assume they will be in the same price range. So, no, I will not be contracting with this company. I will save my $ 154k for retirement and use another company to meet my kitchen remodeling needs:-)

I am currently looking at all options in renovating my 1970’s original kitchen. I came across CHI through another website and decided to get an estimate. The consultant scheduled was on time and polite. There are a few things I did not like about this company that led me to write a review.
1. We wanted a very quick and rough estimate to avoid wasting everyones time. We basically said we had a budget in mind (10−15k) for our kitchen and that if they were not even in ball park range, we didn’t want to waste anyones time taking measurements. He told us that CHI never does a kitchen remodel for under 30K but to expect a rough estimate of 30−40K. We were a bit shocked that they charged that much but we were curious how they came to that price range. We asked how much the cabinets cost per linear feet and the cost for labor. The figures he gave us did not add up to almost 40K. No where near that in fact. We questioned it further but he couldn’t give us a good answer or figure sheet. Flag number 1.
2. The consultant told us that when renovating your kitchen, you should expect to spend 30% of your home’s value. This figure makes no sense! I would say that the average home price in San Diego is about 500k. So are those homeowners paying $ 160k for a kitchen remodel??? I don’t think so. Flag number 2.
3. When we brought the idea of maybe refacing our cabinets (with another company) rather than getting an all new kitchen, he said that refacing would be more than 10k. He told us not to expect to pay anything less than that. Little did he know that earlier in the day we had a kitchen refacing company do an estimate to reface our cabinets. The estimate came in at $ 5500. Flag number 3.
The consultant wasn’t pushy and was actual polite and very nice but I wasn’t impressed in the least because I feel like this company inflates prices considerably. For that reason, I wouldn’t recommend them.

Hired CHI to add a shower & closet to an existing half bath and to change out some light fixtures and to tile a backsplash.
Jack, the president, quoted that the work would take 4 weeks once started, as long as we had all finishing materials on hand at the start. At the kick-​off, the foreman and sub estimated 6 – 8 weeks. The project ended up taking 11 weeks.
Here are a few notes on our experience–
Communication — There was a lack of communication between Jack, Dan (VP), foreman, sub, and back office. This resulted in us being told repeatedly that project was on schedule when it wasn’t. We were also billed a milestone payment for completed tile when the tile was no where near complete.
Foreman — Foreman, Larry, told me repeatedly, «the worse you want it, the worse you’ll get it.» I was only ever asking for the work to be completed within the time frame originally estimated by the foreman himself (6 – 8 weeks). I was very upfront at the kick-​off meeting that we needed work to be complete by the 8 week mark as we were having out of town guests who would need to use the shower. The guests were with us for two weeks and never once able to use the shower.
We rarely saw foreman onsite (he later explained — after job was complete — that it was hard for him to come because most of his other jobs are in the northern part of San Diego.) This was further frustrating because sub told us mid-​way through the process that this was his first job with CHI (luckily, we generally liked the sub). Also, on one occasion towards the end of the project (certainly after the initial completion deadline), the foreman made arrangements to meet us on a Saturday to walkthrough project — he never showed or called on the day of.
Finishing items — We bought all the items that were requested and had them at the start of the project — tile, grout, shower pan, showerhead. We were repeatedly asked for last minute items towards the end of the project — door knob, floor transition, shower door coordination. Wish CHI could have let us know about these things upfront.
There were delays with some of the CHI provided materials (trim was a big one). There’s no reason CHI shouldn’t hold itself to the same standard (having all materials procured in advance of project start) that it requires of its customers.
Schedules — The subs had no set schedules. There were workdays that lasted a couple of hours, started late afternoon and days they didn’t come at all or only one of the two people came. Would have appreciated more communication. Had there been a regular work schedule, I believe project would have finished on time. Again, more presence of the foreman seems like it would have helped.
Fees — I won’t get into details about fees. CHI is not the cheapest contractor out there. We had some issues with what seemed like easy things, but CHI considered out of scope. Some of the above seem like common contractor complaints. We hired CHI, in part, because we were hoping to avoid some of these issues.
Designer — The one positive of the project was Kelley, the designer. She helped us pick tile and lighting. She gave us suggestions, without being pushy. We could not have come up with such a great design without her. She saved us stress and at least a few arguments!
Overall, we are satisfied with the finished work, but remain frustrated with the process. We felt like a second class project for CHI. If I had it to do over, might still hire CHI, but would write a few clauses into the contract — some penalty for not completing on time and a set process for anything that costs extra.

I have asked repeatedly to be taken off their solicitation list however I continue to receive calls, sometimes more than 3 per day, yet no one leaves a message. I have no idea how they got my number, I am on the DO NOT CALL LIST. CHI please take a hint, if I do not answer after several attempts clearly I have no interest. Please stop harassing me.

Nicole and her team are experience and professional. Key word being professional. They know what they are talking about, are experienced in their field and really great with home expansion advice/​add ons. They also helped a family friend with remodeling for specific disability needs since my friends mother is now wheelchair bound due to an accident last year. I felt that I could refer to them with confidence — and indeed they were taken care of as though they were family friends of their own. Thank you!

Phenomenal! Fast, clean, polite. In and out. Spoke English. We had a great experience.

I found this company through the Home Advisor website and scheduled an appointment for them to provide an estimate to repaint my house based on a couple of good reviews. I received a confirmation email that Tony would conduct the assessment on Sunday, June 9^th at 9:00 am. Tony never showed up and didn’t call to say he couldn’t make it or to reschedule. When Home Advisor followed up with me to see how the appointment went, I told them CHI was a no show. Today (10 days later) I received an email from CHI stating that Tony tried to call to confirm the appointment and that he showed up at my house but no one was home. I offered to show them my phone records to prove that Tony never called and I know he didn’t show up because I waited for him in my front yard for over an hour. I guess the house painting business in San Diego is booming because they obviously don’t need my business.