FROM OUR CUSTOMERS
Please find below our Letters of Reference from our customers. For more information be sure to view the Cornerstone Customer Gallery.
We have had the pleasure of working with Sean Scholl of Cornerstone Openings not once but twice this year! We installed La Cantina bi-fold doors with a honeycomb retractable screen in our family room this summer and the doors completely transformed the feel and flow of our house and enhanced our ocean view. Sean “warned” us that when we completed the family room, we’d want to install the same doors and screen in the billiards room located directly across from the front door — and he was right! At our request, Cornerstone Openings installed the doors and screen in the billiards room just in time for our Christmas Open House and they were the talk of the party!
Sean’s bid was very competitive and he and his crew completed both jobs on schedule and with very little construction debris. Sean was easy to contact, responsive to our needs, and even drove to San Diego County to personally pick up a custom part that we had requested. We are thrilled with the outcome as well as every aspect of Cornerstone Openings’ customer service.
Peggy Rose
Newport Coast
Tang Deck Remodel Project, Laguna Beach, CA
When we started researching our deck remodel project, we talked with a number of architects, contractors and door manufacturers. We wanted open flow between indoor living spaces and the outdoor decking area. We required major structural elements, earthquake coding and weatherproofing requirements to accommodate three sets of doors with one large 20 feet wide opening. We decided to go with Cornerstone Openings and La Cantina doors and we could not be happier with the process, the La Cainta doors and the end results. We wholeheartedly recommend Cornerstone Openings and the team of Sean Scholl and Leo Burke.
We visited and talked with several major and local manufacturers and dealers including Cornerstone Opening which represented La Catina doors. In terms of competition, the Nanawall systems offered the most similar product and we visited their regional dealer. Other systems were not competitive both in terms of product and engineering support.
Our first major decision was to choose the product and we found the La Cantina bi-fold product to be superior in terms of engineering quality. The La Cantina door frames and hinge system have a simpler design and cleaner look. Features that are options in other systems are included in the La Cantina doors.
We found Cornerstone Openings by contacting La Cantina directly (that took repeated tries over a month). Sean contacted us and met us at our earliest convenience at his showroom/office. He was able to get a quote to us the Saturday that we met. We met Leo the same day and we talked about the structural engineering support that Cornerstone Openings can provide. It was the complete support and reasonable pricing package that sold us.
As promised, Leo was able to finish the engineering plans in about 4 weeks, including the time it took to go through the Laguna Beach engineering approval process. With Leo’s help as engineering consultant, we completed the project and time and on budget. We now have now enjoyed the La Cantina openings and remodeled space for 14 months. I emailed Sean recently about the need for lockset service. He replied within 10 minutes on a Saturday and scheduled warrantee service for the next week.
From start to finish, we found that Cornerstone Openings has stood behind their promises and stood behind the La Catina product. I would not hesitate to engage Cornerstone Openings and Sean’s team in any major project that requires new doors and windows.
– Mr. Tang
To Whom It May Concern:
We worked with Sean and Cornerstone Openings on two projects over the last year and could not be happier with the results!
The first project involved opening up the family room to our covered patio and barbeque area. This required replacing existing windows with La Cantina folding doors. Although not uncommon, this was not an easy project and we encountered some challenges along the way. Thanks to Sean’s professionalism, great communication skills and customer service focus these issues were identified, addressed and overcome. Not every company rises to the occasion but Cornerstone certainly did.
Based on this positive experience we later had Cornerstone install a La Cantina folding window to create an indoor-outdoor pass through from the kitchen to the patio. This install went perfectly and the space turned out exactly as we had hoped.
We would encourage anyone with a similar project to consult with Sean and Cornerstone. We recommend them without hesitation.
Sincerely,
Mark and Monica Rael
La Cantina,
I am writing to inform you of the incredible service and representation that Cornerstone Openings and Sean Scholl provide your company. I ordered four doors for my home that has been featured in several magazines regarding my gardening and pool. I looked at every door on the market. What made me choose La Cantina was the fact that Sean was willing to pick me up at my home and drive me to your showroom to see the doors. He genuinely seemed to care.
La Cantina had a very difficult time delivering my doors as I was informed the French Door was a new product— you missed several scheduled delivery dates. Sean’s constant communication and making me comfortable everything was aright made the difference. He re- scheduled his crew to be here every time the doors came.
The end result is AMAZING. Sean hired a professional photographer and I could not be more pleased with my new room. I recommend Cornerstone Openings to everyone that sees them.
Joanne Bush
I have had the pleasure of working with Sean and his team from Cornerstone Openings during the renovation of my new home. I had first seen home designs that unified indoor and outdoor spaces while on vacation in Hawaii. I was thrilled to find a company that could bring that same experience to my home. Sean helped me visualize the transformation through his design, but the final result completely surpassed my expectations.
The best part of the project was the idea to add a La Cantina door to the master suite on the second floor of my home. There is no longer any need to travel to Hawaii to feel like I’m on vacation!
In addition to having first rate craftsmen, Cornerstone Openings also has a licensed engineer on their team to ensure that the work is completed to the highest standard and complies with local requirements.
Overall, the quality and service provided by Sean Scholl and Cornerstone Openings is unparalleled.
Tom Gallaway
Coto de Caza
Over the past year my wife and I noticed a new trend developing in patio doors. No longer was it the 2-door sliding design, but now a wall of doors that could simply vanish effortlessly. From high-end luxury homes to new home developments, this trend was appearing everywhere – we wanted it too. After dealing with contractors that could only commit to part of the job, along with unresponsive companies, I didn’t know where to turn. It wasn’t until I was visiting a good friend that just had similar doors installed that I found about Cornerstone Openings.
Before I even asked who completed their installation, I explained the difficulty I had dealt with in finding a reputable source. My friend interrupted me and said “You have to meet Sean from Cornerstone.” Sean came over the very next day. I didn’t have to wait a week, reschedule my appointment, or sit and wait for him to arrive. His team showed up on time and gave us ideas we never imagined. I explained we were excited about starting, but also getting ready to host a party at our house the following month. I was concerned with the project not being completed on time. Sean assured us that this date could be met and we would be 100% satisfied with the outcome. We gave Cornerstone Openings the green light to proceed. As soon as we accepted the project, Cornerstone Openings provided a complete schedule of dates; when the doors would arrive, demolition day, and the date of final installation. Every phase of the project was communicated to us thoroughly. When the project began, it was great to see the owner on site with his team. Sean participated in every phase of the project, as if it was his own home.
What really made Cornerstone stand out was the recognition Sean put forth to addressing my wife’s concern. On the day of installation, the team was onsite all day. As evening approached, Sean explained that he would be putting up a temporary wall until the door was installed the following day. My wife showed concern this would not be secure throughout the night. Sean recognized her concern, put on his gloves, and worked with the team to stay longer to get the door in the same day! We were amazed. In conclusion, the communication, craftsmanship, and the sliding doors are simply amazing.
I highly recommend Cornerstone Openings.
Mike & Stefanie Scherenberg
To Whom It May Concern,
I am not the sort to be easily impressed; I am less likely to throw around words such as great and virtually never feel so strongly about a vendor to write a letter of recommendation. That is why I am thrilled to give my highest recommendation to Cornerstone Openings and specifically Sean and the team he had work on my project; they were knowledgeable, dependable, honest and literally flawless on their execution.
I started a $500k renovation project in Laguna Beach and one of the key components I was looking for was bi-folding doors throughout the house. My general contractor was not able to handle the project so I had to search to locate a sub-contractor for this project. I contacted five competitors of Cornerstone Openings and each asked me to measure my opening and they would place the order for me and it was up to me to find my own engineer and installer from the project. I was not comfortable to measure on my own not knowing what was needed to complete this project; therefore, I hired an installation company to measure the door openings and write up the order so I didn’t end up with a door system that didn’t fit my house.
After the measuring and being a little turned off by the lack of care and service the other bi-folding companies provided I continued to look for bi-folding door providers before placing my order. I feel incredibly blessed that I came across Cornerstone Openings. I called and spoke with Sean, read reviews and was impressed with his knowledge and proceeded to tell him what I needed to order since I had come to learn that’s how most companies operated.
This is when I started to realize the difference between Cornerstone and everyone else in their industry. Sean refused to take my order! Instead he booked a time to come to my house to review the project with his engineer. Furthermore he scheduled a time to take my wife and I down to the La Cantina plant to show me all of the product options, colors, screens and much more. After this experience I was very excited about the project but was cautiously optimistic; surely this level of white glove service was going to result in white glove pricing. I was shocked when Sean submitted his proposal to me; not only did they come in 10%-15% less than the other quotes I received he also discovered that the installer I hired to measure had the recommendations completely wrong!
Needless to say I was impressed and ready to move forward. Sean walked me through the entire project, set schedules and even went to the city with us to pull permits and walk the city through the engineer’s plans which included a SEER’s study to meet Laguna’s stringent codes. I continued to be impressed by Sean hitting every single deliverable on time, every time! I did not experience this with any other component of my renovation which included over a dozen contractors.
Sean personally communicated with me every day during the installation and took great care in showing my wife and I how to operate the door and then even offered free maintenance on the doors for life; huge bonus (I guess he was saving that as a surprise for us). In the end the entire experience and the final product far exceeded my expectations. I can honestly say in my experience Cornerstone Openings does not have a peer; they are a full service company that treats your job as if they were installing the doors in their own house. Do yourself a favor, call Cornerstone, sit back, relax and let them take care of everything and eliminate all the guesswork and anxiety that comes with any major renovation project. I hold Cornerstone Openings in the highest of regards and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone, they are truly a great company in a sea of meager bi-folding door providers.
Best Regards,
Daniel R. Hauck
Dear LaCantina Doors:
We reside in Ladera Ranch, California and recently purchased LaCantina Doors for our home.
Purchasing the doors was easy and paying for the doors was easy. Getting a company to prep and install
the doors was nightmarish. Thankfully, Sean Scholl and Cornerstone knew what needed to be done. We
purchased our doors from Ganahl Lumber and were not provided with any reputable persons or entities
to install the doors.
We spoke with a number of contractors who all stated they were experts but none, not one, was able to explained the entire process from engineering to permitting to prep through installation. Sean Scholl and Cornerstone Openings did.
What was more remarkable was that Sean and Cornerstone did not sell us the door. Cornerstone Openings provide us clear guidance, comfort and “one stop” services and a great install approved by inspectors. As a LaCantina customer I will only recommend these doors if a company like Cornerstone Openings is involved. They made it happen.
Thank You – John
Dear Sean,
Now that our project has been completed, Tiffany and I wanted to pass along our sincere thanks for all that you have done for us, from beginning to end! As we began our initial search for companies that could manufacture 20 foot sliding or track doors for our home project, we quickly realized that there were a tremendous amount of companies that that play in that space. However, after meeting with numerous companies and representatives, and witnessing firsthand their lack of professionalism and customer care/service, that number was quickly reduced to one, that being La Cantina and all because of you!
You were a man of your word throughout our entire process and you went out of your way to meet with Tiffany and I, no matter if that meant setting up an appointment at another one of your clients home to show us their doors that you installed or coming to our home numerous times, just to make sure that we had the very best product for our project. Not only is your customer service top notch, you and your professional installers probably saved our entire project. Having a 20 foot opening with 4 panel sliding doors installed, around 3 steel beams is no easy project and measurements have to be exact. Unfortunately that was not the case with our structural engineer and our project, however, you caught their mistake and did whatever it took to make sure that our doors would properly fit into the opening!
We always felt like your only customer and we will highly recommend you to all of our friends and family, in fact, we recommended you to our next door neighbor and now you will also be working of their project.
It was a pleasure working with you Sean!
Sincerely,
Thomas and Tiffany Bulowski
During the stressful remodel process Sean Scholl helped me to make the right choices for my LaCantina doors.
His expertise and professional conduct made me make the right choices for my doors. Sean picked me up and showed me installed doors at house close by and made sure I understood why certain doors and openings work better than others.
Sean knew when I needed my doors installed and delivered! It was great working with Sean an would not hesitate to endorse him to any other clients.
– Carlos Reeberg
My husband and I live in Ladera Ranch. We live in a home that is about 10 years old but have been looking to move because we love all of the new designs of homes and their indoor/outdoor living. Instead of moving, we decided to update our current house. I want to share my story as we had two unique experiences – completely opposite from one another.
Our first experience was a nightmare. We had recently remodeled our garage into a game room by adding bi-fold doors to the rear of the garage. We found the contactor online and were new to the whole process. Unfortunately our first experience was a disaster. The doors for the game room almost cost triple because of lack of permits and lack of proper construction. It was an absolute nightmare.
We wanted to do the same thing for our patio doors, but were nervous about who we could trust this time. We found Sean from Cornerstone Openings through a referral. He came out the next day and gave us an immediate quote. The quote was very competitive and he promised the best of the best work and a guarantee we would not experience any of the issues we dealt with using the previous contractor.
Our experience with Sean’s team was simply amazing. From start to finish, everything was explained, on schedule, and ready in the time as promised. It was amazing to see the correct way a business should be run like Sean’s, compared to the nightmare we experienced first.
We truly recommend Sean and his crew to help anybody update the beauty of their home and experience the real California living.
Cory and Chelsea Tona
Ladera Ranch, CA
We recently completed a major remodel of our home in South Orange County.
The key to our design for our open floor plan/great room and kitchen was our 15 foot bi-fold door to create an in-door/out-door concept with a flush door threshold. Cornerstone Openings recognized this design element and was integral in providing design advice and feedback implementing this feature.
Sean Scholl and his team were immediately available to answer any and all of our questions regarding this key element. They were consulted as we poured foundations all of the way until final inspection. I cannot stress this enough, we dealt with over 20 different sub-contractors through our project and Cornerstone Openings shined above and beyond our expectations. With 100% confidence I can give a full recommendation for Cornerstone Openings. We are very happy with the final product and the service was superior.
Sincerely, D. Hancock
To whom it may concern,
We recently undertook a complete remodel of our newly purchased home in San Clemente and hired Cornerstone Openings to install a La Cantina retractable door in our family room. The family room had window views but no access to our large patio and pool. We wanted to open the back of our home up with a La Cantina door. This was the most important part of our remodel.
The door project was very large in scope due to our huge wrap around second story deck. The structure of the deck required cement footings to be inserted under the new door frame, steel columns to be placed on the sides of the door, and a 1500 pound steel header to be inserted above the door. In addition, the existing windows needed to be removed and one window was relocated. Electrical wiring and exterior plumbing had to be moved and the exterior of the house had to be stuccoed. I was told by several companies that the only way to do this project was with sliding doors. Sean Scholl of Cornerstone Openings guaranteed that the La Cantina door was perfect for the area and that they would make it work.
They were absolutely correct! The finished door is spectacular and the openness of our remodeled family room / kitchen is stunning. We now have an almost 15 foot opening when the door is opened. The view is incredible! Sean and his crew were terrific. Cornerstone Openings Took care of all the permits and architectural plans. Sean’s workers are sharp and they work very hard. They dealt with any issues that came up and had intelligent ideas that made the process go smoothly. This foresight included padding our newly painted interior walls before they had 15 men carry the 1500 pound steel header through the house. There wasn’t one bit of damage done to our home during the entire installation. They were efficient and neat, with the construction always contained from the rest of the house – first rate work.
I couldn’t recommend a company’s work any higher than I would for Sean Scholl and Cornerstone Openings. They promised a lot – and delivered on everything. This door was key to our remodel – it needed to be perfect. It is, thanks to Cornerstone openings.
Robert R. Arnau
Dear Sean,
I wanted to thank you for company’s excellent work completing the two projects on my house. This letter is intended to express my appreciation for the work but also can be used as a reference letter if you wish.
As you know, there were two projects at my house performed simultaneously in August 2013. One was the replacement of two stand alone French doors and a window with an approximately 15’ La Cantina Bi-Fold door which opened our kitchen and nook area to the backyard. The other project was a replacement of a window with a 6’ French door set opening our dining room to an outside patio.
These projects were a bit of a challenge as our house has Old World tiling that came with the house and that we did not have any replacement tiles. It was imperative that we did not destroy ANY of the tiles during the install.
My wife and I had spoken to a couple of contractors about these projects and they both seemed to be a bit intimidated by the project. They were waffling on the price, the type of materials, and the timeline for the project which was estimated to take a couple of weeks. Additionally, they were also disclaiming their responsibility on the project due to the potential failure of the work by other subcontractors which we were going to have to find on our own to do other portions of the job (demo, framing, dry wall, etc).
Needless to say, we were very wary of hiring someone to open up two holes in our home when they were already trying to avoid responsibility prior to the project even starting.
This is when we met you and your team. From the very beginning, you and your team were very professional, prompt, courteous, knowledgeable, and capable. The entire process was clearly explained and all details of the projects were discussed ahead of time. I was pleased that your team handled all of the facets of the project (demo, framing, flooring transitions, door hanging & install, dry wall, trim, etc.) so there would be no finger pointing at other subcontractors. You also told us that you could get both projects completed from beginning to end in 3-5 days. It was an added benefit that your cost was roughly half the cost of the previously mentioned contractors. You were so confident of your team and the finished product that it made me and my wife comfortable to start the project.
During the project, the team showed up on time, every day and worked a FULL day. They were also very careful and concerned to keep the construction debris to a minimum. They took extra precautions to project the tiles and make sure none were destroyed. The cuts in the floor for the transition were precise and the grout that you replaced looks great with the existing grout.
As for the transition, you were very emphatic on the importance and uniqueness of your method of installing the floor transition flush with the floor so there is no “bump” when walking through the door. I’ll be honest, I didn’t understand it before the install but I certainly understand it now. Having seen other folding doors in other houses, not having this “bump” is important as I have heard other home owners complain of the tripping hazard in their folding doors. We have also received several compliments from people due to the lack of the “bump” (not to mention all he compliments on the beautiful doors).
The install was completed in four days and the results are spectacular. The doors were installed perfectly and the stucco you replaced on the outside of the doors matches perfectly. I really appreciated how your team went the extra mile to help us relocate some of our exterior lights outside of the doors.
Also, as you probably remember, we were planning on painting the doors white so they matched the existing windows and trim within the house but you strongly suggested to match the color to the existing wood built ins and cabinets in the kitchen and nook and dining room. We were hesitant but you were absolutely right. The doors are now the focal point of the house.
After a year of use, the doors still look and operate perfectly. These projects, especially the La Cantina door, have completely changed our home lifestyle and is the best thing we could have done to the home.
Thank you!
Andrew Tinseth
Sean, I can’t thank you and you crew enough for the fantastic job you did for us. I just posted the following on Yelp;
When we decided to add bi-fold doors to our home I contacted the five top manufactures. Most of them would sell me the doors but I would have to contract locally to have them installed. After pushing them I did get some potential names of contractors, but it would still have been two different transactions. The only one that had a local installer was La Cantina. I got estimates from them all. After meeting them all I was leaning toward Sean Scholl, owner of Cornerstone Openings and the local representative for La Cantina. I asked for a couple of references.
It turned out that one of the names he gave us were personal friends. We went over to their house, saw the install, and asked about Sean. They said he was terrific and they loved the job he did. I signed the contract with Sean. This was the best construction experience I’ve ever had. He promised excellence and he delivered! He showed up every time he said he would, (even when he didn’t feel well), returned every call immediately, and had the best people on the job, (that also showed on time). He noticed that we were very particular about how we kept our house and went above and beyond to protect everything, even buying brand new drop cloths and enclosing the work area with heavy plastic and a zipper opening. The finished job was fantastic! We highly recommend Sean and his crew for any job they choose to take on. This is a guy that won’t provide anything but the highest possible standard of not just the finished product, but the entire construction experience.
Please feel free to show this to any prospective clients and/or have them call us and drop by to see the finished product.
You’re the best there is!
Wayne Poe
Eighteen months ago I made the decision to structurally transform the back wall of my home overlooking the pool and ocean. The project was considerably more complex than just replacing windows and doors, but adding structure beams, framing, duct works, drains and flooring. I spent time having plans done by my architect, then proceeded to research and interview door manufacturers:
Anderson, Pella, Jeld-Wen, and Milguard. All came up short in either their product or contractors…
That is, until I called La Catina and they referred me to you Sean, Cornerstone Openings. From the first meeting with your team, I felt comfortable that this was the right decision. After the initial meeting at my residence with your contractor, my confidence in reshaping my residence “soared”, making my decision to select Cornerstone Openings “a no brainer”. Every customer wants that feeling that their project is at the top of the list, and your daily updates via email, text and phone kept me well informed. I never had an issue in reaching you and getting an immediate response. The quality of the tradesmen doing the work was outstanding. The timeline was met, we were right on budget, and the cleanup everyday of the construction was superior. At the end, the extra work your team did in hanging new lights, adjusting the doors and cleaning up the entire outside, made the final result spectacular.
Your team treated my home like it was yours, and I cannot give a better endorsement then that!!
Sincerely,
Bill Conlon
Ritz Cove Community, Dana Point.
Sean,
First of all I want to thank you for ULTIMATE level of service you are providing and the high level of professionalism that you have shown our Family. As you know, I write books on Small Business and Personal Finance and am also recognized as a national media expert on Consumer Advocacy – appearing regularly on NPR and Local and National TV.
I make certain that I go out of my way to tell the world about companies that deliver poor customer service. But in your situation, I go beyond, to tell others about people like you who are doing it right!
Once again, thank you for stepping up to do the right thing!
Sincerely,
Louis Barajas, MBA, EA, CFP®
Dear LaCantina,
I want you to know how much I appreciate the services of Sean Scholl of Cornerstone Openings in installing our La Cantina doors. I am 85 years old, have been a partner in a large law firm with offices now from Beijing to Los Angeles and points in between, and have had a very successful business career, including CEO of a leading publicly held financial services company, for almost 50 years. I have met all kinds of people and dealt with princes and paupers. Sean rates at the top of my list of those with whom I have had business dealings. He knows his product, he does what he says he will do and more, and his workmanship is of the highest order. I have the utmost respect for him. You can be sure that I will recommend him to anyone who wants La Cantina doors, and I will be happy to provide a recommendation to prospective users of his services. You should be proud of him too.
Dwight Allison
To whom it may concern,
I would like to recommend Sean Scholls at Cornerstone Openings as a vendor for La Cantina Doors.
Sean has done an exceptional job at being our sole vendor of all La Cantina bifold door systems. His ability to provide thorough detailed information on the latest products, generate accurate proposals, provide and execute precise schedules on completion and showcase exemplary customer service skills have proven time and again his excellent professionalism.
These are examples of why we have contacted Sean for the past four years and will continue to do so for future projects to be our sole La Cantina product vendor.
Yours Truly,
Len Harkins Harkins Construction
Len Harkins
To whom it may concern,
I would like to take a moment to share my experience with Sean Scholl of Cornerstone Openings. I had been working with another dealer to prepare a quote for (2) pocketing door systems for a clients project and had a difficult time wrapping up the quotation to the point of being able to close the sale due to some customization requests and changes the client made.
I came across Sean through another project I was working on. He was very quick and reactive to the needs of the quotation, came to my office in Laguna to see the plans and understand the scope of work, dealt with the customization request on the spot, and had a completed sales quote in my in box within 2 hours of my meeting with him.
In short, I had a wonderful experience with him, felt he was very proactive and professional and look forward to working with him to order your door systems in the future.
Thank you,
Nicole Smith, Designer
is excellent professionalism.
These are examples of why we have contacted Sean for the past four years and will continue to do so for future projects to be our sole La Cantina product vendor.
Yours Truly,
Len Harkins Harkins Construction
Len Harkins
To Whom It May Concern:
I’m writing on behalf of Sean Scholl and Cornerstone Openings. I am a General Building Contractor in the South Orange County area and have worked on several projects with Sean. With the type of high end cliental I cater to in this area the only company I trust for ALL my LaCantina door systems is Cornerstone. With their ability to exceed mine and my client’s expectations regarding all aspects of the LaCantina system and with in house engineering, installation and the best pricing by far it really is a “no brainer”. One of the best selling points to my clients is Sean’s expertise regarding LaCantina products. He really knows how to talk with my clients, help them with the design aspect and what is best for their individual project. He’s always prompt, courteous and prepared for our meetings, which from a contractor’s perspective it makes me look good as well.
I expect I will be doing business with Sean at Cornerstone Openings for many years to come as he is my only choice for one stop shopping LaCantina doors.
Sincerely,
Lance Valle
CEO
Valle Construction, Inc.