Although the end product is decent overall, getting there was an uphill battle all of the way. Cress advertises as a full service company but there was nowhere near enough oversight of the project for quality control. The main craftsman was very difficult to deal with and although his work was of a high standard in the beginning, it slipped dramatically by the end, and our designer never seemed to take an active interest in the project. Some of the subcontractors were good and some were not - for example, the dry wallers were excellent, but we put in a very expensive natural stone backsplash and the standard of tiling was awful. It was too risky to take it out for fear of damaging cabinets and granite, so we are stuck with it. The hardwood floor was a terrible standard and took many tries to get to an acceptable level. Overall, the 8-10 week project (as quoted initially) was just completed after 5.5 months. \r
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Before they started work we asked Cress to pull a permit on our behalf (a very normal thing to do) and when the day came to do that, the designer stood back and let the craftsman ask us why we were pulling a permit and talk us out of it (even though we were doing major structural work, plumbing, electrical – you name it). That was a huge mistake. A licensed and reputable firm should pull permits for every job. It protects everyone, but mostly the homeowner to ensure the work is of a high standard and legal. When we realized our mistake we told them we would permit it retrospectively and they tried to stop us.\r
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There were many painful fights during the project to get an acceptable quality end result. Perhaps the most painful was dealing with Jim, one of the owners. He is arrogant, condescending, and has no idea how to speak or deal with customers. He even tried to bully us to pay him $5,000 more than we owed - before the work was anywhere near complete. As mentioned, the kitchen designer did not take enough ownership to ensure the project was going smoothly, and there was very little proactive communication and problem solving, which you would expect for a project of this size. I would not recommend Cress. It was far too painful and lengthy of a process, and much of the work was not the standard you would expect until we fought (hard) to have it fixed. Even now there are places where we were simply too worn down by the experience to continue arguing, but that are not completed to the level you would expect at the price piont. \r
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No reputable firm should question a customer that wants a permit. Ever. With the benefit of hindsight I can't imagine a bigger red flag to moving forward with a contractor.\r
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