Catalyst Construction

We’ve had the privilege in hiring & working with Jason Box and the Catalyst Construction team on 4 separate projects:
–creating entrance to our media room from living room, installing tile flooring;
–kitchen facelift;
–home paint job; and
–a complete rebuild/​remodel of home after flooding.
Our home flooded this August and it completely devastated our little family of 4. In working with the insurance company, mortgage company, property adjusters, water mitigation, plumbers, temporary housing — my husband were left exhausted… completely exhausted.
There was no question in our mind that Catalyst was our first and only choice for taking on the task of rebuilding our home. For this job, we had to interview several construction companies because initially Catalyst was fully scheduled and let me say that no one comes close to the customer service that they bring.
Cataslyst is by far the best within their industry in Austin. They are responsive, timely, professional, honest and the quality in their workmanship shines through because they truly care. While we were busy trying to keep afloat and and nonstop decision-​making, we knew that our home was taken care of and we were in great hands.
They are very honest in their communication, honest in their pricing/​quotes and are an all around great, caring company with expert personnel.
I’m thankful for Catalyst Construction for helping my family when we needed it the most. Thank you Jason, Casey, and the team for helping us put our lives back together.

We had Jason and his crew remodel our downstairs. This project included painting all the walls, putting in new laminate flooring, remodeling the kitchen counters and installation of quartz counter tops, adding cabinets and shelves to our existing cabinets, tile in the laundry room, and installing new lighting.
Jason was very professional and had excellent customer service. He answered every email, phone call, and text. His brother did much of the physical work, doing a great job and very nice to work with. They finished the job in a reasonable amount of time, working hard to coordinate the labor so we were not out of a kitchen or livable home for any long periods of time. We are very pleased with the work the Box brothers did in our home. We recommend Catalyst Construction and will be calling them back out when we are ready for our next home improvement project!

This review is an update from one I wrote in 2012 (which ended up in the not recommended category for some reason — please read that review, too). In the fall of 2012, we hired Catalyst Construction to completely gut and renovate a condominium in which our three children had lived while they attended UT. The place was in terrible shape, with the original fixtures, etc combined with the kind of neglect that happens when college students and their room-​mates inhabit a place. At the time of the renovation we kept the oven; it was fairly new. However, we thought we might want to replace the oven at some point with a slide in oven, so we asked Jason to cut a piece of granite we used for the kitchen counters for future use, when we decided to purchase the new oven. Jason had the granite guys cut a piece of granite and left it for us to use as needed. Late February this year we purchased a slide-​in oven. I called Jason and asked if he could send someone out to cut and install the granite. This request might seem simple, but at the time we requested the job, our daughter was expecting baby at any time. I was spending my days in S Austin helping care for her toddler sons so that I would be available when she went into labor. I explained to Jason that I couldn’t promise I’d be at the condo when the men arrived, if our daughter happened to be in labor the day of the appointment. He was so pleasant and understood completely; in fact, he told me that he’d have his guys call ahead and give me thirty minutes notice so that I could leave from my daughter’s house and meet them at the condo. That way I would be away from my daughter’s house only as long as it took for the guys to get the job done.
The men Jason sent worked quickly. They even leveled the oven for us (which we hadn’t done since we really couldn’t install it properly until we had the granite cut).
I recommend Jason and Catalyst Construction to everyone I know in Austin, in case they ever need even the smallest construction job done. I only wish he worked in San Antonio, so he could do the work we’d like done on our house there. I’m including before and after pictures of the condo from the job Jason did in 2012, and the job his men did this spring.

My husband and I are the neighbor Jimbo H. has mentioned (see one star below). Jason Box did not do the design work on the house but was solely the contractor. The flooding resulted from several things… a great deal more rain than we usually have (which actually flooded many people out of their homes) and downspouts put on a roof that did not have them before diverting all of the water to specific points. Add to those, the slope of the land between our properties which actually proceeds from our higher lot to Jimbo’s lower one. We are trying to make this as painless a process as possible and satisfy Jimbo’s worries as well as use the opportunity to improve the look of the pathway to the back of our house with a stone retaining wall. We have offered to do this work and pay for it ourselves. Jason is following our design lead and that entails putting in major diverters that take the water all the way back to the back of our property (under a deck that has not been built yet) as well as putting in a retaining wall between the two properties. We would greatly appreciate the opportunity to let our solutions be put in place before assuming them to be inadequate. We are both designers and have a fair idea of how to proceed. We would also like to ask our neighbor to be respectful of our contractor. He has been very amenable and easy to work with and his refusal to take verbal abuse today is the reason he was unwilling to stay and talk with Jimbo and it is understandable. We are confident with a little patience and consideration, this can all be worked out to everyone’s satisfaction.

We contracted Catalyst to do a mix of work that included structural work as well as cosmetic. I was initially very impressed. The walk through was quick, Jason seemed to have a good grasp of the work scope.
There were a number of issues I wanted, some enhancement work and a reinforcement of some open trusses supporting the second floor. It took a while to work through the contract and price. Frankly I felt like the original number I got was fair, but every time we talked about other items, the price grew geometrically, ultimately leading to a proposed quote of four hundred dollars to paint a 3×4 closet. We came to a final scope and number that I thought was fair. Some of the work was high, but some low, so I felt it all balanced out. I’m not parsimonious, I’ understand that everyone needs to make a buck.
Work started a couple of weeks later and the first day of work, the project went off the rails. I met Jason at the house, we talked and I left for work. Only an hour later, I received a call from Jason saying they would not do the structural work but would be happy to do the rest of the work. And if I didn’t want them to do that, they were leaving. I guess I felt like I’d been fallen for the old bait and switch. I felt the pricing on the structural work was a little low, but the pricing we agreed to on the painting and so on, was high, so it all worked out. In my mind, without the structural work, the price was extremely high.
He told me they were leaving because his crew did not believe the structural fix would work. Let me back up. The structural work was examined and recommended by a licensed engineer (structural). The engineer’s report identified the issue, (nothing too massive), and how it might be corrected. Catalyst both read the report and had conversations with the engineer long before they started work, before signing any agreements. Jason and I had conversations as well, and there seemed to be no issue with the work that was to be done, up until the day work started.
It took a couple of weeks to resolve that issue and frankly, I should have walked away at that point. The final agreement was to accept the work without warranty with the proviso that I was allowed to inspect the structural work in progress.
Once work started again, I got a call from Jason saying they were doing the structural work. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived at the house, the crew was ready to pull out of the driveway. I was not able to see the level, etc. to my satisfaction.
Ultimately, I felt I made a poor decision and the work fell short. Today, six months or so later, the stain on the refinished staircase is literally rubbing off, the crown molding is separating.
Why two stars you might be asking… well, there were things I felt they did well too. In fact, they even fixed an issue that wasn’t their responsibility.
For the record, I am the world’s worst at picking contractors…

The following review was written by my mom:
My Mom found Catalyst Construction through Unilocal and called them based on the reviews and their web site. When Jason came out to work up an estimate he gave honest opinions when she asked for them about the design/​materials and gave a very fair price. She opted to go with Catalyst Construction because Jason was so pleasant and professional. Without an ounce of sleazy salesmanship, he just seemed trustworthy and patient. Jason’s crews tiled the backsplash in the kitchen, with the materials Mom picked out, and a design she showed them. They painted the old wood paneling in several rooms. Painted the kitchen cabinets, repaired laminate flooring, and tore down an old sun room off the back of the house. They also did small repairs throughout the house. The crews were always on time and cleaned up after themselves. Mom highly recommends Catalyst Construction for any project you need done.

Jason is the most on-​the-​ball home improvement professional I have ever had the pleasure of working with and that is a bold statement considering all of the work we have had done to our home. While remodeling our master bathroom, he paid close attention to detail, communicated well, kept everything on schedule, and in our budget. I cannot say enough positive things about Catalyst and I very much look forward to working with him on all of our future remodeling projects.