Good Questions: A non-flaky contractor?

Hello AT,

My partner and I own an ~1500 sq ft condo near the Brooklyn Museum (Eastern Parkway) that desperately needs renovations.

We have asked friends, neighbors, etc for referrals and no one has worked out thus far. Do you know of anyone VERY SPECIAL who would be willing and able to do a gut job (I think) like ours?

We definitely don't want to work with a fly-by-night (or just flaky) architect or contractor (trust me I have talked to a few).

We are willing to pay the right price for the best work possible! We have some ideas, but want help optimizing this space for our use its eventual sale.

Any trusted, enthusiastic leads of highly creative and capable individuals are greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Jessica.

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Comments (4)

DON'T USE DON PERRONE based in Brooklyn. His company did a bathroom renovation mid-January which he said would take 6-8 days to finish. He even listed on his website that it's done, which it clearly is not. 2 months later and I'm still waiting for his plumber Doug to come replace the shower body that he broke. I call and text and email and they either don't return my calls or they don't show up when they say they're coming or they keep saying tomorrow, tomorrow. Not to mention, Doug put in my new tub not knowing how to install the trip lever (which stops the drainage), and I wound up with a really cheap push drainer because the trip lever will not function unless he removes the tub. STAY AWAY from these guys.

Thanks to Nadine's post above, I found my contractor, Nestor Kalogrias, with whom I couldn't be more pleased. He recently finished a gut renovation of my bathroom as well as creation of a walk-in closet (which involved wall demolition). After interviewing about six contractors (all of whom left me feeling really nervous -- asking myself what I was getting into), I found the posting about Nestor on AT. Fortunately, he was available, and was able to begin work pretty much immediately at a very reasonable price. He and his crew are great and actually did more than the original scope of work. Most importantly, Nestor is a really nice guy. He patiently answered my numerous questions and provided many extremely helpful design tips. I would not hesitate to recommend Nestor again. He can be reached at creativeconceptsfirst@gmail.com.

You've go to love New York. We have a huge variety of great talent and plenty of sad stories as well. I am wood worker out of Brooklyn, I wanted to throw myself into the mix as well. I have a small but insured handyman company with 8 experienced employees. We do one or two larger jobs a year, but are available daily for smaller projects. Here are some relevant links to my work and my handyman company, NYcityStuff.

Video on "In the MO":

http://www.inthemo.com/profile/profiles.aspx?id=13d497b7-c592-42d6-8c7a-c364d50aab73

Reviews on Yelp:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/nycitystuff-handyman-and-contracting-brooklyn

Best of NEW YORK, NYMAG

http://nymag.com/bestofny/services/2008/handyman/

My Website:
kellamclark.com

On my site you will find my contact info feel free to write or call with questions.

Cheers Kellam

Update on my last posting, My company has changed names and is now called http://notjusthandymen.com/
this is a temp site but the contact info is all still valid. Cheers Kellam