You’re not just getting a finished kitchen or bathroom. You’re getting a space that works the way you live—where cabinets close properly, tile lines stay straight, and nothing feels like a compromise.
The job site gets cleaned up every day, not just at the end. Your home doesn’t turn into a construction zone you have to tiptoe around for months. And when the crew leaves for the last time, you’re left with something that actually increases what your home is worth—not just what it looks like.
This is what happens when a general contractor in East Hills, NY treats your project like it’s their own. You get results that last, not just results that look good in photos for the first six months.
Ray Coleman Home Improvement has been handling home remodeling projects in East Hills and across Nassau County since 1972. That’s over five decades of kitchens, bathrooms, dormers, and whole house renovations—most of them for homeowners who called back for the next project.
We’re licensed, insured, and ranked in the top 1% of contractors in New York. But what matters more is this: when you call, someone answers. When pipes freeze at 3 a.m. during a Long Island winter, we pick up. That’s not marketing—it’s how we’ve stayed in business this long.
East Hills homeowners know what they’re looking at when they hire a contractor. You’ve seen the trucks that never show up, the estimates that don’t match the bill, the crews that ghost you halfway through. We’re not that.
It starts with a phone call or text. You’ll talk to someone who actually knows construction, not a call center. We come out to your East Hills home, walk the space, and talk through what you’re trying to do—and whether it makes sense.
You get a detailed estimate that breaks down labor, materials, and timeline. No surprises, no vague line items. If something changes during the job, you know about it before we move forward. Most of our projects don’t require permits, which keeps things moving faster, but when they do, we handle that too.
Once work starts, the owner is on-site. Not just managing from a truck—actually working. The crew shows up on time, keeps the area clean, and you get updates throughout the day if you want them. We’re talking about kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling, first-floor renovations, extensions—the kind of work that touches every part of your routine. You shouldn’t have to wonder what’s happening in your own home.
When the job wraps, we walk it with you. You point out anything that’s not right, and we fix it. Then we’re still available after that—for questions, for issues, for the next project.
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We focus on larger residential projects—the kind that change how you use your home. Kitchen remodeling and bathroom remodeling are the bulk of what we do, but we also handle whole house renovations, dormers, extensions, and first-floor layouts that need to be opened up or reconfigured.
In East Hills, where the median home value is over $1.3 million, you’re not looking for the cheapest bid. You’re looking for someone who knows how to work on higher-end properties without cutting corners or dragging timelines. We do custom work, but we’re not a design firm—we’re the crew that makes someone’s design real, or we help you figure out what’s possible if you’re starting from scratch.
Because of Long Island’s winters, we also handle emergency calls for frozen or burst pipes. It’s not glamorous, but when your heating fails or a pipe lets go at 2 a.m., you need someone who picks up and knows what to do. We’ve been doing this long enough to know that reliability isn’t a bonus—it’s the baseline.
If you need decking, roofing, or siding as part of a larger renovation, we handle that too. But we’re not chasing small repair calls. Our focus is on the projects that take weeks or months, not hours.
Most structural changes, additions, or work that affects your home’s footprint will need a permit from the Town of North Hempstead. That includes things like adding a dormer, building an extension, or moving load-bearing walls. Cosmetic updates like replacing cabinets, countertops, or fixtures usually don’t.
The rules can be confusing, and they change depending on what you’re doing and where your property sits. We’ve been working in East Hills long enough to know what triggers a permit requirement and what doesn’t. If your project does need one, we handle the application and make sure everything is up to code.
A lot of the work we do falls into the category of renovations that don’t require permits—which is actually one of the reasons homeowners call us. It keeps the timeline shorter and the process simpler. But if permits are part of the job, that’s not a problem. We just build that into the schedule from the start.
In East Hills, a full kitchen remodeling project typically starts around $50,000 and can go well into six figures depending on size, finishes, and how much structural work is involved. If you’re keeping the layout the same and swapping cabinets, countertops, and appliances, you’re on the lower end. If you’re removing walls, relocating plumbing, or adding custom millwork, the number climbs.
The range is wide because every kitchen is different. A 10×12 galley kitchen costs a lot less than a 20×15 open-concept space with an island, high-end appliances, and custom cabinetry. We price based on what you’re actually getting—labor, materials, timeline—so there’s no guessing.
What matters more than the total number is whether you’re getting value for it. That means quality materials installed correctly, a timeline that’s realistic, and a finished space that works the way you need it to. We’ve seen plenty of kitchens that cost a fortune and still don’t function well. The goal is to avoid that.
A straightforward bathroom remodeling project usually takes two to three weeks. That’s for a full gut and rebuild—new tile, vanity, fixtures, lighting, and any necessary plumbing or electrical updates. If you’re adding square footage, moving walls, or dealing with unexpected issues like old cast iron pipes, it takes longer.
The timeline depends on how many decisions are locked in before we start. If tile, fixtures, and finishes are already picked out and on-site, we keep moving. If we’re waiting on special-order materials or design changes mid-project, that adds days or weeks.
We don’t rush jobs to hit an arbitrary deadline. You’re better off with a bathroom that’s done right in three weeks than one that’s done fast in ten days and starts having problems six months later. Most of our clients in East Hills are living in the home during the work, so we’re conscious of minimizing disruption—but not at the expense of quality.
Yes. If you call at 3 a.m. because a pipe burst or your heat went out, someone answers. That’s not an exaggeration—it’s something we’ve built the business around, especially during Long Island winters when frozen pipes are a real problem in East Hills.
When temperatures drop and pipes freeze, you don’t have time to leave voicemails and wait for callbacks. You need someone who can get there fast, assess the damage, and stop it from getting worse. We’ve handled enough of these situations to know what to look for and how to fix it quickly.
This isn’t a separate service we charge extra for—it’s part of how we operate. A lot of our clients are people we’ve worked with before, and they know they can reach us when something goes wrong. Even if you’re not a current client, we’ll pick up and help if we can. It’s the right thing to do, and it’s also how we’ve stayed in business for over 50 years.
We answer the phone. That sounds simple, but it’s the number one complaint we hear from homeowners who’ve worked with other contractors—no one calls back, no one responds to texts, and no one’s available when something goes wrong.
Beyond that, the owner is on the job site every day. Not just stopping by to check in—actually working. That means quality control happens in real time, not after the fact. It also means you’re talking to someone who knows exactly what’s happening with your project, not a project manager who’s juggling ten other jobs.
We also keep the site clean. Every day, before the crew leaves, the work area gets cleaned up. You’re not walking through sawdust and debris for weeks on end. And when we say we’ll be there at a certain time, we show up. It’s basic professionalism, but it’s not as common as it should be in this industry.
Yes, and a lot of the projects we take on fall into that category. Interior renovations that don’t involve structural changes—like updating a kitchen or bathroom without moving walls—typically don’t require permits in East Hills. Same with cosmetic work, fixture replacements, and certain types of finish upgrades.
We’re upfront about what does and doesn’t need a permit. If your project requires one, we tell you during the estimate phase and handle the process. If it doesn’t, we let you know that too, which usually means a faster start and fewer delays.
That said, we don’t cut corners to avoid permits. If the work requires one and we skip it, that creates problems down the road—for you, not us. When it’s time to sell your home or file an insurance claim, unpermitted work becomes a liability. We’ve been doing this since 1972, and our reputation depends on doing things the right way, not the fast way.
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