The challenge with reviews is everyone has a different expectation when engaging a contractor. Assuredly everyone reading this review will have a different set of standards and judge success by different measures. That said, Lakeside exceeded our expectations in terms of "What success looks like" to us. Our project was a townhouse with garage and office on the ground floor; living, kitchen, bath, laundry room, two bedrooms on the second floor; master bedroom, bathroom, loft on third floor. Renovations included total flooring for floors 2 and 3, complete make-over of bathrooms and kitchen. Everything in the bathrooms and kitchen was replaced from the bones up. Two staircases were resurfaced. The first floor was used for temporary storage for all the upstairs rooms and a small food prep area. Unbelievably we occupied the residence through the entire renovation. It was challenging and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone. The reason I mention this is because our contractor, Nick, handled this with the utmost of professionalism and flexibility. I'm sure it wasn't ideal for them either. We wanted a quote that was detailed enough for us to manage change orders throughout the life of this project. Additionally, we wanted to be able to tell if everything that was in the quote was delivered in the end. Frankly, we were blown away by the quote...in a good way. The quote was room-by-room and within each room line-items detailing exactly what work was to be done and what parts were included (e.g. electrical sockets, hardware). Lakeside performs significant work for insurance companies that demand this level of detail. We were not insurance funded, nevertheless, we were recipients of this level of detail and the skill of Lakeside in managing each line-item and change orders. Simply put, it's how they do business. As a result, we always knew exactly where the project stood in terms of completion. We set up an MS OneNote communication with Nick to keep notes of decision points, ask questions, etc. This eliminated the communication flaws that often exist with these projects: lost emails, text messages, phone communications. Clearly, Lakeside believes in thinking partnership and open communication. This level of project organization, management and collaboration from Lakeside provided the foundation for sub-contractors to perform their piece of the work in a controlled and managed environment. Another noted area of expertise from Lakeside is sub-contractor management. Lakeside has some hired employees, but by-and-large, they engage specialized sub-contractors for electrical, plumbing, flooring, etc. If you've heard the expression "You don't want to know how the sausage is made..." I believe that applies to managing sub-contractors. It's no different than managing people in any other setting. Nothing went "horribly wrong." There were no mistakes that weren't corrected. And in the end, everything was delivered on time and in budget. My guess is "sub-contractor management" is a piece many people think they can manage on their own, without a contractor and "save huge bucks". We, on the other hand, put the most value received for our money in Lakeside's ability to manage sub-contractors, because that's not our expertise. Lakeside had tremendous transparency from us because we were living in the residence during the entire time of the project. (Again, we wouldn't recommend this if at all possible). Since I work from home, I pretty much saw everything. Nick was tremendous at keeping the commotion down... and deescalating emotions during the tense moments. He maintained a great balance between holding sub-contractors accountable but not causing them to angrily walk out (that never happened). In a project this size, there are dozens of decisions required, sometimes "on-the-spot." Nick graciously engaged us and was straight-up when discussing the options. We never felt he "pulled one over on us." Why do projects like this go wrong? We believe every project has the potential of failure or even disaster. We also believe the success of our project was as much our responsibility as it was Lakeside's. We were proactive. We took responsibility and raised our concerns (even if they appeared minor or petty) to our contractor. We didn't let things fester and turn into resentments or unmet expectations. Rather, we openly discussed our areas of concern and dissatisfaction along the way so they could be corrected mid-course. And they were appreciative and responsive, because that's also how they do business - mutual responsibility. They were always highly professional and just as upfront with us in setting expectations. So, our gratitude to the Lakeside crew for a huge success!! Every day we are grateful for the home that we've been able to create with the help of Lakeside. Thanks especially to Nick and his crew. read more

My laundry/hallway/bedroom and stairs were flooded after I came home from work one night. I called Lakeside to help clean up the water damage. Chris was insightful, courteous and extremely knowledgeable in helping me get everything cleaned and pointed me in the right direction when it came to homeowners insurance. read more

I like writing reviews, and I wanted to write this one for my friend. She told me about this problem of water in her bathroom. I was over the day the company came over to fix her mess. The man was very friendly, and I was happy for her with the outcome. Good service! read more