Doris Cox

July 02, 2024

My house is one hundred twenty-eight years old – two stories, wooden frame with a brick foundation. Over the 48 years I’ve lived in it, some updating and improvements had been made, but time had taken its toll. Structural issues had developed, along with the need for updating of electrical and plumbing, and oh so many decorating needs throughout (including a bedroom with wood paneling from the 70’s). The structural issues in the basement and sinking floors on the first and second stories made this a complex renovation project, and Arete was up to the task. Once the work started, it never stopped. Steady progress was made nearly every day on some aspect of the project – from demolition to replacing the basement floor, support beams and posts, plumbing, electrical, opening up wooden floors, replacement of fixtures and decorating, and too many details to list. And throughout the project I knew exactly what was going on via daily messages and photos of the work being done. Communication was amazing. Igor was always available to answer questions, and consulted with me about options along the way. It was important to me to retain the character of the vintage of my house, and Igor and company respected that and together we made decisions about what could be salvaged and what should be updated. And now I am moving back into a beautifully renovated, comfortable and safe century-old house where the kids and grandkids can continue to gather. (Even the damp dirty dungeon of a basement has become a space that we can enjoy.) I can’t say enough about the quality of the workmanship of the Arete crew – from cement work and structural repairs, to the skillful tiling of the bathrooms, to the repair and beautiful refinishing of the oak floors throughout, to the installation of new windows and the carpentry work on trims and baseboards, and the painting of walls and multiple types of surfaces in the basement. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Arete for home renovations. They succeeded in coordinating all the complexities of this project to bring about delightful results.

Daniel Landis

May 29, 2024

Ivan, Ivana and team at Arete did a wonderful job helping me design a remodel and then act as the general contractor to remodel my investment property (very vertically integrated model, which is unique). I live far from the property, so the coordination among designer and contractor was critical for me, as was their usage of a software tool to help manage the dollars spent, communication, and project progress (all approvals and payment for project and change orders as well as picture updates are housed within the same software solution). It was all professionally managed / executed, and they kept me well informed. I’d recommend Arete to anyone; very differentiated all-in-one solution in the market coupled with strong execution. Thanks Arete team!

Dave Oakleaf

May 15, 2024

Areté is a gem. We hired Areté to design & build a 1-story addition + basement + deck to the back of our house. This was not our first renovation, but was by far the largest we've ever done. We are THRILLED with the result. We got exactly what we wanted -- more usable outdoor space, great entertaining space, a dedicated family room, and more storage. Davor patiently explained the construction process, answered our numerous questions and walked through the options available within the design. His communication was always clear & prompt. The interior wasn't much -- only 1 room -- but Ivana & Dulio took all the time needed through several revisions to get the interior design exactly the way we wanted. The construction took approximately 5 months, during which time we came to trust Ivan completely to handle anything that came up. He kept us informed every step of the way. And everything Areté built was built well. The punch list at the end was pretty small and quickly resolved. We would happily recommend Areté to others and would use them again for any future renovations.

Emilie Schwab

May 08, 2024

Ivan and his crew did a great job replacing our old wooden windows that had peeling paint with new windows and casing. We wanted to keep the look of our "comfy old home" windows while giving the front of the house a cleaner look, and the guys did just that. The style of the new windows fit so well with our older home and the stain matched our existing interior trim perfectly. The install took less than a day, and they left the living room super tidy when they left. This is the second time we've used Arete for a project and will definitely be using them again!

Luke P

May 01, 2024

Went with Arete to remodel our upstairs, and the process was awesome. They laid out what to expect and how their process works, as well as their expectations. They listened to our thoughts and desires and did a walkthrough of our home, helping to workshop what exactly we wanted, which wasn't very firmly defined to begin. They took detailed measurements and came up with a design, basing it on a sampling of photos we selected as well as descriptions of what we liked in the photos. When we headed into purchasing and the construction portion of the process, their website showed us the same progress reports that they see from contractors, so we will be as informed as we want to be, to the same degree that they are. Throughout construction they were communicative, and changes that needed to be done (as happens on all construction projects) were given to us clearly and with options, as well as reasoning for those changes. We are extremely happy with our home now, where before we were just living with things as they were because the projects seemed too big. Thanks Arete! We will be using you again for our future projects down the line!