Testimonials

"Now that the holidays are over and life is returning to it’s regular pace, one of the first items on my “to do” list is to let you know how extremely pleased and happy we are with the cottage you and your amazing crew built for us!

As we mentioned at the beginning of this adventure, we had an unpleasant experience with a previous contractor, and were very apprehensive about the process of hiring someone to undertake this project. From the beginning of our conversations, you answered all our questions, (even the stupid and rude ones!) and reassured us that you would provide professional service and were more than qualified to perform the work. We handed you a piece of paper with a crude pencil drawing to work from, and you offered suggestions that immediately captured the spirit of what we were hoping to achieve without inflating our budget. Every member of your crew was friendly and professional and obviously took pride in their craft. My husband is a tradesman and knows how construction jobs operate. He was especially pleased to see how quickly the work progressed, yet without anything being done sloppily or unsafely. Your crew member, Steve, went out of his way to discuss details of the different parts of the building he was working on, and always made sure we were satisfied with the progression of the work. When we had last minute changes or ideas, he was very accommodating and also offered suggestions that didn’t alter the construction, yet added a little flair to the completed project. Every member of your crew worked very neatly, keeping the noise, and debris to a minimum and always left the jobsite each evening as clean as possible. And when I say evening, I mean it! There were days when I would return from work after dark and they were still here, finishing whatever they were working on instead of just dropping everything at 4:00 p.m. and walking away. That was very much appreciated, as it once again reassured me that it was just as important to you as it was to me to finish the job as quickly as possible to avoid any inclement weather. When a big storm did come through, you and your crew came up and covered the roof securely; another effort that we appreciated very much. We ran into some unforseen glitches with the round topped door, which you helped us with immensely, even returning after the job was completed to fix one very small yet mandatory part of the door jamb that would have been impossible to fix without your expertise. Funny how one tiny hole could make such a huge problem, but you went above and beyond our contract to fix it for us, and we’ll always remember that.

There is snow on the ground here now, but we have managed to stain the ceiling and the beams, and paint the walls. The flagstone floor has been laid and looks fantastic. We have purchased the baseboard and window trim and will install that this week. Chip is planning to remove the door and strip off the old paint and stain this week, as well, and I had a wonderful surprise of discovering that a musician acquaintance of mine is also a master woodcarver who worked for Disneyland for 23 years, so I’ve hired him to carve a leaf and vine motif around the edge of the door! Hopefully by late spring I’ll have saved enough money to start the rock work on the outside walls.

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been fascinated with fairytale and storybook cottages, and now, thanks to you and your superb crew of “elves”, I have one of my very own! We cannot thank you enough for making this project a reality, and for making it painless, stress free, and within budget. Please don’t hesitate to give future clients our number for referrals, and we’ll be happy to furnish pictures of the cottage as soon as it’s completely finished.

Thanks again, Steve, we know we hired the perfect contractor this time, and we are more than happy with the results!"

Caryn & Chip Wilder