Emily and Julian

I am an architect at a well-known international firm, and I chose Kraydi Builders to renovate my own home. In my career, I’ve worked on projects for cultural institutions, high-end hotels, and major developers. Walid is easily one of the best building industry professionals I’ve ever worked with, and is better than most. He is an excellent general contractor, a masterful builder and an all-around wonderful person.

Our project included areas of gut renovation, structural work, an addition, new HVAC and some sort of impact on every inch of the house interior. As the leader of the work, Walid rose to every occasion and rolled with every new challenge, including those completely outside his control. Every time any issue arose, he was right there with a solution, turning frowns into smiles.

For example, our bathroom vanity had about seven different trades coming together, and three of these trades were not contracted under Walid (specialty plaster, custom wood cabinetry, stone countertop). When it all came together, the wall-mounted faucets were about an inch closer to the countertop than intended. The setup was fully functional but it didn’t quite look how I’d hoped it would look. Walid did not hesitate to bring everyone back in at the eleventh hour to make it right, and I’m grateful to him every morning when I wash my face.

It’s also worth noting that aside from his management skills, Walid is a master builder with a great eye for aesthetics. He made several important contributions to design decisions and demonstrated unusually creative thinking. I never felt that I had to compromise any of my dreams, even the more convoluted ones. He has a sharp eye for details and he regularly spotted things that I missed.

As a first-time homeowner of an older house, it can be a challenge to know which improvements should be tackled first. Walid was always level-headed and gave sound advice, even when it wasn’t in the interest of his profit: for example, when he recommended taking a wait-and-see approach on a few potential upgrades.

In addition to his own superlative conscientiousness, Walid is well supported by those around him. He brought in subs who proved to be friendly, smart and careful. Kraydi Builders (including office manager Kim) is a well-organized, reliable company, responding punctually and thoroughly to all administrative requests. At the same time, we never felt there were too many cooks in the kitchen, which can be a risk with larger companies.

Cost and schedule were perfectly reasonable. A lot did change during our design process, but we made it clear from the outset that we were prioritizing quality and perfection over adherence to the very first number and date. There were no big surprises and we felt in control of the schedule and cost, from start to finish.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Walid is a good person. He is warm and pleasant to be around, impeccably gracious, and unfailingly professional: in short, a true gentleman. A few months prior to the beginning of our renovation project, a huge tree fell on our house in a terrible storm. It was a scary situation, and time was of the essence, but it was almost impossible to get crews out because of the widespread damage in the city. With tensions high, I called Walid. Even though we did not yet have a contract, he was at my house within hours to assess the damage. His carpenters and electricians had us tarped up with power restored in no time. What could have taken weeks was accomplished in three days.

When you are making a major financial investment in your family’s happiness, to feel that you are in good hands is priceless. As an architect and homeowner, I can tell you that any architect or homeowner would be lucky to work with Kraydi Builders.