Jake and Martin do phenomenal work. after a car struck our home. They were able to fix it up and into pre-loss condition and were able to work with my insurance company to figure out an agreed figure and a proposed plan to fix it up into pre-loss conditions.. I would highly recommend them!
Todd Youngberg
Oct 2024
Martin, Jake and team are true professionals. I had some major structural issues with my 1963 built A-frame house and wrap around deck. As the general contractor on my project, they replaced and repaired all structural deficiencies, worked with very competent sub-contractors and inspectors, and were incredibly diligent and communicative throughout the process. While I especially appreciated their strong communication skills, I want to mention their strive for perfection in every aspect of their work. Jake is a master at his craft. He is honest and a true pleasure to work with. This was a large project that lasted about a year, and it was comforting to have a trusting partnership with the professionals at Great Lakes Builders.
Zuberi Ntumwa
Oct 2024
This company did work in my Southside Chicago community recently, a community of Black people. Not a single worker was Black, not even the flag person, which many of these hypocritical construction companies will hire. As a veteran, home owner and tax payer, I am concerned that this is a case of blatant racism and collosal disrespect. The plethora of outside construction companies coming into Chicago with their racist practices, at the expense of African American tax payers, must and will be stopped.
Michael Mertz
Feb 2023
I had a very positive experience with this entire company. They were very informative, came up with some ideas to save me some money, did incredible work, and left the job very clean each day. I highly recommend this company!Service: Interior structural repairs
Liz M.
Oct 2022
Martin and Great Lakes are consummate professionals. They are incredibly knowledgable about structures and the factors and variables that can affect them -- both internal and external. For our work, they excavated along the foundation to allow us to analyze our foundation. We highly recommend them to preserve the structure of your facilities new and old.
Laura J.
Sep 2022
Great Lakes Builders were amazing. They were fantastic problem solvers and partners, collaborating every step of the way with our structural engineer and us. It was apparent that completing quality work within the timeframe and estimate really mattered to them. We were even out of town for part of our project, and they zoomed with us daily to show us exactly what was being done. They were helpful in connecting us to outside contractors (dry wall, electrician, etc) so that by the time the project was completed, it was REALLY completed. They were meticulous, methodical, helpful AND friendly.
Monica Grossman
Aug 2022
Martin and Jake are the absolute best to work with. They were thorough, efficient, professional and so easy to work with for our basement structural work. They took time to explain what needed to be done, coordinated with different contractors (plumbing, electrical), and were able to complete our project on time, within budged all while we were out of town for just a week(!!). I can't recommend Great Lakes Builders more - they were a pleasure to work with and we will absolutely be using them again for any future work we need. 5+ stars!Service: Interior structural repairs
Monica G.
Jul 2022
Martin and Jake are the absolute best to work with. They were thorough, efficient, professional and so easy to work with for our basement structural work. They took time to explain what needed to be done, coordinated with different contractors (plumbing, electrical), and were able to complete our project on time while we were out of town for just a week(!!). I can't recommend Great Lakes Builders more - they were a pleasure to work with and we will absolutely be using them again for any future work we need. 5+ stars!
Ria H.
Feb 2022
My husband and I purchased a century old Arts and Crafts fixer upper that needed repairs, but none of them structural (we thought). Turns out the previous owners had followed poor practices when finishing the basement, so when we demo'ed it to update and re-finish, we discovered that almost all of the wood support slats behind and in the walls were rotted, some of them half away. Some of the worst was the base of a wall next to the basement stairs - turns out the wall was load bearing, and its integrity had been seriously compromised by years of moisture eating away at the wood, and then further affected by our demolition. I called Great Lakes Builders on the advice of our structural engineer, and within 24 hours Martin, their project manager, was in my basement identifying assessing the wall. In addition to the rotted wood and cracks beginning to run up multiple walls (which I had observed), the ceiling beams supporting the 1st floor were actually separating from that wall - the only connection was the long nails. Because of the severity of the issue, GLB got us scheduled for the next Monday, and completed the work within just over 3 days. They were professional, knowledgeable, and courteous throughout, and explained every step of the process and why each step/action was important. Because of the obvious water incursion issues (which we are still in the process of addressing), they took especial care to make sure the new wall base was elevated and safe from any further water degradation. They also joined the rafters to the wall, got rid of an old door and replaced an unsound load bearing doorframe, and leveled out the stairs. We will absolutely be working with GLB again, and I highly encourage anyone in their service area who needs help with serious structural issues to give them a call.
L A.
Jan 2022
While the pricing is a little high, the guys are very responsive and experienced. They really treated our home with care and did a great job.
chinox chino
Jake and Martin do phenomenal work. after a car struck our home. They were able to fix it up and into pre-loss condition and were able to work with my insurance company to figure out an agreed figure and a proposed plan to fix it up into pre-loss conditions.. I would highly recommend them!
Todd Youngberg
Martin, Jake and team are true professionals. I had some major structural issues with my 1963 built A-frame house and wrap around deck. As the general contractor on my project, they replaced and repaired all structural deficiencies, worked with very competent sub-contractors and inspectors, and were incredibly diligent and communicative throughout the process. While I especially appreciated their strong communication skills, I want to mention their strive for perfection in every aspect of their work. Jake is a master at his craft. He is honest and a true pleasure to work with. This was a large project that lasted about a year, and it was comforting to have a trusting partnership with the professionals at Great Lakes Builders.
Zuberi Ntumwa
This company did work in my Southside Chicago community recently, a community of Black people. Not a single worker was Black, not even the flag person, which many of these hypocritical construction companies will hire. As a veteran, home owner and tax payer, I am concerned that this is a case of blatant racism and collosal disrespect. The plethora of outside construction companies coming into Chicago with their racist practices, at the expense of African American tax payers, must and will be stopped.
Michael Mertz
I had a very positive experience with this entire company. They were very informative, came up with some ideas to save me some money, did incredible work, and left the job very clean each day. I highly recommend this company!Service: Interior structural repairs
Liz M.
Martin and Great Lakes are consummate professionals. They are incredibly knowledgable about structures and the factors and variables that can affect them -- both internal and external. For our work, they excavated along the foundation to allow us to analyze our foundation. We highly recommend them to preserve the structure of your facilities new and old.
Laura J.
Great Lakes Builders were amazing. They were fantastic problem solvers and partners, collaborating every step of the way with our structural engineer and us. It was apparent that completing quality work within the timeframe and estimate really mattered to them. We were even out of town for part of our project, and they zoomed with us daily to show us exactly what was being done. They were helpful in connecting us to outside contractors (dry wall, electrician, etc) so that by the time the project was completed, it was REALLY completed. They were meticulous, methodical, helpful AND friendly.
Monica Grossman
Martin and Jake are the absolute best to work with. They were thorough, efficient, professional and so easy to work with for our basement structural work. They took time to explain what needed to be done, coordinated with different contractors (plumbing, electrical), and were able to complete our project on time, within budged all while we were out of town for just a week(!!). I can't recommend Great Lakes Builders more - they were a pleasure to work with and we will absolutely be using them again for any future work we need. 5+ stars!Service: Interior structural repairs
Monica G.
Martin and Jake are the absolute best to work with. They were thorough, efficient, professional and so easy to work with for our basement structural work. They took time to explain what needed to be done, coordinated with different contractors (plumbing, electrical), and were able to complete our project on time while we were out of town for just a week(!!). I can't recommend Great Lakes Builders more - they were a pleasure to work with and we will absolutely be using them again for any future work we need. 5+ stars!
Ria H.
My husband and I purchased a century old Arts and Crafts fixer upper that needed repairs, but none of them structural (we thought). Turns out the previous owners had followed poor practices when finishing the basement, so when we demo'ed it to update and re-finish, we discovered that almost all of the wood support slats behind and in the walls were rotted, some of them half away. Some of the worst was the base of a wall next to the basement stairs - turns out the wall was load bearing, and its integrity had been seriously compromised by years of moisture eating away at the wood, and then further affected by our demolition. I called Great Lakes Builders on the advice of our structural engineer, and within 24 hours Martin, their project manager, was in my basement identifying assessing the wall. In addition to the rotted wood and cracks beginning to run up multiple walls (which I had observed), the ceiling beams supporting the 1st floor were actually separating from that wall - the only connection was the long nails. Because of the severity of the issue, GLB got us scheduled for the next Monday, and completed the work within just over 3 days. They were professional, knowledgeable, and courteous throughout, and explained every step of the process and why each step/action was important. Because of the obvious water incursion issues (which we are still in the process of addressing), they took especial care to make sure the new wall base was elevated and safe from any further water degradation. They also joined the rafters to the wall, got rid of an old door and replaced an unsound load bearing doorframe, and leveled out the stairs. We will absolutely be working with GLB again, and I highly encourage anyone in their service area who needs help with serious structural issues to give them a call.
L A.
While the pricing is a little high, the guys are very responsive and experienced. They really treated our home with care and did a great job.