Neill & Lee Contractors

This review is not intended to provide input to their work, but more for their customer service, or the lack of…
The gist of it is that they came to our condo and gave us a lot of promising ideas and suggestions. Of the 4 contractors we met, we liked them the best and were anxious to move forward. We were under a time constraint because we were remodeling a 1700sqft empty unit and needed to be rented out asap and this wasn’t a small project.
They ended up totally ignoring us, and I had to follow up to ask them for the proposal. I got a really short email saying «sorry, we’re not interested». We were really surprised and I followed up several times because we were desperate and couldn’t find the time out of our full days to interview more contractors again. We spent so much time with them in the unit that we were actually late for the following 2 contractors that were supposed to meet after them.
Their lack of responsible and considerate feedback created a detriment to us. And by my first impression of them I did not expect them to be that kind of people. Thought this was important to share…

John Neill has been my «go to guy» for home repairs for over a year. He is reliable, professional and does top quality work. He was highly recommended by a major construction firm and has lived up to the recommendation on every job. I, in turn, would recommend him to anyone looking for a good contractor.

John and Arlen are a pleasure to work with.
As a designer, they do not only respond immediately to any situation thrown at them but also provide smart solutions to any problem that may arise in a remodel project. They approach every obstacle with a positive attitude and provide construction input when necessary.
They have great client-​contractor relationships that make the entirety of the project run smoother. They are always there for the client.
They have a great team of sub contractors and work efficiently through all phases of construction.
Neill & Lee, as a company, is fresh and one can tell that they have fun with their job.
I would highly recommend them for any SF residential remodel.

Prior to hiring Arlen Lee or Neill & Lee Contractors, I checked with several other contractors recommended by different folks including my real estate agent, my previous landlord, my former neighbor — a professional real estate flipper, and my hair cutter. While most of them had no problems meeting me for the initial estimate, you’d be amazed at how a) brief their proposals were and b) how lackidasical they were in getting back to me with a price. Even if $ 5−15K worth of work doesn’t sound like much to most contractors (esp compared to $ 500K+ jobs), I worked hard for that money so I want a little more than one line that states «yes, we’re gonna redo your basement slab».
Arlen was quite prompt when it came to delivering a quotation and always met his commitments (appointments, proposal delivery dates, etc). Unlike some of the other quotes, Arlen’s proposals were a detailed break down listing a line item for each «job» and describing how the highlighted problem would be solved. IMO, this is probably his best selling point.
Personally, after working with Arlen for over a month (the projects were spaced out), I’m convinced that N&L are professional contractors who abide by the «we’ll do what it takes to make the customer happy» credo. While I’m sure that there are other contractors in SF who also abide by this same mantra, it STILL helps to have a detailed proposal/​contract that governs your business relationship. IMO, that always trumps glib lines of «trust me, I’m a professional» and a handshake.
Each invoice had a clear line item labor, materials, and contractors fee breakdown. After reviewing one bill (I had several jobs done over time and asked for a preliminary bill to settle up with N&L about ½ through the total work), I inquired about one charge that seemed to me a bit long (time wise). Instead of getting all huffy and taking it personally, Arlen replied promptly with an honest email outlining all the steps his worker had to take to solve the problem (which was significantly more than I initially estimated).
Arlen was also good about offering multiple suggestions on how to solve some of my problems (ex: I bought my house with the water heater not being vented properly). Whenever there was a building code question that came up that Arlen couldn’t answer himself, he was able to get an answer from the folks he works with (the specialists). IMO, that’s part of his «value-​add» and something I came to appreciate.
The first and most intensive job that N&L tackled for me was my basement/​garage slab. While the slab itself was non-​weight bearing, the house is on a hill so the basement gets wet during the winter months and would pool up because of improper drainage. The net result was a cracked «dingy» look to the garage. The N&L team pulled the appropriate permits, demolished the old slab, hauled out the rubble, laid down new rocks & a matrix of rebar, and re-​poured/​shaped the new slabs to direct the water to an existing drain. Other contractors offered just to pour new concrete over the old slab to make it look better. While this would have been cheaper, I was concerned about water getting in between the new slab and the old one. Furthermore, since the other proposals didn’t save me much money compared to the one from N&L and the proposal they gave me was clearly the right way to handle the project, I ended up selecting N&L. During the construction, everything was taken care of (covered), the work was done quickly, the drainage was tested repeatedly, and the site was cleaned up well afterwards.
When it came to checking out some sub contractors (like the roofers and the HVAC guy I needed to hire), Arlen gave me his opinion of the each contractor’s work and tradeoffs between that company and the next cheaper/​more expensive guy.
Both of these projects are now complete and I am more than satisfied with the folks Arlen recommended & I ended up selecting. I definitely plan on using Arlen when I have some more intensive projects to handle (for example: at some point, my wife might compel me to add a dishwasher to our kitchen).