CRADOCK WOODWORKING

We cannot imagine having gone through the process of a whole-house renovation with anyone other than Kevin Cradock Builders. Kevin took our diamond-in-the-rough 1800s Georgian Colonial, brought it back to life, and made it our dream home. From the earliest stages of planning to the very last touches, Kevin and his team were, professional, courteous, and knowledgeable. Renovations are usually very stressful, but working with Kevin meant that we never questioned our decision to bring a very old house back to life. Kevin himself is incredibly hands-on, and his efficient communication can?t be beat. He answered every concern and question, whether big or small, clearly, concisely, promptly, and with the highest level of experience and expertise. Though we know he has a large shop and oversees many large projects, the level of attention we received made us feel like his only client. Kevin is the most honest GC you?ll ever meet. With contractors we?ve dealt with in the past, we?d often receive many change orders and end up paying much more than anticipated. Kevin is the opposite and I can site a couple specific examples. Mid-way into our renovation, we decided to add a jack and jill bathroom at the last possible minute. We asked Kevin for a ballpark estimate on what it would be to add it on. He gave us a price and we informed him to move ahead and build it. A couple days later he emailed us with more precise numbers and said it would cost about 25% less than what he quoted us. Another time, we met with Kevin for a meeting and he mentioned that our heating estimates came in below budget, so instead of having electric baseboard heat in our basement in-law suite, he was going to upgrade it to forced air by gas. Kevin never makes promises he can't keep and consistently over-delivers. Kevin?s building knowledge is vast. There is no situation that Kevin has not seen before, and his deep understanding of architectural and renovation styles and trends meant that he knew exactly what to do in each situation we encountered. So many times throughout the process, we simply asked Kevin what he would recommend doing and moved forward, and we were never disappointed with the outcome. We met with him and Susan, the designer, each week, so there were never any surprises about timing or cost, and we always had a very clear idea of when he needed us to make decisions by so as not to slow down the project. Kevin and Susan were always maintaining detailed spreadsheets of any decision / purchase (i.e. plumbing, lighting, paint colors, etc.) we were making which made the process stress-free and organized. Kevin runs an incredibly organized operation. Even at the height of the renovation, the work site was always immaculate at the end of the day. His entire team, from the carpenters, to our amazing foreman, Jon, as well as the sub-contractors, could not have been more friendly and a pleasure to have working on our home. Kevin respected our budget and at the same time built a gorgeous house with everything we had ever wanted in a home. You can really see that Kevin is a carpenter at heart in every detail of our home. He built us custom built-in bookshelves in the living room flanking our fireplace, a beautiful media wall in the family room, custom inset cabinetry, wainscoting, and a mahogany island which matched floating shelves in the kitchen. Each element built was simple and perfect. He made sure he knew just the look we wanted, and then delivered it in the most beautiful way. Kevin saw the potential in this beautiful old house, and truly brought it back to life. We cannot imagine having gone through this process with any other team. We are now clients for life, and enthusiastically recommend him at any chance we get.

I think of Kevin every winter when the pipes freeze. I live in a 150 year old house. The only pipes that freeze are the ones Kevin put in in 2007. The pipes actually froze during construction. It took his full crew a solid day to unfreeze them using an industrial blower. I asked him to relocate the pipes to an interior space. He didn't want to because due to the way our contract was set up, he would have been responsible for the cost. Kevin swore up and down that the finished pipes would not freeze because he would insulate them and install an electrical heating element.. Foolishly I believed him. The project was completed in the spring so I did not find out what a liar Kevin is till the next winter, when the pipes immediately froze. They have been freezing ever since. I called Kevin, he never returned my calls. Why should he? He already had my $40,000. I have been calling him every winter since 2007. He has never even returned a call. Finally, this spring, I am doing another big renovation. I found another contractor who agreed to move the pipes. I called Kevin one last time. I knew he wouldn't fix his mistake at this point, I just asked that he send a carpenter to open up the chase and underfloor and then close it up when the pipes had been moved. He didn't return my call. The pipes are the big issue but there were many smaller issues. When he framed out the foyer, he forgot to put in the coat closet that was clearly marked on the plans. He agreed to install the closet, but in return for the time and materials it would require, insisted that he be allowed to not re-install the radiator that had been in the space. Again, foolishly, I agreed, now I have a cold foyer. The door to the deck that he installed in the foyer never closed properly, the door knob was not aligned with the frame properly. In the winter I keep a huge rolled up carpet up against the door to keep the wind from blowing it open. The lip to the doorsill was also installed improperly. This allowed water to get under the floor. The floor is completely warped and will have to be replaced. Kevin neglected to install the shelves I requested for the side wall in the bathroom, and said I should buy a stand-alone cabinet for that space. He also didn't install shelves in the shower that the plans called for and then suggested I purchase shelves which he charged me to install. Finally, the plumbing in the brand new bathroom was shoddy. You have to jiggle the handle on the toilet. The sink drain plug was simply never attached to the lever, so if you pull the lever up to fill the sink with water, the plug doesn't move, you have to push it down by hand. Minor stuff but irritating in a brand new bathroom! I am not rich and it has taken me 7 years to save up for my next round of renovations. I am going to have to spend $15000 to repair Kevin's work. I have never had a chance to discuss any of this with Kevin because for years he has ducked my calls. I have even gone to his shop several times to confront him, but he is never there. Kevin is a piece of work.. Steer clear if you can.

He does fantastic work. His whole crew is very nice to work with. He is an amazing master carpenter. They have a very fair price, and do quality work.

Outstanding. Kevin isn't the cheapest, but the costs are fair given the quality of the work. We have used Kevin for other projects since the initial kitchen project and will continue to do so as we renovate the rest of our home in the future.

Everything was wonderful!!

He is a very skilled, expert carpenter. His workers are excellent, courteous, on time, and would take the time to explain exactly what they were doing for me. They are very energetic. They come in, set up, and get right to work. He stuck to his estimate. On a few opportunities when extras would come up, he would bring that attention to me and allow me to decide what I wanted to do. They cleaned up after themselves very well.

Kevin and his crew were excellent. They paid attention to every detail. They are fantastic with woodworking and really kept with the detail of our old house. They acted as general contractors for the plumbers and electricians. All of the folks who participated where courteous, helpful, and detail oriented. They finished a little before scheduled too. Kevin and his crew have been back to do other work for us. I highly recommend them!