We retained Rauf and Start to act as general contractor to renovate the main floor of our restored century home. It involved enclosing exterior space from an old porch and converting it to interior living space, removing a wall between our dining room and kitchen, and then rebuilding this area into a combined open room. In addition to all normal things such as demolition, installing of new insulation, framing, drywall, electrical and plumbing, the antique oak wood paneling, oak door frames and oak baseboard had to be recreated in new sections and new doorways using the reclaimed antique wood from the demolition. An old doorway from the paneled hallway had to be closed in, paneled, and stained to match the existing finishes such that it looked like it had always been there. 100-year-old iron plumbing pipes from our hot water radiator heating running down the middle of the removed wall had to be rerouted in the available ceiling and floor joist cavities. An exterior door had to be filled in and the exterior side to match the exterior of the house seamlessly. All this was done magnificently!
Last, Rauf constructed an addition to our main floor which had to be built to match the existing 100-year-old restored house, inside and out, again, so you could not tell an addition had been made. An exterior wall and door had to be removed to gain access to this new space. Again, all this was done masterfully!
Rauf was the perfect guy for our job. He is dependable, honest, his attention to detail is unmatched and his work ethic is of the highest standard. Raul fixed things he found behind our 100-year-old walls, floors, and ceilings (e.g., replacing joists) without charging us more.
Our entire main floor was also refreshed with a new paint job and his electrician wired our 60A new hot tub.
On the first day his crew was working we were surprised that they were listening to piano concertos on their sound machine. He discussed literature and philosophy with his painter, spoke several languages fluently with his various subs and became one of our family. We got him a birthday cake a month or so into our job.
I could not recommend Rauf more highly. His work is truly outstanding, his attention to detail is unparalleled, his communication and style transparent, his personality and demeanor is kind and respectful, he keeps to timelines meticulously and his pricing is fair.
You cant go wrong hiring Rauf. We have been recommending him to all our friends.
I attach before and after photos.