What Our Customers Are Saying

“I met with Ken Fritz in the summer of 2011 to discuss some initial ideas I had for constructing a two story room addition to our existing home to provide additional space for our large family and take advantage of a large vacant side yard on our property.

First, a few words about us. My wife and I are busy professionals who also operate a rental real estate business in the St. Pete area. Being in the real estate business for many years, we have lots and lots of experience with home repairs and remodeling, as well as dealing with contractors from the various construction trades. Our home is located in a historic neighborhood, where maintaining the original look of the home is paramount. Consequently, we tended to be very specific about certain details about the new addition.

I had not met Ken before our initial visits regarding our room addition plans. When we decided to hire Ken, we based our decision largely on price and his easy going personality. He seemed like he’d be easy to work with on a large project such as this. But, of course we recognized that on a project this size, there is a large commitment on our part and always the risk that things may not go well along the way, particular when you have not used the contractor in the past.

Now that the project is complete, we can honestly and easily say, WE MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE.

Yes, our decision to hire Ken was validated. His price was very fair and he was very easy to work with. But, Ken also brings much, much more to the job that just those things…

First, Ken essentially does the design himself. As I alluded to above, I admit I tend to be a bit ‘picky’ about certain aspects of the job. Ken was exceptionally easy to work with on designing the addition.

He patiently worked through various versions and changes to the design plans, and offered some great design ideas throughout the planning process. As with any project, the design phase is the most important. It is where you ensure you get what you really want. Now that everything is done, I can say that the the design planning was a great success…and we did get what we wanted.

Ken is unique in that he and his team do a variety of the work ‘in-house’. He does the design, but also does a lot of the actual construction work. He works well with the city department and all necessary subcontractors. Ken and his team did a fantastic job on the building core: the foundation, framing, sheathing, etc. The building is rock solid. I even over heard one of the inspectors say it was one of the ‘best framing jobs he’d seen’. Our family has since joked around, saying that ‘if there’s ever a hurricane, we’re camping out in the room addition!’…because that place isn’t going anywhere.

Ken was very helpful in working with us to pick out windows and doors. It was very important to me to keep the the ‘5 over 1’ style of the original windows that we still have in our 1923 home. I also spent a long time debating the usefulness of french swinging doors versus sliding doors. We made some great choices and Ken was instrumental in helping us. On a similar note, I was equally concerned about maintaining the look of the building. Our home has two different styles of siding on the second floor and first floor and very specific trim work that is not the same as modern standard measurements. Ken matched our home addition IDENTICALLY, using modern materials and yet precisely matching all dimensions.

In summary, the quality of Ken’s work and his dedication to detail in SECOND TO NONE.

In addition to the quality of job itself, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Ken’s interpersonal skills. Ken is exceptionally easy to work with. Not only was it easy for me to work with Ken, but he also has a great team and works very well with a variety of subcontractors. He also works very well with the city and the inspectors, as well as material vendors. I have a large family including young children and I felt comfortable and SAFE with Ken and his team at my house on a daily basis. Ken is professional and courteous and great with the kids when they are around. My kids like Ken so much they built a ‘Lego house’ with his company sign out front to show him!

I’ll use KR Fritz in the future. I highly recommend giving Ken a call for any of your remodeling and construction needs, not matter how big or small the job.”

“I hired KR Fritz to add square footage to a small rental property that I own to enhance it’s marketability and rent value by improving the kitchen size, adding a 3rd bedroom, and adding an interior laundry. Ken Fritz was very easy to work with and provided excellent design ideas to maximum the space at a reasonable price for a rental property application.

The general scope of the job was to add a ground up addition, including foundation, framing, electrical, plumbing, windows, doors, sheathing, stucco, and roof system. The functional result was a new kitchen with new but economical cabinetry, counter tops and fixtures; an interior laundry closet, and a comfortable third bedroom.

All work was performed to my satisfaction and the property was very marketable and well-liked by prospective tenants.

Thanks for job well done!”

“We purchased a 2 bedroom 1 bath 1925 Bungalow with the idea of expanding it to a 3 bedroom 2 bath home by enclosing its large screened porch and placing a bedroom and bathroom in that space. The renovated space needed to be seamlessly integrated into the bungalow’s character so that it would appear as if it had always been there. We also needed to totally renovate the existing bathroom – take it down to the studs and totally reimagine the space. We required reframing the existing closets to make one master closet as well as building two new ones. Finally, our vision also requiring some reframing to change the traffic flow by enclosing doorways and adding new ones and adding pocket doors to maximize space. All the framing needed special mill work to match the area of the house. We were anxious about choosing a contractor because who hasn’t watched Holmes on Homes or some similar horror story!!

We chose Ken over any other contractor we spoke to for a couple of reasons: 1) He was competitively priced 2) He offered his suggestions and guidance based on years of experience yet respected that the decisions were ours to make and seemed committed to making it happen according to our vision 3) Ken’s demeanor fit incredibly well with us. He is soft spoken and accommodating, not overbearing or dismissive.

Just as often goes with the old houses, there were numerous issues that were discovered as the old wall coverings were removed. We discovered the house had knob and tube wiring, the plumbing needed total replacement, the old clay sewer line was busted due to tree roots, etc. Then there are the things that you didn’t think about doing but realize that just make sense to do while the house is under extensive construction, such as replacing all of the ceilings, adding returns in the existing bedrooms, changing out French doors that you didn’t realize were eaten through by termites, changing all the door hardware, replacing gas hot water heater with tankless, etc. We added so many items to Ken’s list – it’s hard to recall them all.

I cannot say enough about the renovation that Ken and his crew did! We are so relieved to have picked someone that is not only honest and reliable, but also someone that we developed tremendous respect for and in whom we grew to completely trust. We are so proud of the renovations that we hired Ken to do. He made our visions come alive and everything was done just as we wanted. Additionally, there were so many decisions to be made and Ken was very patient and very supportive. He often gave us advice that saved us money! We have received so many positive comments from neighbors on how great the renovations look.”

“We met with several contractors and Ken is the the only one who could turn the vision of what I wanted to do with the 2200 sq ft., 1960 two-story home we purchased into a feasible plan within our budget. We’re talking gutting the first floor down to studs, removing a major load bearing wall to create an open floor plan, adding a bathroom and laundry area, and creating a show stopper kitchen.

You’ll read other reviews where people mention being on time and being fair priced as the major reasons to select one contractor over another but in my book punctuality and market rate pricing are a baseline not a differentiator (I know Ken is professional and competitively priced because I shopped our renovation with 4 other contractors and have worked with Ken for a year now). Read my Comments to find out what separates Ken from the pack and why I have referred him multiple times.

Ken is a skilled communicator able to articulate work to be done in language homeowners understand. He integrates technology into working with clients in a smart way – we created/shared a HOUZZ idea book with him. It’s this kind of savvy he also demonstrated in his management the budget & subs needed to complete our project in 10 weeks. Ken’s relationship with his subs makes it clear that he is respected in his trade – not just because he is a master craftsman but also because he is a standup kind of guy.

The end product is amazing and we regularly get compliments from visitors on so many of the elements of Ken’s work. Friends are jealous of our kitchen and we’ve heard many times the reference to the Property Brothers open floor plan look and feel. There is no shortage of projects in the house and we continue to partner with Ken to knock out our punch list.”

“I was very satisfied with the results of Ken Fritz’s work when he constructed a room addition at my primary residence in 2012, so I chose him to perform a construction project on one of my investment (rental) properties.

As a landlord, it is critical to be able to accurately assess the potential increased rental revenue generated through any major improvements. In this process, it is key to find a contractor whose services produce a quality result of notable difference, yet at a low enough price to enable a more profitable rental property. Knowing Ken’s quality work and fair price for my own residence, I chose him for my investment property project as well.

The house was a very basic, small, two bedroom home with a screened porch in rough condition and no air condition except very old wall units. Our goal was to modernize the home: converting the porch to a large bedroom, add high efficiency central air conditioning, cosmetically improve the rest of the home, and add any necessary infrastructure improvements necessary to support the upgrades.

Ken provided all general contractor services to include: design/plans, coordination with city for permits/inspections, framing, drywall, painting, doors, windows, and managerial services to coordinate subcontractors for electrical and HVAC services.
Everything was performed ON TIME and UNDER BUDGET. As mentioned, there is a bit of financial risk when deciding to make major improvements to rental property. After weighing several factors, I chose to make this improvement investment to this property. I am very pleased to say that the project went so well, and made such a dramatic difference in the home, that I

was ultimately able to rent it out for more than I had originally targeted. And, it rented very quickly. I definitely deem this project to be a success! In fact, I plan to embark upon a similar project on another property soon, utilizing K. R. Fritz again.

Thanks, Ken!”

“I bought a condo on the beach that was built in the ’70s and needed a total remodel. Every room in this condo was changed, from ceiling to floor.

This condo had a wall separating the kitchen and living room, and a very small dining room. I wanted a more open floor plan. Ken took some measurements and said he would work up a plan. The next day he showed me an unbelievable open kitchen and living room plan. You actually can see what your kitchen could look like with every detail. It was exactly what I had in mind. The same with both bathrooms. He has great design skills. Ken even moved the A/C unit to maximize space.

Next was the demo, and that went very smoothly and fast.

I actually stayed with Kens vision on cabinets, floors, lighting, etc. that was in his original design. The cabinets are all custom made, very high quality. Ken and his team put new crown moulding and base boards in that are phenomenal! They are very detail oriented.

The whole remodel went very well, and I could not be happier. I have a gorgeous home thanks to Ken Fritz and team. They have remodeled two other condo’s in this building so far with their own custom design. Which are both beautiful.

I highly recommend Ken Fritz, he does what he says he’ll do, and he shows up when he says he will, and a really nice person to work with. I did not share the price of service for my own privacy, but I am very happy with everything.”