Arends Construction & Design

Our home had a dangerously deteriorating deck and concrete patio area that needed to be replaced, and we wanted to expand the deck out over the carport to take advantage of views. I interviewed 3 other contractors besides Arends, one of which also was «green,» but Louise Jeffrey «got» every one of my concerns (especially accessibility and safety issues for my 100 and 93-​year old parents, but also aesthetics and tie-​in with existing landscaping). The compassion, understanding, and care she showed sold me on Arends before I knew much more about the company, because I knew I needed to work with someone who understood my concerns and with whom I would feel comfortable expressing dissatisfaction in the event there was any.
I was extremely impressed with a number of Arends’ described practices, all of which were followed during our project:
1. Every effort is made to reuse materials if at all possible, either on the present job or on another
2. All refuse is carefully divided according to material type, and recycled /​disposed of accordingly.
3. Arends’ dump/​delivery truck is fueled by biodiesel
4. Contract is written with a «not to exceed» price, which gives peace of mind and enables client to plan and be prepared, financially, throughout the project
5. Billing is done weekly, and charges cover only labor and materials used that week; markups are explained fully during contract discussions, so there are no surprises.
6. Site is kept as neat, clean, and safe as possible, with all supplies neatly stacked and placed out of the way of daily household traffic patterns, and demolished materials removed immediately
7. All workers were wonderful — sweet, kind, communicative, and masters at their craft.
8. Regular communication via email, phone, or text message with Ken Arends or Louise enabled us to be prepared for any disruptions or required actions on our part — and being extremely busy, this was critical to me.
The final product is spectacular, has enhanced the value of our home at least five times the cost of the project, and it has led several neighbors to contact Arends for projects upon which they are embarking — contracts already signed in some cases!
At the outset, Ken told us that Arends develops long term relationships with their clients, and that one client is having Arends do their 8^th project for them. Now that our project has been completed, I understand this totally, and already have asked Ken to price out window and door replacement for us and am very likely to engage his services for interior changes down the road. Our family is totally comfortable with Ken and his staff, we have complete confidence in their ability and integrity, and we consider them to be our friends.
Every project has setbacks along the way, and ours was no exception. The County required us to have an unnecessary survey done, followed by a parcel merger. Arends held no responsibility for this, but it did take time to resolve and caused unanticipated expenses. Ken facilitated interactions with County officials (thank you, Ken!), and during this process, work in an unaffected area of the project was able to proceed. Any other issues were relatively minor, and as another reviewer noted, there were costs associated with some of them that we paid, and others that Arends covered.
As the project progressed, I got several ideas about additional work that might be done to enhance the final product, and Ken’s crew made suggestions for other improvements or creative solutions to peripheral issues. Ken provided swift pricing for the extra work, and I approved these. Ken’s crew collaborated and cooperated very nicely with other vendors (in our case, spa dealer and gutter installers), making certain that their work did not damage or affect the decking.
Construction projects can get complicated, and anybody embarking upon a project should expect some delays, added costs, and other disappointments. I knew this, but had confidence that with Ken’s oversight, the impact of these matters upon our family would be minimal, and I was right.
If you value peace of mind, and if you want to feel confident that your project will be seen through to completion under the watchful eye of a knowledgeable, experienced, and really nice guy who is easy to talk to, you cannot go wrong with Ken Arends and Arends Construction & Design. You will get full value for every dollar paid, and you will be thrilled with the completed project.

Working with the Arends ConstructionTeam was a great experience. Their skill, knowledge and professionalism are hard to beat. The projects we have worked on have moved smoothly though the construction. The end result reflected quality workmanship and my clients were pleased with the final overcome. I look forward to a long and successful working relationship with Arends Construction. Together we are committed to providing homeowners with effective Green renovation solutions.

If you’ve never hired someone to remodel part of your home before, and you’re about to do so now, be prepared to be unprepared. I did a bunch of reading before starting my project, was told over and over that things would come up that I hadn’t anticipated, and still was surprised almost daily by how our project proceeded.
We worked with Arends for our bathroom remodel. They started off really strong. We met with the owner, Ken, and Louise, who is their «Green Programs Director». We were hoping to do a fairly «green» (light green?) remodel; there were some truly heinous-​looking things in the bathroom that had to go, including all the tiles and the bizarre redish brown suede wallpaper (really? in a bathroom?), but we wanted to keep as many of the other items (cabinets, lights, mirrors, etc.) intact as we could. The folks from Arends seemed excited about doing a green project and we got started.
The demolition went fairly smoothly, but the project kept expanding. It started with «this cabinet isn’t going to work with the new drywall» and then «this mirror isn’t going to work with the new drywall» and «oh, look, the fans in this room haven’t actually been venting out of the building». These difficulties weren’t necessarily Arends’ fault, so I don’t blame them for those. However, they didn’t do a good job of making clear when we were making decisions that would result in extra fees. It was sometimes weeks later that we would be presented with an «additional work authorization» to sign, revealing that an off-​hand decision I’d made after a quick chat with one of the workers was resulting in a non-​trivial increase in our costs for that part of the project.
Also, although we emphasized that we were first-​time remodelers and requested their assistance in planning and organizing our project, they ended up requiring a one month gap in their working time because the new tiles (which they participated in order with us) weren’t going to arrive until well after they’d finished all the pre-​tile work they could do. So our bathroom was torn up and unusable for much longer than the actual time required to complete the project (thank goodness we have two in our condo!). I believe Arends should have been responsible for making sure the materials would be ready in time for the work to go smoothly, and not started without a solid plan in place.
And then, the most bizarre turn of events: Arends allowed part of our bathroom to be eaten by squirrels. We were perfectly happy with the current vanity cabinet in the bathroom, but it needed refinishing. Arends’ workers took the doors and panels off the front of the cabinet and took them to their workshop to being refinishing. A few days later, a very sheepish Louise showed up with one door under her arm: a door with a sizable area gnawed away by tiny teeth! This is why I say you can’t predict what will happen in a remodel; vanity cabinet defaced by squirrels just isn’t the kind of thing you plan for.
In the end, Arends had new doors made for our cabinet at their expense, and the new doors are perfectly lovely. If they had been more up-​front about the increase costs, and done a better job of making sure all the materials were ready before starting work, I would given them 4 or maybe even 5 stars. Though I would work with them again, if I have another project I will seek bids with other firms, too, since Arends didn’t seal their place as my contractor of choice with this job.