B&B Affordable Renovations

Bill Germaine at B&B Affordable Renovations has an excellent team of highly skilled workers. They have just finished renovating our three bathrooms (Master bath, guest bath and a powder room) and done an amazing job. This required completely gutting each room.
This required moving the washer and dryer from the powder room on the first floor to the second floor bathroom. Re-tiling all bathroom floors, shower areas and walls, removal of bathtub and building a new walk-in shower, plastering and painting all three rooms, installing new vanity units, mirrors and accessories. Re-configuring and installing new plumbing, toilets and sinks. Rewiring and installing new lighting system. Replacing doors and building new closets in the bathrooms.
Bill was always easily accessible, giving progress updates during each phase of the project and frequently inquiring about the quality of the workmanship, his staff and if I was fully satisfied. He is open to suggestions and eager to accommodate any last minute modifications. Bill is proud of his work, the reputation of his company and his staff consisting of Vinny and Colin, Dave and Leo, Francisco, John, Carlos and Junior, Mike and his crew have done a superb job.
Every little detail was paid to tile work design both on the floor and in the shower area. Carpentry work on the tub front panel, baseboard, cabinets and mirror installations and other fixtures were done exactly to our specifications, as well as the paintwork and all electrical rewiring, reconfiguration and installations.
B&B Affordable Renovations transformed our thirty two year old bathrooms into three beautiful custom design baths. Several of our friends have complimented on the wonderful transformation of all three bathrooms.
We would highly recommend B&B Affordable Renovations for any job big or small and would hire them again for future projects

We are very happy with the final product. It was a large project, with a unique design and not the usual cookie cutter house. Everything is custom and the contractor Bill has done a fantastic job. The overall character of the design was understood by him and the 'contemporary' theme was carried out as per our wishes. The finishes are neat, clean, and top class- showroom quality! Moreover, the contractor, Bill, provided extremely valuable input and recommendations which improved the existing plans, resulting in an astounding state of the art dwelling. The entire project consisted of a large two story addition with full foundation, a large picture window with a window seat, roof, skylights, grand open foyer, cathedral ceilings in living room, dining room, gym, master bedroom suite with custom bathroom and dual walk-in closets, kitchenette with laundry, and custom office. The open plan kitchen has custom cabinets and quartz countertops. In fact, the custom office area was originally wasted space and thanks to Bill’s foresight and recommendations, the wasted space was transformed into a unique office area, overlooking the first floor living room. Bill is a very nice guy and easy to work with. He was always asking to make sure that we are happy with the work done. He ensured that the final product was to our liking and satisfaction. Bill was also considerate when we wanted some changes in the design and we worked it out with relevant and appropriate 'change orders'. Bill is extremely knowledgeable and professional and he is also flexible to accommodate your perspective. Bill and his company is the best choice for any construction project. In fact, we are hiring Bill for our next project, the basement.

We officially hired B&B Renovations in early February to complete some remodeling on our newly purchased home in West Roxbury. The decision to hire him was principally made on the basis of a verbal assurance by Mr. Germaine that the completion of work was very much achievable in this 6-8 week time frame, barring any unforeseeable delays due to materials. He also assured us that his company was available to commence immediately upon obtaining the necessary building permits. For full disclosure, however, the contract that was signed did stipulate a completion date of May 31.
Work was initiated in late February with 66% payment (33% at signing of contract and 33% following initiation of the demolition work). The contract stipulated for the "demolition" of the kitchen IN ADDITION to removal of a wall, removal of existing cabinets, replacement of old floor and installation of hardwood floor, relocation of steam radiator, installation of new cabinets, move existing plumbing, electric, etc. to suit this new kitchen design, and installation of new lights and electrical outlets. One can debate what it means to demo a kitchen. In my opinion, most contractors would generally interpret this term to describe work synonymously with the term “gutting” the kitchen. Our house was built in 1934. The kitchen walls were in generally good shape. The original wiring and plumbing, however, were in need of updating. The decision not to gut the walls and the ceiling only added to the challenges of completing the new electrical and plumbing work on an older home in a timely and effective fashion. This point was made by at least two of his own subcontractors. Electrical work initiated sometime in early April. The electrician attempted to complete rough wiring work in the kitchen but was running into challenges due to the fact that the walls were not gutted. This attempt led to several large holes in the walls exposing the obvious fact that the kitchen walls were not insulated. Rough inspections were not completed until end of April after considerable delays in work.
In early May, I reminded Mr. Germaine of the pending May 31 deadline. At this time, he also asked for additional payment. In further good faith, we provided him with the next installment (now totaling now 90% of payment!). Mr. Germaine, sent his subcontractor out to resume work on the kitchen and parts of the bathroom. We came home one day to find to our shock the upper cabinets installed over holes in the walls and over pre-existing junction boxes. Moreover, the cabinets were installed with carpenter’s nails and grey drywall screws. No insulation was placed in the walls. In the bathroom, the bathroom tiles quickly went up in less than a day; we were very much worried about their workmanship. The cement board subflooring was laid down without what I believed to be the improper use of adhesive and adequate number of screws as per the manufacturer’s instructions. I brought in two other independent contractors who shared this concern. I had no other choice but to officially enumerate my concerns in writing (as requested in the contract) and request a temporary cessation of all work The chief building inspector for our particular district of the City of Boston was brought in to re-inspect the work. He informed Mr. Germaine of the building code violations and improper practices, including failure to insulate the kitchen walls, obstruction of electrical boxes, improper use of blueboard in the bathroom, and need to install firestop in the floor of the exposed walls. It took 4 visits from the building inspector between May and mid-June to finally get compliance.
The rough inspection finally passed and further work resumed at the end of the June. Mr. Germaine finally brought in his “regular” workers to complete the work. The work in the kitchen was mostly completed in August (nearly 6 months after work was initiated). The tiling of the bathroom tub and floor was installed. The tiler ended up replacing the floor because he could not accept the shoddy work done by his predecessor. The original electrical work was not straightforward and required some rectification.
In spite of all of this, and after some very persistent demands from Mr. Germaine for additional payments, I did pay him the balance of the original contract in early September in hopes of getting to the final inspection after more than seven months. Unfortunately, the final inspection which finally took place in October (!) did not pass for reasons that Mr. Germaine never installed heat in the kitchen or completed additional work stipulated in contract (e.g., installing attic railing). Following this disappointment, I met with Mr. Germaine and, by mutual agreement, we decided to terminate his work at our home. I have removed Mr. Germaine’s name from the building permit and have hired additional contractors at considerable cost to complete final work.