DAL Builders

Tim was very responsive and the porch turned out great.

There were delays in getting materials due to COVID but once all materials were here the job was scheduled and finished within the promised time frame. DAL Builders did an excellent job and we love our new deck.

Project manager Tim and crew did an outstanding job replacing my front and rear porches and actually exceeded my expectations. The crew arrived at the worksite on time each day and left the worksite clean. I will definitely choose DAL Builders for my future construction needs.

Outstanding! They are fast, honest, fair, and they do amazing work. Good people, too!

Tim was excellent to work with. Always on time and returned all my calls in a timely manner. He is very knowledgeable and gave me great tips. He provided me with 3 price options in writing which allowed me to select the one that best fit my budget. The crew that came to work on my front porch were professional and always cleaned up after themselves, They left my front yard looking spotless at the end of each work day. The work done was professional and they paid attention to details. I received many compliments from my neighbors. I will definitely hire them again,

Outstanding. They anticipated it would take 2 days, but completed it in 1. This is the third project that I've used DAL for and I've been thrilled with their work each time. Highly professional.

DAL Builders did a great job! Tim was extremely conscientious and kept us advised of progress throughout. The workers were friendly and the workmanship was great. 2020 was a tricky year to get a project completed, but DAL pulled it off. Very happy with the results.

This was my third time having DAL out for an estimate/project. I knew that they would come through when others would not or could not. I needed to replace a balcony floor (situated over an interior roof) for a real estate sale when time and quality were of the essence. Tim is a great project manager and straight shooter. Pricing was competitive, work was excellent, and scheduling on short notice was a promise kept. These guys are reliable pros - you get what you pay for and more.

Tim and his team were great to work with. We needed serious repair work done on our 16' x 17' dilapidated and damaged deck. Tim was responsive and communicative from start to finish. He was able to come onsite quickly for an estimate and he lined up work to meet our tight deadline and budget. His team came out as scheduled and were respectful and timely with their work (even finished ahead of schedule). They even cleaned out a very full adjoining gutter for us while they were pressure washing. The deck now looks brand new and will be perfect for showing when we list our property for sale in a couple weeks. Thanks Tim, Carlos and the DAL team!

We are very happy with the work that DAL Builders did on our project. Tim is so easy to work with. He is very communicative which was super helpful (especially during a pandemic!). We have worked with contractors in the past who I have struggled to get to return calls but Tim was always on top of our project. Even with all the delays due to COVID - he would periodically reach out to us unprompted and let us know the status of our items. He is also extremely budget conscious. Tim let us know up front the areas of the project that were "unknown" budget wise (for example he did not know how bad the rot was going to be around our door frame) but was able to give us a realistic estimate of what it might cost best and worst case scenario. In projects past with other contractors - in the end we were anywhere from 15-20% over budget. With Tim I believe we were less than 5% over budget and that overage was really just due to the "unknowns". We have never had a renovation come this close to budget (and we gutted our house so we have lots of experience with contractors and budgets). We are happy with the way the work looks and Tim was quick to resolve any issues we had. His crew is courteous, thorough, and always show up when they are supposed to. I don't think there was one time where I had to call Tim and tell him no one was here when they were supposed to be. Overall - we are really happy with the work that was done and the management of the whole project. We would definitely use DAL Builders again!

DAL Builders was exceptional. They completed the deck and were very professional. Tim was very responsive to any questions we had and his crew was on time and cleaned up after they completed the project.

It exceeded our expectations. Tim, the project manager, had all phases of the work scheduled out and he explained beforehand how the company worked on projects like ours. He gave us a realistic budget and time line to completion. The carpenters, plumbers, electricians and painters that DAL subcontracted were professional and did meticulous work.

I asked DAL to do some repairs on our back deck, but after a conversation, he thought we wouldn't be given a permit and instead suggested that we may need a replacement. I sent Tim some pictures to take a look at our deck, and he gave us some great tips (without charge) on what we could do ourselves to make some quick repairs until we're ready to install a new deck. He was great all around. When we're ready, I look forward to hiring DAL to build our new back deck.

Wonderful, Tim from DAL was very helpful and guided me to professionals who could help me design the space. he is very hands on.

The wooden front porch of our home was rotting out and needed to be rebuilt. We received quotes from three vendors for a rebuilt using composite materials. DAL was at the higher end in price, but competitive and we had greater confidence in their abilities after meeting with Tim on-site. We booked the project in November and work started in January - a timeline that was communicated ahead of time to us. We used Azek composite decking and railings, as well as two fiberglass square columns. The material selection went smoothly, as DAL recommended we visit Evanston Lumber (their materials supplier) to see the choices first hand. The folks at Evanston Lumber were very helpful and provided catalogs and samples. The actual project went very smoothly and timely and we are very happy with the quality of the rebuild. The project was probably on the simpler end in terms of design, as the front porch is small, and DAL took care of the required permits. The DAL crew was professional and always cleaned up after themselves after each work day, including removal and disposal of the old porch. The arrived promptly and everything went according to plan. Communication and updates from Tim were both via phone and text. Based on this experience, we would certainly use DAL Builders again.

After receiving several quotes from various contractors, we were extremely happy to have found DAL Builders to complete our kitchen remodel. Tim, David and their team were terrific. Tim came up with the best use of space for our kitchen: He listened to what we wanted and made suggestions to expand on our ideas. Tim applied for permits and worked with our village in order to comply with codes/restrictions. Additionally, he coordinated with our suppliers to pick up/deliver materials which made our remodel easier. Like all projects, unknown issues came up; DAL Builders didn’t miss a beat – they regrouped and found solutions. Tim kept to our budget. We ended up paying more than quoted, but this was due to unforeseen issues that were out of his control or for items that were added during the process. Tim also gave credits for unused materials. Tim and Dave are honest, trustworthy, and knowledgeable. They respond to questions quickly and kept us up-to-date on scheduling. Everyone on the team is skilled, experienced, courteous, and incredibly accommodating. We specifically appreciated their attention to detail. We have already scheduled our next project with DAL Builders and have recommended their services to our family and friends.

The whole process went smoothly once the project started. They are very busy so they were not able to get to our project right away. Once they started, it we obvious they knew what they were doing. They worked practically every day until completion. They were very responsive to our questions and concerns. I would use them again in the future.

David from DAL Builders was amazing to deal with, and made everything straightforward. We had DAL build a brand new composite deck that was 28x19 and came out better then could ever expect. Our master bathroom was in need of a remodel as well, and his team knocked it out of the water. Will hire again and recommend them to everyone in our community!

We had some bad advice from a previous contractor and needed to rebuild our garage-top deck based on direction from the city. DAL helped us navigate what needed to be done. They coordinated with an architect to find a solution that was able to pass inspection. Through the whole process, they were excellent communicators, helping us understand what needed to happen and what was involved in the next step. The end-product was excellent and the entire team went above and beyond to get everything done just right. Definitely recommend them.

The contractors were very kind & professional. The job was done in a timely matter & top notch.

We used DAL to remodel our basement. They were very communicative, stuck to their timelines and flexible when our needs changed. We also appreciate that they proposed workarounds and offered us economical options. High quality work. We'd use them again.

Tim at DAL Builders was great to work with. He provided several different estimates between composites and treated lumber. This made is easy to decide what fit our budget. His crew was amazing. Wes, Ron and Brandon worked really hard in some very difficult conditions(it rained a lot and was really hot out). They showed up early everyday and were eager to get to work. It was immediately obvious they new their stuff and that we were going to get a great deck. The deck came out beautiful and we could not be happier with the whole process. I highly recommend DAL Builders.

This was the second time we hired DAL Builders. They rebuilt our porch previously and we were very pleased with the quality of work and final product. We took our time hiring DAL for this job because we wanted to find out if we could do better on price. Their initial estimate was a good bit higher than we expected. We decided that for the quality of work DAL does, their reliability, and the fact that we could trust them with our old 1908 house, they were right for the job. The lower bids we got had big gaps when we itemized them in Excel. DAL's estimate was the most complete and specific, and we were able to bring it down a bit too. We didn't bother to seek higher/comparable bids because DAL had the other things we cared about – quality, responsible contractor, etc. Tim Larkin is great to work with. Communication is important in a project like this, and Tim keeps on top of it. But communication also had to come from us. The project went smoothly for the most part. When there were problems, we found we were able to work through them. It was also important to communicate directly with Ron and Wes, who are excellent carpenters, and were open to our questions and ideas. Tim alerted us to problems found in the house (plumbing, office wall/ceiling) once the work began and proposed solutions that made sense. We were glad to get those problems addressed and to have Tim manage it. I found myself thoroughly appreciating having someone manage the project from beginning to end. We were inclined to select finishes (cabinets, counters, backsplash) through vendors we found on our own. Tim was open to working with them, but in the case of the cabinets & counters, the vendor was not friendly to general contractors (sells wholesale to the public), which was an additional stress on us, though Tim handled it just fine. Everything turned out okay in the end, partly because Tim's contacts with vendors enabled us to quickly find a countertop alternative when the vendor I selected couldn't deliver on schedule after promising otherwise. The kitchen (160 square feet) took about 2 months to complete, but would have gone faster without the countertop glitch. The cabinets were also more complicated to install than expected (vendor I selected was not helpful with this). Tim kept the work moving, bringing in/coordinating the plumbers, dry wallers, electrician, and HVAC outfit. The work on the kitchen involved demoing plaster walls/ceiling and framing, tearing out the floor, insulating walls/ceiling, moving gas line, removing and replacing a heating radiator (water), all new electrical, lighting, and plumbing in the kitchen, installing outside vent for range, new frames for 4 doorways and one large windows, framing a window that had been behind panel walls, installing new floor and cabinets, new appliances except refrigerator, backsplash. We did the painting. Of the $75,000, about $22,000 was for finishes (cabinets, countertops, floor, backsplash, radiator, gas range, dishwasher, microwave), including costs for DAL to manage all orders and installation; $9,500 was for the small office (80 square feet) next to the kitchen where, in addition to new walls, ceiling, insulation, and trim work, additional framing needed to be done to shore up the wall/ceiling; and $2000 was additional plumbing work in the basement to replace old galvanized steel pipes with copper. The kitchen finishes were about $7,500 higher than estimated for various reasons. The kitchen construction costs were about $41,500. Tim was attentive to budget issues and gave us some slack on pricing for additional work where he could, which we appreciated. We also had our own out-of-pocket costs for items we purchased directly, which I didn't track. Having now been through a gut kitchen rehab, which is disruptive and nerve wracking, I also appreciate that Tim was supportive and positive throughout the experience. We needed the moral support. We are happy with our new kitchen and office and we know we made the right decision when we hired DAL Builders.

DAL's experience and knowledge was reassuring to me. My porch is at the point where it can't be "patched-up" anymore by my do-it-yourself fixes. Tim took great pains to help me come up with a plan. He was exceedingly patient as I asked questions and he pointed things out to me that would enhance the final product. Dave was always available for my follow up questions regarding timing and pricing. He is fair minded, professional, and he earned my trust in his judgement. I rate DAL A+.

We asked DAL Builders to remove the back porch on my house, which supported an upper-level "three seasons" room. The previous porch was practically falling down. Tim at DAL gave us several options in materials that ranged in price, which was very helpful. He also itemized the costs in the quote- nothing hidden. In addition to the porch itself, he identified some surrounding issues we might want to address, including some stucco work and moving the location of the air conditioning unit. All of this was shared in a matter-of-fact way that was clear without pressuring us to buy more or more expensive. We went with a cedar and composite option, and the end result looks FANTASTIC! The structure is incredibly solid and visually appealing. DAL even added screen under the deck floorboards, knowing we were considering screening it in ourselves. Overall, the team from DAL was friendly, and they did high-quality work. I will definitely be using them for future projects.