Jocelyn P.Erik delivered a gorgeous high end kitchen from start to finish. You stories of home projects being delayed and taking longer than expected but Erik finished the project early. His guys are all wonderful and of the highest caliber.
Architect: Hoffman Grayson Architects LLP
Seth and Nina
Seth and Nina
I don't have the right words to describe just how unusually terrific Erik and his Nautilus Contracting company are to work with. I considered saying "honest", "open", "attentive", "talented", "effective", "experienced", "creative", "trustworthy", and "seasoned", but none of these was strong enough nor colorful enough to capture the unusually wonderful experience my family had working with them. They provided off the chart’s excellence, far exceeding my vocabulary. And this was achieved in the midst a global pandemic, no less, while we all had heaps of additional stress, uncertainty, and resource scarcity on our plates.
I'll begin at the beginning. My wife and I (luckily) hired Nautilus to build a new, fully custom home in Huntington, NY after a recommendation from our architect and a thorough bidding process. Before I say anymore, let it be known that we knew absolutely nothing about any facet of construction (plumbing, electrical, structural, HVAC, etc. etc.) when we began this adventure. I mean absolutely nothing. And we knew even less about the building process, like who's responsible for what, how the money stuff works, etc. etc.
From day one, before a hammer was swung, Erik approached our relative ignorance with patience, honesty, and most importantly an uncanny knack for quickly and thoroughly demystifying these systems, techniques, and processes that were so foreign to us. And this was no small feat considering how big this project was and how little we knew. This is the first of a couple of things to note about working with Nautilus. Erik's patience, ability to communicate even the finest of details to his clients is astounding. If we had worked with anyone else instead of Nautilus, I imagine we would have been brow beaten and rushed through all that we did not understand.
Erik is also meticulous with his project management flow. Every bit of progress, discussion, and development was logged and available for us to review. Every explanatory sketch he drew for us, every day's work, and so many thousands of progress photos and videos of every open wall at every step of the project logged and archived for us. Priceless.
Next you should know that it seems that Erik is a people person, not just in his friendly approachable demeanor, but in that he is so damn thoughtful about the people that will inhabit the spaces that he builds. Erik went out of his way at least a dozen times to find ways to engage my toddler son in the construction project. From teaching him to swing a hammer, to rearranging the garage slab pour to enable my son's commemorative hand print, to arranging a time for him to sit in a real excavator. My son still talks about Erik like he were an uncle. Besides for these cute moments, it was clear that Erik cared about the work he was doing to build our house because he wanted to help create a happy family home. He envisioned more than a handful of features, finishes, and spaces that were not on the original plan with me, my wife, and my son in particular in mind.
Availability - I don't know why exactly, but I always imagined it would be difficult to get a hold of my GC once construction began. With Nautilus, it was the complete opposite, and it was completely amazing. We never had even as much as an hour where we could not reach him. He was so available in fact, that I decided to start limiting my communications to him out of concern for his personal space. If I emailed him at midnight, hoping he'd see it the next day or two, 9 times out of 10, he'd write me back at length almost immediately. "Does he ever sleep?" my wife would say.
Attention to detail. While other contractors might be happy to blindly follow the drawings without question, Erik reviewed and considered every detail under the microscope of his experience before fabrication / construction. More than a few times this diligence saved the day, catching oversights in the plans on either structural or aesthetic grounds. Erik spent countless hours, beyond his contractual obligations to hone and perfect our house, to discuss with us, and to strive for the most elegant and effective designs.
Just enough and not too much. I mentioned before that my wife and I knew nothing about any of this when we set out. We came to trust that Erik's advice came with no bias regarding his position as the GC. He was candid and upfront about everything - never taking the easy way out and always helping us find measure and appropriate systems and solutions. Nothing oversized, overpriced, and nothing undersized, cheap, or inadequate. Our architect confirmed that our trust in Erik was not misplaced.
Quality - It's been only a couple of months since we've moved in, but as far as we can tell, the quality of Nautilus's workmanship is readily apparent. In as far as we have been able to 'kick the tires’, this thing is SOLID. Solid, tight, and beautiful. Everything is quietly working and standing as it should.
Supportive - Nautilus continues to support us. They have come back to help me secure mount climbing swings for my son, to help me use my gas fireplace, to name just a few of the smaller things. I have no doubt in my mind that Nautilus will be there for this home in the long haul. I think that's pretty unusual. But also, pretty awesome. It's a real comfort.
When I think about how involved this project was, how vast and resource intensive, it terrifies me to think that we might have gone with anyone else. At the end of this build, having finally moved in, it's apparent to my wife and I just how lucky it was that we went with Nautilus. I don't see how it could have gone any better.
Thank you, Erik, Danny, James, & company. I've thanked you all personally, but I felt a public recounting of your job well done was due.
Naushad & Rob B.My wife and I live in Huntington and are building a home in Eaton’s Neck. The property we purchased is situated on a bluff overlooking Long Island Sound and included a small cottage. We planned to demolish the cottage and build a new home capitalizing on the beautiful views of the Sound. We selected an amazing local architect who designed a unique, open-plan, contemporary home with high ceilings and windows designed to access the water views. But who to choose to make these plans a reality? We collected names from our architect, and asked our friends and family to refer competent builders who were not outrageously expensive. We met and interviewed several well-regarded local builders. I am an engineer by profession and have a decent knowledge of what goes into building a home. After many interviews and heated budget meetings it was clear to us that Erik Johansen from Nautilus Contracting Corp. was our man. We are happy to report we made the right decision.
Erik is an excellent builder. He is enthusiastic about our project, knowledgeable about every aspect of construction, meticulous in his execution, and pays attention to details. He has a positive, can-do attitude, and manages to keep the peace between vendors, subcontractors, inspectors, and over-zealous neighbors. If I have a question or want to modify the plan, Erik is always willing to do the research and dig into new ideas and modifications. He does not whine and complain – he is a problem solver. His input and ideas are always well thought out and creative. Erik is fastidious about keeping the job site clean and tidy and the workflow moving at a steady pace. He is also great at communicating with us, and gets back to me whenever I call, email, or text – which is often!
We appreciate having Erik as a partner in creating our dream home. We recommend Erik Johansen and Nautilus Contracting without reservation.
Gena and Steve S.We hired Nautilus Contracting for a major remodel of our 1920's, Terracotta house in Plandome a bunch of years ago. They were able to engineer major structural changes and details on the fly while keeping pace with the project timeline and budgets. The job was incredible, workmanship was top shelf, was published in magazines, and their service never ended. Seven years later, I called Erik Johansen for an emergency service on our radiant heating in our house and he was there that day to repair it - his records and documentation of the project from 7 years ago, including pictures of the pipe work under the floors along with measurements to each pipe, saved us from what could have been a total disaster. When it was time to build our new, custom home in Plandome Village, we asked Nautilus Contracting if they could build our new home for our family. Erik built our home from the ground up - he was there, without pause, through the completion, to make sure every detail was up to his standards. His crew performed all the millwork on the interior and exterior of the house. Custom milled cedar siding, extensive Azek work, lots of millwork on the interior - his guys were excellent!! There is no question who we would call or recommend for any construction work related to their home. Nautilus Contracting continues to service our home years after, and Erik's passion for his craft shows in the results.
Denise C.We hired Nautilus Contracting to do a unique renovation for us. We needed our garage knocked down, a full septic system put in, along with a fully handicapped apartment. The crazy part was that due to an emergency involving my mother ,this needed to be completed in two months or she would be homeless. Erik Johansen had compassion for our situation and promised us he could do it. Well if Erik says he can do something he means it. The full job was completed right on schedule. The most important part was the level of workmanship. The job was stunning. PERFECT! His design ideas were beautiful. The smallest details were all perfect. Erik loses sleep until everything is just so. Another wonderful thing is that even after the job was completed and we had paid him in full, he still checked back to make sure our landscapers were grading our property correctly. We have had renovations before ,but none compared to this beautiful job. We are looking forward to having Nautilus Contracting build us the PERFECT kitchen next!
Donna and Ken C.Erik and his crew did an amazing job with our home renovations. They listened to all our concerns and wants and partnered with us closely from the planning/design phase all the way to the finishing. The craftsmanship was impeccable and their work ethic was stellar. Nautilus Contracting Corp did not stop until everything was perfect with our kitchen and master bath. We are truly very happy with the outcome of both rooms and highly recommend them for any construction project.
Nancy D.Erik and his crew did a beautiful job on my Kitchen/DR/LR renovation. From the detail, care and creativity during the design phase to completion the Nautilus team became part of our family. Strong communication, adaptability and the highest quality craftsmanship, work ethic and respect to our family and home were present throughout the job. Erik and team delivered our vision. Our family is thankful for our "new" home and will definitely be using Nautilus for future projects.