Jerry and Andrea Rubin are an amazing team to work with, as is the rest of the Elite Team…read more We bought a fixer upper in October of 2015. After much planning, we were so excited to build the kitchen addition of my dreams. A year later, I had a newborn baby (9/2016) and found myself about 6 months away from the job being finished. It was just too stressful and we had to part ways from our contractor. Our biggest challenge in our project was the floor that we planned to install for our entire first floor. It was a mess! It was a heated slab floor, complete with slate tile that couldn't come up, half plywood subfloor, and uneven spots galore. We met with about 5 flooring contractors, and we were searching for an expert. Someone who knew about glue, and nail down applications. Someone who knew about radiant heat slabs. Someone who knew whether or not we should put the floor or the cabinets down first. We were skeptical and our trust had been broken after working with our previous contractor. ProSource hardwoord dealers in Canton, MA told us that before we choose a hardwood, we had to call their installer, Elite Installations. The girl on the phone was so enthusiastic telling me, "When you call, Andrea will pick up. You will love her." Boy, was she right! Andrea talked to me about not just the floor installation, but about being a mom and about the challenges of owning a house that needs work. She is so positive and upbeat. We chatted for a very long time during our first phone call. Just like another customer wrote, it was like I'd known her my whole life. She sent Jerry over within days, and he is SUCH an expert. He is extremely professional, knowledgable, and takes planning conversations very seriously. He wants to know EXACTLY what you want done, and he clearly is one to be extremely thorough. Both Andrea and Jerry give you the feeling that they are going to be pickier than than the most picky customer - and that is a great feeling. Jerry came to our house more than once to discuss the upcoming floor install. It was great to have so many in person conversations with our installer. The Elite Installation team showed up on time, finished the project within the expected amount of time, and did a more amazing job that I could have ever imagined. They cut the floor so perfect around the already-installed cabinetry, that it looks as if the cabinets were placed right on top of an already installed floor. The workmanship is amazing. If you are thinking of installing any kind of floor, tile, or rug...Andrea and Jerry and the Elite Team are your best bet in the greater Boston area.

We hired Elite several years ago to renovate our kitchen and convert our three-season porch into a…read moreyear-round eat-in dining area. Unfortunately, our experience was an absolute nightmare. The project fell significantly behind schedule. There were weeks when workers showed up only two or three days, and sometimes not at all. Despite the lack of progress, we were aggressively pressed for payments each week. Eventually, we found ourselves having paid far more than the amount of work that had actually been completed. Then, one day, they said they were not working on the project anymore and never finished the renovation. We are still left without the renovated porch and eat-in area we our out a substantial amount of money, and dealing with poor craftsmanship on portions of the work that were completed. We ultimately had to hire an attorney in an effort to resolve the situation, and our attorney's attempts to communicate with them were ignored. So I'm taking to social media to share my story so it doesn't continue to happen. This has been an incredibly frustrating and expensive experience for our family. Based on our experience, I would strongly caution anyone considering hiring Elite. I wish we had known before hiring them what we know now. Run far away

Do not hire Brian to finish your basement. Hiring this company has been the worst experience we…read morehave ever had with a service of any type. *Summary* (more details below): We signed a contract in mid-Dec of 2021. He negligently wasted countless hours of our time over 2.5 months and then they pulled out of the contract at the end of Feb 2022. When Brian first came to our home for an initial consult, he came off as approachable and competent and prepared a floor plan on the spot. He came back with a price of $65K to finish our 500 sq ft basement including a full bath. He included an 8K "budget" for plumbing which we thought was a little odd but he reassured us that the chances of the plumbing cost going beyond 8K were very low based on his extensive experience. The overall cost was cheaper than other contractors, so we fell for the bait. We signed the contract a few days later and gave a check for 10% deposit which Brian cashed. Before signing, we told Brian that we were expecting a baby and that timing was important. He told us that he could start at the end of Jan 2022 or worst case beginning of Feb 2022 and that the project would take 6-8 weeks. That was great timing for us. In Jan, Brian and his project manager Devin (his son) came to do a walk-through to prepare for the project. Brian had brought the wrong floor plan to the visit and couldn't find the final floor plan on his computer. We brushed it off as we had the printed floor plan on hand and provided that. Devin then came back a few days later with a plumber from an independent company (Improved Space doesn't have their own plumbers). The plumber identified a couple of potential issues. Brian said that addressing these issues was not part of the signed contract so we would owe whatever amount extra it would come out to. The plumber came back with a cost of 10K for his work (not including the two potential issues which he would need to investigate further). Brian said his initial estimate of 8K was really close and complimented himself on his 15 years of experience. At the end of Jan, when I inquired about when the project would in fact start, Brian sent me an email (no phone call) where he buried as a third bullet point the fact that one of his carpenters quit and they could no longer begin the project in Feb. They could now schedule us for April 2022. We were highly disappointed and we called around other companies but everyone was booking 4 months out. I called Brian and he convinced me on the phone that this was out of his control and that they would still handle the project swimmingly in April. We agreed to move forward despite the timing being smack in the middle of expecting our baby. However, I emphasized that if there was any chance the project timing were to move again by a significant amount of time, I would rather they told us now so that we could get on a wait list with a different company instead. They reassured us that this time, they were certain about the timing. At the end of Feb, I called Brian to follow up as I wanted to take a pulse check on the project timing. Brian told me that he made a business decision to stop servicing the "north" (including our area of Melrose), that the project was off, and he would return our deposit. He said he lost Devin as a project manager because Devin was leaving to "fly helicopters." It was clear that in the interim, more lucrative projects must have came along (our basement is very old and challenging) and it was easier to pull out. They returned the deposit slightly short of what we initially gave (due to incompetence as I'm sure they didn't need the few extra bucks). Moral of the story: don't try to save money on an important project. Hire a reputable and comptent company that will respect you and your time. Brian's business practices including breaching a contract are unethical, unprofessional, and unlawful.

When I was deciding to finish my basement I had several different companies come to my house. When…read moreBrian came in he was knowledgeable, efficient and honest. On his very first visit to my house, he designed my basement and gave me a quote. Most importantly he educated me in what I had to have done and why. A couple months later the work started and everything went as planned. Devin, the project manager, was in constant communication with me as to what would be happening next. All the workers who showed up at my house were courteous, prompt and competent. The final result was AMAZING!!! Absolutely beautiful and beyond our expectations. I highly recommend Improved Space.

My condo was water damaged by my upstairs neighbor's overflowing bathroom sink. The water soaked…read morethrough the bathroom ceiling & fixtures. Soaked through the inner & outer walls of the linen closet. Water seeped under & on top of the hardwood floors. MA Restoration arrived within an hour to start remediation. The team brought in giant fans, drying machines, plastic walls to contain heat, removed wet wooden floor. Within a week or so it was determined there was no mold. After my insurance adjuster completed his appraisal of my heavily damaged unit, I hired MA Restoration to do the renovation work. I cannot say enough positive things about Steve Karas and his team. They are all craftsmen. They take pride in their work, they are no nonsense. They are polite, respectful, trustworthy, dependable. Always called before they arrived. Always on time to start the day. I know this because I met them every morning at 7:30. No radios, always neat, always cleaned up at the end of the day. Steve was always in contact with me regarding start dates of the renovation. He always checked with me to see if dates fit into my schedule. Steve was always available to take my phone calls or texts or to return them. He explained the renovation process step by step. Answered all my questions, no question was too dumb. The renovation was done in 2 parts. First, the bathroom. Steve had to acquire a building permit to do the renovation. Steve's team removed bathroom ceiling, celling fixtures, and linen closet walls. Old insulation was removed. Replaced with up-to-code fire wall insulation. Building inspector checked on the progress. Everything was replaced and painted. Building inspector signed off on bathroom renovation. Second project was much bigger: living and dining room, kitchen and foyer. I had about 800 ft of floating hardwood floor installed at "diagonally" throughout the 800ft of space. Lots of angles in condo which meant a lot of cutting. Another great job. Very efficient workers. John and Chris are both great workers. They arrived promptly and immediately started to relocate all my furniture to other areas of my condo. Very organized. Very careful with all of our furniture. With empty space they were able to remove all the wallpaper, and then remove about 800 ft of a floating hardwood floor. They very carefully removed all the quarter rounds. On another day, they moved my 3 kitchen appliances to another location. Nothing damaged, all very neatly done. All flooring & wallpaper removed. The painting crew did an outstanding job. Sanding and priming the walls. So smooth. They had to paint with 4 different colors. One color for ceiling, a second color for the crown molding, chair molding & baseboard, a third color for the upper wall, and a fourth color for the lower wall. Also had to paint the quarter rounds that John and Chris replaced. I had a dark brown window seat painted the same color as the trim. Doors had to be removed, primed, painted, and replaced. Excellent work. Cleaned up after themselves. John did a very professional job on the wooden fireplace surround. Used the same flooring material. All cutting of the boards was done outside the building. I did appreciate that fact. When all work was completed, Chris & John replaced all the furniture, appliances and area rugs. They neatly stacked the excess wood flooring. Steve and his crew are talented, efficient, thoughtful, don't take short cuts, use quality materials, dependable. I highly recommend them.

If I could give MA Restoration a sixth star I would. I cannot recommend them strongly enough to…read moreanybody dealing with the awful situation of water damage and mold. Brian from MA Restoration returned our call and scheduled an estimate visit quickly. He was very professional and thorough with his explanation of the process and timelines. The remediation team led by Manny was also top notch. They kept us up-to-date on progress, and were really thoughtful about entering our home during a world health pandemic. The results really speak for themselves. The remediated area looks brand new (and although I wouldn't) you could eat dinner off of the subfloor. MA Restoration came highly recommended to us from our plumber, and after this excellent experience, I can see why.

I was very impressed with the entire process when we hired Jose's team to replace our roof and…read morerepair some framing for our new home. From the initial professional communications and clear pricing, to the quick and transparent construction of the roof, it has been an incredible experience. Their pricing was fair, contract was clear, they adhered to the timeline stated in the contract, and they provided an online platform for us to see pictures throughout the replacement project. That allowed us to not only feel involved but quickly approve any change orders because we could see first hand the issues they were seeing. We will certainly be in touch in the future when we do any other home projects that fit into Tyee Construction's wheelhouse.

I've worked a whole bunch with these fellows. I love them to death. I mean it, from the bottom of…read moremy heart. This outfit has been around for generations, and it shows. They work hard, work smart, and know their stuff, inside and out. They have the kind of work ethic that I thought went out the window ages ago. They do site work, foundations, landscape installations, and road work. They do masonry, but I haven't used them for that, yet. I HAVE used them for grading, site work, landscape installations, sod installation, and cleanup. Also, they have large caliper trees on site, which they will install for you for less than it would cost you to buy the tree from a wholesale nursery. Sweet. They also have the best composted loam I have EVER seen for killer prices. They mostly work in the Sudbury, Concord, and Lincoln area. Give them a call. Talk to Marianne, and tell her that Kerri sent you. And, after you've worked with them, send me a thank you. You are Welcome.

Disclaimer: This review is not based on quality of work product, but on my perception of the…read moreservice. I am slow in writing this, but here goes. A few months back I had hurt my back and realized I could not do my landscaping as planned. I needed to do get a design, have planting done, and discuss maintenance. I also needed clean up of weeds, etc. that had all gone untended for far too long. I found two companies in my area with 5 star reviews and left them each a message on a Saturday (late morning). I was ecstatic when a gentleman (Frank, perhaps??) called me back in an hour or so and said he could come out to take a look that very day. I had to meet up with folks around 2pm. He said he couldn't come before 4 or 5 I remember correctly so that worked out very well. I told him I'd be sure to be back here before 5 and he assured me he'd call if anything came up. I kind of thought that this service would be something I'd get to rave about on Yelp. Same day call back to take a look? Things were moving! I was almost so excited I got over the idea of spending a lot of $$. I rushed home from my late lunch plans, skipping having a cocktail and lingering, and awaited the arrival of the kind (kind for calling me. His demeanor was gruff, to be honest) gentleman who called me. Ah, but he didn't show up. And he didn't call (despite my having given him my cell phone number and having my home phone). I was not only disappointed, but not a little annoyed because it was a Saturday night and I am not a sitting at home on Saturday night kind of girl. I believe he did leave me a message on a week day after that - it may well have been the following Monday, but the no show/no call performance left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Had he simply called and said he'd follow-up... during the week, next month, never, I would've been more impressed. Heck, I didn't even expect the call back on Saturday. It's as if he went through the trouble to punish me for calling on a Saturday by curtailing my plans and keeping me in my house. I am told this is "par for the course," and I should've just called them back and dealt with it, but the last time I allowed a vendor/service provider to continue on after experiencing sub-par initial service, it was a disaster. So, perhaps it was the exception rather than the rule for this company, but I have to give them low marks without ever seeing their handy-work (which sounds great - too bad).