Marcus Delray started Cornerstone Home Restoration in Bellingham in 2014 with a used truck, a set of finish tools, and a straightforward idea: that homeowners deserve a contractor who shows up when they say they will and tells the truth about what a job costs. The first two years were mostly bathroom tile work and deck repairs, the kind of jobs bigger companies pass on. That suited Marcus fine. He learned the quirks of older Bellingham homes. The 1970s split-levels with their odd framing, the craftsman bungalows with plaster walls that don't behave like drywall. And built a reputation one project at a time.
We take on thirty to forty projects a year, deliberately, because that's where quality stays consistent.
“Marcus walked through our kitchen on a Tuesday and had a written estimate in our inbox by Thursday. The project ran exactly as long as he said it would, which I honestly didn't expect.”
— Sandra K., Bellingham, WA
The most common question we get after 'how much will it cost?' is 'how long will it take?' For a full kitchen renovation in a typical Bellingham home, the honest answer is six to ten weeks from the day work starts. And that doesn't count the three to five weeks of planning, ordering, and permit work that happens before the first cabinet comes down. Here's what that actually looks like.
Read more →Tile is not waterproof. This surprises a lot of homeowners, but it's true. Grout is porous, and even well-sealed grout allows moisture to migrate over time. In a shower or tub surround, that moisture has to go somewhere. If the substrate behind the tile isn't properly waterproofed, it goes into the framing. In the Pacific Northwest, where homes stay damp for much of the year, that's a problem that compounds quietly for years before it becomes visible.
Read more →Finishing a basement in the Pacific Northwest is not the same as finishing a basement in Denver or Phoenix. The regional climate. Wet winters, significant humidity variation through the year. Means that moisture management has to be the first conversation, not an afterthought. We've finished basements in homes from Blaine to Mount Vernon, and the ones that hold up well over time are the ones where the moisture strategy was right from the start.
Read more →Marcus or a named project lead handles your job from the first walkthrough to the final punch list. No handoffs to a call center, no chasing someone down for an update.
Every scope of work is documented in writing before a single tool comes out. If something changes mid-project, we discuss it and put the revision in writing too.
We sweep, bag, and stage materials at the end of each workday. Your home is still your home while we're in it.
Cornerstone Home Restoration holds a Washington State contractor license and carries general liability and workers' compensation insurance on every project.
When we bring in a trade partner. A licensed electrician or plumber. We tell you in advance, and they're vetted the same way we'd vet our own crew.
We'd rather give you a longer estimate and finish early than promise a date we can't keep. We've learned that lesson the hard way, and we don't repeat it.
Answer four short questions and we'll point you toward the right service and a realistic starting budget for your project.
Marcus Delray spent eight years as a site foreman for Hartwell Construction in Burlington, Ontario, overseeing mid-scale residential builds before relocating to the Pacific Northwest in 2013. He founded Cornerstone Home Restoration in 2014 after noticing that most renovation contractors in the area treated smaller jobs. A bathroom gut, a basement finish. As afterthoughts. Marcus trained as a finish carpenter before moving into project management, and that background shows in how he talks about trim lines and tile grout as much as timelines and budgets. He still does the initial walkthrough on every project himself. On weekends he coaches youth hockey in Bellingham and keeps a small woodworking shop in his garage where he builds furniture he mostly gives away.
info@cornerstonehomerestoration-20237.com