Dufficy Fine Carpentry & Design

Great!

(see above comments)

John came in to give an estimate on some doors we wanted to install, but ended up helping bolt the foundation in the garage, as well as brace & strap our water heater to make it fully earthquake-safe. He?s a really friendly, smart and creative guy, and if this is what it?s like to work with him on an ongoing basis ? and I have no reason to believe it isn?t, based on all his glowing reviews on Angie?s List ? then he?s our guy for doors and anything else that needs a contractor. We got 3 quotes and his was also the lowest, too.

I had John install a new door that I purchased at Caldwells. I didn't realize that I could just do the whole thing through him (I would never do Caldwells again). John was a good sport and picked up the door, hauled away the old one, and installed it in a day. Very happy

We would hire John again without hesitation for a similar job or even any other hand-crafted wood working or unique furniture needs, and we would be anxious to recommend him to our friends as well. He was an excellent contracting resource in all manners: professional, timely, fair in price, and extremely thoughtful about the design and quality of his work. In the case of our door, we are also in the process of adding a decorative metal design atop the door using a metalwork contractor. In his implementation, John was attentive to coordinating his work with that of the other contractor through good communication, and a view toward a beautifully designed product that also looks good in the context of the rest home. *Photos include a "before" picture as well as finished product front and back views.

We contacted John in November 2008 to discuss built-in bookshelves. John returned to us with a design that accommodated all our needs and showcased the beauty of the wood. John took all of our requests into account, and was able to over-deliver consistently while staying within his original cost estimate. We requested that he get the details right rather than delivering within his initial time-frame, and thus the project went some two weeks over estimate. All in all, we got far more than we paid for, and now have a beautiful piece that hides our kids' toys and displays what we want it to. We'd hire John again in a heartbeat.

I contacted John on the phone and we setup a time for him to visit and give an estimate. For each scheduled appointment, John arrived on-time and called if he was running late. During the estimate, I threw multiple requests in for quotes and I admire that John was clear with tme about not wanting to replace any windows. :) He said he'd get back to me with the quote in a week, which he did. We decided to go forward with the project and appreciate John answering specific questions and allowing for us to explore options (doggie door or not, etc.) I took a day off work in order to be present when John was on-site and it was great that he arrived on-time in the morning. He went straight to work w/o much need for me. I was able to work on my laptop in another room comfortable that John would let me know if he needed anything (access to an electrical plug, etc.) As he worked throughout the day, I noticed that he was orderly regarding the potential mess this job could generate. The work went smoothly and John completed the entire project, meeting my expectations, within the time allotment that he quoted (8-5pm). John brought his own lunch and likely ate it while working. After he left, I did not have to do any additional clean up inside or outside as John was very tidy in this regard. I'm hoping to resurface an original entrance door and am looking forward to John's quote to plan for this in my budget. A++ work and professionalism.

Pleasant, conscientious, good design sensibility.

John was able to create two molding pieces (mission style) that covered the area. The fireplace is rough firebrick (looks like stone in places) so there was a lot of notching needed. John was also willing to let me do the staining and sealing to cut the cost of having him come back four times to put on the coats.

John does great work! We wanted a new table for our kitchen. But the space was small with very specific limitations. We couldn?t find a table that met the criteria, and suddenly we were needing something custom made. But we didn't have a fortune to spend, and we were looking for something quickly. We found John online ? and his reviews were great ? people seemed to like his work and working with him. We asked him to look at the space ? and immediately he came up with some great ideas. I was once again excited about the project! We went to his place to look at some of his completed works ? his tables are really gorgeous ? and very unique! And he could meet our timeframe ? but we knew he was out of our price range. Once more he came through! John worked with us to come up with a design and a selection of woods which could meet our budget constraints. In the end, we have a gorgeous table ? perfect for the space ? fabulously made ? all in about 3 weeks! WOW! Attaching photos ? check it out!

We gave John a sample of the picket we wanted and a photo of the gate style we wanted, and he took everything from there. He found the pickets at half the price we found (after we had searched lumber yards all over SF and the peninsula), and he built the gates himself in his shop. John's attention to detail was fantastic. We feel like we got furniture-grade carpentry on our fence, and it shows. In particular, there were several places that needed very special cuts to work around existing problems, and they all came out great. And the gates themselves (joins, etc) are beautifully crafted. It's also worth mentioning that John worked very closely with the painter (a rarity for carpenters, in our experience in SF), and they coordinated all their work together. And he even threw in some brickwork to repair and adjust a low brick wall that abuts one of the fence posts!

John is a pleasure to work with, he is both creative, artistic and extremely talented. His suggestions were invaluable and we look forward to being able to work together again in this and future endeavors.

John is fantastic on details which is exactly what you want in a contractor - he is a master carpenter by any measure. I could not be happier with the work that John and his team performed on my Victorian. The job was to replace a fire damaged front entry stairs which was also severely damaged by dry rot and had its footings compromised. I had 5 other contractors quote me on the work. The quotes ranged from quite low to extraordinarily high. The other 4 contractors simply either did not scope the work correctly or over complicated the job. John did a very detailed survey of the job and listened to my concerns. He pointed out a number of items that the other contractors had missed and came up with a very good solution for the footing/framing problems I had. We agreed on a price very quickly as John provided a straightforward quote which outlined costs and schedules clearly with a contingency of additional hours if needed - which was not needed in the end as he hit his schedule right on target. The manner in which John and his team worked was extremely professional and courteous to me and to my neighbors. As the job was on a front entry stairs there was work performed on the city pavement - John made sure that the pavement was kept clean at all times and clear of any obstructions. The demolition was fast and did not damage other areas of the house not contacting the stairs - this is something other contractors I have employed have ignored in the past. The attention to detail on literally every aspect of the construction was staggering - there was no rough cuts and hiding of gaps. John was spot on with all his measurements - where a typical contractor would rush early in the job and have to spend a lot of time later "fixing up" bad joints - John made sure he built the stairs perfectly from the first cut he made - and I believe that this is how he manages to stay on schedule on his projects as he does not get involved in fixing clumsy mistakes later. Any time I came on the job John made time to walk me through what he was doing and kept me informed of how the job was progressing. Bottom line is that I would highly recommend John to anyone considering a remodeling project on their house - what you are getting is not only a contractor capable of performing the work quickly and correctly but you are also getting a master carpenter - as I got to know John through the job I learned that he also makes furniture and art installations - his work blew me away when I saw it in his studio - all I can say is contact this guy and prepare to be impressed.

We came to work with John Dufficy after reading some of his previous Angie s List reviews. Our project was still taking shape, and though we had initially planned to work with a contractor given the amount of work we had in mind, cost considerations led us to split the project out ourselves and bring in trades for the different parts of work. John served as our primary carpenter, and in that capacity he did a great job with the initial work of putting up dividing walls in our master bedroom one to create a foyer from a street entrance, the other to partition the space for closets we were designing. We were so satisfied with John s responsiveness, quality of work and value that we decided to retain him for several additional projects, including the construction and installation of the closet hardware, design, construction and installation of closet doors, build-out of second floor fireplace mantel, and assorted odds and ends. Throughout the project planning and work phases, John was not only patient with us as customers, but also provided great assistance and suggestions and we worked with our decorator in creating our vision for our space. Many of the suggestions that John made went into our final design, and the quality of his craftsmanship is quite apparent in the results (see accompanying pictures). John was great about providing thorough quotes, keeping the different parts of the project in budget, and working closely and responsively with clients that maintain heavy travel schedules. John made himself available to see through the city inspection process, which we successfully passed as a result of his attention to detail. Where cost overruns and delays are the norm, John completed everything in a timely fashion with minimal additional cost above that quoted. We are thoroughly pleased with the results. As our budget allows us to make additional planned improvements, we will certainly be calling on John s services in the future, and strongly encourage others with planned carpentry, millwork or other decorative woodworking needs to avail themselves of this conscientious and professional tradesman. If you would like to see the work firsthand, please feel free to contact me at 312.714.6162.

John provided a perfectly accurate estimate, showed up on time, did all of the work that was promised within the time frame, and did a great job. I would recommend him for any work that requires creative problem solving, quality, and attention to detail.

John was extremely responsive and professional from start to finish. His estimates of the door cost and installation price were competitive and did not wander. He was punctual and cheerfully communicative in each of his visits, beginning with the first visit to assess the project. While we were waiting for the custom door to be delivered to John, he swung by our house to pick up the dog door insert, which we had had deliver to our house. The installation of the finished door was done over the course of little more than a day. John arranged the project around our work schedules and did a terrific job of tidying up the kitchen and deck so that the project was minimally disruptive. Shortly after the job was completed, the door frame expanded a bit in the season's first rains. John promptly came back out to our house and adjusted the door (at no charge!) and it's been perfect ever since.

Having John perform this work is the best decision we ever could have made. He is, without a doubt, an artist. This property is a TIC, a Victorian that was built in 1884 and our partner lives in NYC so when it came to designing the newels, let's just say there was a lot of input. Camera-phone pictures, antique photos, drawings, mind-changing, etc. We went over thirty different designs, and John always listened and brought his ideas to the table with a knack for absorbing where we were all going. He was always available by phone, had total access to our garage/shop, always left his workspace immaculate and was ALWAYS a pleasure to deal with. John has a great sense of humor; this is very important to us. We have a pretty busy neighborhood with a lot of pretty "dynamic" characters around; my neighbors appreciated John's sensitivity to parking and car-jockeying, noise issues, debris, and such. Most importantly, John was always open to our input on design issues and offered excellent advice and solutions. For example, we couldn't really decide what kind of finials we wanted, so John actually designed an ingenious feature that will enable us to remove and exchange the finial base until we can! This he did of his own accord and at not additional cost to us!

John did a fantastic job. He went looking for the non-standard size door, not an easy task, and kept us informed all the way of what he was finding out. We appreciated his perseverance and communication during this period. When he finally located the door, he put a coat of paint on at his shop before bringing it to our home. There were further complications because the tempered glass for the door (we wanted it to let in light) should have been installed by the door vendor, but it wasn't, so John had the extra task of installing it himself. And there were still other complications with the door frame. All of these hassles and complications added to his time, but not our cost. He was very considerate of our needs while he was working in our home. He did everything ASAP once the right door was located. His work is the highest quality, and yet his rates are reasonable. In our humble opinion, John Dufficy is the best.

John was very creative dealing with all the projects by figuring out how to do the repairs, shopping and finding the fixtures (especially challenging for the door hinges that were adjustable bronze oil-rubbed hinges) and products that look good and work well. He is a great craftsman; very accurate, detail oriented, beautiful work where the repairs are not detectable. Neat, communicative, personable, and 100% punctual. The only portion of the job for which I had gotten an estimate in the past was replacing the door hinges. A door repairing company said all eight hinges needed to be replaced and that installing them and realigning the doors would take two days and cost over $1200.00. John sorted out which hinges actually needed to be fixed, purchased the right ones over the Internet, aligned the door, and did it all in a few hours and it all works perfectly.

John was refereed to me by a friend who is an architect. He started the job early and finished ahead of schedule. The first project was the retro fitting (a structural upgrade) of the entire structure. This involved jacking up the house and reinforcing framing that was not done to plan by the original builders. I have worked as a project manager for a construction company and I must say I was surprised at how efficient John was. The structure of the house is quite complicated but Johns knowledge of framing helped immensely in figuring out where the problem areas were. After the retro fit john began the remodel of the interior. He moved some interior walls and doors and then began the finish work. He trimmed the entire two rooms in custom milled red oak. The next project was the sunroom. John converted my roof deck into an enclosed sunroom and expanded the exterior space by enclosing the flat roof with a safety railing. He had a subcontractor install a walkable roofing material. The end result is amazing. I would give John my highest recommendation. He is kind, honest, and intelligent. I have hired many contractors in the past that have disappointed me. I consider myself lucky to have found John. He is not only a great structural carpenter but a true artist when it comes to finish woodworking.

I had seen John's custom furniture at a San Francisco gallery and loved it. A year later, I came across his work again and called. We met and reviewed his portfolio, then discussed my criteria for the perfect dining room table. We talked budget, then selected the woods to be used and discussed finishes. John came back several weeks later with a rough drawing and concept. We changed the leg style a bit and he was given the go-ahead to make the table. I gave John a 50% deposit to start building. 3 weeks later I received an update: the table was proceeding nicely and should be done in another week. At the end of 1 week, John called and invited me to see the finished product. It was beautiful! Not only exceeding my expectations and but even more beautiful than what I had envisioned. I could not believe how much I loved this table. It is a masterful work of art. I truly believe that John's work will be held in high esteem and increase in value in the future. So much so that I asked him to sign it for me! I couldn't be happier and I highly recommend him to anyone that wants a beautiful, custom, one of a kind piece of furniture (yes, I will be ordering more) for their home.

It is a pleasure to work with John, because he is a brilliant guy with amazing ideas. He brought all materials for the project, and his bid was right on. Whenever he improved something he would consult with me. The troubleshooting that he did in both projects was impressive. John is an old world craftsman , with a modern aesthetic sense, his work is meticulous and his attention to details is top class. He always left the place clean before the next days work, and he was extra careful not to let my lightening fast sneaky cat escape out of the door. Overall, it was a great experience.

I heard about Johns work through a friend and decided to hire him to install a living room media cabinet. He estimated the time it would take in advance and was very friendly to work with. Based on some initial ideas I had, John went to work immediately on drawing out the plan and working out the overall look for me. After fine tuning the details we came to an agreement and he began working immediately. Different than my previous experience with carpenters (from which I have had several bad experiences). John was a JOY to work with. Not only did he take time to assure me of my concerns but he worked well and over came obstacles that he encountered. With my busy schedule I wasn't able to watch him and was only able to check via phone from work. This worked out well. I was happy to see that he purchased the materials (saved all the receipts!) and worked very effectively on his own. This was the best part for me. He followed the discussed ideas, communicated throughout the job about any obstacles, and cleaned-up at the end of each day. I have hired him several times since then and have had EXCELLENT results. I actually am hesitating to say any more because I don't want him to get too busy! He is a stand up, honest, hardworking, very talented carpenter that I would recommend to anyone. Good luck.