Our experience with Revive remodeling for our Kitchen upgrade was wonderful. We talked to 5 contractors and chose to go with Revive. Don Isaacson, the owner, came to meet us and we went over general ideas of what we were looking for, specific items that were a “must-have” and explored possibilities. His design ideas were based on our specific requirements, rather than a general idea of what a kitchen remodel should be. His eagerness to be a part of the process, and his infectious enthusiasm for what the final product would look like, were a critical part of why we chose to go with Revive.
Interestingly, their quotation process was unique (should add that their website states this explicitly), in that, based off the aspects we were looking for, Don and his team would draw up a framework for what the entire project would entail, then get quotes from their subcontractors, and come back with a proposal that captures as much details as possible. This ensures that the budget for the project is nailed down very early in the process. Don set the expectation that this process would take 6-8 weeks before he could come back with the quote. This was unique in the sense that the other 4 contractors quoted an estimated budget in the very first meeting. Specifically mentioning this since people might want to plan accordingly while trying to identify the contractor to go with.
While this approach made us initially think that Revive was slow, we later realized that they were actually being extremely thorough and as precise as one could be. This aspect was later apparent in every facet of the work, where focus was always on meticulous planning, ironing out every detail in advance, laying out the detailed timeline, notifying immediately if there is any deviation from the plan (both in terms of dates / timeline or cost). This takes off a huge amount of stress as a homeowner.
From a budget point of view, if one irons out all details of what is needed upfront, we can vouch for the fact that the only time there would be deviation from the initial proposal / quote, would be due to the choice of material used. We wanted very specific choices for our island and peripheral countertops, and for the back splashes, which differed from the quote simply because of the assumptions made for these materials initially.
Laurie, Don’s wife and more than equal partner, is the person in charge of the scheduling and finance aspects. She is extremely good at her job and very responsive (their entire team is). She is the perfect counterfoil to Don’s enthusiasm and eagerness to literally do anything that the homeowner might ask for, tempering it with a tinge of reality. They make a wonderful team and couple. We are so happy for them and for choosing Revive.
Revive works with multiple sub-contractors for different aspects of the project, and is on top of all communications both with them and us. Almost all of them were excellent, especially the ones used for the flooring, backsplash tiling and electrical. If there was one aspect that could have been better, the measurements by the countertop and cabinet sub-contractors could have been better, which would have helped avoid some of the issues during the upgrade. Mentioning this in a review for Revive, since this is one area where they should work with and expect better outcomes from their subcontractors.
But any worry from our end was allayed by Don and his team, who always looked for solutions to problems and addressed every issue we weren’t completely happy with.
Don’s own crew were excellent including Karla (admin), with a special shout-out to Brian,.
It is not always that people have great things to say about their contractors, but we can wholeheartedly say that we were extremely happy we chose Revive for our Kitchen upgrade, and the eventual outcome, and would recommend them to everyone.
