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On Angie's List
When my wife and I moved into the house 12 years ago,
the kitchen was the single biggest issue we faced. So
much so, we did not do anything about it until this
year. Leal Construction was recommended to us by a
friend so, after reviewing that project, I asked Roy
Leal to provide a quote. His estimate was reasonable for
the work involved but that was just the start of a great
experience.
The team arrived on the agreed date and went to work.
This project initially required the complete gutting of
the existing kitchen right to the exterior walls and
included the floor and ceiling. It was dirty, messy work
exacerbated by blown in cellulose insulation that had to
be removed. The team didn’t blink twice but removed
every bit of the debris while allowing us to live in the
rest of the house with very little interruption. Every
afternoon, the team swept up the area so we could review
their work and performed a more vigorous cleaning on
Friday afternoons so we could share the progress with
our friends.
One challenge that we faced was a floor that sloped four
inches from one side to the other. The first contractor
that looked at the job suggested shimming the floor to
level it. Roy decided the best approach was to remove
the floor joists and completely rebuild the floor. They
saved the old lumber to use as accent pieces in the
remodeled kitchen.
Throughout the process, Roy reviewed every aspect of the
construction and spent time just walking around the
house to clearly envision the integration of the
construction to the existing building. Every Monday
morning he would share his plan for the week and, by
Friday, that plan had been executed. He kept us involved
in every aspect of the decision-making process. He
suggested several changes, such as moving the laundry
room which allowed us to move the entrance to the house
that had not occurred to us in the previous 12 years!
What a positive difference that one idea made to the
flow of the traffic in the house!
Additionally, after demolition of the old kitchen
(including the ceiling), Roy suggested that we expose
some of the old beams in the ceiling which necessitated
raising the collar ties on the rafters. To do that, it
was necessary to improve the old work by adding gussets
to the existing rafters. In my opinion, most contractors
would have simply covered the beams and moved on, but
Roy’s suggestion resulted in a significantly better
blend between the new kitchen and the 1788 house as well
as additional ceiling height which made the kitchen a
much more welcoming place.
Roy’s full-time staff who worked on our project
consisted of a kitchen designer, a master carpenter, a
plumber/electrician, a mason/painter and a skilled
laborer. With so many trades on staff, he was able to
schedule the tasks which meant there was no down-time
waiting for another company to complete its job. The
only work that was subcontracted was the installation of
the countertops at the end of the project. Even then,
Roy was present during the installation and ensured that
the work was done correctly.
No job is without its share of challenges, but Roy was
able to navigate every obstacle without any significant
problems. He always seemed to be at least one step ahead
of the project and provided that vision to his team.
The team went out of its way to make the project easier
for us to live with. For example, as soon as the plywood
floor was laid in the new laundry room, they plumbed and
wired the room so we could use the washer and dryer.
They moved the appliances into the room on Friday
afternoon so we could use them over the weekend and
removed the appliances on Monday mornings so they could
continue their work.
The job was completed in eight weeks as estimated, and
within a small percentage of the initial estimate.
I have decided that Leal Construction will be my go-to
construction team for large projects as well as small
projects that are beyond my level of expertise. We even
recommended Leal Construction to some good friends who
are just as pleased with the work on their project. Leal
Construction's workmanship is outstanding, their
customer support is phenomenal, the team members are
courteous and professional and, quite frankly, I never
observed anything that made me feel the least bit
uncomfortable. They were extremely friendly, competent
and truly cared about the quality of their work.
It has been five months since Leal Construction
completed its work and we have absolutely NO buyer’s
remorse having hired them. Every morning when we walk
into our new, beautiful kitchen we are grateful that we
chose Leal Construction to improve our kitchen and
enjoyment of our 18th century home.
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