Creative Home Improvements

If there is a rating for over five stars, I would definitely gave that to Bassel of Creative Home Improvements. When I left a message for an initial estimate, Bassel returned my call promptly and a meeting was set up for within two days. For our estimate meeting, instead of trying to up sell me on more work, Bassel actually gave me sensible advices about my remodeling ideas. He was courteous and respectful throughout the entire meeting, answering my endless questions regarding all the various projects. I appreciate his professionalism and his honesty which are qualities that are sometimes hard to find in construction.

Just wanted to take a minute to thank Bessel again for a professional and timely job well done. Jim and I appreciate that we now have a go to guy for all of our redecorating ideas and projects. You did another excellent job for us painting our bathroom, walk-​in closet and water closet. Looking forward to our next project with Bessel. Thanks again for your professionalism, friendship, promptness and excellence.
Barbara and Jim Perez

Bassel really helped me out when I was in a bind since I was selling my home and needed to get some small home improvements done quickly to pass the final home inspection. I was able to send the inspectors report to Bassel and he came over and completed the home repairs in one day in a matter of a few hours. There were some items that really weren’t a simple fix, and Bassel was able to creatively find a way to fix them in order to satisfy the home buyers. His price was also very reasonable considering the amount of w work he did for me!

Just got off the phone with Bassel. I called and left a message that I needed an estimate for a two bathroom remodel and wanted to see if he could come to give one. He called and said that he has had too many people get estimates and not use him. That remodeling a bathroom would require time spent figuring out what we want and what materials to use. I told him I’m no expert, but I thought that’s what any estimate involves. Of course I’m not going to just tell him to do everything without my input.
After 10 minutes of arguing, I asked him if that’s not how every estimate goes… you see the house, discuss the plans, and go from there. He was completely unwilling to even give an estimate without me saying I would use him. What is the purpose of an estimate or bid? I’m not going to beg him to come try to get my business. He also sounded intoxicated at 10:00 a.m.
Guess I’ll throw my money at someone else!

After dealing with two other contractors, I decided to look to Unilocal for some help. Bassel’s reviews were impressive so I gave him a call right away. He, unlike the other contractors, called me back right away. He told me that he was currently working on a project so he would come to give me an estimate over the weekend. (I really liked the fact that he wouldn’t drop a job he was doing to service me because I know that he wouldn’t do that to me either.) Not only was his estimate reasonable, he gave me every receipt of materials he purchased for the job at cost! This way you know what you’re being charged for. The other contractors I spoke with were hard to get a hold of, wouldn’t call me back, and one gave me a HUGE estimate with not one detail attached and the other gave me a LOW estimate telling me all the ways he could «get it done for cheaper», basically by cutting corners. No thanks.
Bassel showed up to work on time each day. He worked ALL day long – never stopped. What is also unique and awesome about him was that he actually LISTENED to our needs and gave amazing suggestions for our design. He made a storage space for us that was ten times better than the plans we had drawn up. That’s why he’s called «Creative» Home Improvements. The work he did was top notch. Our space looks so clean and we’ve received nothing, but compliments from everyone that’s seen it.
On top of that, we needed new light fixtures for our outside area. He put them in for us for no extra charge. And then, when one of the fixtures was missing a needed part, he picked it up and came back to install it. Once our project was complete, he even came back to touch up some paint areas he wasn’t happy with. We still have doors left to paint and he said he’d come back with the right paint for that as well. Awesome.
I highly recommend Bassel for any job. We will be using him for our future projects.

I have always been leery of contractors, not knowing whether they would try to take advantage of me being a woman who is not well versed in their field. I found Bassel on Unilocal and had him and 2 other contractors come out to bid on opening up the wall from my living room into my dining room. Bassel called when he was on his way, arrived on time and was extremely professional. I was impressed by the way he listened carefully to exactly what I had envisioned for the project. He made several suggestions that were point on, and took notes while we chatted.
His estimate arrived quickly by email and his price seemed incredibly reasonable, so I hired him. He arrived on time each day and worked more than a full day. Each night he cleaned up and tried to minimize the disruption that opening up a wall makes. The project took him a little longer than he expected but this was due to the fact that he is a perfectionist and insisted that everything be done «right» rather than «fast». The project turned out better than I had expected and he was able to creatively come up with solutions to some unexpected glitches (that were not his fault at all) that came up during the construction. He also insisted upon showing me all the receipts for materials so that I knew exactly what I was paying for labor and materials. He does not mark up material costs at all.
On a side note… While he was at my house I had a plumber come out for an estimate on plumbing in my kitchen, as I did not realize Bassel did plumbing as well. After the plumber left Bassel said what I needed to have done would only take him 15 minutes and that he’d be happy to go ahead and take care of it for me… no charge. I wanted to pay him and he refused saying it was no big deal. He then noticed a leak in my faucet and said he could replace that for me too if I picked up a new faucet… again no charge. I also noticed after he left one day that he had nailed in some molding that came loose. I was flabbergasted and so impressed… who does that? He is not about the money, he is about doing the right thing the right way.
All in all this was the best experience I have ever had with a contractor and I have already contacted Bassel for additional work which he will be doing next week. He is professional, more than fair and more than exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend him and his services! I’m so glad I found him on Unilocal!Kudos to Bassel!!!

Upon meeting Basel he set my mind at ease when I realized he is not about making money. Bassel is not only honest but is hardworking and will not stop until the sun goes down. He did an awesome job redesigning the brick work on my fireplace and installed a wood burning stove. He explained everything he was doing and I was with him to buy the materials I needed so I knew he wasn’t over charging me like other contractors probably would. Bassel will soon be remodeling my bathroom and I will surely call upon him for other home improvement needs.

I called for an estimate for a kitchen remodel, we scheduled an appointment for the next day. He called thirty minutes before the appointment to let me know he was on his way, soon after he arrived at the scheduled time. He is very professional and kept his appointment. I hate it when you schedule an appointment and you get a no call no show from contractors. I’m looking forward to having my remodel done soon by Bassel.

I just called this man for an estimate and he said he didn’t want to do it because it would be a waste of his time. I guess he only will come out if you are definitely going to use him.
If you don’t have a half an hour to invest in your business to try and grow it, I can see why you are having a hard time.
EDIT: Since reading the owner reply. You obviously have no idea what the entire story was. Your reply is is totally wrong. That is NOT why I needed an estimate. My client is a music producer based in Hollywood who was purchasing a home for his mother who is based in Rancho Cucamonga. He wanted to update the property as a gift to his mother with new paint, floors, kitchen and bathroom and other updates and changes. It had nothing to do with the loan or closing. Because the client did not know much about how to accomplish what he wanted to do, we were trying to help him out. If you had simply asked me the situation I would have told you instead of you making assumptions. I will be flagging your reply because everything you are saying is false except for the part about my profession. You are misrepresenting YOUR OWN actions as well as mine. Bottom line is, if you do not feel a job will be worth it, you will not even give an estimate. Tell your potential clients and callers that. You were rude on the phone, didn’t even let me get a word in. As soon as I told you who I was you said business was too bad for you to waste your time on a job that might never be done. Isn’t that what an estimate is? The possibility of being hired? So you saying that I asked you to come to Culver City is not true. It was for a property out in Rancho Cucamonga and since we did not know any contractors in the area, I consulted Unilocal for contractors in Rancho Cucamonga. After receiving a few estimates we went with American Heritage. Not as much work as we thought needed to be done but they still did the job.

We have had the pleasure of having Bassel work on a couple home projects for us. Notably, last summer he completely resurfaced the front exterior of our house. Our house used to have a plain plywood front, but Bassel suggested (completely his idea) the idea of covering it with Hardibacker siding boards. We were extremely pleased with how everything came out (it ended up having that classic clapboard look!) and had him replace much of the trim boards as well. After our house had a new paint job, it seriously looked like a new house! And I have the comfort of knowing that the Hardibacker material will last MUCH longer than standard plywood. I know that we got an amazing price and this job was done extremely professionally!
I’m most impressed with Bassel’s honesty. He has absolutely no problem showing you exactly how much the materials for your job cost (he’ll even show you receipts!) so you know exactly how much you are paying in labor. He also offers much better prices for his work than I’ve seen from other contractors. Another aspect of Bassel that I find impressive is that HE IS NOT AFRAID TO WORK IN HIS OWN NEIGHBORHOOD, which I think says a lot about the quality of work that he provides. In fact, he just recently installed new vinyl windows in our neighbor’s house and they look beautiful!