DDA Home Remodel

Dan was very prompt in responding to our e-mail. He was here on Monday, gave us an estimate, and 98% of the work was done by Wednesday. There is some minor cleanup that will be done tomorrow.

Dan was very responsive from the beginning, was flexible with us as we got other estimates and when we asked him to move forward with the work he did so within a reasonable time period. He worked efficiently and got the job done within the time frame and cost estimate he gave us. I plan to contact him again for other interior or exterior issues we have in the future.

Excellent! We had some difficulty with scheduling, hence the B grades, but the quality of the work made up for that. I had been ready to replace my Pella storm door because it no longer closed without effort, and the mailman left it open and the wind caught it and tore off all the mechanisms. Now it's like new, and probably better than new, since the hardware is better than the original. This repair alone was worth every cent. All the other small jobs were done well and neatly. I'm already thinking of other jobs for Dan to help me with.

He showed up promptly for the appointment ready to complete the repair. Our front door didn't make this easy for him, as the original builder in the1960's had done some very strange things with putting together the door frame and installing the plate for the locking mechanism. Despite this wrinkle, Dan creatively found a way to work through it and finished the job in only 30 minutes. I was very happy with the way the knob looked and worked. The door no longer was sticky during egress, which meant we didn't have to bang it anymore to get it closed. Dan has a pleasant attitude and was extremely polite and professional.

I got into a bind after two carpenters agreed to estimate my small job but didn't follow through. I decided to use a local person and called Dan. He estimated the job that day and completed it the next. He was very personable on the telephone and did a very good job in a timely way. I needed the carpentry done before the painter begins next week and Dan accommodated my request immediately. Based on this experience, I would definitely recommend him and use him again.

I hired Dan deAngeli to design and build a three season porch for my second floor condo in a Boston three family home. I obtained a few estimates and spoke to several contractors before selected Dan’s company. He provided excellent design suggestions, addressing both functional and aesthetic concerns, that fit what I had budgeted. Instead of standard windows, the porch includes a series of wood framed doors with easily interchanged storm windows and screen panels. They converted a window from our office/studio room into a glass paned door onto the porch, which matches the old wood trim throughout the room. The result is a simple and elegant porch, which fits perfectly with the original style of our home. We’ve been spending hours on the porch ever since it was done, and are looking forward to using it late into the fall and early in the spring! Dan is also a great project manager. The project moved along quickly and he let us know about the schedule and any changes. It was clear from the first day that he and his team work well together. They were meticulous about protecting our living space from construction debris and kept the work area clean. I have also used Dan's company for other tasks, including assembling and installing IKEA cabinets. Although IKEA cabinets can be straight forward to assemble, installing/hanging them is a real challenge considering the old lath and plaster walls we have in Boston. Dan and his crew are knowledgeable and reliable, they really do excellent work!

He said he had a good finish carpenter to do it, but the guy messed up the job and drilled holes in the wrong places on several my custom doors. I can almost understand making the mistake once, but he ruined several doors. They filled the holes, but you can still see them. The carpenter just wasn't up to the job. Dan is a very nice, personable guy himself, but I am still annoyed by those bogus holes in my new cabinet doors years later. I was surprised he had the nerve to accept my money. He should have either fixed the doors so that the repair was truly invisible or paid to replace them. This was a brand, new custom kitchen after all.

Dan was very difficult to reach initially but managed to meet and get an estimate for my job. The project entailed a complete porch rebuild. After getting an estimate, I thought the price was high compared to other bids Ibut based on reviews and references, I decided to accept the bid and schedule the project. Because this was a early winter outdoor job, weather became a factor with some snow storms that occurred, so the project waited until the weather cooperated. However, as the weeks passed, I was notified that he would rather wait until spring to start the project because it was too cold (ground too hard for concrete footings) and would, as a courtesy, build temporary stairs to the old porch (for $600!) that would need to be ripped out when the permanent deck and stairs were built in the spring. Obviously this was not acceptable. In any case, he was going to make an attempt to start the project in December when the weather was OK. So a few weeks later, I was told that one of his clients would be extending a project he worked on and would not be able to work on our project anyway as he could not fit in his schedule and, in addition, the existing project paid more than our job.

Every time we have used him, we have been thrilled with his work. His pricing is reasonable and he does the work in a reasonable amount of time. Each project he has done very well. He very carefully chooses the people that he works with. He is an architect by training and has a home improvement company that ranges from simple home improvements to remodeling. My experience with him has been terrific.

Dan was great! He had promised me he'd be over to our house by 11AM but would get there sooner if he could, and he was able to get there by 10:30. He came in and took a look at the floor we're concerned with and did a thorough check of our basement. While he was in the basement with us looking at the joists, he checked each one individually and gave us great suggestions on how to correct the problems. While it was decided this wouldn't be a job for him and his crew, he gave us some peace of mind with his suggestions and went above and beyond explaining things to us on how to correct the problem. I wish everyone we've met with was as responsive and easy to work with as Dan. When we do get around to expanding our deck in the backyard, he'll be the first person we'll call.

I used them in June for a deck and they did an excellent job. He is about three fourths of the way done and they look great. It is not cheap but they do excellent work. They are very punctual. Aaron is actually doing the work and both he and Dan have really good ideas and suggestions to share with me to help me formulate what I really want because I have a difficult time stepping up the steps. They are building the steps so I can maneuver better. The work they did before turned out so fabulous that I told them I wanted them to do the front steps just like the back steps.

Professional, bid came in right @ estimate, reinforcement work helped stabilize our shaky deck.

After phoning him in the morning, Dan Came to my house that afternoon on May 14th. I told him of my desire to have an easier access to the house and a small space to put a couple of chairs. We had a good conversation and he told me might be able to start by the middle of June. He sent me a proposal a few days later. As it turned out he wasn't able to start until the last day of June. But it was well worth the wait! Both Dan and his very talented assistant, Aaron were wonderful. They worked so well as a team. I am so pleased with this little gem of a deck. It turned out to be more than I envisioned!

Due to multiple issues including out of code/poorly constructed stairs and rails, I had to engage a second contractor to rebuild the aforementioned items.

It seems small projects are not welcome. Spoke to Dan. I described very simple job replalcing one strip of wood on experior window sill. Likely half an hour's work but would solve a very big rainwater problem. He was too busy to even consider the job.

Things went fine. He was terrific, he was very knowledgeable and he had many different solutions. I thought I had to get a clunky bulkhead, but he told me he could build a new wooden door. The estimate actually came in under what we thought it would be. We ended up selling our house and not fixing it, and that's the only reason why we didn't use him.

I needed a bi-fold closet door in the kitchen fixed up right away, it was broken the day before I was supposed to show the apartment to tenants. Dan was able to make a stop in JP that same day, fix the door and while he was there - being the "handy man" that he is, noticed a few other things that needed fixing up around the house, including tightening some allen wrench bolts on furntiure I put together from IKEA - which he tightened for me free of charge.

Dan and his team-mate did an excellent job. They completed the work in a timely fashion even though there were may days of rain that interrupted their progress. Communication was good throughout and Dan has an excellent attention to detail. He really cares about the quality of his work.

Dan and his helper, Arthur, did a very professional job and we are very satisfied with the results. Dan worked with us to change a few details during the project and gave us suggestions on how to construct the railings and what to do about the trim around the deck. There were a couple of details we worked out after the project started which added a small amount (~$250) to the original estimate but overall the estimate was pretty accurrate. Dan also has worked a lot with the inspectional services department and building inspector for Roslindale so he knew what to expect in terms of the amount of time we would need to wait for the permit (4-6 weeks) and how to constructs the plans so that it would pass inspection (we had some property lines that were very close to the construction that we had to plan out carefully to get approval to build). It took longer than expected to get the building permit (almost 7 weeks) and some bad weather and vacation plans pushed the construction out a little further than we would have liked and it took a little longer to tie up a few loose ends and finish everythng up. Most of this was out of Dan's control except for a couple of vacation days that he and Arthur took during the middle of the project (hence the B versus A punctuality rating) but otherwise, I can't complain at all about the work and quality and we are definitely considering Dan for another project next spring. Thanks, Dan (and Arthur)! We love our deck!

I called Dan on a Thursday morning and he came to my home that afternoon to discuss the job and provide estimates. The actual work on my stairs began the following Monday. They needed to be completely demolished. Dan and Arthur erected a very strong staircase (bottom stair constructed with underlying concrete ) and a nice wide platform. They worked very efficiently and strenuously in extremely hot, humid weather. Dan is very creative..he solved the problem of water build-up at the foot of the stairs by constructing a path for the water to flow into a drain that he installed. It's a clever setup, and it will make the area around the stairs so much safer in the winter. Dan is also willing to do many different things. He and Arthur removed a large very old chain link fence and had to cut down small trees, bushes and underbrush to get the job done. They wasted no time and were very neat and professional; I was very pleased with their work.

Dan was a huge disappointed. He provided us with an estimate in early May and indicated that he would be able to repair, seal and clean our gutters by the end of the month. In mid-June, we had heard nothing, so we called and he was very apologetic and explained that the poor weather had prevented him from performing the service. He assured us that he would be there within the next few weeks. Mid-July and still NO Dan. After calling him to follow up again, HE CANCELLED and indicated that he had bigger projects to do and couldn't commit. It would have been extremely helpful if he could have let us know that at the time. With all the rain and needing to have the gutters cleaned, I am sure we could have had this job completed in May. He was very unprofessional and I would not recommend Dan unless you have a big project because apparently he can't be bothered. Needless to say, I wouldn't use him for big projects now either!

The entire experience was infuriating. We had agreed (per e-mail as well as telephone) on a certain day and time and he was told that time was a factor as I had to return to work. 40 minutes after the agreed upon time still no show and I left for work. 5 minutes later he leaves a message "Hey, did we agree to do it today?" When I called him back he said that he was there shortly, maybe 15 minutes past the time he was supposed to start. I told him that I left 40 minutes later the response was "Gee, I would not have thought it was this late, sorry. I am normally very reliable". We agreed on the same time, one week later. Three days on a rainy morning he inquires about the possibility to do the work today due to rain-related openings. We agree on a time in the afternoon and "I will be there on time". Mr. De Angeli is an individual who has neither respect for the time of others nor is he a good business man - he never showed up, never called. It had stopped raining and the other jobs were probably more lucrative, never mind that he wanted to charge $70 per hour plus materials with a 10% mark up, not exactly a bargain

We were pleased with Dan and his work. He?s easy to deal with and was patient and thorough as we worked out what we wanted and the price we wanted to pay. A professional job all around. Price, schedule, cleaning up afterwards. We replaced and enlarged a deck and he made good use of whatever framing he could keep from the original deck in order to keep the price down. He was careful to mention that using that framing was subject to his inspection, once the old deck was stripped away. (It passed.) He knew the appropriate building codes and took care of the permit for us. We couldn?t be more pleased with the result. The deck is exactly what we wanted. It was a relief to find someone like Dan and we will ask for his help again on some other projects.

Everything went beautifully including the quick (24 hr) response to come and estimate to start (3 days). Worked within my schedule and did a very nice job.

Very positive experience. Dan is very responsive, does job on time and is understanding of occasional needs to modify the scope of the project. Dan was creative by getting the room to look like it always had this big opening. He reused moldings from other doors to come up with the missing parts, and the new materials that he used perfectly matched the style of the old trim.