Breakwater Renovation & Design LLC

I have been working with Lisa and Fred for over 20 years. The house I purchased in 2001 has been completely remodeled inside one room at a time. There is only one company I would trust to a home that has always been in the family. Lisa sets a construction calendar that is always on schedule. You know exactly which contractor is coming when and what you as the homeowner are responsible for. Fred's craftsmanship is second to none. Breakwater has remodeled 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room, dining room, laundry room, kitchen and family room. We couldn't be more pleased with their work. Breakwater has also done a large addition to my mother's house including a bedroom and bathroom being added to an older home. I have recommended them to several of my neighbors and they have been extremely happy with their work. They are the only contractors I would work with in the future.

We had a total renovation done on our home. Breakwater did a real great job from beginning to end. We worked together as a team, constantly communicating to make sure that we were all on the same page. The project was finished within the timeframe we were given. We are extremely pleased with our home and often get compliments from friends and family. After the project was finished, if we had questions, both Fred and Lisa were very responsive to our needs. I would definitely recommend them.

We could not be happier with our bathroom addition. The entire process working with Lisa and Fred was efficient and seamless. From permits to finishing touches every detail was taken care of. Our project came in under budget and ahead of schedule. We look forward to working with them again in the future on additional projects!

We have been working with Lisa & Fred for the past couple of years on several projects: Kitchen & bathroom renovations, built-in bookcases and a new Mudroom. Each project went seamlessly from Lisa's expert design concept to Fred's master craftsmanship & completion of each job. The number of decisions that need to be made when renovating can be overwhelming and I relied on Lisa's expertise to help me narrow down my choices. The entire team is professional, neat, punctual and they each take pride in their work and it shows. We couldn't be any happier with our decision to hire Lisa & Fred for our renovations & would highly recommend their services (in fact we have recommended them to several friends!).

We used Breakwater Renovations for our kitchen remodel in the fall of 2021 and we could not be happier with the results! From the start of the process, Lisa was incredibly helpful, communicative, and responsive in clearly laying out each milestone of the process, timing for decision making, and even helping out with design recommendations. Keep in mind, this was at a time where supplies were incredibly limited and delayed, and yet our renovation from demo to completion fit within an 8 week timeline, which is incredible given the circumstances. Kurt and Fred were also wonderful to work with. I work from home, and it was a pleasure working alongside Fred each day. They are incredibly nice and hardworking people, first and foremost, but the craftsmanship and care that was put into the renovation itself was second to none. The tile guys, countertop fabricators, hardwood floor guys, plumber, electricians they subcontracted were also great to work with. Everyone showed up on time and did great quality work. All in all the results were fabulous. Everyone who walks in comments on the positive change. Before & After pictures are attached - see for yourself!! I can't wait to work with Breakwater again.

This company has done work for many of my clients and they stand by what they do ALWAYS. I am so proud to recommend them and can provide anyone with a complete list of happy clients!!! What is even better than the work that they do is when I sell one of the properties they have worked on. It is ooohs and ahs and SOLD. And what I truly love is that they go to great legnths with all my clients to get the work done on time and in budget! I am very greatful to be able to recommend them. I am now excited to get on their list as I have work to be done at my Milford home. I wouldn't give it to anyone else! Some of the work completed has been in Trumbull, Westport, Milford, Fairfield, New Milford (my second home) and my vacation home in Arizona! I can honestly say I have NEVER been disappointed.

So many things went wrong I do not know where to start. Lisa told us to pick the bathroom fixtures and she would order shower rough in. I sent her an email with faucet model (she said that was all she needed). Six weeks later Lisa said that she never got the email. When I showed her the email she changed her story to there was not enough info for her to place order. I asked why she did not tell me. She said that she was not going to "babysit" me. We were going to use a pedestal sink in the guest bath. After tile was installed Lisa told us she would have needed to know earlier. We had to use a vanity. We wanted recessed medicine cabinets. She installed surface mounted. I asked why she did not give us a choice. Her response: "There are hundreds of things that I do not ask you." Her mistakes cost us over $2,000. Contractors left garbage that we had to take to dump Before we started Lisa said we would shop around for windows on sale. She later took us where she always buys windows and said the sales were "bull". We specified switch to turn on light linen closet door opened. Instead they put a switch inside closet. Sills on windows that they installed were scratched. They did not put down anything to protect wooden floors. I had to do that myself. They wanted my wife to drive 2 hrs to move beds out of a bedroom, They finally moved the beds but not without complaining. Breaker kept tripping. I had to figure out what was causing the problem and fix it myself. Another light switch that they installed was not wired to anything - just screwed into the electrical box. I ran wires for outdoor cameras because they did not have anyone to do it. They closed up the walls where the wires were coming out for the DVR. I had to make holes in the sheetrock to find out where the wires were. They wanted me to do the demo work for the A/C vents. I had no choice but to do the work because they walked off the job. I made the mistake of going by her demo plan - which was wrong. When A/C company showed up they were nice enough to do the extra work. In order to program the thermostats I had to know how many wires there were attached to the thermostats that they installed. Her answer "I don't know. You bought the thermostats." We paid them an $11,000 management fee. After about a year she said that we used up the fee and "had no time for our job". She stopped returning calls & emails Lisa promised contractors' release of lien after the final payment. Never sent releases. List goes on and on. these are only a few examples. They did not live up to contract that they signed. Try at your own risk.

Renovation is stressful, especially if the plan includes a complete demo of the only full bath in the house. Breakwater Renovation made the process manageable and congenial. My husband and I have never done such a large renovation and we were very uncertain of many aspects of the process, but Breakwater led us through every step. Everyone on the team was respectful and creative and it was a real collaboration with ideas going back and forth to address all the issues that arise along the way. Lisa and Kurt kept the project on schedule, making sure it was always moving forward and that we had the info we needed, which reassured our reno anxiety. They made sure we got a functional bathroom back as soon as possible, while the rest of the project was going on. We passed all our inspections without issues. The final product is beautiful and functional, clearly professionally built. The pictures don’t do it justice. I’ve recommended them to friends and would hire them again in a heartbeat. While I still think renovating is stressful and I am not sure if I ever want to do it again, working with Breakwater was a great experience.

Several years ago I asked a friend who is an electrical contractor if he could recommend someone to do my kitchen and bathroom.He said the only people he would let work on his house were Fred and Lisa.They have done my kitchen,bathroom,French doors to the patio and recently added a bathroom upstairs. I am very pleased with everything done.Quality work,materials and excellent sub contractors.Work was done on schedule as planed,no surprises and no mess,they clean up every day.Plus everything is done to local codes and permits taken out. Mark

Lisa’s expertise in design is awesome-our addition worked so perfectly into our existing foot print that you would never know it was an addition-we also found it easy to have them in our home-always respectful & considerate-highly recommend Breakwater Renovation to anyone that wants the job done right-Dawn

We had our original kitchen remodeled and I can’t tell you how beautiful it now is. The tile work for the flooring is perfect and the service and advice offered by Lisa and Fred were invaluable. All remodeling can be uncomfortable with people in your space and kitchens are tough because you have to have a plan for how you are going to eat. Breakwater made this process as smooth and minimally invasive as possible. Great experience and we will definitely be using them again.

Breakwater has been an outstanding choice and partner in our project from Day 1. We bought a house that had great bones and potential, but required updating and expansion to fit our multi-generational family needs. Lisa White and Fred Held spent the time needed to get to know us, and really listen to our thoughts and desires as Lisa turned our wish lists into architectural plans that were spot on. She put together an itemized budget, with clear options to upgrade or reduce costs in individual categories, as we directed. As our project progressed, we came up with a seemingly endless stream of “extra requests” that we added to our list, and every request was received with enthusiasm and careful consideration. Both Lisa and Fred are masters in overall conceptualization from mechanics to esthetics, so we were confident that the best choices were always made on our behalf with consideration for both end result and financial effect. In the end, our project came in on budget and within the expected time frame. The quality of workmanship and creative problem solving in every aspect was top notch and we could not be more pleased with our home. We are already planning another addition for a separate part of the house and we would not consider any company other than Breakwater for the job. Lisa and Fred are the consummate professionals and we are honored to have had the opportunity to work with them.