Everyone has heard horror stories about contractors. I know I have lived through a few of them. Renewal is not like any company I have ever encountered before. From beginning to end, it has been an absolute pleasure to work with everyone at Renewal. They are some of the nicest, most down to earth, most accommodating, considerate, professional and thorough people in the business.
It all started with a long talk with Peter Michelson. We sat at my dining room table for well over 2 hours and talked about everything from green building practices to raising kids. Really the first impression was what did it for me. All of the other contractors took forever to call me back (if at all), talked down to me (I am guessing because I am a woman), or were shockingly overpriced. He answered all my questions and put me at ease about all the big unknowns of tackling such a big project - doubling the square footage - pushing out back and adding a second floor. Peter said it would take six months and it did, exactly, to the day! Talk about delivering on a promise!
The next nine months (three months of planning and preparation, and six months of construction) were managed by two of the most organized and level headed women I think I will ever meet. I can't rave about them enough. Anna Carbone, the pre-construction manager, led me through the entire process of creating this house-to-be. Every aspect of the project was covered so that I knew exactly what to expect. She was patient, thorough, and so enjoyable to be around. Lisa Manka, the project manager, continually impressed me with her knowledge, attention to detail, incredible organization and willingness to go the extra mile to make sure it was right. And on top of that, her calm easy manner, put me at ease at every stage of the project. Sure, there were a few unforeseen glitches (old termite and water damage, etc) but amazingly, Lisa handled everything in stride, with grace and confidence. "Don't worry, we will take care of it." And they did, beautifully. I was continually impressed and surprised all through the process. They were on time, every day. What Lisa said would happen, did, right on time. The subcontractors were all such patient, friendly, professional people. (One of the plumbers even went out of his way to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider with my daughter!) They took such good care of the house while it was under construction, they were responsible, conscientious, careful and respectful. They left the house and the grounds clean and organized everyday during the process and had a professional cleaning team come in at the end to clean every inch of the house before the last day of the project.
As the project was coming to a close I realized that I was going to miss all these folks that I had seen and talked to every day for months. They had become friends and I was sad to see them go. I am looking forward to my next project with Renewal, because without a doubt, I will be asking them to come back when I am ready for the next project. I am very proud to say that I have recommended Renewal to a number of my friends and two of them are already signed up to work with Renewal. I know that they will be just as pleased with their decision as I am.
As far as quality goes with Renewal, you get more than what you pay for, but when it comes to commitment, integrity, caring personal attention and actually getting to enjoy the process of the recreation of your home, you get ten times what you pay for.
– Laurel Crafts
