Cools Custom Remodeling by Jay

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.

Ingrid L.

We hired Cool's Custom Remodeling for our kitchen remodeling early this year. During the first and only time we met with Jay Cool, we were told the remodeling should be very easy and could be completed in about 2 months. However, it turned out that the project became very complicated and took more than 6 months. A few days after the project took off, the company started to ask for more money because they believed they underestimated the scope of work. Over the course of the project, they even asked for more money for re-do works even though those works were completely due to their own mistakes. Another frustrating thing is that this company has no quality control of their projects, and no project manager oversees the whole project. They do have Jason Cool making work schedules, which is the only reason that I gave the company more than one star. But the workers are being pushed too hard, often having multiple jobs in one day, so they often rush to finish one in order to get to the next one in time. So we had to spend a lot of time watching over our project to ensure that it would not be too late before the mistakes were caught. Overall, if you have other options, do not hire this company. If you have no other choice, you should have your contract written as detailed as possible.

Ray A.

Sent an email, received a prompt phone call, set up appointment. Waited for an hour no one showed up, texted, called or emailed.
You decide if you want to do business with Cool's Custom. MY EXPERIENCE WAS NOT COOL!

Jeff W.

I recently had Cool's Custom Remodeling perform work at my home. They did tile work in the kitchen, sheetrock work and painting throughout. In addition, they did concrete work in the patio.
The owner Jay is awesome to work with. He has a lot of knowledge of remodeling and offered suggestion to make the remodeling better. His quotes were either the number I had in mind or within a couple of hundred dollars of my number. I thought his quote numbers were realistic. Each of his staff members that did the work did an excellent job. The tile work on the backsplash and floor were meticulous done-true craftsmanship. The Sheetrock work and painting were done efficiently and with no mess. I'm extremely pleased with all the work performed by Cool's Custom Remodeling. I'd use them again when the need arises and would highly recommend them without hesitation.

Kim N.

Cools Custom has now completed 3 jobs and finishing a 4th. They have done an excellent, quality, fairly priced remodels in the following areas ...
1- Master Bedroom
2- High-tech Kitchen
3- Front Entry and adjoining bathroom
4- Master Bathroom - now under construction
These jobs total in excess of $150,000

Jay (owner of Cools Custom) and team have done an outstanding job dealing with a home built in the 1970s with ceilings reaching 25'. Jay quoted each project as best he could, but of course, you always run into 'unexpected' things e.g. pipes and electrical in usual places.

Each 'unexpected thing' that arose, we discussed and completed a 'change order' outlining additional work required and cost. Jay was fair dealing with each situation and additional expense.

Note: I have read other reviews whereby homeowners expect a bid to remain 'as is' regardless of what the contractor runs into. This is unfair to the contractor ... Jay and I discussed each situation and I remained very satisfied with the results even though there was additional expense due to 'unexpected things'.

Overall, the experience, work and attention to detail has been outstanding and ... they clean-up each day. All jobs have been completed on-time.

Also, I felt completely comfortable leaving my home open during the day with Jay's crew even when I was not present.

If you are seeking the cheapest price, don't use Cools. If you are seeking a quality, first rate job at a fair price (not highest and not lowest), you should consider Cool's Custom.

Carol S.

Similar to Joie P's experience, the final results were nice, but working with the owner was very trying. He is not a particularly good communicator and was not very ""present"" on the job. It's a good thing that his sub-contractors, for the most part, are reliable. We had billing issues, and tile issues, and lighting issues that took too long to resolve. While we are happy with the kitchen, it came in way over budget and was a painful experience.