Back in May, I described one room in our apartment that needed a major make-over. The girls called it the “Creepy Forest” because it was filled with boxes, bikes, books — everything that wasn’t in the rest of the apartment. We are still in the process of making it into our “Magical Garden” of a playroom/mudroom/office — and we still aren’t done.

Our Home Office - BEFORE

Looking for a home improvement partner takes a lot of time and asking a lot of people for references. I’ve put off our list of home improvements because I haven’t found any trustworthy contractors who can give me a fair price.

This past spring, I was in the throes of receiving three estimates on my home renovation list: a new bathroom sink, a new kitchen backsplash, knocking down a small wall to make room for a kitchen pantry, fixing our shower floor, and painting our Creepy Forest. I was shocked with the estimates I had received:  the prices were all out of our budget and one of the contractors whom I met just seemed “off” (there was no way I could trust him in our apartment.) It looked like I was going to put off our home renovations because I couldn’t find anyone I trusted.

Until now.

Click and Improve contacted me this past spring right when I was receiving the estimates and had walked me through their philosophy and services. The company is founded by Avi Zikry, Jesse Friedman, and Alex Ushyarov who started in the home construction business while in college and are now partners in New York Construction Co. According to the Click and Improve website, “They found that the average homeowner, stressed out and time-crunched, was completely unaware of the costs for home improvement and repair projects, and what these projects commonly entail. This lack of knowledge, in their eyes, continuously put consumers at a major disadvantage in an industry with a notorious reputation for price manipulation, bait and switch service, and unprofessional behavior.

Click and Improve delivers a new hassle-free, worry-free way to purchase home improvement and repair services online without these common deceptions.”

They  have a carefully screened roster of bonded, licensed, insured and reputable local contractors, repairmen and expert service professionals – which means for NYC condominium and co-op owners, they’ll be able to quickly supply the insurance papers without any hassle.

Knowing that I needed home repair done, Click and Improve graciously offered to paint our Creepy Forest so that I may test out their services. I went on their website and followed the instructions on how to purchase a painting service. It literally is like Seamless Web — the online  food ordering service — only that you just bought a painted room instead of a plate of pad thai.

Click and Improve's Service and Repair page

The online ordering was easy and speaking to customer service made me feel at ease. I got the Click and Improve team in touch with my building’s management company and together they handled all the necessary paper work behind-the-scenes, which was a breath of fresh air. Click and Improve sent Frank, the contractor, and his painter who acted professionally the entire time they were in my apartment. I walked them through the room and then they walked me through what they would do for the next several hours. Then they set to work.

After four hours, we had a newly painted room – our first step to our Magical Garden Make-over. Now comes the next step of making it into a functional playroom/mudroom/home office – but that’s a whole other post.

What is truly great about Click and Improve’s services is their guarantee.  You pay Click and Improve upfront, but they will withhold paying the contractor for seven days after the job has been completed to make sure you are satisfied with the job. Once satisfied, you sign a notice of completion and payment goes through. If not satisfied, the service professional will go back and make the necessary repairs.

Our Home Office - DURING

Our Home Office - AFTER

I was so impressed with Click and Improve’s services that I decided that they, too, should provide an estimate for the list of the other home renovations I needed to get done. And guess what?? They were the lowest estimate compared to the other three, but what’s even better? I trust them. 

More on our home renovation adventures to come!

{I was not compensated for this post. I did receive the service as part of this review. All opinions expressed are always mine.}