Review for Michael Nash Design, Build & Homes
We decided to build a “Family Room over the Garage” addition on our house in early 2013. We found Michael Nash as a member of Angie’s List. The company scored very highly, and the associated comments gave us the comfort that we felt we needed to explore the opportunity of working with this contractor.
Upon getting bids, we were immediately attracted to two things. First, Michael Nash was significantly less (roughly 30 percent) than the other contractors from which we received quotes. Second, Michael Nash’s model for its work is to develop projects under a fixed price such that when they were completed, the end cost was the same as the quoted cost, and the projects were “turn-key.” A designer we had used in the past indicated when undertaking such a project, we should expect the quoted cost plus 20 percent to account for things ranging from fixtures to needing to put in an extra beam to meet county approval or move a pipe to address a plumbing challenge. Taken together, picking Michael Nash, from a cost perspective was an easy decision to make. Not only were they significantly cheaper than the other proposals, but we didn’t have to worry about the additional 20 percent due to their fixed price.
The fact that they had won so many awards was also reassuring. All of the pictures that we saw and things that we read gave us the impression that the quality of their work was great. Clearly, they had a lot of experience doing all different types of work, kitchens, bedrooms, offices, dens, bathrooms, and even whole houses. We wanted to create a game/family room that also had a bathroom and kitchenette/bar area, so finding a contractor that could do more than just one type of room was a must. Many contractors we found specialized in one type of room or in whole house builds. It was great that Michael Nash was flexible enough to fit our needs.
After deciding to go with Michael Nash, the first step was to sit down and work out the plans for the addition. Having their own architect on hand made both the design and any subsequent changes very easy. We had never done anything like this before, so naturally, we had a lot of questions. After a few back and forths, we got the plans where we wanted them, and the project began.
With regard to the fixed price model, customers can choose among three levels (basic, mid, luxury), and then choose fixtures and finishes based on those levels. We went with the mid-level; we did our “shopping” at the showroom and could pick from their selection of granite, top faucet brands, etc. While not massive, they had a significantly wide variety from which to choose. We appreciated being able to pick tile, fixtures, etc. without needing to debate spending an extra hundred here or trying to save money on something else, or having to go to multiple stores to get this done. The “one stop shop” approach made this all very easy. In addition, we found that not having seemingly limitless options for supplies like tile and granite at our fingertips was a plus. Having redone our kitchen a few years back, the back and forth over, for instance, tile types (by going to three different tile specialty stores with hundreds upon hundreds of tiles) was complete overkill and extremely stressful. Michael Nash had plenty of styles and colors to choose from for our taste.
Let me say that above all else, we are extremely pleased with the work. In addition, any time we needed to have something else done or something wasn’t right or we needed something adjusted, fixed or addressed, the Michael Nash folks never questioned or were argumentative. As we got into the build and saw how the space was taking shape, we thought of some other space needs that we hadn’t accounted for in our initial design. They worked with us to come up with solutions; if they were ever frustrated by our many questions, they never let on. “The customer is always right” is certainly a principal that Michael Nash lives by and made our experience a positive one.
A few weeks into the project, we were contacted by a customer advocate who wanted to make sure we were having a good experience. He called regularly and stayed with us throughout the project. While we had good communication with our project manager, this extra layer of contact was greatly appreciated.
We’ve heard some horror stories about disrespectful workers on some of our friends’ renovation projects. The people who worked on our space were always very respectful, took pride in their work, and took care to make sure they cleaned up each day.
The key criticism that we have is that the addition took more than twice as long as was proposed to complete the project. We were originally told that this was an easy project so we should expect a three month start to finish. The project took seven months. If one portion of the project ended, it sometimes took multiple days to get the crew in to begin the next phase. Consequently, there were many weeks where workers worked at our house two or three days a week. This got extremely frustrating at times, but this is really the only issue that we had with the build. That said, having never done a project of this size before, I don’t know how common the delays are in general.
Given the delay, several friends have asked me if I’d use Michael Nash again. Absolutely. I may be prepared for a longer than anticipated build time the next time around, but I’d be assured to get a great product in the end. Their fixed price model meant that we were not stressed about unexpected financial issues (like costs to move pipes) and didn’t need to spend more time driving from place to place to get the fixtures and finishes to complete the project. They were easy to work with overall, and their focus on quality delivered a great space that we know we’ll enjoy for years to come.
Upon getting bids, we were immediately attracted to two things. First, Michael Nash was significantly less (roughly 30 percent) than the other contractors from which we received quotes. Second, Michael Nash’s model for its work is to develop projects under a fixed price such that when they were completed, the end cost was the same as the quoted cost, and the projects were “turn-key.” A designer we had used in the past indicated when undertaking such a project, we should expect the quoted cost plus 20 percent to account for things ranging from fixtures to needing to put in an extra beam to meet county approval or move a pipe to address a plumbing challenge. Taken together, picking Michael Nash, from a cost perspective was an easy decision to make. Not only were they significantly cheaper than the other proposals, but we didn’t have to worry about the additional 20 percent due to their fixed price.
The fact that they had won so many awards was also reassuring. All of the pictures that we saw and things that we read gave us the impression that the quality of their work was great. Clearly, they had a lot of experience doing all different types of work, kitchens, bedrooms, offices, dens, bathrooms, and even whole houses. We wanted to create a game/family room that also had a bathroom and kitchenette/bar area, so finding a contractor that could do more than just one type of room was a must. Many contractors we found specialized in one type of room or in whole house builds. It was great that Michael Nash was flexible enough to fit our needs.
After deciding to go with Michael Nash, the first step was to sit down and work out the plans for the addition. Having their own architect on hand made both the design and any subsequent changes very easy. We had never done anything like this before, so naturally, we had a lot of questions. After a few back and forths, we got the plans where we wanted them, and the project began.
With regard to the fixed price model, customers can choose among three levels (basic, mid, luxury), and then choose fixtures and finishes based on those levels. We went with the mid-level; we did our “shopping” at the showroom and could pick from their selection of granite, top faucet brands, etc. While not massive, they had a significantly wide variety from which to choose. We appreciated being able to pick tile, fixtures, etc. without needing to debate spending an extra hundred here or trying to save money on something else, or having to go to multiple stores to get this done. The “one stop shop” approach made this all very easy. In addition, we found that not having seemingly limitless options for supplies like tile and granite at our fingertips was a plus. Having redone our kitchen a few years back, the back and forth over, for instance, tile types (by going to three different tile specialty stores with hundreds upon hundreds of tiles) was complete overkill and extremely stressful. Michael Nash had plenty of styles and colors to choose from for our taste.
Let me say that above all else, we are extremely pleased with the work. In addition, any time we needed to have something else done or something wasn’t right or we needed something adjusted, fixed or addressed, the Michael Nash folks never questioned or were argumentative. As we got into the build and saw how the space was taking shape, we thought of some other space needs that we hadn’t accounted for in our initial design. They worked with us to come up with solutions; if they were ever frustrated by our many questions, they never let on. “The customer is always right” is certainly a principal that Michael Nash lives by and made our experience a positive one.
A few weeks into the project, we were contacted by a customer advocate who wanted to make sure we were having a good experience. He called regularly and stayed with us throughout the project. While we had good communication with our project manager, this extra layer of contact was greatly appreciated.
We’ve heard some horror stories about disrespectful workers on some of our friends’ renovation projects. The people who worked on our space were always very respectful, took pride in their work, and took care to make sure they cleaned up each day.
The key criticism that we have is that the addition took more than twice as long as was proposed to complete the project. We were originally told that this was an easy project so we should expect a three month start to finish. The project took seven months. If one portion of the project ended, it sometimes took multiple days to get the crew in to begin the next phase. Consequently, there were many weeks where workers worked at our house two or three days a week. This got extremely frustrating at times, but this is really the only issue that we had with the build. That said, having never done a project of this size before, I don’t know how common the delays are in general.
Given the delay, several friends have asked me if I’d use Michael Nash again. Absolutely. I may be prepared for a longer than anticipated build time the next time around, but I’d be assured to get a great product in the end. Their fixed price model meant that we were not stressed about unexpected financial issues (like costs to move pipes) and didn’t need to spend more time driving from place to place to get the fixtures and finishes to complete the project. They were easy to work with overall, and their focus on quality delivered a great space that we know we’ll enjoy for years to come.
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