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We would like to take this opportunity to compliment Jos Dudgeon and Michelle Landau of Tristate Sustainable on a very favorable experience during our recent construction project, from its inception in September 2017 to its conclusion in February 2018.
When first planning our co-op apartment renovation, we were deciding between Tristate and another contractor who had done some work for us in the past. Jos, however, had come very highly recommended from a most particular and demanding friend, who could not rave about him and his work enough. Jos extended himself to us in ways that we had not experienced before -- he gave us a great amount of his time as well as his professional expertise, taking an unparalleled interest in our project. Our decision was
easily made after our first meeting together.
Tristate's implementation of a user-friendly software web application, Co-Construct, I believe greatly contributed to the ease of progress, making it super easy to follow all aspects of our job at every stage. Whether it be back-and-forth messaging consisting of questions and replies, financial issues, including accounts receivable and payable, change orders, and frequent progress reports and photographs, all of these services were available 24/7 in one place: on Co-Construct's secure site after simply logging in from any device available. This obviated the burden of our having to frequently miss work and travel into NYC from our present home on Long Island. Needless to say, this one aspect alone made it that much easier to move along.
We have, over past years, built a home, as well as participated in many different types of construction projects in other homes while utilizing different contracting services. But we can say without any hesitation or reservation that Jos was by far the easiest and most knowledgeable person we have ever worked with. His clear method of communication, his reliability, and timely responsiveness was, for us, worth its weight in gold. He was also very helpful in facilitating and completing the preliminary paperwork required by our cooperative and the superintendent.
Michele Landau of Tristate was also extremely insightful regarding all matters of design and style, giving us her expert opinion and gentle guidance whenever the need arose.
We would be very happy to recommend Jos, Michelle, and Tristate Sustainable, as well as extend a willingness to personally speak to anyone considering Tristate's services, as we have already passed their name along to several people we know.
ANDREA V. S. NAGROTSKY and SANDY NAGROTSKY Upper East Side
(516) 456-6786 (516) 835-6263
I had interviewed nine contractors before meeting with Jos to install a new bathroom, install new electrical wiring and outlets, bury all electrical wiring in walls and ceilings, replaster all walls and ceilings, install track lighting and paint the apartment. Jos was the only contractor that stated he could handle the entire job. There were aspects of the work that the other contractors stated that they could not do or were not familiar with.
This job took about two months to complete. I received online pictures of the apartment and it was easy to monitor the progress of work. The online picture aspect saved me time and money. I did not have to go into the city from Long Island on a weekly basis to inspect the job. I visited the apartment only twice, midway through construction and at the completion of the work.
Jos was hands-on with respect to all aspects of the job. Often, I would call him about some aspect of the job that I saw in a picture. Jos was responsive in getting back to me quickly. When I presented a new challenge, such as a change in job scope, he smiled and took on the challenge. At the conclusion of his work, all that was contracted for was performed in a meticulous fashion. But there was more than what I expected. It has been over a year since he finished this job and I have not had to call him back to redo any of his work. This is a real bonus.
R.K. Upper East Side
Where to begin? A friend of ours worked with Tristate Sustainable on a full apartment renovation and once we saw the final product, we had to get their contact information. Before we even closed on our apartment, we met with Jos Dudgeon for a walkthrough to discuss potential plans and pricing. Despite working in the real estate industry, I was worried that a near gut renovation would take a substantial amount of time, given we purchased in a cooperative building and I heard that boards often take a while to approve plans. Nonetheless, after meeting with Jos, my concerns were alleviated due to his experience navigating the board approval process and the expediency with which he completed our friend's apartment.
Once we were approved by the board (the process took about a month), we met with Michelle Landau at Porcelanosa to begin choosing tile for our bathrooms & kitchens. All I can say about this part of the process is wow. Walking into the store which had thousands of tile samples was entirely overwhelming and we were at a loss of where to begin. Michelle expertly navigated us through the store, setting up different tile combinations and we quickly became more comfortable.
Once the work started, Jos got his demolition crew into the apartment, and within 2 weeks the entire apartment was gutted. Now, it was time to rebuild...
Jos and Michelle have an air of relaxed confidence about them and once you spend a couple hours with them, it is easy to understand why. Aside from their vast experience in the contracting and designing space, they know how to deal with stressed New Yorkers (read: ME) who want everything completed yesterday. Jos was at the apartment daily, despite having other projects going on at the time, and given that I worked nearby, I was able to come to the apartment during lunch and discuss decisions with him, which moved the process along quickly. Jos and Michelle also utilize a website/app called Co-Construct for client communication (which they load up daily progress photos to), and their response time is simply unheard of in this industry. We must have have messaged with them several thousand times on Co-Construct, yet they never tired of multiple (often repeated) questions, and always responded in a positive, helpful manner.
The entire process took about three and a half months, which was far quicker than I anticipated, and the final product was our dream apartment. So now where do I end...? There isn't much more to say about Jos & Michelle's professionalism, candor, and quality of work that I have not mentioned. Highly recommended for your future contracting/design needs; go see for yourself what a difference working with experts means. Thank you Tristate Sustainable!
Looking forward to our next project,
E&R, Flatiron District
It's widely accepted that contractors have a poor reputation. That being true, working with Jos is like working with the ‘Un-contractor.’ He is reliable, always professional & does excellent work. He responds to emails & texts promptly.
When a problem arises he responds quickly. The craftsmen he brings in are skilled & a pleasure to work with. He refurbished 2 of my bathrooms & I'm very pleased with the results. I would be very happy to work with Jos again.
K.R. Upper East Side
I am an attorney in New Jersey and was appointed by the Court to administer a contested estate that owned two cooperative apartments and a condominium apartment in Manhattan. When I recovered possession of the apartments, I learned that each apartment was in deplorable shape. How was I going to sell these apartments and maximize the value for the beneficiaries? Was it possible to manage this process from New Jersey? How would I find a reputable contractor who could assess the condition of each apartment, make appropriate recommendations, navigate the various management companies and building personnel, obtain the necessary permits, and complete the work in a timely fashion and on budget?
I was concerned. The beneficiaries were embroiled in a decade long litigation. If I picked the wrong contractor, and the work turned out to be a disaster, the beneficiaries would turn their collective ire on me and complain to the Court. What should I do?
I embarked on a quest to find the right contractor. Thankfully, after many inquiries, I was referred to Tristate Sustainable LLC and its principal, Jos Dudgeon. I have worked with many contractors over the years, but Jos Dudgeon is, by far, the best. Everything he said he would do, he did – on time and within the agreed upon budget. Additionally, I was able to monitor each of the projects from afar by utilizing a mobile phone app that Jos provided. This enabled me to keep track of the project costs and to monitor the construction activities on a daily basis.
I learned very quickly that Jos has a tremendous knowledge of construction. He is a problem solver. He was able to seamlessly navigate the various management company and building requirements and roadblocks. The work that his crew performed was top notch – so good in fact that I was able to sell each apartment for substantially more than the appraised value. The warring beneficiaries and the Court were all pleased!!
In short, I cannot imagine a better contractor than Jos. He is intelligent, professional, and one of the nicest guys that you will ever meet!!
S.R.
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To start, Jos was so patient with us during the process of us explaining our request and what we would like. Jos not only gave us a fair estimate but provided great advice, since home improvement is new to us. He always calmly explained everything to us, even if we needed it explained 2-3 times. Throughout the whole process, Jos was extremely responsive. With any question or concern, Jos always answered within 24 hours.
The work they did was done well and in a timely manner. The baseboards through the apartment came out spectacular and there was clearly a great attention to detail. The bathroom renovation was the biggest project but was done beautifully and done within Jos's estimated time which was important because it was my only bathroom and couldn't live there while the bathroom was being done. After the bathroom was done, we had some minor additions we wanted to make. Jos had no issue coming back to install towel holders (for example) and making both functional and cosmetic adjustments we requested.
There were only a couple of MINOR issues. We requested the cable line to sit within the baseboards, and a cable connection was lose when they first did it which left me without internet and cable - but Jos came back within 2 days to pull out the baseboards and fix the cable behind the baseboard. Additionally, the shower door track was installed and was sealed but water was still leaking out when I showered. Jos came back to have it sealed further the next day and I've had no problems since. Just a couple of examples of minor issues which they fixed as soon as they were addressed.
We plan to do more work in the apartment in the year to come and plan to ask Jos and his team to do the work because of their honesty, professionalism and timeliness.
K.E. Upper East Side
We cannot put into words how happy we are with Tristate Sustainable's renovation of our Flatiron condo - the work was impeccable, but most importantly, Jos and Michelle were the most unbelievable partners throughout the process. By way of background, this was our first "full renovation" of our apartment, which badly needed an update. We really had no clue where to begin or how to do it, and after interviewing several "one-stop shop" renovation companies as well as solo contractors, we felt no more at ease.
Enter Jos and Michelle. We've never felt more comfortable than in their capable hands. We spent several meetings at the outset simply discussing ideas, visions for the apartment, our concerns with timing (a baby was on the way) and immediately felt the duo of Jos and Michelle was something unique - they weren't selling a service, they were genuinely interested in how we can collaborate to ensure a result within our budget that would make us happy.
The apartment looks fabulous (it may even be featured in the NYT real estate section) and the process, while naturally stressful, was expertly guided by Jos and Michelle. Through the process, they were not only our contractor/designer, but our navigators and therapists when things became stressful. And now we are happy to call them friends. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions at all - we couldn't recommend Tristate more!
A.L. & S.S. Flatiron District
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