I’d never hired a general contractor before, and I was a little wigged out. I had heard tons of horror stories and warnings.
So if you had told me that the first contractor I hired would:
1) Come in UNDER BUDGET
2) Finish the job AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
3) Remain PERSONABLE and HELPFUL throughout the process
4) Deliver SPECTACULAR results
I wouldn’t have believed it. But that’s what happened.
Vadim and his people at White Star General Contractors are AMAZING.
UNDER BUDGET: We interviewed a few contractors for floor sanding/sealing, wall skimming/painting, resurfacing of a ceiling, and fixes for water damage in the walls in our new apartment. One contractor tried to charge us an exorbitant fee; he knew we were first-time home buyers and went in for the kill. The next guy we spoke to was Vadim. He started with our budget, and then told us what he could do within it. This HALVED the original estimate. When we learned that our board would not allow certain work (we live in an historic building) Vadim suggested an alternative way to approach the problem – an approach that reduced the cost of the whole job but still let us meet our objectives.
AHEAD OF SCHEDULE: We had a tight timeframe, because we had agreed with the bank to take possession by a certain date. This meant we had 3-4 weeks to get the work done. Vadim was the only contractor who said he could meet the timeframe. He repeatedly told us that we would have a one-day gap between his finish and our move-in date. Four days before our move day, he called us to tell us he was done. FOUR DAYS EARLY. Everyone I had spoken with had told me to assume that any contractor would be several days late.
PERSONABLE AND HELPFUL: I was also told that contractors would as a matter of course be secretive and withholding, only communicating when pushed. Vadim, on the other hand, would call me every other day or so to give me updates, ask me questions about how to proceed if there was a problem, and to mark our progress. He was a pleasure to talk to as well.
SPECTACULAR RESULTS: For half of what the original contractor tried to charge us, Vadim delivered the quality we expected – flawless walls, a beautiful newly finished floor, and a number of accents and additions that we didn’t know we needed. On this last point: There was a small closet like structure in our living room that every other contractor wanted to tear out (and charge us for the demolition). Vadim left it standing, and added new shelving and cabinet doors to it. It’s a great addition to our living room, and didn’t cost us anything more.
In short: Vadim and crew are creative problem solvers who get the job done early, on-budget, with zero heartache.
Stop reading this review and call him for your project. Do it! And get ready to write his next great review.
