These reviews form a pattern, it seems clear. Eight years ago, I had the worst experience of my life with any provider: with Gaspar's, on an extensive home remodel. And yes, it too went about $150K over budget, just as in the cases of the other two reviewers so far. But it wasn't just the money: it was the way I felt we were treated, consistently, throughout a project that spanned seven months. During this time, there were at least twenty specific incidents where I came to question what I was being told. We saw inflated cost estimates: e.g., a $600 estimate to install a toilet, $850 estimate to install a light in the basement stairwell. As with the other reviewers, we saw lots of vague "design costs" being charged. We came to question the billing at every turn: for example, we saw at least two cases where we knew a worker had left after only half a day but we were charged for the full day. We were billed for full use of a dumpster, even though I personally witnessed Gaspar's Construction workers bringing material from other construction sites to put in that dumpster. When we raised our concerns about the project being way over budget, the response from Gaspar's Construction was "so?". There are countless other examples. And the dollars just kept climbing, with no end in sight. I have never felt so helpless. Similar to Paul B's observation of "it's all lose for the customer and all win for them," I felt that the consistent attitude from this provider was that if the customer wasn't happy, the fault for that somehow lay with the customer. Later, at the end of the project, we had great trouble getting unfinished work addressed (we called them back at least five times to touch up a badly botched paint job on a railing), but you can believe that we got lots of calls regarding making our final payment. We finally did pay, in full, just to get the upsetting incident behind us. At the time, I wrote Gaspar Construction a letter, stating, "It should not be inferred by this payment that we thereby somehow relinquish our dispute of the related charges, for we do not. Rather, we are bone-weary of struggling (for more than 7 months now) with Gaspar Construction over basic issues, communication, and attitude. At this point, we prefer just to put this very unpleasant experience behind us, even though that means paying for things we should rightfully not." read more

I procrastinated starting a remodel project for my condo even when I had the money, mostly because I had heard such horror stories from others in my building about things being over budget, taking forever, etc. Then I received a recommendation for Gaspars from a friend I trust implicitly and decided to pay them a visit. It should also be said that I was a complete novice to this kind of project. I wanted some major changes in my condo. My initial contact was Cathy, the owner of the firm. She was competent and had good ideas. When I decided to go ahead with the project, Michael, the designer took over and has guided me along the path since then. I had a budget to work with, and he took that into account throughout the design phase. He came up with the best plan for what I could afford. He has had great ideas and has been a joy to work with. This part of the process took roughly two months. I signed the construction contract at the end of October, with work to begin the first of November. The estimate was that work would be completed by the first week in February. The construction team warned me in advance that there might be surprises when they did the demo, and of course there were. We have been able to deal with them. There was a later glitch which added some time, but completion is now scheduled for 2/15. Throughout construction, the team has met with me onsite weekly to discuss change orders to ascertain my reaction to progress. Michael, Heather, and Mark have all been available whenever I have had questions or concerns. In fact everyone has been attentive. Another important fact is that they have worked seamlessly with the building management around elevator use, inspections, and other building issues. They have also been respectful of my neighbors, several of whom have spoken positively to me regarding interactions. I really cannot say enough about my experience. Let it suffice to say that I will happily and sincerely recommend Gaspar's to others and will certainly consult them myself if I decide to have anything else done. Tony Moore read more

Reading all the one-star reviews about Gaspar's Construction here, my stomach starts to tie up in knots, remembering the nightmare I went through with them when we did our remodel. HORRIBLE experience. Too bad zero stars isn't an option! I was going to write up the details of the project and all the ways we were dissatisfied, but maybe it's better to talk about the common elements across these reviews: cost overruns, manipulation, excuses, and constant self-hype by Gaspar's. Our project ran over budget too. Budget seemed to be a "floor" for them, and every month or so, we would hear that it was gonna cost us more. Excuses? ALL the time. If I heard one more time about how they can't really tell the costs until they open up the walls, I was gonna throw up. They never gave us a single concrete example of why they'd underestimated (other than the obvious: to win the business). Self-hype: I was constnatly being told about how their workers were going above and beyond, how they were heroes, etc. They had some nice folks, sure, but no one went out of their way to save us money (just the opposite). More along the lines of self-hype: as someone else said here, they push their customers hard to give them positive references. I wouldn't be suprised if they were steering people to do five-star online reviews here and elsewhere, frankly. As someone else said, RUN RUN RUN. This may be a family-run business, but that doesn't mean they do a good job. Actually, they seem to have no shame; they know when they have the customer locked in, and they play that for all they can. Save your money and find another firm without these issues. read more

Gaspar Construction just finished a small job for us: replacement of the loft ladder in our apartment with an alternating stairway, together with some removing of original walls and rewiring. The job began with a quite reasonable (four-hour) design charge for locating what may very well be the only supplier in the world of a free-standing alternating stair that would fit our location. They held our hand while the parts lingered for five extra weeks on a dock in England, and then scheduled the installation for the first week after their arrival in Seattle. Installation was quite a challenge, as the instructions for the kit filled a small looseleaf binder; the two carpenters that they put on the task worked very well together, and the accounting for installation time was scrupulous and very fair. During the whole week-long process, nothing untoward happened to our kitchen, which was separated from the work site by about six inches of open floor (as I said, this is a loft). The interaction with the subcontractors was well-managed and quite painless. Cleanup was extremely thorough. Just today, a Gaspar representative came by to photograph the installed stairs in case other clients show up who want to replace loft ladders with something more practical. We would strongly recommend Gaspar's for this sort of loft upgrade or any other project that involves a thoughtful attention to detail of high-level components. read more

Why why why didn't I know about Yelp, BEFORE I ever signed on to do anything with this contractor Gaspar. Reading all the negative reviews here (and the one positive one, which has all the telltale signs of being written by someone at the company. I mean, come on), I see that they regularly do the same things on other people's projects that they did on mine: cost overruns, super high estimates for basic things, refusal to accept any responsibility if something goes wrong, etc. Had to watch em like a hawk, and still the job was badly done in many areas and cost a lot more than it should of. The real issue, though, is not so much the quality of their work, but all the hype and sales baloney they throw at you throughout. It's as if, if they say it enough times, they think you'll just believe THEM, instead of your "lyin' eyes." It's hard to believe that these folks are still in business. Thank god for Yelp now and getting the word out. Maybe a few people will be warned away, instead of signing up to open an artery and watch all their money be bled away. I know these are strong words, but holy cow, I wish I would never have gone down the road with Gaspar Construction. I would have saved myself not only a pile of money, but a lot of heartache. My advice is read ALL the reviews here and decide for yourself. read more

Wow, I had such a negative experience with Gaspar's. Avoid them, no matter how good the salesjob is. And its pretty good as a salesjob. They fall all over themselves tryig to be nice and impress you. They talk alot about all the awards they've won, promise you satisfaction, blah blah. Based on what I experienced after we signed on with them to do our renovation, though, it's all talk and hype. They kept raising how much it was gonna cost me. Claimed that their estimate was just that, and that it was only a ballpark. I personally came to the conclusion that their goal is to squeeze at least 20% more out of the unlucky homeowner. And when I objected, they got downright nasty. Meanwhile, the work was spotty. Some stuff got done just fine but lots of other stuff needed touchups or even redos. If I didn't watch them like a hawk, it would have been a disaster. They also try this jedi mind trick on you at the end, basically telling you over and over how great they were and how you want to reccommend them to all your friends. You gotta be kidding me. Sum up: uneven work, big cost overrun, and not nice people. When you consider contractors for your own project, I recommend you kick Gaspar to the curb before this happens to you. read more

We just finished up with our project a couple months ago and had a remarkably positive experience with the kitchen/bath/deck remodel designed and completed for us by Gaspar's. At every stage of the process we experienced professionalism of a very high order. Michael is a designer with a wonderful eye who made excellent recommendations and choices for us, always demonstrating sensitivity to our own needs and preferences, and to our concerns regarding costs. Above all, we cannot say enough about the conscientiousness of our superintendent, Heather, whose commitment to the superior execution of the project, and to our ongoing comfort and satisfaction with it, was demonstrated on a consistent and daily basis, extending even to the occasional after-hours problem that required attention. Ms. Heather's work ethic should be the standard by which all professional work is judged, but we daresay a vast majority of such work would fall short of the standard she sets and maintains. Having heard "horror stories" about remodeling projects from a number of close friends, who did not have a single company plan, oversee, and complete their projects, we are pleased to have chosen them for our own remodel. read more

I recommend, STRONGLY, avoiding this contractor. Our renovation started wtih what I know see was a full-court sales job, meant to convince me of the firm's standing and integrity etc. They preach full satisfaction, etc. Well, we found throughout our project that that's just a lot of talk. Our bathroom was done late, over budget, and with shoddy workmanship. Gaspar workers were often late, not considerate of our neighbors in their parking and noise and cleanup practices, and once even openly rude. We brought up these concerns to management and were given a total runaround, excuses, promises, amid lots of defensiveness, etc. As for money, the cost kept creeping up, again with lots of excuses. But at that point our bathroom was torn apart and no other contractors easily available, so what could we do. We had to grin and pay. At the end, the management was even pushing us to provide positive references so they could get other jobs! Its like they just refused to believe we weren't happy. Other reviews here make it sound like that's a running theme with them. Stay away, far away. There's gotta be better expereinces out there. read more

The folks at Gaspar's were excellent partners in remodeling the kitchen in our 1918 craftsman. Our goal was to create a kitchen that fit the era of our home while also providing modern elements and conveniences. Gaspar's helped us achieve our goal and much more. Their design team was able to provide creative solutions while always keeping our needs and preferences in mind. The Gaspar's build team were highly skilled carpenters - true craftswomen and craftsmen. Their skill and attention to detail are remarkable. All through the process the project team maintained excellent communication through ad hoc and weekly project meetings. Ultimately our project was on time and on budget. We would highly recommend Gaspar's and look forward to working with them again on future projects. read more

I am Thrilled with the help I recieved from GASPARS Construction. I own a remodeling company in Boise and have engaged their services twice for projects of mine, Once for a commercial project and thier clarifying advice helped me decide to pull the plug on the property purchase, saving me hundreds of thousands of dollars and one project is my personal kitchen. they asked very thought provoking questions and have been patient with me, which can be very difficult! If you want a company to help you through many decisions required to remodel your home or business, call Gaspars, they may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I think they are terrific! read more

Gaspars Construction recently completed a basement remodel for us. The materials selection process was a ton of fun, the professionalism their staff demonstrated was outstanding, and each and every day I go into the basement I get a happy feeling in how awesome everything looks and feels. The project manager Paul Lambert was a rock star! I love the results, I love my new basement. I understand why their conference room is chock full of awards. Way to go Gaspars! read more

I recommended Gaspars to help a close friend with a sewer line problem in an old home. She had other plumbers out recently and after two visits the problem was not solved or solid analysis of the problem. Shane, the service coordinator at Gaspars, visited the property with their plumbing contractors. The problem was found and options and cost estimates discussed before proceeding. The problem was fixed and the homeowner pleased with the results and price. read more