Frequently asked
Twenty-four
straight
answers.
Including the ones most contractors would rather you asked after signing.
Money
5 questions
Kitchens run $48,000–$135,000, bathrooms $19,000–$52,000, additions $120,000–$410,000, and finished basements $34,000–$96,000. Those are our own signed contracts from the last two years, not national averages.
Yes. The number you sign is the number you pay unless you change the scope or we hit a written contingency — and contingencies are named, capped, and explained before you sign.
Ten per cent at signing. After that, progress draws are tied to completed and inspected milestones. You never pay for work that is not in place.
Design and engineering are billed at cost and credited back in full when you build with us. If you take the drawings elsewhere, you own them and you have paid a fair price.
We work alongside two local renovation lenders and supply the itemised scope documents they need. We do not originate or broker loans.
Schedule
4 questions
Six to ten weeks for kitchens and baths, twelve to sixteen for additions. Structural emergencies and active roof leaks jump the queue.
A late-finish credit is written into every contract. If we miss the substantial-completion date for reasons inside our control, you get money back per week.
Only by agreement. Standard hours are 7:30 to 16:30 Monday to Friday, with a daily clean-down before the crew leaves.
On most kitchens and baths, yes — we build dust walls, run negative air, and set up a temporary kitchen. On additions we will tell you honestly which weeks are unliveable.
Permits & code
4 questions
Always. Drawings, engineering stamps, applications, fees, and every inspection are ours. You will never call a building department.
Two to four weeks for straightforward Detroit kitchens and baths, four to eight for structural work and additions. Suburbs are usually faster. Real review time is built into your schedule.
We prepare material submittals and attend review hearings in West Village, Indian Village, Boston-Edison, and the Grosse Pointes.
Yes, but it has to be brought to code as part of the job. We will price the correction separately and in writing so you can decide.
The crew & the site
4 questions
Carpenters, tile setters, and superintendents are on our payroll. Trades we do not employ — typically HVAC and some electrical — are named companies printed in your contract.
Your superintendent, on his mobile, written on a card stuck to your fridge on day one. The office is a backstop, not a gatekeeper.
Sealed dust walls with zippered access, a negative-air machine on the work zone, floor protection on every route, and broom-clean at 16:00 daily.
Weekly photo log to your email, filed and archived. It is also how we settle any question about what happened when.
Old houses
4 questions
Common in pre-1940 Detroit stock and always replaced in the work zone. We carry a named electrical contingency and price the full rewire in writing within 48 hours of opening the wall.
Yes, with a structural engineer, a stamped drawing, and a permit. Beam, shoring, and engineering typically add $6,500–$18,000 depending on span.
Work stops in that zone immediately and a licensed abatement contractor gives a written price within 48 hours. Nothing is disturbed until it is handled properly.
Our shop reproduces Detroit-standard casing and base profiles. Bring us a twelve-inch offcut and we will match it.
Warranty
3 questions
Two years on workmanship, transferable if you sell the house. Manufacturer warranties on materials and appliances pass to you at closeout.
Call the office. Non-urgent items are batched into a scheduled return visit; anything involving water or safety is same or next day.
Damage from someone else’s later work in the same assembly, deferred maintenance, and acts of God. That is the whole list.
Still stuck
Ask a builder
directly.
Ade has priced 900 Detroit kitchens and will tell you on the phone if your scope and budget cannot meet. That call is free and takes six minutes.