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About Us
10x Best of Houzz winner
Family owned
Washington DC Area Trusted General Contractor
9X Best of Houzz!
9X Best of Houzz!
Welcome to Cabin John Builders. We are a small volume custom builder specializing in renovations, addition and new custom home construction projects. From our convenient location in Cabin John, MD we proudly serve the Greater Washington DC Metro area. Please take a look around our internet home and see how enjoyable, open, honest and simple your major home construction project can be.
How We Work
One of our main goals in designing our process was to promote an open, honest, simple and collaborative environment for your custom construction project. Between the complicated nature of home construction and the years of distrust with the construction industry the resulting apprehension often creates an adversarial relationship and less than optimal results. We ask the simple question… Why does it have to be that way? Let’s change it together and make the process a joy for the whole team
Services Provided
Custom Homes, Home Additions, Home Extensions, Home Remodeling, New Home Construction
Areas Served
Alexandria, Arlington, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, DC (Washington), Dunn Loring, Fairfax, Falls Church, Gaithersburg, Great Falls, Idylwood, Kemp Mill, Langley Park, Lorton, North Bethesda, North Chevy Chase, North Kensington, North Potomac, Oakton, Potomac, Reston, Silver Spring, South Kensington, Springfield, Takoma Park, Travilah, Tysons Corner, Vienna, Washington, White Oak, Wolf Trap, Aspen Hill, Mclean, Rockville, Wheaton
Awards
Best of Houzz Design: 2013 and 2015 Best of Houzz Service: 2013, 2014, and 2015
Category
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Business Details
Business Name
Cabin John Builders
Phone Number
+1 301-637-3566
Website
Address
6410 82nd Place
Cabin John, MD 20818
Typical Job Cost
$300,000 - $5,000,000
While we work on various sizes of custom construction projects typically our renovation and addition projects are in the $250,000 - $1,000,000 range and new custom homes range from $800,000 to $3,000,000
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Featured Review
We recently made the VERY smart decision to hire CJB for our kitchen renovation for our suburban Maryland home. Off the top, you should know their attention to quality and detail cannot be matched except by there customer service which is A-M-A-Z-I-NRead Full Review
23 Reviews for Cabin John Builders
Newest first
Steven Moskowitz
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars
We recently made the VERY smart decision to hire CJB for our kitchen renovation for our suburban Maryland home. Off the top, you should know their attention to quality and detail cannot be matched except by there customer service which is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. We have used other companies in the past offering cheaper prices and or faster timelines, and it showed in their quality. I have a bit of OCD (I measured angles on the cabinets, looked for gaps in the trim, spacing of the hardware etc...) and EVERYTHING was perfect.
Neal (the Project Manager) and Josh (Operations Lead) are both very transparent and always speak realistically. They gave us hard messages like “we can push the timeline but you won’t like how it turns out” or “you can go lower end on material but it won’t look the same or last” with grace and understanding.
They helped us evaluate and select options in terms of design (we moved everything), cabinet styles and manufacturers including construction and finish, appliance advice across any and all high end manufacturers (Ge profile, thermador, sub zero, blue star etc), and even gave us design input through their internal design group.
In addition, we uncovered a serious problem with our exterior doors (we have 4 French doors off the back of our house) where we discovered they were leaking and the subfloor was rotted out) and they added that on to our renovation without any issue or delay. They just brought in another crew to and knocked it out in 2 days - including modifying the headers to fit a larger door.
In summary - if you want quality, hire CJB. If you want someone to give you REAL input, hire CJB. If you want a full service business with some VERY high end clientele and the outcomes to match, hire CJB.
We are having them back to do more as soon as we settle on plans for a 3 season room, a new deck, and an additional 2 car garage/rec room. Before and after photos attached (sorry not the best photographer).
27 December 2019
mdrenovation2019
Average rating: 1 out of 5 stars
We had an unfortunate experience working with CJB on a renovation of our suburban Maryland home in 2018/2019. My wife and I have done major renovation work with contractors in our past homes, and this was the most problematic experience we have encountered. One major issue was CJB’s poor quality standards and quality control of subcontractors. For example, CJB hired an HVAC firm to install a new heat pump and create separate zones for our second and third floors, however the duct work was not configured properly and so the air flow was not separated correctly by zone, resulting in 10+ degree heat differentials between 2nd and 3rd floors. CJB did not check this when installed and once the issue was identified decided this was a “warranty issue” and refused to engage with the subcontractor to fix it. The subcontractor acknowledged to me that it was incorrectly installed and eventually corrected it, but only after I had to call them 10+ times and meet with them five times myself – exactly what we hired a general contractor for and paid them a large percentage of the contract. CJB and their electrician installed ceiling fans for our bathrooms and accidentally put incorrect ones in two different bathrooms (one bathroom with a shower needed humidifier controls and the other did not as it is a powder room with no need for humidifier adjustment). CJB and the electrician acknowledged the mistake (which was clearly documented in CJB’s online project system), but refused to swap the fans back and even refused to have a conversation to explain their rationale. Multiple finishings in our fine home were done poorly – for example, all new fireplace hearths and new wood floors were installed, but they did not line up and CJB stuck wood putty in to fill the gaps which looked terrible. We had to push them hard to come up with an acceptable work around. The paint job throughout the house was done poorly by a subcontractor with really no quality control from CJB, leaving us to identify all the issues and deal with the painter to address them. Another problematic area was CJB’s poor processes with subcontractors and vendors. On multiple occasions we spent many hours with vendors, some of whom were preferred CJB vendors, defining in great detail a specific set of stone selections and where they go, hardware selections, etc… After nailing that down with the vendor, CJB would then translate all the detail into a completely different format for their online system, often making errors along the way which we would then have to review and correct for them. This led to delays in ordering materials and many extra hours of our time to review their revised specifications and correct them (after having done that directly with the vendors). We have never had to duplicate efforts like this in past contracting relationships and it was both very time consuming and frustrating. There were some bright spots in the project, including CJB’s in-house carpenter who made some nice built-ins and their preferred kitchen cabinet company (Stuart Kitchens) who did a great job working with us on the kitchen design and cabinets. Overall, however, this was a painful, painful experience which required us to spend many extra hours doing quality control and pushing CJB to do things which a general contractor should take ownership over themselves.
18 December 2019
Jane Hsiao
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars
I agree with the reviewer who said, “There are not enough stars here….” “Astounded” does not begin to describe how impressed we were when CJB built us a new home in Takoma Park. They exceeded our expectations in any number of ways, crafting a home that is handsome, elegant, and extremely well made. We experience a kind of serenity coming home to a gorgeous house that feels solid, secure, and enduring.
Other people have written reviews about CJB’s excellence in building. All those things are true of our experience as well. The quality of workmanship throughout our house is remarkable, every detail crafted with care and patience. From the exceptionally narrow grout lines between the bathroom tiles to the spectacular hardwood floors, everything is finely made to be both handsome and lasting.
But what I really want to emphasize in this review is that when you work with Cabin John Builders, you are not hiring an impersonal company to do a job for the money. Rather, you get to work with Josh and Neal Rosenthal, awesome people who really love to build high quality houses, to get things exactly right, and to make people happy through practicing their craft.
Josh and Neal are both incredibly hard working, upbeat, honest, and decent. In addition, they are both freakily smart and knowledgeable about building. In meetings to plan our house, when we asked if this or that could be done, they never said, “I don’t know about that” or “Let me look into it.” They just knew the answers right away. Once work started, in addition to a thorough knowledge of the big picture stuff like foundation, wiring and plumbing, they carried around in their heads the tiniest details of our project like the exact depth of the built-in bookcases in the front room, or the three different kinds of refrigerators we were considering along with possible colors for each one.
Josh and Neal were always available right away for whatever we needed. If we wanted a meeting, they could do it first thing tomorrow. If we emailed a question, an answer came within minutes. Although CJB was working on a number of simultaneous projects, it always seemed like we were their exclusive clients.
Josh and Neal always seemed to be enjoying their jobs. Working alongside people who have enthusiasm for all aspects of building was delightful. Josh and Neal were consistently supportive, patient, pleasant, gracious. Even when we were worried or anxious about a decision, we felt that Neal and Josh were always right there with us, determined to wrestle down any obstacle in order to make something lasting and beautiful that would please us. When we changed our minds or wanted something unusual, Josh and Neal were never impatient or annoyed. They didn’t see an aggravating problem but an opportunity to solve an entertaining little puzzle. If we wanted a quirky little item that they hadn’t implemented before, it wasn’t an unrealistic demand but a chance to add new expertise to their store of building knowledge.
CJB was astonishingly accommodating and flexible. We wanted any number of exceptional features to personalize our home. Whatever unique items we wanted, CJB incorporated them so that our home is a reflection of our individual loves and tastes. Whether it was researching and installing an unusual and immense Rumford fireplace or including a special under-the-counter compost bin, CJB gave us a home that reflects who we are and what we care about.
For example, when we fell in love with a magnificent European stargazing skylight that had been installed only once in the United States, we got the second one in our home. When our kids wanted Ninja-star coat hooks, they appeared in the mudroom cubbies. An elevator so that we could “age in place”? No problem. If we wanted extra time to shop for special features exactly to our taste, it was always fine. If we needed to make one last trip to Home Depot to examine 20 more different shades of yellow, the painters miraculously adjusted their schedules.
Nowhere was Josh and Neal’s patience and willingness to accommodate more evident than when it came to painting the interior. We had envisioned a particularly complicated color scheme. CJB encouraged us to choose exactly what we wanted even though I’m sure it was a huge hassle and cost them a lot of extra staff time. Neal spent hours and hours walking through the house with us and marking by hand every single wall, trim, window, baseboard, etc. in every room to be sure that the result was just what we wanted. In one room, our colors were so complicated they couldn’t be described in the standard room-colors chart the painters use. So CJB created, just for this one room, a personalized organizational format to communicate to the painters the precise location of each color.
Construction of the house appeared to occur with flawless coordination and scheduling. There were no delays because the electrician wasn’t available or the plumbers didn’t have the right equipment. When I talk to other people who have renovated or built, they always complain about the delays, the scheduling hassles, the awful permitting process, the mistakes contractors made. We experienced none of that whatsoever.
For example, we wanted an unusual and very large fireplace that required coordination with an out of town contractor traveling to the area to do some work. CJB took care of contacting the company, coordinating fireplace installation with the other construction elements going on, and, of course, making sure that the house design incorporated what this particular contractor needed for the special chimney and ventilation the fireplace required. I’m sure this was all very complicated but the implementation was flawless.
Josh and Neal went above and beyond the call of duty to get things done for us.
Once weather troubles threatened to make it impossible to install the driveway before freezing temperatures. Neal somehow got the driveway company to show up and do the work at a time of year when they normally would have closed up shop for the winter. This extra effort on their part avoided a tremendous personal inconvenience for us. It would have been easy for Cabin John to blame the weather and say there was nothing to be done about the problem. But they went the extra mile and, if there was an additional cost to CJB, we didn’t hear about it.
When the house was finished, we were given this superbly organized file box with all the handbooks and technical material on our appliances, furnace, generator, elevator, electrical equipment, etc. -- all in labeled folders with phone numbers to call if we needed help. Josh and Neal also insisted that they were not really saying goodbye. They consider our home their responsibility and if we had any problems, they would be right over to help us.
We highly recommend a custom built home if you care about personalized high quality design and workmanship. It’s the difference between owning a unique handmade piece of furniture and a buying a less expensive mass-produced item. It was particularly delightful to work with people animated by a love of their craft. We know that Josh and Neal will be equally excited at every opportunity to bring their artistry and ingenuity to a new and splendid creation.
30 July 2017
ccrenovation
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars
We hired Cabin John Builders to do an extensive house renovation. Cabin John Builders (CJB) was by far the best company we worked with throughout the entire project. From the proposal, the contract, the pre-construction permitting process, the material selection process, the construction of the home, all the way through to the punch list, CJB (and all of their staff) were attentive to detail, professional, and truly committed to building a quality home. No detail was too small, no corners were cut and when we ran into unexpected issues with the house, they kept us informed and adapted quickly. They were responsive to our many questions and communication was frequent.
After we moved into our home, a number of our new neighbors commented on how well they thought the project was run during construction. If you are building a custom home or renovating a house I recommend CJB without reservation. They won't consider your project just another job, they take pride in their work and it shows.
5 January 2016
noragordon
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars
CJB did an excellent job with a two-story addition and lots of remodeling of existing interior. Totally professional, great communications, attention to timeline and budget. Josh and Neal are great at helping you to think about your specific needs and budget trade-offs. All staff and subs were great. I have never done a project like this before and expected to dread it. In fact it was kind of fun and the house is beautiful! Highly recommend.
18 December 2015
Comment from Cabin John Builders:
Thank you so much for your kinds words. It was truly a pleasure getting to know your family and "build" your new home with you all. Wishing you and the family years of joy and happiness in the new house, may it serve you well!
Cabin John built our beautiful new house recently, and we can't say enough about Cabin John – they are absolutely amazing. They are so very responsive and really understand the value of solid communication. They get that we are amateurs and that they are the experts and that we rely on them for their expertise and guidance. They take this role seriously and are awfully good at it. It’s also a family business and the family members who are in it together are all quite a great team. In addition, because Cabin John is established, they actually have a whole team of framers and tradesmen who have worked for them for years. Thus, the foreman on site is a real extension of the two brothers, one of whom is on site a whole lot as well. They even have an interior designer who handles all orders and appointments with vendors, which minimized unnecessary processes and saved us a lot of time and headaches. The project was done on time, even during the one of the worse winters we had, with everything we desired to have, and within the budget.
Thanks Cabin John for the truly amazing custom build experience and your continuing customer service to make sure we are taken care of in the first year of the build.
John & Rachel
28 August 2015Last modified: 28 August 2015
Stacy Isenberg
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Trustworthy, Professional, and Innovative. These are three words that come to mind when I think of Cabin John Builders (CJB). Recently my family moved into a house in Potomac, MD. We purchased the property from the original owner who kept the house in great shape, but there were a few things we wanted to do before we moved in. Without hesitation, I called Neal and Josh at CJB to come take a look at our new place. Paint, refinish a few wood floors, install some pocket lights, take down some wood paneling and replace it with drywall were some of the small projects we decided to do. But build a mudroom out of a wasted space near the garage and turn two small closets into one massive dressing room were things my husband and I could not imagine. Josh and Neal have great vision and an out-of-the- box type approach as well as being a great “sounding board” for ideas that homeowners have. Some ideas we proposed to them they liked and agreed with, other they questioned and provided us with options we did not even think of. If you are planning on doing any kind of home renovation, I would call Neal and Josh from CJB first because they are going to be the most honest and extremely professional. They were outstanding to work with and I would referrer them 100 times over.
18 June 2015Last modified: 18 June 2015
Comment from Cabin John Builders:
Stacy - Thank you so much for your kind words. It was a pleasure working with you all and we wish you and your family years of happiness in your new home!
danrapoport
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Very positive experience. We completely gutted and rebuilt a historical Kalorama house. The Rosenthal brothers were most professional and easy to work with. Everything was done to our satisfaction in accordance with our wishes.
When working with a general contractor you can pick any two out of three: Fast, Cheap, or High Quality.
Overall pleased with the CBJ work and their follow up. Strongly recommend.
23 March 2015Last modified: 23 March 2015
Comment from Cabin John Builders:
Dan - Thanks so much for the kind words. We are thrilled with how your home turned out and hope you are pleased with it for years to come!
totalnatsnut
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars
We hired Cabin John Builders to help us plan and build a renovation and addition to home we purchased as a fixer upper. Of course trying to find the right contractor to partner with is a stressful process, but we are so happy we choose to work with CJB! Josh and Neal guided us through the whole process making sure the project met our needs and goals. We really liked having the BuilderTrend system online so we could see our selections, schedule, changes etc, anytime we wanted. Jobsite was clean, the project was done on schedule and we LOVE our new house!
19 March 2015Last modified: 26 March 2015
Comment from Cabin John Builders:
Thanks so much. Was such a pleasure working with your whole family to build your "new to you" dream home.
missmarijo
Average rating: 1 out of 5 stars
I hired Cabin John Builders for my town home renovation in December 2012. The project involved installation of hardwood flooring, recessed lighting, custom bookshelves and painting. CJB was recommended to me because of the budget I had.
Beware, Josh does not stand behind the work. If you have a problem with the work of one of his subs (in my case, the flooring "expert") he will not make it right, even if he agrees that there is a large and worsening problem. When the supplier of the flooring would not pay for the replacement because the chipping and splintering did not exceed a certain percentage they deemed under warranty, Josh walked away, as did his sub, Jimmy. Either of them could have done the right thing--replaced the floor or refunded my roughly $6000--but they refused. I've had many, larger projects under a general contractor in the past (John R. Salmons, Sr.) and I wish I had paid the extra money to have the job done correctly. Always, always, you get what you pay for.
8 March 2015
Comment from Cabin John Builders:
Marijo,
I am very sorry that you are so disappointed in the look of the pre-finished floors that were installed in your home and how they are aging. To date we have tried very hard to work with you to resolve this and are happy to continue the discussion.
You are correct that when you first brought the issue to our attention that I agreed there was cause for further investigation/review to make sure the floors were performing as expected and worked hard to ensure your concerned were investigated. We came out to look at the floor on your request at least 5 times including visits with the installer, product manufacturer (who issues the warranty on the product) and an independent inspector to try to see what the problem was and how it could be addressed. As you allude to to in your review all of these people including the flooring manufacturer confirmed the floors were installed correctly and that the finish was performing within its specifications. Based on this we did let you know that there was no grounds/reason to replace the floor as it was performing as expected and even with a new floor we would not expect a much different result/performance. Understanding that you were still not pleased with the look, despite the technical data, which is understandable we offered to re-finish the floors at no cost as an attempt to resolve this matter. You chose to decline this alternative and held firm that only full replacement would do which unfortunately we are not able to provide.
I feel it is a bit disingenuous to suggest we were chosen solely based on budget as the reality of the situation was there was an EXTREMELY tight timeline to get work completed between when you purchased the home and when you needed to move in for the holidays which you said was priority #1 and we were able to accommodate it. From the very first discussion I raised the flooring as the major concern/problem in terms of the timing as the few weeks just did not allow for sand in place wood floors to be installed. We also discussed that sand in place floors are what we typically install and greatly prefer for several reasons especially for clients such as yourself with larger dogs. However given the time requirements we all agreed that the only way to get the project accomplished was to use a pre-finished floor. We agreed this was the path that would be taken and installed the flooring as specified/selected. Given the fact that we mostly install sand and finish in place wood floors we made sure to include several resources in the review and evaluation of the product once your raised concerns to make sure it was getting a fair evaluation.
More than anything I am disappointed that despite our efforts to date you are not pleased with Cabin John Builders. Our offer to re-finish the floors certainly still stands as we want you to love your new home and feel good about the work.
I am very sorry that you are so disappointed in the look of the pre-finished floors that were installed in your home and how they are aging. To date we have tried very hard to work with you to resolve this and are happy to continue the discussion.
You are correct that when you first brought the issue to our attention that I agreed there was cause for further investigation/review to make sure the floors were performing as expected and worked hard to ensure your concerned were investigated. We came out to look at the floor on your request at least 5 times including visits with the installer, product manufacturer (who issues the warranty on the product) and an independent inspector to try to see what the problem was and how it could be addressed. As you allude to to in your review all of these people including the flooring manufacturer confirmed the floors were installed correctly and that the finish was performing within its specifications. Based on this we did let you know that there was no grounds/reason to replace the floor as it was performing as expected and even with a new floor we would not expect a much different result/performance. Understanding that you were still not pleased with the look, despite the technical data, which is understandable we offered to re-finish the floors at no cost as an attempt to resolve this matter. You chose to decline this alternative and held firm that only full replacement would do which unfortunately we are not able to provide.
I feel it is a bit disingenuous to suggest we were chosen solely based on budget as the reality of the situation was there was an EXTREMELY tight timeline to get work completed between when you purchased the home and when you needed to move in for the holidays which you said was priority #1 and we were able to accommodate it. From the very first discussion I raised the flooring as the major concern/problem in terms of the timing as the few weeks just did not allow for sand in place wood floors to be installed. We also discussed that sand in place floors are what we typically install and greatly prefer for several reasons especially for clients such as yourself with larger dogs. However given the time requirements we all agreed that the only way to get the project accomplished was to use a pre-finished floor. We agreed this was the path that would be taken and installed the flooring as specified/selected. Given the fact that we mostly install sand and finish in place wood floors we made sure to include several resources in the review and evaluation of the product once your raised concerns to make sure it was getting a fair evaluation.
More than anything I am disappointed that despite our efforts to date you are not pleased with Cabin John Builders. Our offer to re-finish the floors certainly still stands as we want you to love your new home and feel good about the work.
Allentuck Landscaping Co.
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars
We have had the pleasure of working for Cabin John Builders and working along side them with their clients. Besides being a pleasure to work with, their craftsmanship and extremely high level of customer service is very impressive. The homes they build are beautiful and make our job, as landscapers, fun to create fun to create and design landscapes around.
13 November 2014
Mangan Group Architects
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars
We are architects who have had the pleasure to work with Cabin John Builders on several occasions. They have been wonderful to work with from an architects point of view. They are knowledgeable, creative, they embrace technology, and they bring a great deal of energy and value to what has become a very collaborative process.
Josh does a wonderful job on the front end of guiding the design with a sensitivity to budget, without sacrificing design intent, and Neal a wonderful job on the back end guiding things through construction.
We are always relieved when we are working with Cabin John Builders, and I would recommend them to anyone who is looking for a high quality builder with a great sense of value and practicality.
6 November 2014
Sarah
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars
AMAZING building professionals! We hired Cabin John Builders to do a full renovation and addition to our 1951 colonial home. We added onto to each level and more than doubled the size of the house. We did all new plumbing and electrical, new wood floors, new driveway with detached garage, new concrete walkway, stone porch, deck, recessed lights and new light fixtures throughout house. All new doors, windows, roof, insulation, hardy plank siding, gutters, painted exterior brick, interior crown moldings and decorative trim. New gourmet kitchen. All new bathrooms. Custom built-ins in the dining room, office and mudroom. 2 new gas fireplaces. Finished basement with 9' ceilings and new exterior walk up staircase. New retaining wall and fence in backyard. And new whole house gas generator.
From the start, CJB kept our construction moving seamlessly on schedule - they actually finished our project a couple weeks ahead of schedule, which is really impressive given all of the snow this winter! They maintained great communication with us, promptly answering our phone calls and emails. We made a few small changes to our architect's plans and they helped us every step of the way. Their website was useful for us to review selections and track our budget. Their workers were highly experienced and hardworking. We truly can't say enough good things about them. From top to bottom, our house looks beautiful and well done. My husband and I would highly recommend Cabin John Builders. A big thank you to Josh and Neal and the rest of your crew. You all exceeded our expectations in many ways and we totally love our new home! CJB provided us with a huge amount of guidance and hand holding throughout our project. That level of service was sincerely appreciated and really set them far above any contractor we have ever used before. We will definitely use them again for our future construction needs.
20 March 2014Last modified: 21 March 2014
mlandweber
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars
We hired Cabin John Builders (CJB) to do a major renovation of our 1922 home. The to do list was long: gut and remodel 5 bathrooms (including master bath), finish basement, add master closet, add hall closet, add built-ins to living room, rebuild mantle and re-face fireplace hearth, tear down and re-build entryway, upgrade lighting in kitchen, study, dining room, front hall, living room, and master bedroom, create first-floor laundry room, re-finish wood floors, and interior and exterior painting. CBJ provided outstanding service and craftsmanship in all aspects of the process. Phone calls and emails were promptly returned; work progressed steadily without any unexplained gaps or absences; sub-contractors were phased in and out seamlessly; and all work was completed on schedule and to our satisfaction. The owners of this family business were intimately involved in every aspect of the project. We would highly recommend CJB to anyone looking to do a renovation.
1 December 2013
Cabin John builders were great! The quality of work was fantastic. Josh was helpful and readily available throughout the entire process. The workers were curtious and made a point to ensure the work site was cleaned up at the end of each days' work.
14 November 2013
riki76
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Cabin John Builders built a second story addition to my one-story home and did a significant amount of remodeling to the bottom floor. They added 2 finished upstairs bathrooms, changed the floor plan to the kitchen and totally redesigned the look and functionality of my home. Hopefully there will be some before/after photos which will speak for themselves. It was a big project. My family moved out for 6 months while they worked. They finished to the day of when they had promised. I enjoyed the interactive online calendar that told me exactly what they were doing and when it would be complete. They were never far from their scheduled tasks so I always knew what they were doing. I moved out over the winter holiday. They broke ground the day after New Years. I said I needed it done by summer, and they delivered. We moved back in June and we could not be happier.
The architectural drawings, which were done beautifully by New Leaf Collaborative (John and Marilyn Burroughs), were perfectly executed to create exactly the home I had imagined. I could not be happier with the final results and I get complements daily from all our neighbors. Josh is extremely personable and easy to work with. I began this project on my own with two young children so it was vital to have someone who I could rely on and felt comfortable with. Josh walked through each step with me, taking care to explain things in detail and with total transparency. I felt in control of the entire process down to every selection. At the same time, I was not overwhelmed with the project due to the work of his very talented assistant who was spot-on in choosing options for me 99% of the time and very efficient with ordering items I selected myself. They had an amazing feel for my tastes and style. His office always responded to me immediately via email or text. It made the entire process enjoyable, low stress, and often very exciting-especially to see your selections installed. It would be impossible not to become friends with the entire staff of Cabin John Builders. Josh and Neil (brothers) are both people I just enjoy talking to and they work very well together. Their team is comprised of stand-up professionals who are meticulous and extremely hardworking. My neighbors commented on how clean the site was each and every day. One of the nicest things from my perspective was that each day I saw progress. The work ethic was very apparent. They took pride in what they were doing and wanted it done to the highest standards. It was all action, forward motion and positive attitude. There was never a time when I felt a lag in the project. If we hit a stumbling block, it was quickly conveyed to me, and dealt with. Many were astounded by the pace, and still others would stop by to comment on the attention to detail. My uncle who is a builder was extremely impressed by things that I would not have noticed and said it was all done to very high standards, crossing all the T's and so on. Most construction projects have a few snags, but we did not run into anything major. On occasions when we had to negotiate a change order, or alter things, I found Josh to be honest, direct, and fair. He listened to me, followed through and was always responsive to any and all concerns I had. Furthermore he made recommendations that I absolutely love and would not have known about. For example, special tile flooring that is unique and pebble flooring for our master shower, an amazing light fixture that people all love when they come in. These are details that demonstrated that he knew what I liked and helped me to build a better home than I would have by finding interesting and unique products. He is always thinking and clearly enjoys building an amazing space that reflects the style of the person he is working for. I really appreciated this since I did not have a lot of time to research things and find everything on my own. It amuses me that often the things people like the best are things they found or suggested, but it was definitely a collaborative process and if you want something just so, they do it perfectly. I love the beadboard "mudroom" area by my door. My kids things are no longer all over the floor when they come home from school. That was something I mentioned on our first meeting and they did it exactly as I asked-same with the built-ins which are beautiful, and the closets which were also custom designed and are fantastic. Many customized touches that make it feel very much my own and unique. Despite the customized touches, nothing went over budget except things I decided I wanted to add, like a paved pathway to the door. The costs were all out in the open, no surprises. I could not recommend Josh more highly as a skilled professional and motivated individual. In every respect Cabin John Builders was aiming to please, and succeeded. I will definitely use them again in any future projects down the road, but for now I am just enjoying my very new-feeling and gorgeous home!
25 July 2013
There simply are not enough stars here to express our great satisfaction with Cabin John Builders (CJB). They took our kitchen renovation to a level of excellence that left us very, very happy. Josh, Neal, Buddy, Ray, and the extended CJB team were so professional and so steadfastly committed to customer service and quality that we think they're in a category of their own.
At the outset, what we found so helpful was their service-oriented approach to our project. Our lives are hectic, but Josh and Neal worked around them, meeting us at our home or on the phone. Their approach was to minimize the legwork and worry on our part, and they did so by listening to our needs, formulating and presenting ideas for us to assess, and counseling us on the best approach for our kitchen.
In essence, they became our trusted advisors. They told us when we were "over-thinking" an item (and risking over-spending for that item), and they counseled us on the spectrum of issues associated with design, colors, patterns, cabinet construction, and quality. In every aspect of the project, every step of the way, they took the time to explain matters in detail so that we could make thoughtful choices. They helped us avoid useless side-trips; in fact, the only external activity that we had to undertake was an hour-and-a-half meeting with Justin, the kitchen designer on CBJ's team, so that we could review his plans and pick-out cabinets.
Regarding the kitchen design, we found the design developed by the CJB team artistic and practical, drafted in such a way as to maximize our useable space without sacrificing style, clean sight lines, and a sense of proportion. After istening to our needs, the CJB team offered practical advice on the best cabinets, hardware, and appliances that would fulfill our expectations.
We were pleased that CJB consistently maintained open lines of communication so that we could have our questions answered whenever they arose, or so that we could address any hiccups along the way. For example, one night during the renovation, we had a question about the counter design, and we received an email back from Josh while he was at the Kennedy Center (honestly, we didn't pressure him; he was just that dedicated and concerned).
We appreciated that CJB identified a budget that met our expectations and a realistic schedule, and aside from instances beyond their control, they stayed on or ahead of schedule. They paid close attention to the quality of their work. The craftsmen were dedicated professionals and did not leave the project until it was completed properly and we were satisfied. We also appreciated the small things the CJB team would do, like feed the fish when we weren't in the house. They were so pleasant and treated our home with great care.
In sum, we were very thankful to have worked with the good people at CJB. We were much more than satisfied with the results, and we look forward to working with them on our next project.
26 June 2013
My wife and I hired Cabin John Builders (CJB) to renovate our home. We recently sold our town home and were looking for a single family home for our growing family. I knew that we could not afford a move-in ready home with the level of detail we wanted, but I knew that I could renovate an older home to get what we wanted. Throughout our purchase process to the design and actual construction and through completion, CJB was with us the entire way. To put it simply - if you are thinking about renovating a home or doing any home construction project and you don't use CJB, well, you didn't hire the best.
The work that CJB did was spectacular. The professionalism and the workers they brought in were superb - and for the budget we had and what we wanted - we were able to build the home of our dream, but we couldn't have done it without CJB. Did we stay on budget - yes. Were we on time - yes. Were there areas that my wife and I went above budget - yes and any delays that were had to this project can only be attributed to the results of changes we made and not because of anything CJB did or did not do.
We absolutely love our home and the only reason we were able to have the home we have is because of the vision, dedication and quality of the work that CJB provides. CJB will forever be use used on any future project we do and my wife and I will be forever grateful to them for building us a home we love.
28 January 2013Last modified: 14 June 2013
judymadden
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Cabin John Builders designed, crafted, painted, and installed two large built-in units for our DC condominium. They also completed several smaller carpentry projects -- including a closet reorganization and installation of shelves in a 100 year old armoire to convert it to a linen closet.
The quality of the carpentry was outstanding. The units are thoughtfully designed to be both attractive and functional. They were so well installed that they look like they have always been part of the apartment, and their interior design has significantly increased our storage capacity.
Besides delivering skilled construction, the Cabin John crews were exceptional. Everyone -- from the carpenters to the painters -- was extremely professional and polite. They arrived on time and worked steadily each day, ensuring timely completion of the units. It was clear that they were striving for excellence, for they repeatedly checked in with us to be sure we were pleased with the work as it progressed. Questions were immediately addressed, and any minor issues were promptly remedied. The painters delighted us with their thorough clean-up. I think our apartment was cleaner after they painted than before!
We highly recommend Cabin John Builders for quality construction work delivered on time and on budget.
14 January 2013
We selected CJB for a renovation after a dishwasher leak caused major damage to both our kitchen and basement. We are not only pleased with the results, but were impressed with how CJB planned all the work around our family schedule ensuring we were 'out' of our kitchen for a minimal number of days. Josh & Neal's team was extremely professional and dependable and their craftsman's ship shows in the finished projects. Their attention to details is unmatched. Charles & Stephanie - Sterling, VA
12 October 2012Last modified: 11 August 2013
Restoration and addition to 1912 four-square house. Two floor, 12-foot addition and overall gut of entire house. Lowered basement floor, underpinning of house.
Personalized, highly attentive, detail oriented, smart builders. We were thrilled with their knowledge, expertise, professionalism, attention to detail, creativity, teamwork, subs, and cost. On time, on budget. Rare to have such a positive renovation experience with a builder. We have recommended them to all of our friends.
29 August 2012
We had a really tight (probably unrealistic) timeline to replace all of our floors and knock out some walls and repaint before we moved into our new house. Another contractor we spoke with (Case Design) said it would be tight and was going to charge us much more. Josh gave us some very helpful advice about layout and suggested additional elements we hadn't thought of but turned out to be big improvements over what we had originally had in mind. His team followed all of our condo association's rules and completed everything on time--we moved in to a perfectly redone and extremely clean house. Would definitely hire them again.
27 June 2012
carriembooth
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Cabin John Builders was absolutely amazing to work with on the remodel of our entire basement. It was such a pleasure to design the space with them and then watch them execute each step with perfectionism and grace. We couldn’t ask for more personal attention and friendly service. Our basement is everything we had hoped for and our children will be thanking CJB for many years to come! We certainly wouldn’t hesitate to use them again for future projects. We have definitely found our preferred builder! Thank you so much Josh and Neal. You rock!!!
27 June 2012
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