Recent work, with the honest notes
Every remodeler shows you the pretty photos. We also tell you what went sideways and what it cost, because that is the part you are actually hiring for.
The Kowalski kitchen
Full gut · six weeks · finished on week six
Load-bearing wall out with a flush beam, island with seating for four, butcher block because the family actually cooks. Cabinet order placed the day the contract was signed, which is the whole trick to keeping kitchen schedules.
What surprised us: knob and tube wiring behind the range wall. We stopped, showed them the photos the same day, priced the fix in writing, and lost two days instead of two weeks.
The Whitfield basement
Unfinished to family room and bath · five weeks
Egress window cut into the foundation, full bath rough-in, LVP that shrugs off spilled juice, and a dropped-soffit ceiling detail that hides the ducts without feeling like an office.
What surprised us: nothing, honestly. Dry foundation, straight walls. We would like to publicly thank whoever built this house in 1988.
The Ferris hall bath
Down to the joists · three weeks
Sixty years of layered flooring out, curbless shower in, tile the homeowner picked on the second visit and still loves. Grab bars blocked behind the tile now, so they can be added in ten minutes whenever wanted.
What surprised us: the subfloor was worse than the bounce suggested. One extra joist sister, photographed and priced before we proceeded, $240.
References available for every job above; the homeowners offered before we asked. That is the reference.