Choosing a remodeler
An Alternative to Dream Kitchens
GS Construction & Remodeling
- Family-owned
- Father & Son
- Combined experience
- 40+ Years
- Licensed & insured
- Yes
Considering Dream Kitchens for your kitchen, bathroom, addition, basement, or whole-home remodel? Here is what GS Construction & Remodeling offers, so you know what to weigh before requesting estimates.
GS Construction & Remodeling
- Ownership Owner-operators are personally accountable for your project — not a sales rep who moves on after signing.
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Family-owned, father-son team (Greg & Patryk Szady).
Meet Greg and Patryk → - Your point of contact Every hand-off between coordinators is a chance for details to get lost and mistakes to creep in.
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Greg & Patryk Szady — the owners — are your single point of contact from the first call to the final walkthrough.
See how we run a project → - Design approach A flexible design model means you keep control of the look and the budget instead of being funneled into one in-house package.
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We build your project and collaborate with the independent designer or architect you choose — or we can connect you with our trusted architects, engineers, or designers — or be your own designer: we send you to our trusted material sources, follow your requirements, and install the materials you purchase. Your design, your decisions — we are flexible.
Our trusted design partners → - Pricing transparency An itemized scope lets you compare apples-to-apples and see exactly what you are paying for.
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Itemized, transparent pricing — labor is not marked up through layers of middlemen.
What remodels typically cost → - Who does the work Who actually holds the tools — and who supervises them — drives quality and accountability on site.
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Long-standing, vetted trade partners — licensed where required, insured, scheduled and supervised daily by the owners, covered by one GS warranty.
Our vetted trade partners → - Combined experience
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40+ years.
Browse completed projects → - Primary service area A contractor who works your area daily knows local permitting, inspectors, and supply houses.
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North Shore & Northwest Chicago suburbs (Winnetka, Wilmette, Glenview, Arlington Heights, Palatine, Barrington, etc.).
Towns we serve → - Project types
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Kitchen, bathroom, and whole-home remodeling, additions, exteriors, basements, and mudrooms.
All remodeling services → - Permit handling Unpermitted work can stall a future home sale and void insurance — confirm who is responsible.
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We pull permits and coordinate inspections.
Permit guides by town → - Project communication A live portal means you always know the schedule, what changed, and what you owe — no waiting for a callback.
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Daily — your private client portal to track your schedule (past and upcoming), current change orders, and up-to-date balances — plus a direct line to the owners and weekly progress updates.
Talk to the owners → - Photo proof
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Hundreds of in-progress and completed project photos on-site.
Watch time-lapse builds → - Public reviews Reviews across multiple independent platforms are harder to game than testimonials on a company's own site.
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Verified reviews on Google, Yelp, Houzz, and Angi.
Read all reviews → - Estimates
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Free in-home estimate with itemized scope.
Financing options → - Licensed & insured Proper licensing and insurance protect you if something goes wrong on the job.
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Yes — GS Construction and every tradesman on your project is fully licensed, insured, bonded, and registered in each city and village we work in.
Our written warranty →
This section describes GS Construction & Remodeling's own practices. Dream Kitchens is named for reference only.
The GS Construction Advantage
GS Construction & Remodeling approaches these projects from the build side: a licensed and insured construction company run by its owners, where you keep control of the design and one accountable team takes the job from demolition to final walkthrough. Every tradesman on your project is licensed, insured, bonded, and registered in the municipality where the work happens.
Want a second opinion before you decide?
GS Construction Difference
Your design, your decisions
Bring your own designer or architect, use one of our trusted design partners, or be your own designer with our material sources — never funneled into one in-house look.
Transparent pricing, no labor upcharge
Many firms hire out the trades and mark up the labor on top. We give you an itemized scope and clear pricing, so you know exactly what you are paying for and who is doing the work.
One team, start to finish
Greg and Patryk Szady are your first and last point of contact. With bigger firms a new coordinator owns each phase — and every hand-off is a chance for confusion and costly mistakes.
Live updates, not phone tag
Your private Daily portal keeps your schedule, change orders, and balances current as the project moves. Check it whenever you want, instead of calling to ask and waiting for someone to look it up.
Testimonials
Your Neighbours Love Us
Real reviews from homeowners. Ask us for live phone references.
Having done a fairly large amount of “research” online I concluded that it was time to get an excellent contractor team and not second rate. GS is A + excellent. From bottom to top, their people care about doing the right thing, they are active listeners who ask for feedback, and have a very positive attitude in achieving excellence in the little matters which leads to big beautiful renovations. The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra, said a prominent fb coach, and its true in renovations. Greg Szady and Patryk Szady have high quality people and actively work with my selected and excellent designer Jenn Peterson to put my first floor into the 21st century and beyond my expectations. The designer selected very high quality materials and Patryk and Greg delivered excellent renovations installations and detail. Kudos especially to GS flooring experts because everything transformed beautifully. No one has paid me for this review or told me what to say.
Why homeowners choose GS Construction
- Family-owned father-son team; you talk directly to the owners.
- 71+ verified reviews across Google, Houzz, Yelp, and Angi.
- Bring your own designer or architect, use one of our trusted partners, or be your own designer with our material sources.
- Itemized estimate and transparent pricing before work begins.
- Permit pulling and inspection coordination handled for you.
- Daily client portal to track your schedule, change orders, and balances in real time.
- Hundreds of in-progress and completed project photos on this site.
How to decide
- Request itemized estimates from at least two contractors.
- Ask whether you can bring your own designer or architect.
- Confirm who self-performs the work vs. who is subcontracted and marked up.
- Confirm who pulls permits and how inspections are scheduled.
- Ask who your single point of contact is — and whether it changes each phase.
- Ask whether you get a live portal for your schedule, change orders, and balances.
- Review the Illinois Attorney General's home-repair guidance so you know you are protected.
Do your homework: the Illinois Attorney General's Consumer Protection office explains how to avoid home-repair fraud and choose a reliable contractor. Its guidance for homeowners is explicit — “Get more than one estimate and get them in writing” — so comparing side by side before you sign is the state's own advice.
Recent GS Construction projects
- Is GS Construction a good alternative to Dream Kitchens?
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If you want to work directly with the owners and keep control of your design and materials, GS Construction is a strong alternative to Dream Kitchens. Greg and Patryk Szady are a father-son team who run every project from the first call to the final walkthrough — there is no rotating cast of coordinators, and you can bring your own designer or architect, get connected with our trusted architects, engineers, or designers, or be your own and shop our trusted material sources. Pricing us as your alternate bid costs nothing — every estimate is free and itemized.
- How does GS Construction's pricing compare to Dream Kitchens?
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GS Construction gives you an itemized, transparent estimate with no labor marked up through layers of middlemen, so you can see exactly what you are paying for. Pricing on any remodel depends on scope and finishes, so the best way to compare is to request an itemized estimate from GS Construction and from Dream Kitchens and put them side by side.
- What areas does GS Construction serve?
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GS Construction serves the northwest Chicago suburbs — including Arlington Heights, Palatine, Schaumburg, Barrington, and surrounding communities — for kitchen, bathroom, and whole-home remodels, additions, basements, exteriors, and mudrooms.
- Can I bring my own designer or buy my own materials?
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Yes. You can collaborate with the independent designer or architect of your choice — or we can connect you with our trusted architects, engineers, or designers — or design the project yourself. We point you to our trusted material sources, follow your requirements, and install the materials you purchase — your design, your decisions.
Get a second opinion and a free estimate
It is smart to get an alternate bid. We are happy to give you a no-pressure estimate even if you are already talking to Dream Kitchens.