Distinctive Design Remodeling

I used Distinctive Design to finish my basement and it was a huge mistake. The only thing that was done correctly was the drywall and trim work. The plumber was back to fix his screw ups 5 times and I still had to hire a plumber that knew what he was doing.
Chris Thomas, the project manager, was a smug prick! Do not, I repeat DO NOT use this company!

I found DDR at the New Home & Remodeling Marketplace at Alltech Arena around this time last year, and their services aligned perfectly with my desire to have a sunroom addition on my home! Based on their BBB ratings, excellent track record of reviews, and professional website, I hired them at the beginning of the year. I had some ideas of what I wanted and how I envisioned it looking, however I am no contractor and thus have little construction knowledge or expertise. So glad I picked them! The whole team, from the design/​sales staff to all the individual crews who helped build my project, was professional, punctual, and truly cared about my satisfaction. There were a couple of times where things didn’t necessarily go as planned or designed, however DDR managed those situations with grace and again with my satisfaction in mind. The end result is a well-​built, beautiful, custom, sunroom that my husband and me will enjoy for years to come! Our next large project is replacing the deck next to the new sunroom and extending the roof over it… guess who we will be calling?

Our idea for a four season room began with a vision for our covered concrete/​brick patio. We envisioned exterior stacked stone to complement our outdoor fireplace/​entertainment area and huge windows. We knew this would be fairly simple (relatively speaking) since all we needed were walls and a new ceiling.
We contracted with DDR at the end of February. Our salesperson was Ray who was quite a character, fast-​talking and funny, but a character who seemed to know his stuff. He came to the house and spent a couple hours with us, listened to our ideas and gave us his input where needed (for instance, pointing out that our idea of wall-​to-​wall/​floor-​to-​ceiling windows wasn’t realistic due to code requirements). The price was extremely reasonable for what we wanted to do. In fact, it was much less than we had expected.
Next came the architectural drawings and a visit from Jon Penn. Jon walked us through everything again and made sure all measurements were correct. Our original plan was to have a wide slider from the room to the outside but this idea was ultimately quashed when, for logistical reasons, the exterior would have looked asymmetrical. We opted for a regular door which provided us with the perfect balance and symmetry we were looking for. The heater/​AC was moved on a side wall to a more centered location. These changes were easily incorporated, we approved the final drawings and work commenced at the end of March. We wanted the room done well ahead of Derby weekend.
The first crew arrived to frame in the walls while my husband was out of town. The next day when the two arrived, he pointed out that the side walls didn’t reflect the correct positioning of the windows per the drawings. They set to work immediately to correct the problem. The stonemason and his crew worked through a ten hour day on the exterior and the results were nothing short of amazing. The stone is beautiful and makes a perfect visual segue from the addition to the outdoor entertainment area.
From start to finish, the various crews were extremely diligent and dedicated to their craft. The drywall crew also installed the ceiling and new French doors from the breakfast area to the new room. We had opted for tongue-​in-​groove for the ceiling vs. cheaper beadboard. This added $ 750 to the overall cost of the room, but it was well worth it to go the extra mile on quality.
Chris Thomas was in contact with us nearly every day and coordinated each crew’s schedule with us. We had a slight glitch with the door we had chosen. Apparently, only exterior style doors are available with grids between the windows. We wanted the design to match all our windows, but an interior door was delivered in error. Chris corrected this immediately. The attention to detail and prompt service is impressive.
When the room was finished (we were so excited it felt like forever, but was really only three weeks or so), Chris did the walkthrough with us and we went over the punch list. There were a couple very, very minor items that were handled over a few days… a bit of trim around the new French door, a couple nails to secure another area of trim, plugs around the window of the door. All pretty insignificant and attended to quickly. The crews removed all trash from the site.
We are so impressed with this company — the quality of the work and attention to detail is superb, communication is excellent. At NO time were we pressured for payment. We were aware of the schedule from the time the contract was signed — four payments of $ 5,000 required at specific points of the process. We would receive plenty of notice so our payment was in their hands as requested.
Everything was done in a timely manner. Our new room was finished in time for us to paint and get ready for Derby weekend. We’ve gotten a lot of compliments since then and would definitely recommend Distinctive Design in the future.

I have never written a negative review about any one or thing. This is written only with the hope of saving ANYONE else from even a part of what I am still going through w/​this company.
In Aug. 2013, I signed a contact w/​them to add an addition to my home, which I was guaranteed I’d be able to occupy by Nov.2013. Many assurances were made (payments to only be due at certain intervals, last one to be made ONLY after we were totally happy w/​the work, top grade materials, & of course, all work would meet city code.)
A check for$ 8,000.00 was written to start work. Long before the 2^nd check was due or «work» of any substance had been completed– Chris came by wanting another check. This behavior continued. While the workman were still hammering, they wanted the last check & became very agitated when refused.
Many problems were noticed, brought to their attention, that they deemed rectified during the construction. Not so.
As is usually the case, far too much shoddy work was done to go into it here. Let’s just say that the first time it rained, I had water pouring out of the electrical socket. So far, I have had to have the entire job (siding, door, gutters, etc. .) redone by others, who w/​no profit in sight for themselves, have said it was one of the worst jobs they’d ever run up on. The company I signed to do this work has an answer for all problems-​caulk guns.
It is now April 2014,& I am hoping to be able to carpet this room. But, since no footers were ever poured, that’s up in the air pending city code.
This is at best a shady, double talking company, who’s owner called me a week ago to become aggressive because I questioned why no footers were poured!
So, do yourself a HUGE FAVOR-​with so many decent companies to choose from, avoid this one like the plague, because that’s what they are.
This was a $ 33,600 project, so no matter what you pay, you are not immune to the unscrupulous practices of Distinctive Design Remodeling.
There you have the 1^st & only negative review I have ever written. Hope you can use my mistake to your advantage.