Cools Custom Remodeling by Jay

Donna B.

We first became associated with Cool's Custom 29 years ago when we were remodeling our kitchen and Cool's was used as a sub for our contractor. When our contractor abruptly went out of business in the middle of our job, Jay and his team jumped in and completed our kitchen. We have used Cool's Custom many times since then for a number of different remodeling projects, including a downstairs renovation with another full kitchen remodel 4 years ago. Jay's team, including his son Jason, were always prompt, courteous, knowledgeable and on the job when they said they would be there. Most recently, I had a problem with one of my 4+ year old kitchen appliances (installed during the last kitchen remodel) and Jay helped me navigate the warranty company and service repairs.

We have referred many of our neighbors to Cool's Custom and they have also been happy with the outcome. You may find contractors who are lower in cost, but I can assure you, the quality of service you will get from Cool's Custom outweighs any cost differences.

Kishore S.

We are very happy we chose Cools Custom for our remodeling project. Our project was to completely remodel the interior of our three bedroom two bath townhouse. Cools did a fantastic job of completing the project on schedule and with high quality.

We appreciate the professionalism. Jason was our project manager and we enjoyed working with him. He is available when you need him, pleasant to work with, professional and patient. He understands the stress the family is going through and is very accommodating. Phil worked with us to fully scope the project and was available at all times to help us choose the right design and items. The sub-contractors they brought along - carpenters, plumbers, electricians, painters, flooring contractor - were very good.

Overall, an enjoyable experience. It is surprising to hear that about contractors in general but it is true in this case. Their quotes are slightly on the expensive side but your get what you pay for - professionalism, higher quality work, on time completion and lower stress for you as a customer. Highly recommend.

Roger St. D.

The bathroom, in my rental house, had severe water damage around the bath tub surround. Handymen said the job was ""too big"". So based on Angie's List & YELP reviews, I asked Cools Custom Remodeling to come and evaluate.

They looked at the job, bid on it AND started demolition January 10.
They had a no-show one day due to the heavy rains. But they still completed the demolition, retile & grout, along with painting the guest bathroom all by January 17.

Unfortunately once the drywall was down, they found considerable water damage to studs and black paper.
Jay offered a few alternatives, explaining each providing pros & cons, allowing me to choose how I wanted to proceed.
This extra work added $800 but at least structure, of the house, is sound again.

Jay (father) and Jason (son) were in constant communications, via phone, text & email, with me and the tenant throughout the project.
They showed up, as they said they would and finished on schedule.
They cleaned up after themselves.

The bathroom looks like new. The tenant is extremely happy.
The $4,900 price seemed very good considerable the speed and quality of the work.

I'd use Cools Custom Remodeling again without hesitation and have recommended them to friends.

Thanks Jay, Jason, Noe & Doug!

Janet G.

We came home from vacation last April and noticed some dark spots on the hardwood floor in our master bedroom...near the wall shared with the master shower...not good. After some initial exploration, we found that a malfunctioning shower valve had been leaking into the wall cavity for about 5 1/2 years - lots of mold, rotted studs, subfloor issues, a shower that needed to be completely replaced, along with hardwood flooring in the bedroom. You would think that it would be relatively easy to find a contractor to do this work, but it's not. Many of the people we contacted just said, ""no, we don't do water damage."" Others thought that the job was too small. Others would do it, but wouldn't give a firm quote and wanted to charge an outrageous ""exploration"" fee. Enter Cools Custom Remodeling.

From the start, they worked to get our business and treated it as a partnership. Yes, they admitted it was a smaller job for them, but they never made us feel that it was any less important. We had an open line of communication and we always knew where things stood. We had a lot of stops, starts, and delays on the job as we were trying to match specific tile (some of it custom-made) and flooring (and did I mention that we're sort of super-picky?). They hung in there. If we weren't 100% satisfied with something, they came back and worked on it until we were. We moved back into our master suite last weekend and the whole thing looks beautiful - just like the disaster never happened.

Cools Custom gave us all you can ask for in a contractor: fair prices, good communication, quality workmanship, and willingness to meet expectations. I would recommend them for any job, large or small.

Chip B.

The entire staff and team at Cool's were great to deal with. The work was a small job - adding a cabinet and trim over a fridge - was done beautifully, and crew who did the work were just plain nice. Highest recommendation!

Andrew P.

Excellent services very pleased with the job they did on our bathroom in Los Gatos.... Jay Cool knows exactly what he's doing thank you again.

Todd G.

in the last week

Cools Custom did a Bathroom Remodel for me at my house in Almaden Valley San Jose, CA! The bathroom came out absolutely gorgeous! It reminds me of a 5 Star Hotel bathroom!

They were very professional, the workmanship was second to none, the job site was always clean, and they were always on time. The one time they we're
going to be a little late, they called beforehand and communicated with me.

Jay communicated with me frequently, and I was very happy with his professionalism!

I highly recommend them!

Kenny P.

Cool's Custom

This project involved a total kitchen makeover and expansion, conversion of a small den/tv room, addition of sliding glass doorway (master bedroom), expansion of existing bedroom closets, new tile floor in the bathroom & tv room, refinishing hardwood floors and painting throughout. Original concept included expansion of the master bedroom to incorporate a half bathroom, but this was discarded due to cost. I moved out for six months (!) while the majority of the (re-)construction was in progress. This was my first (AND ONLY) remodel, so my goal was to get it all done in one shot.

Phil T was outstanding, easy to work with, enthusiastic, extremely responsive, experienced, fair and direct. He even dropped by unannounced one Saturday, just to check on progress, and ended up spending an hour discussing options for the remainder of the project. He knows what he's doing, or finds out quickly and responds.

Jason is one of the nicest service people I've ever worked with, very low key, easy to talk with, aims to please. I don't think he had the experience with this scope of project--or maybe just the scope of This Project specifically--which sometimes left questions unanswered for longer than I would've liked, and several ""oops, forgot about that"" moments. He was not as familiar with the details as Phil (who worked with me as the initial contact with Cool's) and he often had to say ""I don't know, I'll get back to you,"" on what seemed like fairly standard questions, some of which I had to re-ask in order to get answers.

The subcontractors all did outstanding work, no issues with workmanship. There was some miscommunication of where and how and what, with questions not specified in the plans or proposal, but everything was eventually rectified.

I did feel, as other reviewers have stated, there was a lot of ""we will finish X today, can you have a check for us tomorrow?"" without an intermediate step of meeting with someone to confirm that everything was complete & correct on that step.

The basic project was completed close to budget, with one minor unforeseen addition (floor underneath carpeting needed replacement in one spot). The projected three month timeline was unreasonable, in hindsight; with delays on several fronts, some my fault, not so with others. Appliances were ordered well in advance, but delivery for some was delayed (standard size wine cooler did not fit the space it was intended for and had to be replaced); second order of floor tiles was (twice) delayed/discontinued/eventually completed; bathroom sink took a long time to receive, delaying completion of that part of the project; ordering closet doors with Cool's recommended vendor was an ordeal. Final 10% of the project seemed to take forever.

Never having remodeled...anything...before, and occasionally not knowing what questions to ask/answers to give, nor understanding the flow/organization of the project delayed some of my decisions/purchases; one of my frustrations was not having a detailed timeline or an expected order of completion for more than one or two steps at a time. Knowing that would have likely sped up the project.

Looking back now, a year from the start of the project, I rate the process a moderate success, and the final product a great success. I can only point to minor issues on the house that didn't turn out as expected, and a few (minor) things I would have done differently had I known then what I know now, but for the vast majority everything turned out satisfactory and more.

Jennifer L.

This company is a joke. Jay Cool does not perform as a general contractor should. His subs are hit and miss and the weekly phone call from the office to make you pay so they can hit payroll is alarming. They screwed up a simple bathroom so many times, I should have fired them. The tiles on the floor and the shower were done wrong so had to be re-done. The plumber had such an attitude and screwed up the plumbing in my shower so bad then insulted my son and I had to kick him out of my house. This company is a joke. Do not hire them under any circumstances. Not only are they incompetent, they are dishonest and the results are far less that satisfactory. I had to finish the job which was far less than satisfactory to get them out of my house as I was so angry.

Now he is trying to say I was not a customer. I am very SURE he remembers me.

Add to the list that he is a liar. Avoid him at all costs. The people on Yelp who recommend him must be paid or are relatives.

Peter W.

Pros: Job is acceptable although not great. Able to follow the schedule. Willing to follow up with the warranted fixes.

Cons: Could face significant over-charge if there is anything extra found beyond the original contract. It is ok to use this contractor if everything is so obvious and well defined which can all be covered on the agreement. However, if you have anything that could possibly be hidden, especially when there is any electrical or framing work involved, better be prepared with the overcharge. There could be lots of stress and negotiations.