We kept an eye in the neighborhood for renovations that looked nice. Asked the neighbors about their experiences. Interviewed 3 (2 design build and one architect) chose one that worked out very well. Our experience matched our neighbors to a t. We knew what the issues would be and were prepared. Good quality work at the price we needed. We spoke with Landis (recommended above) and didn’t go with them but they were our second choice and I’m sure they would have been fine. They were more expensive than the one we went with, but would have probably been a bit more hands on. So we understood the trade off.

Find people who used them (word of mouth…see the signs and ask) and don’t rely on their references.

It is astonishing how few people do this. We used a firm and had a terrible experience and no one has ever asked us about it.

Ask the company you are interested in working with for references, and call them/ask to see their houses. We were able to visit a home the design build company was working on (just finishing up, family had moved out during renovation - I don't know if they knew others were in their home).

After, we asked about the finishes in the home we visited, and they proudly talked about those finishes (because they were within the allowances in the contract). We hated the finishes! Spouse is in commercial real estate, and he knew it was all cheap crap that was used throughout the home. We did not use that company.

Another company we interviewed gave us a list of clients to call, and then proceeded to bash about 2/3 of the people on the list as difficult in one way or another. We knew we didn't want to be on that list and bashed, so we didn't use them either.

This was in 2006, so while I remember our process, I don't remember the names of those companies. We interviewed 7 (all companies friends of ours had used and recommended), asked for bids from 3, and chose a small 2-person company that we would NEVER recommend

Anonymous wrote:Hi- I heard that a lot of these design build firms prevent you from leaving bad reviews if you part ways. Any experience either good or bad with any design build companies around here?

Look for all 5.0 on Google and then see if spaced out over the years. Dear giveaway

Also use Consumer Checkbook

We’ve used Landis Construction multiple times over the past 20 year and have always had a good experience.

Word of mouth. Ask around re friends and neighbors. I don’t trust any online reviews.

How could they prevent you from leaving a negative review?

Anonymous wrote:Hi- I heard that a lot of these design build firms prevent you from leaving bad reviews if you part ways.

Says who? Anti-disparagement clauses are not allowed in contracts in most states.

Search for specific ones on here, there is a lot of discussion on them. Who are you looking at? Where?

Hi- I heard that a lot of these design build firms prevent you from leaving bad reviews if you part ways. Any experience either good or bad with any design build companies around here?