DiOrio Builders & Designers Inc

Derek was very clear about the work that needed to be done. He was comfortable working with me to get the details right in the contract and he delivered as described. We originally contracted with him to do the driveway and then he noticed the structural problems in our garage. There was no hard sell on his part about the additional work--he was very low key, gave me the information I needed, and gave me space to decide. He did the work at a difficult time of the year--November/December when the weather is often not right for concrete to set. He communicated very well about what he was and wasn't going to be able to do when. And at the end of the project, he went the extra mile and added an asphalt patch where the driveway met the street at no extra cost.

I have worked with DiOrio multiple times because of their fair prices, excellent partnership and overall commitment to top-notch quality; and this project was another homerun! Even though I changed gears a few times throughout the process, and the job required some unforeseen extras, Derek and James remained professional and flexible to ensure that every last detail was handled with the utmost care. We are so amazed at the transformation of our space! DiOrio offered helpful input, asked thoughtful questions and communicated daily, while expertly overseeing all aspects of the job, including the plumber and electrician. At the end of each workday, our house was cleaned and organized; so there was minimal impact on our pets, normal activities or dinners. Most importantly, Derek and James remained fully committed to their highest standards and my full satisfaction. Here is a condensed list of other projects that DiOrio has completed in my home over the last 6 years: hardwood floors, granite basement repointing, rebuilt front porch, exterior painting and staining, porcelain tile flooring, framing, French drains, concrete pouring, interior painting and stairs. I highly recommend DiOrio Builders & Designers to my family, my friends and to you.

This was our second time hiring Diorio Builders. We have an old home that presents many challenges. Thanks to Derek and his crew, we are able to enjoy our living space and feel good about raising our family in this home. The work turned out beautifully. Both Derek and his carpenter (Mike) pride themselves on the quality of their work. We moved out of our house while the majority of work was being done. It felt good to be able to trust who was coming in and out of our house when we weren't home. Derek and his crew maintained communication and were very helpful with handling various deliveries, etc. when we weren't there. Derek makes sure to minimize the inconvenience of construction and goes above and beyond with clean up after each day. We would definitely hire Diorio for future projects.

Fantastic. Derek was extremely responsive, came by within days for estimate, and work was high quality. Would absolutely hire again.

We have worked with DiOrio Builders & Designers several times over the last 5 years and have been extremely happy with the results! Since 2012, they have taken on and done a great job with three stories of hardwood flooring, top-to-bottom interior painting, tank-less water heater installation, French drain installation, rebuilding our front porch and basement foundation repointing. Based on these positive experiences, we decided to hire them for the kitchen floor project. I have always enjoyed working with Derek Dennis, and this time was no exception. He is a sharp and skillful contractor, and a thoughtful business owner and partner. His honest assessment and quote were quick and fair. Based on the scope of work, we were very happy with the agreed upon price and timeline. From start to finish, the project took about 3 weeks. The work area was fully cleaned up at the end of each day, and Derek and his team were extremely sensitive to the three needy pets that live with us, which we truly appreciate. In order to properly reinforce the kitchen floor, all the cabinets, baseboards, countertop, counter-trim, the stove, dishwasher, refrigerator and 3 radiators were removed, wrapped snuggly in tarps and temporarily stored on our front porch. Derek rented an open-top dumpster and filled it with the old tile, floorboards, insulation and debris. All joists were laser-leveled and reinforced on all sides with deck screws and 2x8s before the plywood and tile backer were installed. Basement insulation was replaced. Tile was meticulously cut and surgically installed and grouted. Derek's recommendation of large rectangular tile really opened up the space! Since some of the joist work and tile work affected the dining room hardwood floor, it was sanded, stained, and coated. They did a great job matching the stain to the living room and we love how glossy finish really picks up the natural light in that part of the house. Cabinets, trim, appliances, and heaters were re-installed. Since they had been removed and then reinstalled, Derek insisted on painting the affected trim, and he offered to paint the ceiling and radiators to match, which we happily accepted. The basement steps were repaired without issue and the full-scale cleanup was excellent. All in all, we were really happy with the quality of work, the daily communication, and the great price. We have already agreed with DiOrio on a project in October; a small bathroom renovation, a fresh coat of paint in the kitchen and dining rooms, and a ceiling fan and kitchen hood installation. We highly recommend DiOrio to anyone and everyone who is need of a contractor with honesty, integrity and high standards.

Derek was great to work with. He was very responsive and checked in with us throughout the project, always letting us know what work was done for the day and what was planned for the coming week. He would also get back to us right away if we had any questions. He and his crew were respectful of our home, making sure the work site was kept clean. The project turned out great. We absolutely love the bathroom, and we've gotten many comments on the quality of work. We will be going with Diorio for our next project as well (kitchen remodel).

Diorio accepted my $15,000 deposit (1/3 of total) in August of 2014. When it became apparent they would be unable to do the work I requested my deposit back and was told that they could not return it because it had already been spent - they offered to pay it back $200 per month over 75 months! After only making 4 payments over the last 9 months I will now be taking them to court. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. 07/09/2018 update: Derek and James stole my $15,000 deposit from a job that was supposed to start in 2014. They have not paid me back and are now threatening to file for bankruptcy. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

Fantastic! Have hired them to do more work on the house since. They were on time, polite and professional, cleaned everything up along the way, and are really knowledgeable. This was a really complex job, in a really old home They could have cut corners many times but they never did. When something crazy came up due to our house being over 100 years old (which inevitably it did), like finding additional layers of floor and ceiling, they talked us through options, and did things the RIGHT way vs just the fastest or easiest. Their finish work was also done really well - cabinetry, tiling, painting, molding etc. Our new kitchen, bathroom and mudroom are beautiful, and we couldn't be happier with it! We get a lot of compliments on it, and I think if we had gone with anyone else it would have been more expensive and taken much longer to finish. They showed up every day and worked long hours - keeping us in the loop with where things were at all along the way. For everything that was involved, we were impressed with how quickly the work was completed. We've been so happy we have since hired them to do more work on the house - updating our foundation with masonry work.

It was okay. They haven't started the work yet. They are planning to do it in January.

It was done quickly and the finished within a couple days - great deck!

When we first met Derek to give us an estimate, we liked his enthusiasm, his planning of our project and how it's going to look once is completed. He promised it will look beautiful and it actually does, We appreciate all the hard work they did, the only thing we had a problem with, was the length of time it took to complete the project, Derek told us it will take 2/12 weeks and it took almost 2 months, very frustrating to say the least. Overall, we are very happy with the end result. I would also like to mention James who does great work and pays close attention to details, we appreciate his work ethic.

Excellent work -- project was completed in just 2-3 days, and they were able to schedule the work just a few days after providing a quote. They worked in our bedroom and left everything spotless. No complaints whatsoever, highly recommended.

Excellent work -- project was completed on-time, with no surprises and effort effort was made to ensure cleanliness and avoid disruption. Project included framing new walls + installing door, electrical, plumbing and painting. Highly recommended.

We asked Derek and James if they could complete this painting work right after they did our kitchen, as we were very happy with how that came out. They agreed and gave us a competitive estimate. Their team worked quickly and efficiently to complete this work. The results look great. Derek did two coats on the deck although I had expected him to only do one. It looks fabulous. In our last review we said we were happy with their work and would hire them again. And we did! Pleased with how this job turned out as well.

Derek and James did an excellent job working with us to complete a plan for the kitchen and we are very satisfied with their execution of this plan. They came to do the initial measurements and discuss what we wanted and what our budget was. They then worked with designers at Home Depot to come up with two main design plans for the kitchen, and we selected one. We followed up with the Home Depot designer to complete the design with the specific elements that we wanted. We appreciate the fact that they did not simply charge us a premium on the work of the Home Depot or the subcontractors, which saved us some money. We are happy with the results of the Home Depot design and the quality of cabinets and counter tops, and we think the subs--here electricians, plumbers and floor installers--did excellent work. Derek and James checked in with us in advance of each step of the job to make sure we knew what was going to be done and to provide input. In some cases, we needed to work on plan changes with them (you never know what you find when you open the walls and ceilings of an old house!), but we are happy with the outcome. Derek and James were most directly involved in the gut portion, and the rough and finish carpentry, cabinet installation and painting. They paid attention to detail and the result was beautiful. I also want to say that they were careful to keep the kitchen isolated from the rest of the house to minimize dust, and they were meticulous in cleaning up at the end of the day and the end of the job. Nothing is perfect on a job this size and complexity. The inspections needed since this involved a combination of structural, electrical and plumbing work, delayed progress longer than we would have liked and the completion of the job took a bit longer than we would have liked. During the project, there were some issues with decisions made by the subcontractors that we had to work through, but they listened and we got changes made that we needed. One other thing that is worth mentioning. At the time we started looking for kitchen contractors, I saw a number of reviews here on Angie's list about money issues or unpleasant disagreements. We were wary about this when we started. Both Derek and James explained the circumstances related to these issues and we were satisfied with their explanation. We did not experience any problems with them as this job progressed. I felt they treated my wife and I with great respect. I would say that, as with any job of this size and complexity, it is important to keep up communications with the contractors. The bottom line here is we were very happy with our experience and would certainly use them again.

In a word - excellent. DiOrio Builders provided excellent service from start to finish. Derek met with me to view the project, provided an estimate very quickly, and scheduled and performed the project very expeditiously in the busy summer construction season. Derek and his crew worked with me and took care of all the little details that come up in job, and also performed perfect daily cleanup of the work site. In addition, Derek provided excellent communication of daily work schedules and progress, always in a respectful and professional manner. Lastly, I really appreciate the effort Derek and his workers made to perform strenuous labor of lugging blocks down the 28 steps to the work area.

This was the second job that I had hired Derek for. I had written a review a few months ago regarding some work that he had done on an addition. As expected his crew did a great job yet again. This time the work I had him do was much more extensive. During the entire project he kept me in the loop and progress of the work. He would consistently double check the work and if he felt the work that had been done was not to the standard he had set he would make sure it was done correctly (me personally any time he came in and had someone redo any work I could not see anything wrong with the work until he would point it out to me and explain why it should be done differently). A++++++++++ yet again guys great job!!!!! Now just get ready to do work on our new house since you fixed up my old house so nicely it sold in 4 days!!!!

DiOrio was great, a pleasure to work with. James ran our project and his attention to detail is superb. Communication was good. It took a little longer than expected but that often happens with these things. We're very happy with the outcome.

Derek and James, from Di Orio Builders were absolutely the nicest and most heartfelt contractors I have ever met in my twenty years in the business. They were exceptionally personable and responsive and their heart was in the project upon our initial meeting. We had a large fire that completely destroyed our third floor and damage to both the first and second floor was extensive. Di Orio came in half the price of the three bids I acquired and scheduled me to begin almost immediately. The house is practically a historical landmark building with extensive detail and handpainted stencils on all the walls on the first floor. They assured me they would handle it with kid gloves to save as much of the artwork as possible and that is exactly what they did. Their demo was done carefully and we were able to save the majority of the artwork. They went above and beyond and bleached the mold found in the studs from the water damage. They worked carefully and thoughtfully and completed the work ahead of schedule. Once the fire mitigation is complete I am having them price the rest of the reconstruction as I am looking forward to working with them again and I would recommend them as a great contractor in the Boston area. I would like to thank them for their extreme care in the wake of our disaster.

I found the DiOrio team a pleasure to work with. James worked with us on preparing the quote and we worked closely with both James and Dennis throughout the project. I found them, their team, and their subcontractors to be excellent to work with and very honorable guys. Overall, these guys pit an incredible amount of care and attention into their work, and clearly take pride in what they do. They do not seem to cheap out on materials and always seem to do things the right way (and I am a mechanical engineer who is quite picky about workmanship). They will follow the contract to a T, which is great in that they will not leave you hanging on anything but be sure to clearly identify everything you want done, who is responsible for everything and when. We started with a single large basement space (about 1000ft^2) that was a single room with very dated paneling. The team demo'ed the existing paneling very neatly. They then took this single large space and turned it into a beautiful new space that is essentially a whole new floor of our home. It how has a den, three rooms, closets, and a new full bathroom. As I noted, the workmanship in both the rough work and finish work was very carefully done with great attention to detail. They did all of the final painting and trimwork, and the flooring came out great. They also coordinated the plumber who I found to do a great job, and the electrician who spent a lot of time with us also doing great, careful, neat work. I would recommend these guys, and will likely consider them again for a couple other jobs we have around the home.

Derek and his crew saved my wife and I from a very big problem. We had hired a contractor 6 months ago to complete an addition on our walk out basement. Needless to say that contractor fell of the face of the earth and we were left with a big problem. The contractor had removed an exterior wall as well as 4 of the supporting 4x4's. When Derek came to the house for the initial consult we were on high alert due to your previous experience, however, from jump street he made my wife and I very comfortable with him and was very easy to talk to. When we brought Derek downstairs he went from contractor to just a concerned person regarding the missing beams (our house is a 3 family and holds 4 small children) he immediately started making calls to get people over to put additional supports up so the house would not buckle or even worse have the cross beam break (this was all done out of his concern for our kids we hadn't even talk about the rest of the work. e had his crew at our house in 3 hours to reinforce the exterior wall). We began reviewing the plans we originally had set up. He felt that our idea would make a great addition to our basement unit. While we were reviewing the work that was done he pointed out and clearly explained certain issues that the last contractor skipped steps on. We had agreed on the work and set the price for the work. He started work at the agreed upon date. The first day he started to fix the issues that were left behind from our last contractor. One of the things that I really have to praise him for is the line of communication he kept with me. Every night he would call me and let me know what he had done and what will be done next. During the project I had also changed plans on him, I had him make breakfast bar and do a complete new sub-floor to name a few. At no point did he blink to an idea, actually on a couple instances when I mentioned some ideas that I had we talked about it together and he gave his professional opinion if it was a good idea or not. He also would take some of my ideas and with his knowledge make them better. Even though he had put up plastic to prevent dust getting in to the living area a lot of dust still got in to the apartment. When he noticed this he actually spent a few hours cleaning the sofa, floors and other areas that were covered in dust. In addition to the structural and finish work that was needed we also had bad electrical issues from again the last contractor. He had his electrician come down and originally Derek gave me an idea of what it would cost. I was very surprised to come home to a note explain that the check I wrote was for to much and that it was a few hundred dollars less. This just speaks volume to the type of professionals Derek hires for his jobs! He completed the job in the agreed upon time frame and did a fantastic job!!! I would hire him again and will refer him to any of my family and friends.

All work was done as agreed on time and good quality. Happy with work and will use this provider for future projects.

I want to begin by saying that the final outcome of the work looks very nice, very fine quality, with one important exception (see below). The greatest difficulties we had with DiOrio Builders was with delays in the schedule, and with promises made but not kept. We were originally told the project would take 2 weeks, but it took more than 5. Some weeks workers would only show up 2 days. At one point I was promised on 3 successive days someone would be coming to do work the next day, none of which happened. I had to continually call to find out what was going on. I was promised a reduction in price, first because of the problems with the demolition work, and then to make up for the delays, but then they reneged on those promises. The exception mentioned above had to do with the mantelpiece above the living room fireplace. That had to be removed in order to remove the damaged wallboard behind it. But two corner pieces of the moulding for the mantelpiece somehow disappeared. (Perhaps damaged in the demolition, perhaps thrown away inadvertently, I was not told.) The mantelpiece was not restored at the time the rest of the project was completed. Although James Kim made a couple of efforts to find matching moulding, he was not successful (that moulding is no longer manufactured.) After 3 weeks of emails and phone calls, I finally got frustrated and had to hire an independent carpenter to restore the mantelpiece. I want to emphasize that I found Derek Dennis to be a very hard working and conscientious person, and a good craftsman. I have no complaint at all about his actual work on our project. Besides the delays and the the broken promises he greatest difficulties we had come first with the demolition of the damaged plasterboard, which was not done properly, even at Derek's own admission. He stepped in and took over that part of the job himself, but the fact that he had to redo parts of the demolition work begun by someone else contributed to the delays. He also discovered that the thickness of the original wallboard was greater than he expected, so he himself had to nail furring strips to even up the wall board. This was an unexpected delay, and that was not his fault. But James originally put in wallboard panels in 2 rooms without the furring strips, which therefore came out uneven. I had to point this out to Derek -- who then did rectify the problem. Although I was initially impressed with James, who worked out the estimate and the contract for this job, I gradually lost confidence in him. It was usually his promises about when workmen would be coming that were broken. One time I had to come home to open the house so he could retrieve a tool he left behind. While I have nothing but praise for Derek, the delays (beyond the extra time needed to install furring strips) were frustrating. But the worst thing of all was a very unprofessional move on the part of James. Without being asked, Derek painted a couple of undamaged walls, and then told me he did that in place of instead of reducing the price as earlier promised because of problems with the demolition and the delays. The extra painting looks great, but it wasn't exactly offered as a choice. As the job was concluding, James later told me that if I did not give DiOrio an "A" rating on Angie's list, he would charge me an additional fee for the extra painting. I ignored this, and certainly did not pay for work I never requested. I was quite angry about this and left a voicemail message for Derek compiling about it. The rating of "F" for professionalism is because of James' behaviors. I was very tempted to give the overall job a "C" primarily for this reason, but I do have respect for Derek and his work, so I went with a "B."

I will start off my review by saying that the work done was very good. The mason and asphalt paving company used by DiOrio did a great job and were responsive to my questions and requests. The work was done within a reasonable schedule. When I had comments or questions, James Kim (my project contact) got back to me right away and always provided good answers to my questions. While there were some delays on the project, overall the schedule was fine. The project passed inspection with the Building Inspector. The reason I gave an overall grade of "C" was because I found them to be very difficult to work with in relation to payment terms. The project began with them asking me to sign a contract with terms of 1/3 the cost at contract signing, 1/3 at project start and 1/3 at completion. I thought it was unreasonable (and not within industry standard) to ask for 2/3 of the full project cost before work is started. We finally agreed to terms of 1/3 at signing, 1/3 after completion of clearly defined milestones, and 1/3 at project completion. I made my initial payment as we agreed to -- at contract signing. While work was progressing, I was asked to make my second payment before the agreed upon milestones were reached. While some other milestones were completed, the value was not equal to what we agreed would result in the next payment. And when I was asked for payment, there was an implied threat that if I did not make payment, they would not have the funds to get the materials to continue the project. Then, long before the project was finished I was asked to make a portion of the third payment, which was not required by the contract terms. In good faith, I agreed to pay a portion of that payment even though I wasn't obligated to do so. Then a week later, I was asked to leave work early to give yet another partial payment even though the work was still not completed. When I needed to travel for business, I got a long unpleasant voice mail from the owner Derek saying that his employees had "mouths to feed" and that it wasn't "fair" that I didn't pay them before leaving on my trip. The work wasn't completed yet!! And when I returned from my business trip the work was still not completed. It's not my problem that he doesn't have a line of credit or means of paying his employees and suppliers. We had an agreement and they kept harassing me to make payments outside of the agreed upon terms. I found this to be very unprofessional and frustrating. I paid PROMPTLY when milestones were reached. Their constant harassment for payments outside of the contract terms was unwarranted and unprofessional.

To shorten a long story a little bit, these guys are really bad actors. We selected DiOrio Builders and Designers from among the Angie?s List top-rated, Boston-area general renovation firms, but in our case they in no way earned such a rating. We engaged them to redo our bathroom and kitchen; they were so bad that we eventually had to hire a lawyer to get rid of them (see below). Before starting, they stated in writing that the job, which was not large, would require only two-and-a-half to three weeks (13 to 15 working days). In the end, they took three months to mess up our place, didn?t meet their commitments and accused us of not paying them. That last was true: we refused to pay them the final installment for work they didn?t do and clearly had no intention of doing. On the basis of their two-and-a-half to three week time estimate, we found housing for a full month outside our unit to give DiOrio a free hand and a bit of leeway ? project deadlines often slip - in hopes that it would speed the work to completion. But DiOrio are world class at dragging out a job. Because they couldn?t complete what they termed a three-week job in three (3) months, we had to find housing to live yet another month outside our home, and then live for a third month in a small place still under renovation. During that month we had water only in the bathroom, not in the kitchen. We finally terminated the contract, in early October, because they still had not completed a ?three-week job? begun on 6 July. To add insult to injury, they began insisting in mid-August that we make the final payment even though the contract that they drafted stipulated ?final payment when all work is complete.? They refused to get the final city inspection on the job before they wanted payment because, as it turned out, they?d had never gotten the legally required interim inspection either. They obviously planned to take the money and run. When DiOrio began threatening us ? ?we hadn?t paid them? ? we hired a lawyer. In the lawyer?s words, DiOrio violated the contract: ?We understand that you insist upon receiving a final progress payment of $4,233.34 before completing the work and obtaining the final building inspection. Without commenting on the general inadequacy of your Contract, the form you executed expressly calls for ?Final payment ($4,233.34) ? Upon completion of the project.? Your demand for advance receipt of the final payment and corresponding refusal to complete the work and obtain a final inspection until paid constitutes a material breach of the Contract and excuses the Thomsons from further performance. See Ward v. American Mut. Liability Ins. Co., 15 Mass.App.Ct. 98, 100 (1983) (?It is well established that a material breach by one party excuses the other party from further performance under the contract.?). Accordingly, the Contract is hereby terminated, effective immediately.? DiOrio, as a group, are lousy at meeting their commitments, but they are world class at concocting ?reasons? why all delays are the client?s fault. Our apartment is situated in a condominium. Condo rules prohibit construction work on weekends. DiOrio did not ask about any construction restrictions, just assumed that they could work ?seven days a week.? They had no intention of working seven days a week of course, this was merely a way to ?prove? that project delays were our fault because we could not unilaterally modify our condo regulations. Some delays were indeed occasioned by pre-existing conditions in a 95-year-old building that could not be foreseen: uneven floor in the bathroom, walls that required repairs, and replacement of an ancient wiring harness in the kitchen to mitigate fire hazards. We approved and immediately paid for this additional work which occasioned, at most, several days of ?delay.? But the bulk of the delays resulted because DiOrio wouldn?t assign staff to work on our project and complete it ? they kept saying they were ?busy with other jobs.? Moreover ? according to DiOrio ? they were not capable of scheduling subcontractors to work when they were needed. The subcontractors told a quite different story: DiOrio never even asked them to complete the plumbing and electrical work. As the project advanced, the quality of the work deteriorated. They damaged window lintels, broke the door on our kitchen stove, and reorganized the small kitchen ? without consulting the person who uses it ? in a way that made it very difficult to work there. And after they had dented door frames and broken up a century?s worth of paint on those frames, instead of preparing the surface anew and then painting it as they had committed to do in the contract which they had drafted and signed, they proposed to paint it ?as is,? full of dents and unsightly ragged edges of ancient paint surfaces. To top it all, they warned us not to post anything unflattering about DiOrio on Angie?s List, indicating that if we did, we would be responsible for hurting their families (no DiOorio concern, of course, about the difficulties they imposed on our family). And, as they knew my wife was particularly irritated by the abuse they heaped on us, they told me that, ?if I was a man,? I would muzzle her. This evaluation is a joint effort. DiOrio provided us an altogether lamentable performance, from job initiation to our termination of the contract by legal means (and at additional cost) before they completed the work. We would under no circumstances recommend them. They are unreliable, vindictive, grasping and generally unpleasant to deal with. If you enjoy aggravation, stress, inconvenience, expenses you didn?t count on, plus contractor abuse, you?ll love DiOrio. Otherwise, look elsewhere. Almost anywhere else would be better than these guys.