“ My name is Kane Franklin and I'm writing this to express how pleased my wife and I have been with the Schwab Construction team in their professional management and execution of the extensive remodeling of our 3,800 sq. foot two story waterfront Merritt Island home. When I say extensive, I'm not exaggerating. This project involved three major rooms, two baths, and the garage. Every window (17) was replaced with storm windows and new plantation blinds, as well as a large three panel slider exiting to the enclosed pool area, two upstairs glass storm doors, and a two panel slider in the master bedroom. All new.
The master bath required removal of all previous architecture, treating for mold, relocating plumbing, building new walls to separate the master bed and bath, and creating his/hers walk-in closets, a custom 2-person tile and glass shower, new modern toilet and freestanding tub, custom cabinets, and custom dual vanity with Cambria quartz top and his/her mirrored medicine cabinets and custom black glass LED lit sinks. The master bedroom was polished with crown molding and electrical wiring for a modern wall mounted TV. The existing hallway 1/2 bathroom was converted to a brand new, beautiful, custom full bath with tile and glass enclosure shower. An office was completely refreshed with modern tile, modern LED lighting, crown molding, custom glass french doors, and the addition of a closet. The bonus room was converted to an inviting, modern tiled dining room with an exquisite modern LED chandelier, and squared off entries modernizing the arched entries that had darkened the room. The tile work in the office, dining, both bathrooms - including showers and floors are immaculate and include special design features. The entire front of the house was pushed out and modified to take a small 500 sq. foot 2-car garage and turn it into an oversized (1,130 sq. ft.) 3-car garage with one large two-car storm rated door and one single car storm door, with an adjoining 210 sq. ft. workshop.
As you might imagine, the roof line was changed dramatically with this growth in the home footprint, and all engineered roof trusses were designed and manufactured by subcontract, and delivered for installation. The entire roof was replaced with high relief (triple thickness) premium grade storm rated asphalt shingles, with all new gutters and soffits on the addition. The expansion of the front of the house used steel reinforced concrete block, and was then stucco'd.
Extensive electrical system modification was required as a third air conditioning unit was installed to provide for a climate controlled garage and workshop area. A new full-house, automatic, emergency generator was installed providing full autonomy from the grid system in event of failure. New breaker panels, wiring and outlets meeting high load requirements and conditions in the workshop and garage were installed. All new LED lighting and switches were required. The entire front yard was re-landscaped with new irrigation sprinkler system, plants and river rock. An all new, wide paver driveway was installed. The existing septic-waste system was reworked, saving thousands of dollars over a new system. Finally, the entire exterior and remodeled interior areas of the house were repainted.
The work took about 6 months to complete, approximately a month longer than the Schwab initial forecast, but the delay was due to weather and the impacted schedule of the Engineering design drawing company when the primary designer had a family emergency that took him out of town for an extended period. The Schwab team took care of all aspects of the build - design, permitting, subcontractor oversight, scheduling and managing all work.
Observing the details required to manage this effort was a true learning experience for Elizabeth and myself. We are both University Degreed Aerospace Engineers and spent our entire adult lives working with highly technical people in advanced concept aerospace and weapons systems design and development areas. Working with the Schwabs was eye opening for us. We learned that without the expertise of the Schwab team to execute this construction project, it would not have happened, or would have ended up significantly over schedule and over budget. The sequencing and timing of everything was critical to manage because of our demanding time limitations. I know this: Dan Schwab is not an average contractor by any means. College educated and degreed, honest, ethical, highly articulate, physically very fit, and very hands on with the management of the work crews. Dan is up at 4 am and often not back home until dark. If someone, anyone on a crew is not performing to his standards, or in the event of 'no-shows', Dan is fully capable of filling in directly in any role, to ensure schedules are kept. Tricia Schwab personally worked with my wife Elizabeth to select surface treatments and all fixtures, lighting, etc. Her taste and intuition with respect to colors for the custom vanity tops, room lighting, plumbing fixtures and faucets, wall colors, etc. are world class in my opinion. She is on top of current trends and personally picked samples of materials and paint colors, sending them to us for consideration. Tricia is also the money manager and a master scheduler, coordinating many of the individual subcontrator work teams and orchestrating material delivery and timing. Dan and Tricia also provided guidance on modifications that would add or remove value from the property. Again, this project would be impossible to complete on time for many ordinary building Contractors in this area, with our compressed time schedule.
Most of those interviewed prior to contracting with the Schwabs were reluctant to even estimate the time required, and those that did gave vague answers of "about 9 months to a year". We met with the Schwab's and some other contractors, and observed other construction projects now in our area. In our opinion others are simply not of the caliber, in knowledge, capability or discipline we personally observed in the Schwab Construction team. The inspectors that periodically showed up to review progress of the build to the new Dade Co. area building codes for hurricane resistance commented frequently on the quality of the construction. All neighbors universally commented on how well the project proceeded, that being unheard of in the area, and how beautiful the house turned out. We have since watched the construction of four other brand new Schwab homes, all of which achieved the same superior standards we expected in our own home. We can recommend Schwab Construction without hesitation, to complete your higher-end new build, or extensive remodeling project to your taste and satisfaction.”
