Carlisle Builders

Poor communication, cutting corners, and a propensity for throwing screaming tantrums characterize Mr. Carlisle’s personality. As for his building ethics and know-how, he “built” our home in 2002-2003 and to this day we are still finding major issues with our construction. (His favorite expression back in the day was “I’ve been building houses for 25 years and I know what I’m doing.”) Our windows and foundation were never sealed and our house flooded during monsoon season, when water poured in between the outside and interior walls, and came up into our living room floor from the foundation. A bedroom ceiling once spontaneously collapsed, missing the room’s occupant by a couple of feet. A closet backing up to a bathroom has been getting a soaking wet floor. Apparently it’s been going on for years but reached critical mass this year. This has been the most recent issue. The plumbers removed a piece of drywall only to reveal a gaping open gap in the plumbing where Carlisle had left a pipe open and water spilled into the floor and up into our carpet. We don’t know the extent of structural damage and mould yet. It’s worth noting that during construction, we came over one Sunday to check the progress and his construction crew had a beer party going down. We walked in on them I’m the act and they didn’t even attempt to hide it. We took photos. We reported this to Carlisle’s toady sales guy, who said “Oh we have a zero tolerance to drinking on the job.” ?? Apparently that didn’t stop the crew from working while intoxicated.

Carlisle Builders are an excellent choice for house re-model projects- We had a tight timeline to complete the project before we moved into out house. Carlisle & team was able to deliver the project on time and moreover the project was completed to our total satisfaction. Carlisle & crew are dependable, courteous and very professional in dealing with customers. We highly recommend the services of Carlisle builders for home re-modeling projects. Thank you, Mike & Team!

This is our 3rd time using Carlisle Builders, and we have been very happy each time. Our recent remodel with them was very extensive. We had them remodel our whole main floor, which included a large kitchen, master bedroom and master bathroom, hallway bathroom, utility room, office, 2 living spaces and entryway. The workmanship was top quality, our tile work is done perfectly, the new stair railings are picture perfect, and I love that he had his own cabinet maker, all my cabinets are custom made and look amazing!!! They cleaned up at the end of each day. I love the “can do” attitude, everything I wanted or asked for was doable. For example, we thought we only needed to raise the ceiling in the kitchen, it turned out that the whole roof was dropped in the kitchen area, they raised the roof and it made such a big difference for that space. He stays true to his bid, and when I had add ons, he wrote up a new bid for that, so no surprises at the end. We now live in our dream home thanks to Carlisle Builders

I'm an active real estate agent and utilize Carlisle Builder's Services on a weekly basis! They can perform jobs of any size and are cost effective, professional and trustworthy! I use them for remodels, punch-list items needed for replacement or repair, additions and new construction! Carlisle Builder's are excellent communicators...you will always know the status of your job and will never be left in the dark! 100% dependable! Thank you Carlisle Builders for all you do!

I am writing this review with great disappointment, as I rarely ever write reviews (especially poor ones). We hired Michael Carlisle with great excitement. I had done extensive research on his prior reviews, and we had met with several other contractors for estimates. He seemed like the most reasonable, with great ideas, and the best price for a very large project. Based on his reviews on Houzz, we were confident that the work would be high quality with very few issues. Unfortunately, that was not our experience, and there have since been reviews on his company on a few other sites that go along with our experience. We started this process approximately a year ago, knowing that we had a large remodel project (master suite, garage, completely redone kitchen, windows, HVAC, tile work in the smaller bathrooms, etc.). We are not new to remodels, so we knew to budget more time and money than any of the estimates that we received. We went through the house a few times with Carlisle to go over in detail all the things that we wanted done. He took notes and I sent him designs in addition to a very detailed list of each thing we wanted done, since we would be periodically living out of town and waiting for the project to be completed in order to move in. As we went through the house, he threw out great ideas of things they could do with each area – custom cabinets with built-ins, a linen cabinet in the master bath, lighting ideas, ideas for a small deck off the master suite, etc. It all sounded wonderful. He typed up the contract and attached our detailed list of what we wanted done. There were a couple of things he missed in the contract, but we let him know and it seemed not to be a big deal and then we were on our way to starting our project. He estimated that he could complete the entire project in 3 months. We were surprised by that, but he insisted that they didn’t need to start until December and would be done March 15th. Again, we were not new to remodel projects and figured that even if it was not done on time, we still had until the end of May before we absolutely needed to move in, so that gave a cushion of a couple of months, if he was incorrect with his timeline. Initially, things started well with just a few issues with his crew – namely that they blasted our heater in December while working and cost us a $400 gas bill, and eventually we discovered that a very expensive set of security cameras have since disappeared. Other than that, things seemed to move along nicely. No big issues or surprises that usually come along with remodeling an old house. It wasn’t until we started to get close to the finish date that was in the contract, that things started to really go downhill. Suddenly it seemed that his crew was stretched too thin. March 15th came and went, and after a big boom of many workers rushing to get things done, there were suddenly many days where hardly any work was done or hardly any workers would show. Every time we asked what the new end date was, the answer would be “two more weeks” or “we’ll be done next week”. It was clear we were no longer the main project and felt as if they had decided that since they had already surpassed our finish date, they were now no longer interested in pushing to have it done. Then came the end of May, when we needed to move in and the house still was not done. Even the things that were supposed to be finished were done poorly. Once we moved in, we discovered that the HVAC didn’t actually work (hadn’t been set up correctly), there was a leak in the wall behind the new shower that was coming down through the ceiling of our basement, and the kitchen cabinets were a mess. Approximately one month prior to moving in, instead of the custom built-ins that had been described to us, we were told if we wanted anything “special” we needed to order it ourselves. So we did it without any argument because we just wanted it done. I sent him what we wanted and he gave me a list of exactly what to order from Home Depot, which I did. And then we were told the kitchen and cabinets were finished. However, when we came to move in, there were boxes of the things that we ordered that had not been installed just sitting in the bedroom. We had never been told that they weren’t able to install them because he had us order ones that wouldn’t fit. The ones that had been installed weren’t installed correctly. The holes for the shelves were drilled uneven so that they moved when you tried to set things on them. The dishwasher wasn’t secured to the cabinet, so when I loaded it, it fell out of the cabinet. An oven that had previously worked properly had been re-installed and now did not turn on at all. No one thought to check it after it was installed and we were told it must be the oven that died and it had nothing to do with their work, but we could by a new one and they would install it. Furthermore, the washer (which previously worked) now did not work, as well as a few other electrical issues that needed to be fixed. Then there was the sloppy finishing work. We had outlets that were grouted into the tile that were obviously crooked, pendant lights with bases that showed holes in the dry wall, strike plates in the new doors that were missing screws, did not latch, or the old holes were filled but not painted or not filled at all. The new doors would get stuck or the locks not lock all the way. There were bathroom fixtures with pieces hanging that were not caulked. The large holes around the pipes going into the new vanities so that bugs and drafts were just free flowing from the crawl space underneath. Pipes and the old HVAC system were just left as junk under the house. The basement bathroom that had been used by the workers was trashed with toilet paper and urine. There was broken glass in the backyard, where our dogs and children play, from the debris that had been there. It was suddenly as if our house had gone from their main project to an after thought. And it was very evident that though we were told that certain things were finished, it was done by someone not very experienced or with no attention to detail and clearly with no oversight. Either no one had bothered to come through and make sure that these things were done well and that everything worked, or that person didn’t know what they were doing either. Even the projects that we were present for, the person would tell us it was “done” and you couldn’t even close the door because the handle was so close to the old frame, and there was no effort to address it, fix it, and make it look nice. When we brought it up, we were told, “it’s an old house, and that’s what happens with old houses”. Having remodeled old houses before, I am well aware of the challenges. And well aware that more professional companies would never leave things looking and “working” the way they did with the pretense that it was “finished”. Additionally, we discovered that Carlisle had forgotten several things that he said he would do as part of the project. The things that were in our contract and written in the original list, we held him accountable for, while the other “ideas” that he had thrown out there that sounded wonderful but weren’t written explicitly in the contract (but were written via email or notes), we let go, because again, we just wanted to be done with it all. I am a person that does not enjoy conflict and I always give people the benefit of the doubt. At first, I reported all of these things to Carlisle and he sent in people to fix them. There were some people that came very quickly and we were thankful for that (the plumber and HVAC for example). Then, however, things continued to fall apart and the people that he said would be there never showed. He continued to tell us that things would be done “the next week”, and they weren’t. Finally, we confronted him with all of our frustrations at the poor quality of work and the fact that we were now approaching 4 months past the deadline and still not done. Instead of handling it professionally and taking responsibility for the things that have gone wrong, he got very defensive and started yelling that he didn’t know what else I wanted from him and he was doing what he could to fix things and hung up on me. There were other strange things as well. Frequently, the delay in installing things were blamed on the companies that he ordered from – either things were back ordered or the wrong item was sent, etc. etc. And that happened many times. There was never any responsibility taken for not ordering things in a timely manner, even when it had been obvious that we were months past the deadline and various things had not even been ordered or addressed yet. Also, there was a strange relationship with his workers. We were told not to talk to them about the project, and that he would handle all communication with them. But then things would be lost in communication and when he told us something would be done a certain way or asked us how we wanted it to be done, it was clear that this had not been communicated with the person actually doing the work. Furthermore, the workers would tell us that they were not allowed to complete a particular task (even if they were there, had the time, and knew it needed to be done) until they were told to complete it by Carlisle. They seemed to be kept on a very tight leash, but the result was unfortunately that things were not done well or efficiently. At this point, we just wanted the big things to be done and were willing to do the rest on our own. Had I not been afraid to deal with a legal problem, we would have just told him that we would take the last payment and pay someone else to finish it all. I will be fair and say that it was not all done poorly. The tile work is lovely, the new windows and large sliding door is beautiful, the countertops are perfect, and his dry wall person is excellent. The project ended up going 5 months past the given end date. There were many things that we decided to fix ourselves because it was just to difficult to get someone to come fix them, and apparent that no one in the company seemed to think these things were poorly done. We also just wanted to be done with the headache that had lasted for so much longer than it should have. Based on the fact that the reviews prior to one year ago were stellar, and the first half of our project went so well, I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and speculate that this is just a recent problem with the company. I’m not sure whether he lost some of his previous workers, hired new ones, or whether they just got overwhelmed and stretched too thin with too many big jobs, but I sure wish we had the wonderful experience that the older reviews seem to describe. We now have family and friends looking for contractors, and I have to say that based on our experience, we do not recommend Carlisle Builders at this time.

Carlisle Builders is an excellent company that strives to fully satisfy. This was the only company that truly listened to my wife and mine desires and made sure to explain all possible options and limitations that could lie ahead. They have a trustworthy, courteous and hardworking group of tradesmen. A crew that made sure to leave the worksite clean and safe each and every day of the project. Great Job on our NEW SUN ROOM

Finding a reputable, reliable and professional general contractor is oftentimes somewhat of a lottery. We consider ourselves very lucky to have found Carlisle Builders, who we have entrusted with the renovation of our 20 year old home. In our kitchen, they assisted us with enlarging of our kitchen island and thoughtfully utilizing every available inch for storage. Everything came out so stylish and yet so functional. Our guest and master bathrooms were also remodeled as well as all the lighting throughout the house. We are very pleased with the outcome of our home improvement projects completed by Carlisle Builders and the final results have truly exceeded our expectations. They not only offer affordable rates but their quality workmanship and attention to detail are unmatched. Mr. Michael Carlisle was extremely helpful and his expert opinions allowed for many practical and unconventional resolutions. The entire crew was very competent, hard working and friendly and all the work was completed in an expeditious manner and above expectations. Our home officially belongs in the 21st century and it looks as good as any remodel featured in a high-end magazine, all without breaking the bank. Working with Carlisle Builders has been a very positive experience and we highly recommend them. Thank You Carlisle Builders! Henry & Bo Elencwajg Albuquerque, NM

Every once in a while, life throws me a surprise. I normally don't expect much from people as they always over promise and under deliver esp. when I hire a firm to provide a service or product. Mike Carlisle, owner of Carlisle builders, demonstrated to me that they are great companies stilled left that really go beyond and care for their clients. Mike and his crew were excellent across the board. I truly mean it. This firm is top shelf all the way. My wife and I decided to remodel the home built in 1990 and the main reason was to replace the copper lines in the ground that have broken 3 times over the years. I spent 6000 in repairs from xxx to repair 20 feet of buried line over the years so I said enough I will repipe the home with PEX line and quotes were off the charts over 12000 to 15000 just to repipe the home. I decided to talk to a few home remodelers and remodel the home and perhaps since things were apart, I can get get a discount on the repipe at the same time. I spoke to 7 firms and 6 told me no. Their quotes to remodel the home and repipe started at 70000 and went up from there. Then I spoke to Mike Carlisle. He came in my home with insight and knowledge the other firms could not never deliver. Confident and sure of everything. Not a moment of hesitation. We already replaced the roof and all windows and doors and the bathrooms prior to contacting Mike the year prior so we did the following to the home with Mike: repipe, all new title, custom opening sky light in kitchen, redesign d fire place, all new lighting, wall mounted TV, removed 2 walls for open concept, painter the home, all new GE cafe appliances including induction cook top and convention microwave and duo French door convention oven, koller cast iron farm sink, new faucet, custom shaker style hardware soft close hand built by Carlisle cabinets with legs and pullouts everywhere with a coffee bar, subway tile on wall and 2 different quartz color slabs, custom island and bench seat bay window unit all new baseboards, new refrigerator AC sytms and Furnance by Rheem and so much more. All cost including appliances and AC / furnace system all materials all paint everything including some new leather mid century sofa and chairs just for fun was under 50000 dollars. That is right under 50000. Mikes labor was about 37000 and the rest was materials. No one I spoke too was even close and his workmanship is top notch. Mike Carlisle is the guy not a guy. He is on time and works with a stellar crew. His Plumber is hands down the best plumber I ever used. His tile team great and the cabinets are birch custom built with tons of build ins. Mike will let you order your appliances and AC furance lights etc on line if you prefer and will install them for you . My AC furnance was less than 5000 install out of the 50000 and The cheapest quote I got prior to finding Mike we 12000. Please if you are going the remodel anything in your home call Mike first. The 2 or 3 larger well name remodelers in Albuquerque will charge 2 to 4 times to money with less quality. My neighbors hired other firms and I saw the work and cost, Mike is the best you will ever fine anywhere. I wished I found him years ago. Truly a stand up guy who is honest, direct, to the point and get in done professional. Mike is no excuses. A coworker referred him to me and I will use Mike again on everything. He is the best, he really is.

If you have ever remodeled a home, then you know as I do that it's a very risky project. We have learned after building new homes and remodeling older homes that the most important ingredient is obviously to work with skilled professionals. Once you find those you feel have the resume to do the job properly, the biggest concern then comes into play. The person you're doing business with. There has to be Trust, integrity, honesty and yes personality. That was how we measured our builder when we did our very difficult remodeling job and came in on budget within a very reasonable schedule. Carlisle Builders were impressive from start to finish. The best I can say as a very satisfied customer is that we don't regret one decision or result of the entire project. I highly recommend Mike Carlisle of Carlisle Builders to anyone looking for quality, constant communication leading a professional team working to a quality ending.

Michael and his team were clean professional and a joy to work with. Their creativity and suggestions made my bathroom remodels more then I could have ever imagined. He kept the work site clean as well as safe. The materials he offered and suggested were incredibly easy to choose from and decreased the stress levels greatly while remodeling 2 bathrooms. I cannot wait to work with him for my third bathroom! I highly recommend him and his team.

Mr. Michael Carlile built our present home in High Desert in 2000. Since we are happy with the quality of our original home construction, we hired his services for a sun-room extension in 2007, full-bath conversion on the ground floor in 2012, and AC conversion in 2014. The projects costed a total of $60K. He completed all these three works/contracts in an exemplary manner. Mr. Carlisle is a very honest businessman and is extremely knowledgeable with engineering designs and details

Michael Carlisle is a very professional high quality contractor. He has done several projects for me, the last one was in my own home where we wanted an addition for a wet bar area. The project went as expected, all work was done in a timely fashion and kept within the specified budget of $25,000. Since completion we had several gatherings and everyone comments on the beautiful job he did. I recommend Carlisle Builders without any reservation.