Testimonials
We loved working with Johan Van Giessen on our outdoor project where he helped us create a beautiful outdoor covered retreat and it turned out fabulous!
When Johan came out to give us an estimate, he was very organized by getting the measurements, taking pictures and he was extremely knowledgeable. He asked questions, made recommendations and gave us a few ideas to consider. We implemented his ideas and they were spot on.
Johan did all the work on his own! I have never worked with someone that could handle everything without bringing in sub-contractors to complete the work. Johan is very friendly, personable, professional and always on time. He explained each day what he was working on and about how long it would take. I felt included and informed throughout the entire process, it was refreshing and certainly a personal touch.
Our outdoor space is more beautiful than we could have expected. Johan delivered on-time and right on budget! It was a true pleasure working with Johan and I would highly recommend him for your home because he will treat it as if it was his own.
Mark Keppy, Chicago
Johan did a lot of work on our house (built in 1912). He gutted and rebuilt the upstairs bathroom and the kitchen, and did a lot of wood work in our dining room. We couldn’t have been more pleased with the results.
He always arrived at work on time, worked through the day and at the end of the day, he tidied up all his tools and materials and, depending on the day’s tasks, swept, vacuumed or mopped up the work area.
When working with us, Johan listened to what we wanted and often made suggestions about things we hadn’t considered. He didn’t get upset if we didn’t act on a suggestion. In the bathroom and kitchen he did the demolition, carpentry, tile work, flooring, walls, electrical, plumbing, and painting. In the dining room, he straightened out the wood ceiling beams, redid the ceiling and reran new electric wires to lights that had been capped for decades. He built the top for the china cabinet and replaced a plate rail with supports that had disappeared before we moved in. All of his work helped return the dining room to its original beauty.
Johan is a gifted and skilled craftsman. In our experience it is rare to find someone who does work of the quality he produces. In our opinion a property owner just couldn’t go wrong using his services.
Rosanne and Roger Nordstrom, Chicago
When it came time for us to remodel the very much out dated kitchen and bathrooms (2) in our 1922 vintage Chicago condo, we selected Johan Van Giessen due to the quality of work seen at his own home.
Johan is a very talented carpenter with a good eye for design. Our new bathrooms and kitchen generated multiple compliments from our neighbors and friends – resulting in additional remodeling work for Johan within our building and neighborhood.
Four or five years after all these improvements we put our condo up for sale as we were retiring to Oregon. It was sold after the first open house - at our asking price. We believe the quality work associated with Johan’s remodeling work contributed to the speedy sale of our condo.
We highly recommend Johan for any of your remodeling projects. We are both happy to give Johan van Giessen our highest recommendations.
Susan Murray & Wade Chandler
It was a joy to work with Johan on the rebuilding of my kitchen. He strives to make real your vision with creativity and persistence while being practical and budget conscious. His creative solutions to some of my ideas that required custom design, or to tricky aspects of the rebuild were truly remarkable. A few examples: the pull-out table top that allows me to sit in the kitchen where there is no room for a table, the shelves under the window for my pottery, and when he found discarded wood slats in a dumpster that he sanded and stained to fill in a large gap in the existing wood floor—and they all look fantastic. Perhaps most importantly, I felt completely comfortable trusting Johan totally, and what a god-send that is in a construction project.
Alison Zehr, Chicago
Working with Johan was a dream. He listened to what we wanted, offered creative ideas and made the two renovations he did for us go smoothly and be more successful than we could have imagined. He is a highly talented craftsman. We were heartbroken when we heard he was moving. We can’t recommend him more highly!