Emma Griffith

2024-11-12

"Original Roots did an amazing job! My project turned out better than I hoped. Paul, Matt and Ali were professional, always available and fully transparent. The entire Original Roots team showed up with smiles everydaywhich is a huge plus when youre living in the house during construction."

Britt Dignan

2020-08-21

"Original Roots is the absolute best. Paul, Matt and Brynn are a dream team. We've undergone several renovation projects in the past, none of them hold a candle to our experience with OR. They're upfront and transparent about costs and timing, and were great about sticking to both. We ended up with the kitchen of our dreams, and couldn't have asked for a better experience. We're already planning our next project..."

Alisa Bourne

2020-01-20

"Original Roots was hired to design and construct a two-story addition to the back of our house, consisting of a master suite and a traditional English library, while also renovating about two-thirds of the interior of our existing home which was built in 1896. We wanted to work with a company where we would have some form of cost assurance - here is what we want our project to look like at the end and here is what it will cost you to get it. We had serious reservations about entering a contract under a cost-plus arrangement where we were given a cost estimate of the project at the beginning and then received invoices later saying that the cost of the materials went up, it took more labor hours than estimated and now it was going to cost us significantly more than budgeted. With Original Roots we had no surprises. We ended up paying what we established as our original budget, plusminus the mutually agreed change requests. It was also extremely important that we worked with a company that was honest and trustworthy. We were advised by friends and family, who had done remodelsrenovations before, that the relationship with your contractorbuilder is like a marriage. You need to be able to trust them, they need to be able to communicate clearly with you, and ideally, you should enjoy working with them, because you do spend a lot of time interacting with them. From the very first meeting with Paul we felt like he could be trusted. There was a comfortability with him that we had not experienced when interviewing other companiescontractors. Paul was prompt, organized, and clearly communicated the steps and process we would go through with Original Roots. Friends and family also cautioned us about being overly upbeat after a great initial meeting with the face of the company. Your project will only go as smoothly, with the quality you expect, as the folks doing the actual work in your home. With Original Roots, Paul sets the bar high and everyone working with him met the expectations that Paul has set. Matt, our project whisperer, and his entire crew were amazing beyond description, from timely responses to calls or emails, to treating our home and the surroundings as if it was their own, to going above and beyond while interacting with our neighbors and to the level of detail and quality in the work they performed. The subcontractors they used, many of which they have long standing relationships with, all performed quality work and met the original schedule with one small exception. When issues did pop up, Paul, Matt andor Brynn would always agree to meet us in person at the house. It made potentially difficult andor complex conversations easier so we didnt have to read into emails or interpret things. We always felt our concerns were listened to and taken seriously and ultimately the resolutions were fair for both parties. Having access to Brynn and what she brought to the design phase was invaluable. There would have been multiple situations of analysis-paralysis, not to mention fights, in our decision-making process if it wasnt for her. She was a great listener. She did an excellent job of getting to know our likes and dislikes, tastes and style and picked up on design elements that our home presented. She then did the majority of the research and leg-work and then clearly presented options that for us were spot on. Brynn is also great at offering up ideas that pushed us out of our comfort zone but really ended up working well in the house. She also did a fantastic job of working within the cost estimates of the allowances in our contract, so we had no ugly surprises. Original Roots may not be the least expensive company out there, but it was such an enjoyable, pleasant experience working with them, we have no regrets and feel it was totally worth the money spent. We are house-proud. The one negative side in working with Original Roots is they made it really difficult to adjust our expectations when dealing with sales peoplecontractorsservice providers who are not Original Roots."

Ashton Altieri

2018-02-18

"The Original Roots team is exceptional. When your project involves extensive modifications to an older home, having a team like Original Roots is essential and is well worth the price. There is no area of weakness with Original Roots. Paul Fread is a great architect who is particularly well skilled at creating seamless transitions between old and new architecture. The construction team led by Matt Wood and Colin Morrison is professional and very talented at their craft. They are tried-and-true carpenters who take tremendous pride in their work. The interior design skills of Brynn Mood were equally impressive and were very pleased with her work. Our project involved remodeling nearly the entire first floor of our 1888 Victorian home as well as a 300 sq. ft. addition. The work was broad and included the demolition of many plaster and brick walls, construction of an expansive new kitchen, a new bedroom, a new bathroom, and complex changes to our existing plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems. Above all, we were most impressed with their ability to effectively communicate with us throughout the 7 month project as well as pay close attention to small details. For example, all the trim in the new spaces in our home match the existing 130-year-old trim perfectly. They also meticulously matched the style, shape, and size of the existing brick so that its nearly impossible to identify the old and new construction on the exterior of our home. Needless to say, we highly recommend Original Roots to anyone wishing to make substantial improvements to their older home in central Denver."

Margo Harrison

2017-09-17

"there is no perfect contractor, but original roots OR comes pretty darn close. we bought a house in denver and renovated from brooklyn, NY. can you even imagine renovating from across the country?! who does that? and who does that and has a 5 star experience?? we did! OR laid everything out in minute detail at the beginning of the project, including the projected schedule. they ran consistently one to two weeks ahead of their own plan, sent us pictures at the end of every week, and were immediately available by text, phone, email, and video chat. the designer, paul, was experienced, creative, thoughtful, and thorough. he came up with about 12 different layouts for our gut renovation of the basement and recreation of multiple upstairs bedrooms into a new master and master bath. he did things like lay out the bathroom tile digitally so we could approve the tile design before installation and put our head heights on bathroom mock-ups to make sure the shower and mirror heights were both going to look good and make sense for my husband and i 12 inch height difference. he was receptive to our comments and suggestions and advised us on when our ideas might not make sense from a use-case perspective. we trusted his opinion and mostly headed his advice- a few times when we didnt we wish we had! the builder contractor matt, was no less impressive. any question i asked about anything related to our home or general construction he could answer without hesitation; his breadth of knowledge was crazy. he was a really good problem solver, knew construction inside and out, and definitely took initiative. for example, a handle had come off in the kitchen of one of the cabinets and i was going to have my husband or a handyman repair it; OR was not working in our kitchen space very much. while we were chatting one day he just picked up the handle nonchalantly and fixed it while we were chatting, without being asked. this is the best example of OR service- they are simply honest. they do what they say they are going to do. you will get a high-quality product- you will pay probably the higher end of the price range for it i think?, but it will get done according to pre-specified parameters-- if you discuss something with them and it is mutually agreed to, it will get done, and you will be pleased with the product. that being said, they are flexible. we changed a few things around during the project or added things on, and they were receptive to that and still provided the same level of service. we did have a few hiccups as any construction project does. for example, they fixed something on our garage without agreeing to it with us beforehand that was a pretty expensive repair initiative!. they told us directly what had happened, apologized that they hadnt discussed with us in advance, and when they told us about the cost, they subsidized it for us. same with some installation issues; they found our walls were not constructed of the material they had thought they were and were going to require some adjusting in terms of framing and insulation. they apologized, told us the new cost, and subsidized part of it. when they felt something was or might have been their fault and was going to add to the cost of the renovation, they were super straightforward about the issue, and split the cost with us somehow. we were very happy with our experience and would hire OR again. our house looks absolutely incredible, and it was a huge renovation in my opinion. we cant wait to have photos taken so we can add them to this post and brag a bit ; you should definitely at least consider OR for your project, but in the end we cant imagine a reason you would not go with them. if you want the best for your money, go with OR."

prev next

Original Roots Design + Build

About Original Roots Design + Build

Thoughtful Design Meets Quality Craftsmanship

ADU and Garage Conversion Services

A Legacy Built in Central Denver

Services