We added on about 400 square feet to the back of our 1938 house, including a kitchen and a family room / bedroom with bath. The project started January 2003 and was completed mid-May.

Before the remodel, we had a small kitchen, about nine by ten, and so we went back 14 feet, extending the addition to 14 x 30. They had to knock down walls because this was the back of the house, and with the old plaster the dust was flying. Things got fairly dusty, but we survived it.

My sister, who’s lived out here 20 years or so, had North Star do several projects on her house. So when I was looking for contractors, she highly recommended them. I didn’t want to fool around [with other contractors] because we moved out here in ’99 and I had a lot of bad experience with some of the contractors out here on some siding jobs and other things, and I didn’t want to go thru what I went through with these other contractors. North Star seemed to be responsive, and I had heard from other people they were fully reliable, which absolutely counts for a lot, given my experiences. I understood at the time that I was no doubt paying more than some would charge. I probably could’ve gotten the work done cheaper, but I didn’t want to put up with the hassles.

What did NS do? They did a full renovation. In the kitchen they took up the old floor in order to match the surface to the new floor; they put in all the cabinetry, quite extensive work; they installed sink, dishwasher, garbage disposal, water filter, a hood over the stove, pretty much all new appliances.

North Star matched our flooring throughout to what was in the old house and used period doors that became available, so it’s hard to tell the addition is not part of the old house. I actually did some of the finish work myself, a lot of the moldings and trim and painting, which helped in matching the rest of the house.

The North Star crew showed up when they said they would, and if something happened I always had a phone call. Where there were add-ons or modifications to the design we spoke about them, and it was all agreed to and then carried out, no hassles at all.

They’re very honest folks, and you don’t get any kind of baloney or any delays or things you really don’t expect. Yes, troubles can happen especially when you have a lot of subcontractors; North Star’s few subs have been doing business with them for yrs, so they were kind of part of the family.