| Testimonials
The old adage goes: "to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs." And so, plans in hand and John Koushouris on site, we broke eggs, we broke ground, we broke stone. This was a project that we had waited 10 years to do and entailed the challenge of integrating an extremely modern, high concept kitchen, family room, powder room, laundry, study, two patios, two rooflines and more onto the bones of an 1820’s barn set on the Noroton River. It wasn’t going to be easy. John Koushouris completed an extensive, complex renovation of our home where he personally managed every aspect of the project. We are thrilled with the results and every day our family is grateful that we live in such a beautiful home. Among the many things that made John special included:
When I go to dinner with people and hear war story after war story about their personal experiences renovating their houses, I smile to myself. Don't make the mistakes that so many people do because you now know that if you hire John Koushouris, not only will you will not have a nightmare but you will be proud to say "John Koushouris built my house." I say mistakes because the other task I recommend is that you read every single note and elevation on your drawing before construction starts. If you do not understand something or find anything you want to change do so before the job starts. I read every line on every drawing that was released and that attention to detail in conjunction with hiring John were the two factors that lead to a successful project. John and I and my wife became friends during our project and we have stayed in touch enough to know how well John's resume and portfolio have grown since we met him. You have no risk. John is a gentleman; John is a craftsman; John is completely knowledgeable; John is a reasonable businessman with respect to pricing inevitable changes (even if you read the drawings carefully) and he is at your job every day and most of the day. I had the opportunity to refer John to a friend of mine and every time I see him he mentions our common contractor in the best light possible; Dan mentions additional work John has done on his house and speaks of John so fondly. I can go on but I hope you get my message and hire John. Please let me know if there are any questions or concerns you think I can provide information on to help you analyze your decision. Good luck with your project. Greg Durkin President
328 Sellect Street Stamford, CT 06902 We are writing at the request of John Koushouris, who completed a major addition and renovation to our home more than 10 years ago. We recommend John highly and without reservation. We entrusted him with our home and all its contents while we lived in a rental house a short distance away. Our time frame was limited by the length of our lease and John assured us the job would be complete in plenty of time. He kept his word. John and his team were always professional, punctual, and respectful. The personal service and oversight provided by John was a great benefit. He is on site every day and works alongside the rest of his staff. Thus, he is an integral part of the process and can provide up-to-the-minute reports. We were pleased with the quality of the workmanship and our relationship was pleasant from start to finish. In fact, we have remained in contact with John over the years and continue to recommend his services whenever the opportunity arises. John Koushouris is a man of the highest integrity and character. We trust him completely. If you would like to speak with us by phone, please feel free to call at the numbers listed below. P. Coughlin Greenwich, CT John Koushouris was the contractor on a large renovation we did in our home. We selected him from a number of contractors who bid on our job, based on his references, the quality of his previous work and on our sense that we could work well with him during the long and stressful process of construction. Our expectations were met and surpassed in every sense. John and his crew were expert, professional, pleasant and easy to have around. John was responsive, on site everyday and the project was completed on time and to our specifications. There was absolutely no conflict between us and when we had to make changes or work through an unexpected development we did it together. John's staff and subs were great craftsmen and they got the job done. They were also very nice people and since we lived in our home with our three children during the construction that was important. We have stayed close with John and he has been to our family parties and events. We consider him a friend. He will do a great job, you will like him when the job is finished and you will be happy with result. Please don't hesitate to call me if you have any questions. D. and M. Abt Stamford, CT I understand that you are considering Koushouris Construction for a project on your home. John undertook a major two story addition to our home in Greenwich, which included a new master suite, laundry room, and year round sun room. He did an outstanding job and is a person of integrity. He is detail oriented and we were very impressed with the team he assembled and directed to work on our home. The workmanship and craftsmanship is truly beautiful, and to this day we receive many compliments on the design and architectural detail of the rooms. We found John accessible, responsive, and he demonstrated a real ownership of the project. We never had to be involved or concerned about the details, because he was taking care of the details. The addition was completed on time and to this day, we continue to call John back to work on other projects on our house and have recommended him to others. One of the reasons we chose to hire him was because of the high level of personal attention he brought to the job, which was a valuable asset we felt might get lost if we had used a larger construction company. If you have any further questions, please feel free to call me. B. and J. Richards Greenwich, CT John performed an addition for us several years ago, which included integrating significant changes to our existing space, such as a full redesign/expansion/installation of a new kitchen and expansion of an existing family room. We are very pleased by the finished product (we are thoroughly enjoying it to this day!) and were highly satisfied with John as our general contractor. John was referred to us by a large, well-known, Fairfield County developer. While we had interviewed many GCs, we found that very few residential builders were knowledgeable about and/or willing to use typical AIA (American Institute of Architects) forms and billing procedures. I have been active for many years as a commercial real estate construction and permanent lender, and this was an important criterion for us. We had worked with our architect for some time prior to choosing our GC, so part of our selection process included a meeting of all the critical parties. We became very satisfied that all involved would work well together. There was collaboration and strong respect among these professionals that also was an important factor to us and critical to the success of our project. John was on the job daily. We found him to be “down-to-earth”, practical, flexible, and knowledgeable. He had excellent framers/carpenters on our job and a good working relationship with subcontractors. Interaction with our architect remained positive and cooperative throughout the job. We developed a warm and friendly relationship with John that never disturbed our professional relationship or expectation for high quality delivery standards. Some might take issue with the fact that the job took longer than initially projected. Based upon my experience in the industry, however we assumed that to be the case from “day one” and built in additional time in our personal planning (many construction projects incur delays for a myriad of reasons). We would have made that same assumption for any contractor. Our perspective was that we would rather the project be built carefully and thoughtfully, and perhaps, slightly more slowly, than have anyone feel that corners should be cut to meet a deadline. Our project was a two floor addition that included several interesting and challenging features, including cathedral ceilings, skylight, a changing roof line, and a curved wall (that was part of the division between the two rooms that both had cathedral ceilings with the change in roof direction). Mechanically, it also included design engineering and integration of multi-zone HVAC with existing systems. All work was executed beautifully! It was truly a pleasure to see John’s men in action. In summary, we would highly recommend John Koushouris as your GC. We are confident he will be your partner with a focused goal of delivering a high quality project to exceed your expectations, as he did with ours. He is entirely caring about what you want and trying to make it happen. Our experience is that he will act tirelessly on your behalf. Good luck with your project! G. Russo and R. Leone New Canaan, CT John was our contractor for a kitchen and family room addition. My husband and I were very pleased with the high quality of his subcontractors and in particular, his management of all aspects of the job. He pays attention to the details and is very organized. In addition, he has stood behind all of the work that was performed and has come back when something needed to be tweaked. We have subsequently used him and his subs for smaller projects around the house and have also recommended him to several friends who were seeking a contractor. We would not hesitate to use his services again. If you wish to discuss his qualifications further, please contact us. Anne M. Greenwich, CT Your contact information was given to me pursuant to a construction project you are considering. I am writing to share some of the experiences we enjoyed with John and his firm. John and we first met some 10 years ago now. We choose him over some larger contractors because we felt we would have direct access to the principal of the firm on whose reputation it was staked. Frankly, we have had mixed experiences with GC's, so Koushouris Construction proved to be an exception and pure delight. John and his team finished our garage on time and within budget, and, I think, created a lasting legacy for our neighborhood in the process. You are welcome to see it in Old Greenwich if it would be helpful to you.....it is no conventional 'garage'! Moreover, the entire experience with John and his subs was a pleasure. We have considered him a friend ever since. More important than this to me is what happened this past August. We were in the midst of a move to Washington, DC where I was working and commuting/living, my wife still at home in Old Greenwich. Our community was struck by a micro blast which felled a couple of town trees onto our property - and house. As we were readying ourselves for the physical move and our home for market, you can imagine just how distraught my wife was. Beside herself, she made a single call - to John Koushouris. John appeared the next day, made an assessment of the damage, organized the sub-contractors and commenced work immediately. Within three weeks, the entire project was finished and we were back on track for our move. By the way, although I wouldn't ordinarily recommend it as a business practice, John did all this without a deposit and just a verbal handshake on the terms; such is the character and substance of John and his firm. Just to put things in context, it is rare that I have ever written a favorable reference for a contractor, so this constitutes very high praise indeed. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck with your project. Should you wish to chat so that i might amplify further on my comments, you are most welcome to contact me. T. Schantz Old Greenwich, CT ps. John's hero is Winston Churchill. Whom else would you rather have allied with such an important undertaking as your own?!? There are two main characteristics about John Koushouris that are reflected in the work he does and the finished product he delivers. These qualities are passion and integrity. When we first met John, it was readily apparent that he had passion for what he does. That quality clearly set him apart from others bidding on our home renovation project and attracted us to choose him. We were not disappointed. John’s passion is manifested in his craftsmanship and attention to detail, and he demands this of all his subcontractors. He will not tolerate anything less than perfect. Part of his passion is also reflected in his artisanship – his love of the craft. This man understands and enjoys working with wood and related materials. The other quality is integrity. John stands completely behind his work. He will not deliver anything that is less than perfect. And he is incredibly honest. We could not have asked for a more straight forward, fair, and honest contractor. This made the normally disruptive process of renovating a home much more bearable and pleasant. Together, all this resulted in his delivering a superb finished product to us for which we will always be grateful. A. and J. Brown Pound Ridge, NY We have an older house (circa 1939) and John did a large project on our home in Greenwich. It was an extensive project that took approximately 5 - 6 months to complete. The project covered all aspect that you might imagine; i.e. new kitchen, new family room, new basement, new roof (entire house), new siding (entire house) , major electrical upgrading, new HVAC, installation of large generator…the list goes on. John did a great job in organizing and completing the project on time and on budget. He also followed up with any issues that arose after the project was complete (there were not many), and since that time I have used him to do various other small projects around the house. He has been a great resource for me as getting small projects done can sometimes be difficult – no one is interested in doing anything small. My experience was that he had great sub contractors that he managed and he personally provided the supervision of a project general manager. He was very ‘hands on’ throughout the project and was personally involved in from start to finish. As the project unfolded he was completely up to date on every aspect and always available and easy to reach if I had any questions. John is hard working, honest, conscientious, cost effective, and responsive. I would highly recommend him for any renovation or construction job. If you have any questions pls feel free to contact me. D. Lucey Greenwich, CT John Koushouris' excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail is evident throughout our addition. John is meticulous in his work. He communicates his progress daily - typically in a 4 am email! Equally important as the quality of the work is the quality of the person, and John made what can be a challenging process for a busy family a pleasure. We couldn't be more pleased with both the experience and the final product. We highly recommend John Koushouris! Good Luck! P. and D. Pizzani Darien, CT Contact information for Testimonials available upon request. |
