We were pleased with the assistance we received on the design of our bathroom remodel from Rob van Houten, however, the execution of the remodel did not go smoothly. In particular, the installation of the backsplash was poorly done and the initial fixes proposed by the project manager and the contractor doing the work was inadequate. Our house was constructed in the 1960's and the bathroom wall was was not plumb, something that should have been anticipated in the execution of the bathroom design. As a result, when the quartz backspash for the vanity top was installed, there were large gaps on either end of the backsplash where there were gaps in meeting the wall. Initially the contractor tried to paint the caulk to disguise the vast amount of caulk on either end - this did not work and was quite ugly. The eventual solution was to remove the backsplash, cut into the dry wall and then reinstall the backsplash. While the backsplash is now much more aligned with the wall, the backsplash removal damaged the wall which was not completely disguised when the wall was repainted. The approach to fixing the backsplash properly caused quite a bit of stress.

In addition to the problems with the backsplash, two areas of the wallpaper were damaged and needed to be repaired. It was just sloppy work that caused the wallpaper to be damaged, and again, added stress to the project.

Finally, my impression is that there are not enough staff working for Neil Kelly to carry out projects properly. Our project manager was personable and capable but not present much during the construction, at least when I was at the house, particularly on the first day when the project started. I think it is a confidence builder with the client to make sure the project manager has time to be present at the beginning of the construction.

This was our second experience with Neil Kelly, we would call them again if we had more remodeling to do.

I enjoyed the relaxsation of knowing my project was being handled by experienced professional people. I am an portland Oregon native so i have been familuar with the good works Neil Kelly does for the community. The long standing as an excellent contractor means that I could count on permits being taken out, the work being done to a high standard and on time.

Schedule

Schedule - Somehow, even with supply chain issues and a locval concrete stirke, they managed to complete the project within the schedule. I know others who are managing their own projects which has all but stalled b/c of those issues.

Value

Value - we knew we were not just paying for a kitchen remodel but also ongoing customer support, design expertise, decision-making support, project mgmt - really everything. Neil Kelly did it all and it was the best money we've spent!

Very professional and helpful through the whole process of developing a solar plan for our house and through installation. Everyone was great to work with.

Quality design, craftsmanship, and customer service

Excellent company to work with for design and build projects.

We have worked with a number of different contractors over the years, and Neil Kelly is definitely the best.

Work was of very good quality. Scheduling and communication ,not so much.

NK is more expensive than others, but good for custom jobs
Just don't expect it to go on schedule.

I worked with Neil Kelly in 2000 and again in 2022. I chose the company in 2022 because they made a success out of a difficult situation in 2000. In 2022 I was working long-distance - I don't live in the Portland area. The staff in all departments were helpful and responded to my telephone, email and text communications quickly. When I did an on-site review of the work, anything that was overlooked was completed within 48 hours.

Neil Kelly during Covid was different from the Neil Kelly we had years ago to do our kitchen remodel. There were unavoidable labor issues and supply issues that were a huge impact on the completion of our project. We signed an agreement on March 31, 2021. Demolition of the original deck didn't start until Aug. 23rd. (We had hoped to be finished by end of July 2021 not March 2022!) However, we still would not hesitate to recommend Neil Kelly. The finished project is exactly what we hoped it to be.

Journeyman Carpenter Tygh was particularly helpful in getting the city planning department to act effectually in moving my need for a permit review to go forward, rather than putting up more roadblocks.

The level of workmanship was high quality, the project management side was very well managed, they were extremely honest, and we were very confident in allowing them into the house for the six months that we were not there. This includes Anne Bauer and Tony Lopez, who were great, and we were very confident in them.

We recommend Neil Kelly very highly. Since 2015, they've done several jobs for us. Before we hired them, we had very mixed experience with general contractors. We hesitated a little bit the first time we hired them because Neil Kelly's quotes were somewhat higher than other contractors. But not only did their quality turn out to be superior, they also stayed on budget and on schedule. This has been true with each job they've done for us. I know we got better work for less hassle, and my guess is that in the end, we also paid the same or less than we would have with another company. Their communication is also excellent. At this point, I wouldn't go anywhere else.

I think we may have hit Neil Kelly at a bad time. It seemed like they had started too many projects with not enough people to service them, and ours got put on the backburner a lot because of that. We were hoping that by hiring a company who did this all the time, all the little things we admittedly do not know about remodels and construction would not be missed and the whole process would be streamlined. However, we found that a lot of things were still missed and we had to either compromise for something different than what we wanted, or fight to get what we had previously agreed on, a position we did not like and left us wondering why we needed and paid to have a GC in the first place.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - Our project manager Brian was fantastic. He had wonderful communication, kept us informed, and very kindly cleaned up some of the messes that others made for us by not updating plans, materials, etc. He never made me feel guilty or bad for wanting to get what we had agreed on, even if that meant redoing incorrect things. He was a calm, collected guy and though I felt like we fell to the wayside a lot with the subcontractors, Brian never made me feel like he was blowing us off. I really enjoyed him and his work ethic as I know he did things for our project that were not necessarily his job (like cleaning up after other subcontractors, coming over to temporarily hook up our stove so we could have it for Christmas, etc) but he did it anyway and he is the sole reason we didn't lose our minds or our cool through this process.

Excellent work. The furnace guy remarked on how much better the door to the furnace room worked. Have had many compliments on the front door, also.

The work was done very well and at a decent speed. All of the workers were good at what they do and polite.

I had tried to contact other people first, but Neil Kelly is the only place that responded. I knew that the work would be high quality, but also I would have to pay for that quality.

NK staff was very communicative, especially during the supply chain issues we encountered.

I have already recommended NK to several of my neighbors. We have always been pleased to have NK work on our home(s). The whole process from design consultations to completion of work is uncomplicated and wholly satisfying. The project manager is hands on and communicates well. All of the subcontractors and NK crew were always polite, helpful and extremely competent.

The project had multiple aspects, some of which went very well, even surprisingly well, and others were marked by incompetence. The bathroom tile was ripped out twice. The project took months longer to complete than planned. I would suggest to anyone thinking about using NK to find out if its own employees were doing the work or subcontractors.

Reconstruction of our kitchen was actually fun.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - We ran into supply chain issues with appliances and had to wait several months for our final installs and Neil Kelly made sure we had everything we needed in the meantime so that we could live comfortably. Our ovens arrived a couple days before thanksgiving and Neil Kelly went out of their way to make sure they were installed and working in time for the holidays. Everyone we worked with was great - primarily Paul Haigh and Brian Peulicke. They went out of their way to ensure the best quality and experience even when it meant bringing sub-contractors back in to touch up previously done work.

The subcontractor's work is quality, but the outside management is poor, especially with the project manager. The project manager is not detail oriented. There is no systematic management on site, such as the Project Manager was never on site when the subs were there. I stepped in because I am the owner. I stepped in to do a lot of work because of the Project Manager. We went through two Project Managers. The first one quit, could not finish the work and left. The second Project Manager was not experienced or detail oriented enough to take on this job.

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