BD Home Improvements

The whole project took 2-1/2 days and was very well done. He was punctual, got to work right away, stopped to ask my opinion on certain aesthetic issues, and cleaned up everyday before he left. I am very pleased with how everything turned out.

Originally, we called Bruce to get an estimate on building a new master bedroom closet as the previous owners of our house had ripped it out during renovations. Bruce surpassed my expectations because of the quality of his advice: He actually advised us to save our money for a more full scale bathroom/closet renovation down the line and just use IKEA wardrobes at the present, rather than put in an awkward fitting closet that would eat into the size of the room. He could have charged us thousands of dollars, and we might have paid it, only to have wondered whether we made the right choice. Instead, he gave us honest advice on what he would do in our place, and why our ideas might be flawed. We ended up hiring Bruce for a smaller job instead - to plug up a hole in the ceiling used for attic access. He arrived on time, and finished in 2 hours. He did a bunch of extra stuff, like plug up other holes and imperfections in the ceiling, and the work he did was neat, creative, and looks fantastic. He also recognized that as new homeowners, we feel a bit overwhelmed by all the things we could do. He gave us great advice on all sorts of things: Focus first on 'securing the perimeter' - he told us how to get high quality doors to replace the old, flimsy ones currently in place. Always withhold 10-30% of the money you owe a contractor until you feel fully satisfied with every detail of the work. Make a list of nice to dos, and have to dos and prioritize it before jumping in Do one room at a time so your whole house doesn't become an unlivable construction zone Be careful who you hire to do work for you! Bruce also volunteered to teach us to do some things by ourselves, like installing crown molding. Overall, the quality of his work and depth of his knowledge were invaluable to us in settling into home ownership. We frequently find ourselves saying, "Remember what Bruce said!" He truly is a guru!

Bruce always confirmed his arrival the day before, as well as what tasks were to be performed so he could have the proper tools, and arrived on time. My house has settled since a remodel, and many doors were out of alignment, and he fixed them all, and willingly showed me how I could do it myself. Everything he did he explained to me and offered me options along with his recommendations, so the ultimate decision was mine, but guided by his experience. For instance, in the case of the locks, he told me to buy them and get them keyed alike, as it would be much cheaper than having him install them and then calling out a locksmith - common sense, but it hadn't occurred to me that I could do that. I am very happy with the work he has performed as well as the manner in which he has performed it, and would recommend him highly.

Bruce was very responsive when service is requested. He was prompt and tentative to the needs of the tenant. He will make sure the work is complete before leaving (not the usual definition of work complete but actually talk to the tenant to make sure they are happy with the work). Will continue to work with Bruce in the future.

Bruce was on time every time. He was given a number of small projects & was creative with solutions; also brought in or referred appropriate specialists to help as needed. His work was great! The only issue was that after he cut the limb off of a tree to fix a shed issue, he did not come back, call, or schedule the removal - which blocked our side yard for days. I had to call him - he was great about getting it removed once scheduled.

Bruce was very helpful and got the job done.

I was not happy with this guy. He came to work and was supposed to help my husband and instead my husband ended up doing most of the work. It was supposed to take one to two weeks to complete and instead it took four weeks to complete. My husband is 65 and he would be completely exhausted at the end of the day. The guy would leave for 2 days and my husband would do the work for 2 days. The guy wanted my husband to put in a review before he did the work. He did good work. My husband ended up working really hard. We paid twice as much with my husband helping him. We had all the materials. My husband was happy with him. He started 2 weeks late and he stopped our job and went to another job. Once he started our job, he was on time. I would not use him again.

He was very easy to work with and professional all the way. Would hire him again for another job.

Ever been bored around the holidays and get the urge to be productive instead of stuffing yourself full of more cake? Well, our family decided that it would be fun to try and repair our exterior door ourselves. Whoops... maybe less eggnog next year?. Suffice to say, the next morning we realized that our 'sticking' door had become... not a door? Doors typically close, eventually. This one did not. After numerous attempts of re-attempting to fix it ourselves (interspersed with frantic googlings of how-to guides) we decided that maybe we should just get someone competent and rejoin the others at the feasting tables (evidently the matron of the house disapproved of our incompetence) Angies list was consulted. Bruce was found. Bruce was called. Bruce arrived. Bruce fixed the problem 'door' in quick efficient movements all the while whistling badly. Door was fixed. Everyone was happy. I like Bruce. He was competent and his rates were fair. Its been a week now and the door closes very quietly still.

He showed up on time, worked swiftly and cheerfully, did exactly the job I asked for, no more, no less.

We wanted to cut down our beautiful 8ft desk into 2 smaller desks that would fit in our new place. It was not obvious how to do it since the desk was curved, not rectangular. Bruce explained several options and tradeoffs with us and made sure we were all in agreement before he started cutting. The result was exactly what we had in mind. In addition, he added support to ensure that the heavy monitors would not be a problem. He agreed to look at a teak coffee table (botched repair attempt) even though this was not in the initial job request. He sanded the desk down to its natural state and gave advise for the finish. Bruce is wonderful to do business with. He is a natural teacher and craftsman. I've got a list started for him with work that needs to be done at the new house.

I strongly recommend Bruce. He's very reliable and knowledgeable about his craft!

Bruce was referred by First Impression doors as an installer. Returned my call promptly, was very professional and on time for the job. great work.

I was very pleased with the end result. The shed looks great. I found Bruce to be both pleasant and professional. He completed the task in under the time and cost estimated. I would definitely use him for work in the future.

Bruce came out and looked at the problem, suggested trimming the door and installing an insulating sweep at the bottom, which made sense to me. He got the sweep, carefully trimmed the door and installed the sweep on the bottom, and now the door closes properly and it all looks very nice.

Very happy with the work. Bruce is very professional and friendly. His responsiveness is examplary and that is so appreciated. He had some suggestions for solutions to things on my list that I had not thought of. He also was kind enough to provide me with a referral for a job that needed the expertise of a plumber.

Bruce arrived on time with all the pieces he had prefabricated and within a short time the rails were installed. Subsequently we discovered that one rail could not deal with lateral force in the way we had hoped. We consulted with Bruce and came up with an alternative. Bruce returned a couple of days later and made the necessary changes at no cost to us.During all of this Bruce was thoroughly professional, he was easy to deal with and did good tidy work.

Mr. Drummond came to look at the table, told me how he thought the work should be done for the best results (a much better plan than the one I had suggested) and consulted with me when he had a question about dimensions while he was working on the table in his workshop. His work was professional in every respect. I am pleased with the finished table and would certainly use him again and recommend him.

Bruce returned my calls and emails extremely promptly and since I had a small project was able to fit me in within a few of days of my initially contacting him. He arrived on time, was very courteous and professional, had all the tools and materials needed for the job, did the work and cleaned up well. The Elfa top track he actually came by a couple of days later to do (5 min complimentary job on his way to another appointment), after I called and said I was having trouble getting the screws installed and tightened. His help, flexibility and responsiveness were greatly appreciated! I will definitely hire him again for future projects - including the shed installation that we discussed and he gave me some ideas on.

One of my parents had a stroke and is temporarily in a wheelchair. This past Monday night our home care provider called me and told me we needed to have a wheelchair/walker ramp built on a walkway and another to the front door to keep my other parent from getting an injury pulling the wheelchair into the house. I also needed grab bars in the bathrooms to prevent one parent from falling and potentially injuring the other. With great urgency, I searched Angie's list and found Bruce's name. I phoned him Tuesday morning and set up an appointment for Thursday morning. Bruce was willing to meet me very early in the morning so that I could make it into work for a 9 am meeting. He looked over the ramp areas and made suggestions for how to build them so that they'd be most stable and the lowest slope. For the grab bars, he helped me figure out the right sizes to order and how to best position a tricky one that had to go on a pocket door wall and another that was in porcelain tile. I was lucky and Bruce had a cancellation, so he was able to come the next morning. He built both ramps in the morning, and they are wide with a nice, low slope and feel very solid and stable. The grab bars hadn't arrived yet, so he offerred to come back the next morning to install them. I gratefully accepted since the caregiver had warned us how unsafe it was to use the bathrooms without the bars. Bruce came early that Saturday and installed the grab bars. These were a lifesaver for my parent. With the grab bars, my parent can now maneuver safely into and out of the bathroom. These have made a huge difference in the safety of both my parents. Bruce was very flexible and helpful throughout the job. He's very open to questions and worked collaboratively to make sure that the ramps and grab bars turned out just as we needed. There were complications in how the ramp near the front door had to be laid out, and Bruce negotiated this effortlessly and used it to build an even better solution. I feel very lucky to have found Bruce and am grateful he was able to help me keep my parents safe on a super quick timeframe. I am very pleased with his work and will absolutely use his services again.

Bruce promptly returned my call and scheduled time to meet us the next day. He showed up on time and brought a book of past projects and testimony letters. Bruce was very easy to work with and the quality of his work exceeded our expectations. Everything was constructed to last forever and to hold up to elements and weather. He came when he said he would, even early often times. He made it so easy to get projects that would have taken us forever to do and we would have never been able to have such great quality! We highly recommend him and will definitely use him in the future!

Bruce was able to do this installation for me within a few days after I called him. Very responsive! The first thing he did was put protective padding on the range and the floor, to protect these surfaces and to ensure that he could remove any sawdust generated during the installation. He worked quickly to install the brackets, drill holes for the installation, and ensure that the unit was dead-on centered. He fixed the ducting for the exhaust fan, which had fallen down and was originally installed with simple duct tape. Bruce used aluminum tape to ensure the duct was properly sealed and that the seams were properly sealed. When the job was finished, Bruce ensured that the kitchen was clean. Overall, a fabulous job!

This is the second vanity that I have had Bruce install for me, so obviously I was also satisfied with the work he had done previously. Bruce is always reliable and responsive. We were able to schedule his work within a week of my contacting him. His work is very meticulous and craftsmanship is of the highest quality (I am very particular). This work was done based upon an hourly rate, and he works quickly but quality is always superb. He is very meticulous about cleaning up after the work is finished, and protects floors and surfaces whenever he works. This is the third job that I have had Bruce do for me. I couldn't more strongly recommend him!

Bruce provided an estimate in June 2010 for installing a new lattice on a very old, beat-up fence and buttressing up my fence. (I had removed most of the old lattice.) The estimate was for time only; I purchased all materials which Bruce subsequently picked up from the lumber store. (During this visit, he also gave me good and interesting feedback about some other projects I was considering at a later date.) Bruce made recommendations regarding the lattice I was considering and gave me a rough estimate of the time required to complete the job. Several weeks later he returned to do the work. He did a very nice job (he was careful and precise) in prepping the fence for the lattice, installing most of the lattice, and installing stakes to brace the fence. Because of my budgetary constraints, the lattice installation was not completed (prep time took longer than I thought it would). But the work completed certainly improved the appearance of my fence!

Very responsive. Punctual. Pet friendly. Seemed to know his business. Worked fast, but quality was high.