Banks & Son-Builders

My wife and I initially contacted Banks & Son-Builders for an estimate on an elevated deck off the back of our Cape Cod home in Silver Spring. During our first meeting with Sam Banks, the scope was expanded to address several other items on our wish list. In the end, Banks & Son-Builders provided us with a beautiful 4-season sun room beneath a new elevated deck. They also helped with several other home improvement needs that were added to the scope. Sam's team did the work on time, on budget, and with great skill, attention to detail, and professionalism. We appreciated Sam’s open communication with us through the project.

I contracted with Banks and Son Builders to complete a full remodel of my basement bedroom and full bathroom. I was also interested in adding a third bathroom for the guest bedroom on the third floor, which would have involved moving the laundry down to the basement hall closet. I contacted Banks and Son Builders, and the owner, Sam Banks, returned my call the same day. I described what we were looking to do and we made an appointment for later that week. Sam was on-time and listened closely as I walked him through the basement and described the scope of work. He steered me away from some more expensive drain solutions for the basement I had considered, which would have eaten up a good chunk of my budget. When he evaluated the laundry room move and bathroom addition, he provided us a good rationale for keeping the laundry room where it was as well as weighing the cost/benefit of adding a third bathroom. It’s rare to have a contractor advise you to scale down your project and to be mindful of your return on investment with the improvements. This speaks to Sam’s character and credibility. During our first meeting I learned he also builds custom homes, so he approaches a project from a comprehensive and big picture perspective. Most importantly, he listened to us and gave us good objective feedback and advice. Taking Sam's advice in consideration, we ultimately decided to forgo the bathroom and laundry room move and instead retool our budget to address our second-floor railing and floors. Our second-floor living room has a two and half foot step down from the dining room that had a safety railing the previous owner had removed. We wanted to reinstall a safety rail, but in a manner that didn't make the dining room feel closed-off and reduce the open flow of the room. There was also a section of warped flooring in the dining room that we assumed was caused by a dishwasher leak from the previous owner. We wanted to address this as well. Sam prepared two quotes for the basement remodel phase and the flooring and railing phase on the second floor. We reviewed the scope of work and found the price to be competitive and inside of our budget. We accepted the quotes, signed contracts, and provided a 10% deposit. Banks and Son started the next day and had the entire basement and bathroom gutted in under 3 hours. Over the next four weeks, his site manager, Robyn, and his team were at my home daily to install drywall, flooring, tile, plumbing fixtures, a window, the railing, repairing and refinishing my second-floor hardwood floors, and installing recessed lighting. The team even worked a few Saturdays to stay on schedule. The Banks team was professional and kept the work-site tidy and clean after every day on the job. The entire time Sam was in contact with me regarding any changes or unforeseen modifications. He also went out if his way to find the right glass railing to fit our tastes in the dining room. The project had less than 2% cost overruns due to the bathroom floor needing to be re-leveled and the fireplace base needing to be re-shored with concrete. In every remodeling project I've done there is almost at least a 10% variance in the ultimate price as something unforeseen arises, so I was very impressed with Banks and Son bringing the project in on time and on budget. We were able to use the contingency I budgeted to purchase higher quality tile and flooring then originally conceived. The finished project looks amazing. The basement bedroom and bathroom were in dire need of a refresh from their 1970 design. It’s gone from a part of the house we tried to steer people away from to an area we are now proud to show-off. The glass railing in the dining room has really raised the visual appeal of the dining room and living room and looks terrific. The refinished floors are brighter and the warped section that drove me crazy every time I happened to walk on has been completely fixed with no discernable difference between the new wood and old. I would highly recommend Banks and Sons for their remodeling work and would use them again for any future remodeling we might do.

Banks & Son completed a basement gutting and remodel in our home. Everything went as planned and we were specifically impressed with some of the details Sam suggested to make the place more light and spacious. Very pleased with how this project went, customer service & attention to detail and will recommend the company!