Doesn't look like you've had any offers, so far. Might I suggest purchasing a start of P nigra from a reseller not far from you? The prices are reasonable, the owners quite knowledgeable, and the plant I ordered from them a few years ago arrived healthy and in very good shape. Their prices for P nigra range from $45 to $110, depending on size, and not only will it save you some labor, you'll also be receiving a well-stabilized division. Could be your best bet, all things considered. I might also suggest waiting to plant until early spring, before shooting season begins. Mine went in the ground late April and had already begun to shoot when it arrived. Here is a link that might be useful: MidAtlantic Bamboo

We were recommended by our contractor to try Luck Stone and Marblex. Both were outrageously expensive with little selection. Luck had a few slabs in the yard. Their primary business is done from the 10 or 15 well known granites like Verde Butterfly and Uba Tuba. For those, we were quoted prices 3X what other dealers were quoting. We talked with Dominion Granite and Marble at a home show. They were super knowledgeable. One of the owners has grown up in the business and has relationships with suppliers all over the country. They sent me to several suppliers, but we found our slabs at Daltile in Chantilly. Dal was very professional and kind. They even let me "visit" my slabs every time I went to Costco (which is right across the street). They said they get that all the time and made me feel like I wasn't being weird at all. Dominion did a superior job on our countertops. The only seam that is visible is bookmatched and just looks really cool. The installers custom matched caulk or whatever it is they stick the seams together with so that the seams would blend in. Our granite has a large gold river running through it and they templated it so that it ran over the counters in the most beautiful fashion. They also never tried to upsell anything, in fact suggesting that I go with the less expensive eased edge over bullnose because it highlights the thickness of the tops better. Very professional all the way around. Oh, and they offer a lifetime warranty. Does it get any better? Here is a link that might be useful: Dominion Granite

What do mean by above? Price-wise, you mean? The unit is a rental/eventual sale townhouse owned by my mother-in-law. She lives in Bethesda, so a contractor there might be good. I am trying to help her with renovations after a long-term tenant moved out. I realize the unit is in a pricy area and would like a contractor who understands what the market needs. My MIL is thinking Ikea because 1) she is Scandinavian and 2) she is frugal. I told her the kitchens are well-reviewed here, so it might work. But we are open to suggestions. Is this contractor really high-end? Thanks.

I just finished (or almost finished) a gut remodel of my condo in a high rise building. I didn't move any walls but I did change the flow and functionality of rooms. My main decision was whether to close off the den area to make it a legal second bedroom or to keep a semi-open living area. My choices were not made in terms of resale. The first thing you need to do is speak to the manager of your building to find out what the construction rules are. I would second the advice of asking either the manager who has finished a recent remodel and get recommendations from those people and/or the manager. Doing a remodel in an apartment building is a skill set that many GC do not have as there are going to be rules in place that will make the process more time-consuming, difficult and expensive. If there is a GC who has navigated successfully and knows what they are getting into, you're well ahead of the game - and down the line the tradespeople they use will also be familiar with working in condos - and hopefully your specific building. I used a designer who had actually done the lobby in my condo building as well as several other buildings in the area. She was extremely knowledgeable about construction; Code requirements; working in a condo/high rise situation and so she and the GC were a great team. I used the GC recommended by her - she had worked with him on several projects and he had also done some work in my building. I took a look at two projects in high end condos that he was currently doing. So my "designer" was really a designer and an interior decorator. The interior decorating stuff she provided based on my inspiration is more than I could have dreamed of - but the hard core design stuff is really what was important - as the saying goes, you don't know what you don't know and I certainly didn't know anything about construction or Codes (especially in high rise buildings which have different construction requirements). While I provided a lot of input regarding how I wanted my space to function - i.e. I wanted to age in place in terms of creating a walk in shower where the crappy tub/shower combo had been - I didn't have to sweat the issues of where grab bars should be located or how high the shower heads had to be - I got to concentrate on the fun stuff like deciding what fixtures I wanted :-). Because of who I had hired, I really was quite "relaxed" about there being major flake out issues because I knew both she and the GC had delivered and I have been quite pleased in terms of the process - in essence she acted as my project manager and has been very on top of issues that I might not even have spotted in terms of results. And when there have been the normal snafus, both she and the GC have worked to solve the problem rather than making excuses and passing the buck. So again I stress, really try to find a designer and GC who - to the best of your ability in terms of vetting - you can work with. And also, both the designer and my GC are really nice people. As posted, I didn't feel the need for an architect but my designer was able to provide technical design plans that were submitted to the City for my permits and which provided the basis for the bids by the GC's when they happened. There is so much work being doing in my city (Los Angeles) that only one of the GC's actually provided a bid for my project. I could have scrabbled to find some others to provide a bid but in the end I asked my designer what her recommendation was and she said that she doubted that any other bid would be less and that since she had worked with the GC on several projects, she knew his strengths and weaknesses and how to get the best out of him :-). In terms of budget, I think you need to decide what your budget is and present it to whoever you choose to do the initial design. They can tell you whether it is realistic and/or what adjustments have to be made in terms of the scope of the project. I chuckle when I think of the initial figure I provided her as I think the amount probably has tripled if not more. I did have some expensive surprises but the reality is that remodeling in a condo - especially a high rise is more expensive than single family homes - and add in a high cost of living area like DC or LA. Things that drive up cost - limited working areas; length of time it takes for demo since all the stuff has to be taken down in the elevator; hallways have to be covered each day so flooring in common areas is protected (that was a $2000 line item) and so on.