Bolster Reviews

Andrew Burns 2026.03.05

     

Stay Away Bolster is extremely clunky and price templates did not update properly. Payment platform is not well integrated and took forever to link. Customer service is atrocious and absolutely not on your side. They will do everything in their power to lock you into a year contract, and then when their software underperforms and is virtually unusable, they will tell you it’s your fault for signing the contract. They don’t care whether or not you’re happy with their insufficient product. Stay away from this company at all costs. There are endless better alternatives.
Date of experience: 04 March, 2026

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Chad Thompson 2024.02.10

     

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Trevor Bond 2023.10.25

     

Bolster provided us with pre-purchase consulting services (the "Sketches" program) for a prewar coop that required a gut renovation. Bolster helped identify key issues for further investigation and confirmed that our vision for the apartment could be realized within the bounds established by prior renovations in the building. The work product was quite professional and well organized. The detailed, comprehensive schematic ad budget provided us with solid confidence during the bidding process. The team, led by Jeronimo Gutierrez and Vincent Appel, communicated patiently and efficiently throughout the process.

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Abigail Savage 2023.09.15

     

Bolster is an incredible service. In our case, we had a complex job with a tight budget, and Bolster was able to draw out a detailed analysis of how much our renovation would likely cost, down to the last light switch, before our design phase had even begun. To get the budgeting and planning of a project into the conversation up front, instead of down the line, is invaluable. Bolster takes all the guesswork out of what usually is a convoluted and frankly backwards process, it simplifies and streamlines things for you, and puts the client (and their budget!) first. I will seek out Bolster for any renovation job I have in the future, big or small, and will be recommending them to others.

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Christina Clarke 2023.02.23

     

Bolster was extremely responsive and helpful throughout the process. They also connected me with a fantastic architect who devised an incredible design for my apartment. Overall, the process has been good, and its at about 90% completion and I'm very happy with how its turning out. I will say that the process has taken longer than it was originally projected, but everyone on the Bolster team are good about keeping you informed on progress. The team is very professional and everyone is very nice and enjoyable to work with.

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David Y 2022.12.31

     

This is a review about my experience with Bolster during the bid process for a townhouse renovation - I am the owner of a Brooklyn townhouse in need of a full gut renovation. My architect did the drawings and I sent my project out for bid to 5 different general contractors (GC), one of them being Bolster. They brought tremendous value in the budget process and, in my experience, they clearly stood out from other GC's for the following reasons: 1- Bolster will provide a cost breakdown (materials, labor, indirect costs) that is far more detailed and transparent than any other GC. Their software allows them to easily remove / add line items and see the impact on the total cost giving me more control on my project. 2- They offer a fixed-price cost and guarantees in terms of timeline. Anyone who renovated a house will tell you that it ended up costing more $ and taking more time than initially planned. This means more much needed peace of mind during what will inevitably be a stressful endeavor. 3- Highly professional: Jeronimo, Anna and their team were all great communicators, available, always got back to us on time, made proactive suggestions to contain cost, took the time to go as deep as needed in certain aspects of the bid and were super nice people to boot. Towards the end of the process, we were down to 2 general contractors including Bolster and ended up choosing the other GC mostly because he lives 2 blocks away and renovated multiple houses in our neighborhood (it was not an easy decision). However, Bolster added a lot of value in the decision-making process, we actually used their detailed proposal as the baseline to compare bids from all other contractors. For these reasons, I would highly recommend bringing in Bolster for any large NYC renovation projects, especially if you are new to this as this will eliminate a lot of the guesswork and uncertainty that comes with a first time renovation.

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Elise Baron 2022.06.24

     

We had an amazing experience with Bolster. The quality of their work speaks for itself, but what really impressed us was their attention to detail, their responsiveness and overall communication, and their genuine interest in making our home exactly what we hoped for.

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Ujjaini 2022.01.17

     

Professional and reliable construction company familiar with the NY co-op renovations process. Agile and tech-forward in their approach.

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Diana Soriano 2021.09.25

     

I hired Bolster to do my renovation before the pandemic, unfortunately the project has been going on for two years. I am extremely happy with the results and professionalism of my project manager Julieta Domínguez and Architect Michael Fasulo, they are real team players and are always willing to go the extra mile to make things happen.

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victor lipko 2021.06.08

     

Bolster has the "Bolster Promise" : on time, on budget. We cannot say more other than this is a real promise. Bolster did a "gut renovation" of our apartment which had not been touched in 60 years. They took everything in their stride: surprises, draconian building regulations, Covid-19 shutdowns, material shortages, and stayed the course! This "Design Build" concept of theirs and their guarantee make them one of New York's best contractors.

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Jeff L 2021.03.28

     

I used Bolster to renovate my studio apartment in the Flatiron. Prior to contracting with Bolster, I had already had plans prepared by an independent architect I had hired, and I had obtained approval by both my building and the NYC DOB. During my initial conversations with Bolster, they produced a comprehensive and detailed project cost sheet which I found remarkably thorough and analytical (down to the number of light bulbs of each type necessary for my project). The project scope was far more detailed than proposals furnished by other design+build shops I looked at, and factoring in their proprietary Bolster promise (a sort of insurance on cost-overruns and delays), I had much more confidence in proceeding with Bolster for the build. While I had planned to use them only for the build, during the gutting phase, Bolster identified a few deficiencies in my architect’s plans (e.g. measurements that were off, piping in different locations) – ultimately my plans required a post-effective amendment, and I used Bolster architects to efficiently close out that part of my project. They were far more responsive and thorough than my independent architect. Bolster was timely, professional, responsive, and thorough during the build-out. Until Covid-19 hit the city, my project was right on schedule and was coming along great. While my project did get stalled by Covid shutdowns, Bolster kept the lines of communication open and rolled out modern tools (like Slack) to coordinate matters. In the end, my apartment came out fantastic, and exceeded my expectations. Six months in and have had virtually no punch list items. Very pleased with the experience all around!

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Richard Massa 2020.12.13

     

As an Architect, I am always looking for professional and competent construction professionals to introduce to my clients. The team at Bolster are consummate professionals who present their work and themselves in a trustworthy manner that make you feel comfortable from day one!

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Paul Capece 2020.12.01

     

My firm completed several projects with Bolster, and I'm very proud of all of them. The final results say it all.

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Ravi Sitwala 2020.11.30

     

Bolster was easy to work with and delivered quality work and a transparent process. We are very happy we chose to work with them.

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Kathryn Keimel 2020.11.30

     

Bolster's renovation of our brownstone was a great experience. New floors, new windows, new kitchen, electrical, plumbing, HVAC system- you name it, they did it. Their approach was professional and pragmatic and offered transparency around options, timeline, potential obstacles, and cost. Besides having a great experience working with them and being happy with how our place turned out, we also felt Bolster really wanted to make us happy with our house.

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Jacquelyn Lee 2020.11.28

     

I highly recommend Bolster! We worked with them on a gut renovation in Brooklyn. They were very detailed oriented, professional and on top of everything. Everything was clearly communicated and transparent so that there wouldn't be any unexpected surprises. They were also very prompt in answering our follow-up questions or concerns and truly went the extra mile. I can't say enough good things about them!

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Andrea Brustein 2020.11.26

     

We used Bolster to do a complete repainting of our apartment. They helped us refine our color choices to ensure they flowed nicely throughout the space. Instead of replacing a damaged window sill, they did an excellent job repairing it, ultimately saving a great deal of money. Additionally, they repaired all of the cracks and other damaged areas on our walls and moldings. The paint job was top notch, and we are thrilled with the results. Our apartment feels like a new (better) space!

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Elton Lin 2020.11.25

     

Renovating in NYC is not for the faint of heart! Beyond permits, co-op restrictions, and unexpected costs, there are the various things that can emerge when digging into the bones of a 50 year old apartment. That being said, Bolster made my first major NYC renovation a relatively smooth one. I had them gut renovate my kitchen and 2 bathrooms in a 2BR co-op, and we couldn't have been happier with the end result. I had a set budget and a fairly strict co-op board, and the team at Bolster was supportive throughout with design guidance, budget transparency, and expectation setting - but most importantly they finished on time (3 months) and with great quality.

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Monica M 2020.11.25

     

Professional, attentive to detail, creative, responsive, kind and with and excellent customer service. These are just a few of the things that I would say about Bolster. Just enough for us to trust them with the biggest and most important investment of our family, a gut renovation of our home in the upper west side. It was always a pleasure to work with Caterina, Jeronimo and Agustín.

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Marylynn Piotrowski 2020.11.25

     

Bolster was very careful in the renovation project of our prewar with adherence to Landmarks and Department of Building. They guided every step of the way from the architect, contracting work and the last minute touches. We had a great renovation experience and subcontractor were great.

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