TESTIMONIALS
Here are a few examples of client testimonials about working with Salem Designs.
“I paid a contractor a lot of money to do some work on my house. The outside needed to be prepped for siding. The front porch needed the old screens taken out and new windows put in as well as a new entryway and the inside refinished.I needed the cellar windows replaced, stair treads for the cellar stairs and a platform built down there for a new washer and dryer. I also wanted some of the new siding on the front replaced with vinyl shingles to match the front porch and peak of the house. I had paid for everything except the shingles as that was not part of the deal. Well, the only thing that contractor completed was the work on the outside that the siding guy needed to do his work. Everything else was left half done. My house was a construction zone for almost 2 years.
I told Dana my dilemma, he and his crew came and completed all of that work, most of it within a week.The rest done the next week. He even moved the work around so the cellar would be done the first week and I could have the washer and dryer delivered sooner rather than later. They also took off the cellar door and railing so the delivery guys could get them down there and then installed them! Dana gave me a fair price and the work is top notch! Dana and his crew went above and beyond for me and I will be forever grateful. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!”
Jody C,Peabody, MA
“I want to thank Dana and his team at Salem Designs for the awesome remodel they recently completed for us. We have utilized them a few times over the years and have been consistently impressed with the quality of work, attention to detail, and most particularly how they don’t just do what is expected, they really take the time to do the extras. My neighbor recommended them to me and now I see why. Thank you Salem Designs.”
Nadine of Boxford, MA
“I can’t tell you how happy we are with our bathroom renovation! Above all, your reliability and work ethic were awesome and next to impossible to find these days. I loved how helpful you were with all aspects of the project: design, sourcing, and execution. Everything fell into place, and you worked within the budget and timeline with no issues. I will tell everyone I know to call you for help with their next project. You clearly love what you do, and it was a pleasure to work with you. We’ve had so many compliments, and our kids absolutely love their new space. We couldn’t be happier.”
Brooke of Topsfield, MA
“I want to thank you for the wonderful work that you did at my home this past summer. The two bathrooms and laundry room turned out even more beautiful then I had hoped for. You are reliable, communicative and honest in your work. I would recommend you to my family and friends in a heartbeat. You provided a detailed budget and stuck to it. In a super busy time for contractors, you got the job done quickly and efficiently. Thank you again for the beautiful work. You obviously take pride in what you do and it shows in the finished product!”
Elaina of Boxford, MA
“Thank you so much for all your hard work on the kitchen. It came out fabulous! The craftsmanship and attention to detail was on par with us… Thanks again”
Ken and Amy of Newton, MA
“Thank you for your patience and perseverance – the end result is terrific!”
The staff at Kach Family Dental in Auburn, MA
“The deck and Jacuzzi have been great. A big surprise was the sliding door – it’s been warmer than the windows unit it replaced. We realize what a good job you did on all aspects of the project…”
Jon and Pricilla of North Andover, MA
“Happy to relay to you our thoughts on Dana. Overall, we loved Dana. About a year ago we were at a loss as to who to use for our home remodel and considered selling our house because we couldn’t find anybody we felt we could trust at a decent price. Finally, two of our close friends had raved about Dana and said we should meet with him before we totally gave up on remodeling our home. We had some plans previously drawn up from another contractor we were working with but didn’t use due to his poor communication and price. Dana looked at the plans we had and priced those out and his price was a great value as he includes roofing and residing the house which were two projects we wanted to eventually do, so for us, he was the best value from other contractors we had spoken to or looked into. We also like Dana a lot when we met with him and as you said, he is a very good builder and we sensed he really knew his stuff as compared to other builders we met with. What we liked most about him when we initially met was that he made a lot of things “easy” and “not difficult” compared with other contractors who you could tell were making every little thing seem as though it were a ton of work so they could jack the price. One of our close friends who used Dana for his own addition in Boxford is a kitchen contractor and what really clinched Dana for us was that he said “of all the contractors I work with on kitchens, Dana was the one that I wanted to do my own house.
In terms of character, which my wife and I both felt was very important, Dana is second to none. It sounds cliched, but for us, these guys were in our house every day while we lived through the first four months before moving out for the last two, and with a two year old it was very important for us to feel comfortable with them. Dana and his whole crew were awesome. Just ask our two year son Connor, he knows each of the guys by name. All the guys were very courteous, respectful, and great to us and our son. Even little stupid things like Dana coming back from a Home Depot run with a mini tape measure for Connor or knocking on our door when the foundation was being poured so that he could take Connor over to see the cement truck. You’re probably saying to yourself, “who cares about that stuff” but when you see how much trust you put in the hands of your contractor beyond what any contract says, we were very glad to be with Dana. He takes his work very seriously and understands that his business is based on referrals which too many contractors don’t get.
For us, Dana’s timing was pretty much right on. He initially gave us a time frame of 20 weeks and started the first week of June. In the middle of the project we added in a farmer’s porch along the front of our house (Which was not included in the original plans) which added about 3 to 4 weeks to the project and then we got nailed with rain for a week straight when they were pouring the foundation. Dana got final sign offs the week of the 12th of November and we were moving back in the week of the 16th. He held to his goal of having us back in for Thanksgiving. I am not sure what timing other contractors are quoting but I tend to be pretty cynical when it comes to things like this and for us was weary of the low ball bids or the guys who had really aggressive time lines in order to get the job in this economy and then when you’re in the middle of the project and you’re house is torn apart come to you and say “its gonna be more than we thought” or “its going to take longer than we thought”. Again, contracts etc. can have all these stipulations, but once the project starts, you’re pretty much in it and won’t want to stop to iron out contract details or in the worst case have to find another contractor. I know when we saw Dana’s contract, we were kind of like “where does it talk about the timing and the maximum price” and we talked to Dana about it and he he relayed that his quote is his quote and the timing he communicates regularly as you never know what kinds of things you could run into on a job beyond anybody’s control. We decided to go with it and felt Dana backed up his worked on timing. As far as what is included in his quote, we were like you in that we kept saying to ourselves, “Do you think everything is included in there” as we heard horror stories about the contractor presenting some huge bill at the end for extras. Dana knew our concern about that and gave us his word that he doesn’t work like that and any extras we would know ahead of time and that was the case…
Everybody who has walked through our house has commented on the detail of the finish work. A lot of our finish detail was actually Dana’s ideas as we really gave him a lot of freedom with our house as we could tell as we got more into our project that he has some really good ideas and tended to be able to visualize things better than we could. But again, definitely make sure he’s seeing your sheet of details so you can refer back to it. The end of the project is the time when communication is critical so that will be the time you want to be talking with Dana very often even more so than the beginning and middle when much of the structural work is being done…
Just FYI to back up our endorsement of Dana, I referred my sister and brother in-law to Dana as they are considering an addition to their home in Reading. Also, our friends who had Dana do their kitchen and referred us to Dana are now thinking about putting on a second floor above their garage in Lynnfield, previously they always got a minimum of 3 quotes for any major work they were doing and did thorough research, and when I talked to the husband about the addition, they said if they decide to do it that they’ll just wait until Dana can do it and they won’t bother getting any other quotes given their experience with Dana previously.”
Steve and Amy of Wenham, MA
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SALEM DESIGNS, LLC
10 Brookhead Ave., Beverly, MA 01915
617-921-6660