Gilmans Kitchens and Baths - San Mateo

We recently had two bathrooms completely remodeled and worked with the Design & Build team at Gilman's Kitchen & Baths in San Mateo.
Our home is older, so significant changes were required regarding plumbing, lighting, & ventilation to meet the newer building codes. Riddhi Pandit, the design coordinator, & Howard Gallas, the designer, were very patient, making sure all building codes were met, while coordinating a beautiful design with functionality.
The guest bath included in-wall cabinets, a recessed medicine unit with space for two guests, a Corian surround shower and glass that requires minimal upkeep. The master bath was also designed with separate sinks, mirrored cabinets, quartz countertops, and heated marble floors.
They were extremely conscientious and made sure all needed products were available before beginning. Both Howard and Riddhi were meticulously thorough, even coordinating the marble tile subtleties in placement. Their design and product coordination were unparalleled.
Kevin Madden, our project contractor, was also extremely helpful working to make sure everything was built exactly as planned. He listened to all our concerns and went out of his way to make sure those concerns were met.
5 Stars for Gilman's, for a fantastic job well done.

I recently used Gilman's Design-Build service to remodel my bathroom for age-in-place. Wendy, the designer, did a great job incorporating all of my needs and preferences into the design. Riddhi, our design assistant, was very helpful throughout the process, and Alex, our production manager, was very knowledgeable about all building codes and construction issues.

A special acknowledgement goes to project manager Kevin Madden. When he found out that I only had one full bath in my house he pushed the start date out until all of the materials had been received so there would be no delay in waiting for supplies. This was very much appreciated. Kevin always kept me informed as to what to expect at the start of each week.

Overall, I had a great experience with Gilman's Kitchen and Bath. The company is really committed to customer service. All emails and phone calls were answered promptly, and the project progressed quickly once it started. The company employs skilled subcontractors and in-house employees who are very good at what they do.

This review is about Cheri Ginsberg - she is superb!

This review has been a while coming, but better late, than never I guess. We did a kitchen remodel and to this end, gutted the whole place, and built it up. We wanted a modern look and were shopping around for cabinets and importantly trying to figure out the best design that would go with what we had in mind, balanced against utility, aesthetics and functionality. We did the rounds and found some good folks who were able to talk to us, until we ran into Cheri. It was almost as if the stars lined up and brought us to Cheri. First, we did not have an appointment and were walk-ins. Regardless, once Cheri was done with here client, without skipping a beat, she greeted us with a warm smile asking how she could help us. We ran through our project from memory - she listened intently, took notes, asking clarifying questions. The difference and what made Cheri stand out, is that she invested the time to learn what we wanted. Not what is important to X, Y, and Z. What our taste is, and what we had in mind, based on which she offered options. She also took the time to understand what is important to us, viz. the finish, the detail, and she painstakingly went through every single nuance. Her design ideas took into account what is described above and in addition to the fact that she is very good at what she does, what won us over is her time, effort and energy to really understand us.



When we were in a state of analysis paralysis, and stage of stasis trying to balance the color of the cabinets with the countertops, the tile and appliance, she patiently walked us through all scenarios and was generous in allowing us to bring home samples. We loved the level of detail she got into and most times she preempted and was on top of the project more than us. As an aside, everytime we would visit the store, she would offer us tons of food, water knowing we would often time show up from work at the end of the day. During the ordering process she made sure she checked, double checked, and then checked some more, to ensure every single aspect was thought of, and accounted for. It feels like a miracle now - there were no snafus, no delays, no hiccups, the project went through seamlessly and without event. She offered to visit during installation to walk through the specs with our contractor and was always available to answer any and all questions.



After all was said and done, she visited our place to see the completed project, showed up with a nice bottle of wine and goodies. She even helped us file a claim with insurance for a defective piece, took care of everything and the piece simply showed up at our door. I am sure there are good people all around, but to us, Cheri is special. If anyone has had the patience to read upto this point, we strongly suggest to go visit and meet Cheri, and maybe other folks will be as lucky as we were from day 1 through to a perfect installation.

We made an online appointment with Howard a designer from the San Mateo showroom. He was very helpful on our initial visit as we were new to the entire remodel process and we're starting from square One. He made sure we understood the process and even gave us some ballpark figures for kitchen and bathroom remodels so we can start working out a budget.

He then said he would like to make an appointment to come out and see the possible projects and he did, at which point he made further recommendations along with helpful points to prioritize the projects. He didn't pull any punches when it came to length of time from beginning to end of a project and how the choice of materials might affect that process.

Howard was a tremendous help from guiding our expectations to helping with recommendations all the way to giving ball Park figures which was invaluable to our decision making process. He said he would be involved in the process from beginning to end. It would be hard to ask for any more from a kitchen/bath designer!

Trisha is wonderful and the best person I have ever
worked with. We have had 2 bathrooms remodeled and
a kitchen project managed by Trisha. I highly
recommend Gilman's and Trisha's expertise.

Still NOT done.

Job deposit paid Oct 2020, broke ground Jan 2021, we're still waiting for this job to be complete TODAY, June 2022!

Paid over 360K for a ktichen/2 bath remodel that was quoted $286K. Did we get duped? maybe... but all would be forgiven if I'm not still sitting here waiting for my job to be completed. You may be lucky or you could be me.

I was told many times there are 'bigger' jobs up the hill. We PAID for PM and I'm having to chase these people to finish their job.

Issues:
1. Cut one of our pipes (without mending) and didn't tell the plumber. Moved back in and flooded our crawl space.
2. Also found that they cut into our hall closet for a pipe job, didn't tell us about it, nothing we can do about it now. Was left with a gaping hole in there until we found the issue and demanded it patched up.
3. Personnel issues abound. Worst is the PM A*** who never updates on time, when being chased for ETA and answers would punt and deflect. Who left(??) and rehired (why?).
4. Closed ceiling before fridge/hood install and had to reopen the job. After patching, there's different off white color (STILL) on my ceiling along with different textures.
5. Light fixtures took eons to program correctly. We insisted on one brand, and Gilman had us buying another.
6. Kitchen sink wasn't sealed in the edges, mold appeared soon after. Pointed out the issue but it's forgotten.
7. I have a vent light that is now permanently 'slightly' on, like a night light. If I'm being kind, I'll say I've waited 6 months for this fix... in reality have waited longer.

There are more things I can list, and it'd all be water under the bridge if I'm not doing yet another walk through for problems I pointed out and are on the punch list 6 months ago!

I've waited a LONG time to write this because there were bright spots in the job, some of the personnel (Trisha left) helped bridged the shortcomings.

I've asked the owners to contact me directly, they've NEVER done so. Got our money and ignored us.

Gilmans took care of our every need when remodeling our kitchen. Gina was so helpful and accommodating with my very picky desires. And yes as with every remodel there were issues but Gina resolved everything in a timely manner.

I was contacted by the owner and he went above and beyond to ensure that I was taken care of. I was very impressed by this action and highly recommend Goldmans Kitchens and Bath.

I recently had a bathroom remodel, as a result of water damage from an upstairs neighbor. Gilman's Kitchen and Bath was my go-to place, and that was the best decision. Debbie Kaufman, their chief design coordinator, has thorough knowledge of what needed to be done, not only with the design and product knowledge, but what was required with building codes and remediation requirements. Debbie also made sure that I didn't make the wrong decisions as to what made sense when it came upgrades. They are well connected with some great suppliers, and Debbie was able to navigate through some serious supply chain issues, which probably saved me months of potential delays. Debbie also kept in close communication with the on-site workers, to make sure everything was being done properly. Gilman's is the wisest choice you could make for your remodel.

Made an appointment to plan a full kitchen, master bath, second bath and powder room renovation. I was told to look around the sparse showroom, then was met by a rep 20 minutes later. Poor customer service, they clearly don't want to be bothered with my business.