Chris Kinard

After a disastrous experience with a previous contractor, and a frustrating search to find another one rescue our first major home project, Chris and his team at The Avenue Builders swooped in to save our day. We bought a home in Del Ray knowing we would need to modify or renovate the existing built-in book shelves because they were designed for an old, non-hi def TV. Our first contractor told us it would be an easy job, did the demo work, damaged the portion of the shelves we intended to keep, and then never showed up again. Nightmare! After a long search, we finally reached out to Chris Bellanca. Chris was responsive to our emails, looked at photos and emailed back and forth with questions, and agreed to come take a look. He was exactly on time, and spent a great deal of time during that initial visit listening to my wife and I, asking questions about our vision, looking at pictures, taking measurements, providing his own ideas, and asking questions we had never considered, including an electrical wiring issue we didn't even know we had. He was honest and up front about the challenges with the project, and really educated us about what he would do and how he would do it. He built the new shelves in his own shop, fixed and repainted the portion of the old shelves we were going to keep, hired an electrician to get us up to code, and created a new mantle above our fireplace. Our crown molding needed to be replaced along the top of the shelves, but of course that couldn't be easy, either. The molding pattern in the rest of the room as custom, so Chris had that custom made for us as well. He hung and wired our TV and components to finish the project. Oh, did I mention that the work started the day my wife and I came home from the hospital with our first child? Throughout the whole process, Chris was a true professional and a pleasure to work with. I can honestly say that I can't imagine being happier with a project, and I highly recommend The Avenue Builders for anyone looking to remodel or do a custom home build.