DR Design & Remodel

DR Design and Remodel recently remodeled our two bathrooms, a small long, skinny hall bathroom and afterwards, our large primary ensuite bathroom. The bathrooms turned out beautifully, but this review is in two parts. The first part of my review is 5+ stars for the outstanding professionalism and the workmanship provided by the subcontractors, most of whom have worked for DR for many years. My highest recommendation goes to Jorge Marin and his crew—Jorge, Jr. and Luis—who provided demo, blocking, and tile work. They were super professional, communicated well, worked diligently, and cleaned the work area each day. Jorge really saved the day on the primary bath when he also took over project management responsibilities, (see below for why this was needed) coordinating with other subcontractors so the project could be finished on time. I also want to give a shout out to other subs who did stellar work: cabinet and shelf installer Christian, painter Dee, quartz fabricator Jose, and electrician Sam. The second part of my review addresses our 3 Star experience with the showroom staff and the project management. First, I want to say everyone was very nice, but some circumstances arose that made the situation difficult at times. There were signs of possible trouble even before we signed the contract. When we initially engaged their design services, the showroom was open for their regular posted hours. Suddenly, the showroom was open sporadically and by appointment only. After being assured that all was well, we decided to proceed and signed the contract in late October 2024 with a projected start on the first bathroom December 10. That got pushed back a full month because of problems getting the permit. We later learned that the permit was not even applied for until December 6. One week into the first project, the local project manager was suddenly “no longer with the company” and our project was being managed by a person in Chicago. Again, this person was very nice but the time difference between Elk Grove and Chicago made his communication with the subcontractors difficult and I essentially had to take over as an intermediary for communication after several days of confusion about who was supposed to be coming and work was not being done. The company told us they used an app called Buildertrend to communicate and to show what was scheduled each day, but emails sent through Buildertrend were often unanswered and after the first week of a 3 month long 2 bathroom project, the work schedule on Buildertrend was never updated. Calls to the showroom were greeted with a recorded message and then the phone would ring and ring with no answer and no way to leave a message. I did share these concerns with the local showroom people and with the person from Chicago. At some point, the decision was made that subcontractor Jorge Marin would also take over project management duties for the primary bath remodel and from that point on, everything ran smoothly. In summary, the work was completed on time—mostly thanks to Jorge Marin—and we are very happy with the results. Improvements are needed with the showroom hours, communication system, and with local project management. I shared these observations with the staff during the project and afterwards.

DR designs staff was professional and easy to work with. We came across a lot of hurdles and DR was quick to communicate with us as well as with our concerns and questions. Michelle was awesome to work with and took our concerns and expedited any work that needed to be completed. Jason (subcontractor) was excellent!! The attention to detail and perfection was appreciated!! After being out of the house for 7 months we quickly started to unpack which I didn’t take pictures when it was completely finished… 😬 We would use them again for any future remodels!

Love my new kitchen! It was a breeze from start to finish. They have quality workmanship and are very professional. I recommend DR Design for anyone that would like a seamless remodel job. Thank you DR Design!!