Neil Kelly Design / Build Remodeling

They quoted me $ 4,119 for knee wall insulation for a small 2^nd story one bedroom space and a rival, also higher priced company quoted me at $ 700. absolutely BONKERS. NEVER under any circumstances give this company a dollar for any reason. Their speech about how they cost more because they are better is an absolute joke. Just don’t do it

Horrible work done on CEWO job! Don’t use Neil Kelly. Installation of Milgard windows was SO bad it negates the warranty of the windows itself. Screws placed in the runners can create DRY ROT. DO NOT BELIEVE THEY ARE REPUTABLE … They are liars!

Handyman was nice and personable but I felt totally ripped off. It took him 4 HOURS to hang a few small pieces of art, put some hooks in the wall/​ceiling, put up a mirror and a towel rack. At $ 85/​hr. Luckily he only ended up charging me for 3 hours but he seriously took his sweet time at my house. Maybe it was just the guy but if he is representing this company I would not recommend for small projects.
And he also gave me an estimate on installing ceiling fans from the electrician that works with him at his company (I believe) — $ 1200 for 2 fans.
Good thing I got that done elsewhere– $ 330 in and out in less than 2 hours.

My experience working with this company on a $ 20K+ CEWO project has gone from bad to worse and two years later it’s still not over. Please proceed with caution and be prepared to babysit the project and double check everything.
LACK OF ATTENTION TO TIME/​SCHEDULE
May 2013: I had my first assessment completed.
September 2013: I finally receive a bid for the project. (Yes, in hindsight that should have been the only indication I needed that this was not going to go smoothly).
December 2013: When work was suppose to start.
January 2014: When work finally started.
June 2014: Six months later the work was completed (or so I thought) and payment was made. (Part of this delay was definitely on me as work was limited to days when my dogs were in day care.)
January 2015: I happened to be checking portland maps and notice the inspection for my furnace installation was still under review. NK did schedule an inspection relatively quickly but the venting did NOT pass inspection! I notified NK and was told they would be in touch when they had a plan.
April 5, 2015: I contact NK stating that I’ve been more than patient and need them to fix the problem. They responded, «You are right. It has dragged out way too long. I’ve dropped the ball on keeping on the furnace guy who kept promising he’d get out there. I will certainly step up my efforts. I know apologies just don’t do it anymore.»
May 24, 2015: Permit is still not approved and have not heard a thing in weeks.
LACK OF QUALITY WORKMANSHIP
If you’ve done this type of project, you know you pay a lot of money for things you mostly can’t see. There are probably no more than six items (switches, fans, thermostat, venting) that are visible without going into the crawl space. Nearly every single thing that I can see needed to be corrected or replaced due to little or no attention to detail. (Light/​fan switches mounted at different heights, the wrong humidistat was installed, the venting did not pass inspection, etc). One of the reasons I chose NK was their reputation for high quality work-​I did not have this experience at all. Added to this, I came home on multiple occasions to find waste and debris scattered on my deck and in my backyard despite asking them to please ensure everything is outside the fence at the end of the day and being reassured it would not happen again-​only to have it happen at least two more times. I have two dogs, one of which gets into anything came running into the house with a very sharp and jagged piece of sheet metal in his mouth-​very thankful/​lucky he wasn’t hurt.
There are so many great companies doing CEWO projects, I’d suggest choosing a different company.

Two years ago we had a full energy upgrade (air sealing, furnace replacement, exterior wall and side attic insulation, and bathroom ventilation) done by Neil Kelly. We also had solar panels and related equipment installed by Mr. Solar, which was just at that point being acquired by Neil Kelly. We were impressed by their professionalism, their helpfulness in arranging for all of the applicable tax credits, and their general friendliness. They started on schedule, and they made every effort to let us live comfortably while they were undertaking the project. We were somewhat nervous about the whole project — it was a lot of money, and cocktail parties seem to exist largely for the retelling of contractor horror stories — and in the end we were completely satisfied, maybe even delighted, with their work. One little detail took some extra time, as I remember mostly because of a paternity leave, but everything was done on schedule. The project managers were well organized and considerate, and all of the crew were neat and careful. Two years later we’re happy we took the plunge — the solar installation has performed flawlessly — and we recommend them highly.

The company charged me over $ 10,000 to encapsulate crawl spaces to reduce humidity. When this did not improve the situation, they did NOTHING to try to identify and remedy the situation. UPDATE: a very nice series of phone calls and emails ensued within 24 hrs of the above posting. I am hopeful that this will now be resolved

i was not surprised to see so many negative reviews here. My wife and i blew 15k on a remodel that never happened with Kill Nelly. Reading other reviews here they seem to have the same M.O. Charge a design fee and never complete the work.

Remodeling is a complex and occasionally chaotic process. I’ve worked in the residential, commercial, and institutional arenas for decades, doing architectural, management, contracting, and developing since 1979.
I spent five years working at Neil Kelly’s, and knew both Neil and Tom. I know from my inside experience that NKC’s systems are aligned-​with their client’s interests. If we had problems with a project, we fixed them.
With respect to NKC’s capabilities, I’m pretty sure they hold more professional awards for completed projects than any company in the country. They do take a leadership role in the community, on several levels. Ongoing education is a high priority within their company culture, and I learned a ton. There are many very seasoned, high-​level designers and carpenters working there as a career decision.
I don’t have any skin in the game, just a guy who used to work there!

Neil Kelly offered to come and give free info on updating kitchens, I thought that would be great, when they called me, we chit-​chatted a while and then he hit me with, well how much can you spend, i told him, and he said we could not even touch your kitchen with that! how absolutely slick, deceptive, and rude! they gave choices of upper class middle class, and then the little people, you have to be a millionaire, or they will not touch you, Michelle told me that i could go to one of their classes and get ideas and they will even give me a hot dog! I told her they can come to my house try out a few things as charity, as she so bragged about, and i will be happy to give her some hot dogs, they, are unbelievably greedy unethical, and slick! it almost made me sick.
Michelle bragged on and on of all they do for charity, of course it is a write off, and a newsmaker, go ahed and come to my house, as charity, without cameras, and fanfare, or write off, and see how charitable you really are. They tell me i was not worth their time because i had not enough money, what does that say about their company. They are dirty, stay away, just like i read on some of their other posts, it appears it is a pattern. DO NOT USE THEM! WATCH OUT!

We hired Neil Kelly to insulate our home and we couldn’t be happier with the results. They were really straightforward and realistic when walking us through the initial estimate and helped us choose the items and services that would give us the best bang for our buck. Our Home Energy Loan has very reasonable monthly payments and our house is a much cozier home now.
We have a 3 year old and when they removed the debris and old fiberglass insulation, they were careful to keep the dust contained and did a great job cleaning up. We have a two-​story 1908 craftsman that was so drafty we might as well have lived outdoors. Now our house holds heat so much better, when we get back home after being gone a few hours, I worry that I’ve left the heater on.
What I was most impressed with was their high level of professionalism when it came to communication. We were given solid details all along the way about what steps were next and how long things would take. Their time estimate was spot on. They were friendly and honest and for that reason, we’d hire them again in a heartbeat.

Stay far, far away… If you should choose to use them, make sure everything is detailed exactly as to what they will do. They have a bad habit of saying they will do everything and never follow through.
We had an Oregon Clean Energy loan (a state sponsored low cost loan program), they were assigned to us by the agency. At first it sounded great, they said they were going to do this and that and it only turned out to be partly correct.
Examples;
Our gas furnace and water heater were going to be replaced, and they are located in a small room in the basement, the had to tear out the ceiling and part of walls etc. to remove the old systems and they said all the walls and ceiling would be re-​sheetrocked and plastered. In the contract it read as removal of old systems and update of new systems. However, it never said sheetrocking and they refused to do it, unless we wanted to cough up another $ 1000.00 dollars.
item, after item, after item was treated like this. We have 6 cats, and a cat door with a ramp was supposed to be put in. It never happened, You cannot believe the hassle we had with these people.
It ended up taking nearly 4 months to complete the project, they originally stated 4 to 7 days.
It was a nightmare, emails back and forth, they were always telling us yes, yes, yes these items will be done. But they never happened, It was the $ 24,000.00 dollar nightmare job. from hell, with never ending lies and deceit.
I hope we can spare someone else the frustration we had. They are sweet talkers, just don’t believe a word they say. We are reporting them to State attorney’s office, BBB, home owners assoc., etc.
not a very honorable company to deal with. BEWARE

Neil Kelly design did a remodel of my bathroom and kitchen. The designer David Ewing did an great job of producing and excellent finished product and also kept the project within my budget.

The Neil Kelly company did a complete remodel on our entire kitchen, 1^st floor bathroom, and the unused space between them. Everything was taken down to the studs and rebuilt. In addition we removed an old chimney from the basement through 2 stories and the attic; added a laundry chute and floor space where the chimney used to be; reframed a small opening to enlarge the kitchen by 6 ft (complex reframing of load bearing walls); reframed the floor on the entire back section of the house; put in a new water line from the street to the house; and put in a new 95% efficiency furnace.
The job included everything you could imagine: demo, framing, all new electrical in the remodeled area, new plumbing (including through the basement and they ran new plumbing to the 2^nd floor bathroom which sits above the kitchen), a new ceiling, insulation, drywall, custom cabinets, countertops, electrical and plumbing fixtures.
Also we added a new back door and a new window.
Joel Fraley was our designer and Paul Louis was the project manager. Both Joel and Paul were wonderful to work with. They were professional, responsive, and really know what they are doing. Joel worked with us for months before we finalized the design. Before the work began, Paul developed a timeline of everything that would happen. All the subcontractors were coordinated beautifully and we were completely on schedule until we hit one glitch, the wrong tile was delivered. Paul then moved people around so that we didn’t have to wait for the tile to arrive before we could proceed, and the final delay was quite short.
There were a couple of things that could have been done better. For example, when the cabinets arrived, no one checked their dimensions against the plans before they were installed. A couple cabinets were the wrong size. But to their credit (I was seriously impressed) they had the cabinets pulled out and the replacement ones came quickly. There were a few other examples of missteps like this, however in every case Joel & Paul willingly fixed the problem.
Oh, and another great thing is that they did quite a bit of work that we found along the way without charging extra. For example, they added a new faucet to my basement laundry sink and new shut-​off valves to the washing machine. They even helped us to install the Ikea cabinets that we bought for the new office area (this was not ever in the contract as we weren’t sure what we were going to do with the space when the project got started) for free. This was a BIG deal as we realized when working with the man who was helping us. We could NOT have done it correctly if he hadn’t been there.
I would definitely describe myself as detail oriented and I had a lot of interaction with Joel and Paul throughout this process (I’m not a sit back and let them just do their job type person) and I can absolutely recommend them, and Neil Kelly, based on this remodel.

Known in Seattle as
If you want fair rough carpentry this company will do. Go elsewhere if you want a finish to be proud of. They were resourceful and creative only when it saved saved them money. On my project, once the major work was through, they started working on someone else’s project. Mine languished Obvious details that mattered had to reluctantly accepted because the project’s time line was sliding too far Other details had to be redone or were ignored or finally revisited in such a halfhearted way as be a complete disappointment.

Used them in a previous house about 8 years ago… messy dust all over, timeline off and $$. One in current house used Garden Home Interiors a local design build group and although not inexpensive they are reasonable, on time and on budget (for kitchen and bath). I will never use anyone else!

We were mtched with them as our contractor through the Clean Energy Works of Oregon program. What a nightmare. The only upside is that I caught them in their web of mismanagement and lies before they tore my house apart.
When we signed the contract in May, we were told that the work would be scheduled to begin in June. In June the project manager told me (via email) that she could not meet until June 20^th but we would be on the schedule in July. She shows up for the June 20^th meeting an hour late, leaves 10 minutes to talk to me. Now she tells me we would be lucky to schedule for August and we need to be completely out of the home for a minimum of 3 days. I asked the sales person in April if we could remain in the home and he said yes. She nows says it is not safe. She also lied about aspects of the process and the project.
Run away from them as fast as you can. Their radio ads about integrity and service are a joke. If they focused on those things they would not need to spend so much time and money promoting themselves.

I would highly recommend that you NOT use Neil Kelly. We were so disappointed. Our basement was a series of mishaps, mistakes, and neglect on the part of our project manager (not covering our ducts and getting whole house filled with dust with new baby in house, needing to re-​pour our concrete basement floor twice, wrong carpet pad came etc, etc, etc) After complaining we were left with no project manager– so that became me. Then the floor was not level — horribly slanted. They said they couldn’t fix it. They gave us a small break on price due to all the problems and the horrible slanted floor (which they said seemed fine to them) but told us that if we took the small discount that they would not insure any of the work– any problems down the road were our problem. Nice. Way to stand behind your work. They are horrible. They are resting on their good reputation and the are not good any more. Major waste of money. ;-(

I live in an older condominium which had a dark depressing 1920’s kitchen which never felt clean. I work and needed someone who could handle the process. Quite by accident, I stumbled into the offices of Neil Kelly and met the intrepid Janie Boyl (designer extraordinaire). She immediately made me feel that this job would not be impossible and gave me some ideas which were in tune with my way of thinking. This could have been a very difficult process since I live on the second floor and the condominium has four other residents. The renovation took 4 months. During this time, there was never any mess outside which impinged on the comfort of the other residents and any temporary changes in utility function, such as water turn off, always had adequate warning time.
The NK craftsmen were magnificent. All work was done to the highest quality and Deb, the building contractor, was wonderful in making sure that all was kept coordinated and on schedule.
For me personally, Janie’s careful attention to detail made this kitchen the jewel of my house. I love coming home to a welcoming space which is elegant, well balanced, and filled with restful light. Such a contrast!
At first it feels like NK costs that bit more, but in the long run, the quote is very cost effective because Janie thinks of everything and there are no hidden added extras. Go and talk to her. She will help you realize your dreams!

We recently finished a first-​floor remodel using Neil Kelly – living and dining room and two bedrooms, one of which we converted into a library/​office. The work was beautiful. They completely transformed one bedroom with built-​in bookshelves and a built-​in desk, and did significant work elsewhere and it all looks great.
But what may have impressed us more was the service. After we first met with them and paid the designer fee, the designer, Karen Richmond, produced three sets of plans for us to consider. We chose one, and it was never a problem making whatever changes we wanted, and there were several, along the way.
In addition, Karen had extensive knowledge of older craftsman homes (we have a 1924 craftsman) and worked extensively with us in helping us choose items – meeting us at stores to help us choose fixtures and hardware, working endlessly on producing color samples as we changed our minds on colors a few times, and many other little items. Whenever we had a question or wanted to explore something different, we’d e-​mail and hear back right away. We sensed no limit to the amount of her services we could call upon.
The project manager was Eric Landen, who was extremely meticulous. He made sure to keep on top of each aspect of the job; after the drywall was done, he saw two or three small indentations I hadn’t even seen, and had the drywall folks come back to smooth them out. In another example, one of our bedroom doors wouldn’t close – it was like that when we bought the house – and he took it off and worked on it and straightened it out and now it closes – it was not part of the job and there was no additional charge for it Yet it did take a certain amount of time and is one of those little things that really makes life in the house easier.
We were thrilled with the results and perhaps more so by the professionalism of all involved and the knowledge that they were prepared to work with us to get everything right and exactly as we wanted it. All that made what a fairly laborious undertaking much easier to bear.