Busy-Bee Construction LLC

I absolutely LOVED having John and his crew working in my house and doing the job. They were tidy, cleaning up everyday, vacuuming up the dust, and cleaning and clearing their stuff so it was easy for me to live around them. They paid attention to details, making sure the small things were complete and perfect. All of the crew was friendly, respectful, considerate. I felt completely safe leaving the house to them during the day. John is meticulous, responsive, dedicated to serving the client. When I took John through the possible scope of the job he helped me sort out how I could get the job done without incurring the most cost. I, of course, really appreciated and valued that. Every time I wanted to make a change John was clear with me about what that change would do the estimate he had given me. It helped me make realistic choices. When I wasn't sure about a possible direction John sat down with me, walked me through the options, went into the details to let me know what the possible problems and outcomes would be. When I talked with John about redoing a shed that needs to be completely replaced John told me about other contractors who could do the job cheaper than he could. Because it's outside of the house I'm glad to look at other contractors. I do need additional work done in the house and am on his schedule to do the work later in the year. I will gladly use John and his crew because of their responsiveness, ethical values, sense of integrity and attention to detail.

They are very professional and informative; I intent to use them when I'm going to start the building.

I originally got them to give me quote for the bathroom, but then found a problem with my porch, so I actually ended up hiring them for the porch. He's more on the expensive side, but his quality is so good, you get what you pay for.

The kitchen is fabulous. It could not be better. This was a full remodel including floor, walls, cabinets, and appliances. The stove was converted from electric to gas. Also, there was a structural wall that we wanted down and John advised us on how best to do this. This was of great concern to us. The wall runs the length of the house and we needed a professional to ensure it was done correctly. It was perfectly done and the entire first floor looks like a new house. The kitchen is open to the living room and dining room, creating one large open space that is simple, beautiful and highly functional. John's professionals are the best in the business. There was the floor guy, plumber, electrician, and two general construction professionals and John doing the work. Everyone was great at their job. We've all heard stories about the job cost spiraling out of control. The job required some workarounds and John was very effective and creative in resolving each problem. The final cost was within estimate. We had an overage because of the materials we chose, so that was on us. The labor overage was approximately $500 (about 1% of total estimate), which is remarkably accurate to estimate. The job took longer than originally planned, and we asked them to accelerate work and get it done. John brought in the entire team on a Saturday to finalize the job. It is difficult living without a kitchen for an extended period. We appreciated this responsiveness to get us back to normal. I would use Busy Bee construction again and highly recommend them.

We originally got a quote to rebuild the bathroom as is with a single sink, but the closer the date approached we really wanted a double if possible. John was great about talking through the possibilities on day one of the job and was the one who suggested moving the window for a better layout. We had not even considered that as we figured it would be too costly. But the additional cost was reasonable and we ended up saving some in other places so the overall cost was still around the original estimate. We were a bit worried that it would be hard to match our old faded vinyl siding when moving the window. But they used white siding and painted it to match and when done you could not even tell a window was moved. Overall the project went well and we are very happy with the new bathroom. There were a couple small delays but they had nothing to do with John and his team, but the city inspectors. We were not surprised having done a couple small project before and John did everything to get us back in the house asap (it is our only bathroom).

Excellent. We left our home for a week and came back to a fully finished job. No hassles, no phone calls , no emails. Neighbors and house sitters reported that everyone was diligent, courteous and not the least bit disruptive. There were a couple small issues with nails going through a wall, but they will be fixed.

Demolition went very quickly. Some delays occurred because of special orders of materials and mistakes made by the counter top subcontractor who was not supplied by Busy Bee. The project ran 9 weeks. John was very responsive to our requests. The workmanship was first rate. Great attention to detail. The workman had a good understanding of the aesthetics of the work. We were actively involved with the procurement of special material, but left many decisions to workman when we had no strong opinion of our own.

After my grandmother had a fall in April of 2012, we knew she needed help so we decided to have myself and fiancee move in, but she did not want us taking up her space so we built a whole second floor on top of her ranch home, plus a garage with access to it from outside. When we met John Downie he had great ideas and was sure he could stay in our budget which from other contractors was a huge issue. He had a whole month without my grandmother in the house and things went very quickly, once she moved back in he was so very courteous of her being there, with her health only getting worse we added some things for her and he was more than happy to add it onto what we already had planned. He gave us a check list of when payments were due and what they planned on getting done and he was very good to keep to that, never asked for money before work was done. Anytime we needed to get in touch with him he always answered his phone and was great to talk with. With this being my first home and not having much money John made my first home beautiful without breaking my budget. It looks absolutely wonderful and if i ever need more work done i would not hesitate to call up John Downie and the Busy Bee guys again. They were very professional and had everything done when he told us it would be and it came out better than what I ever imagined it to be. Beyond happy with the final results!

We picked Busy Bee Construction and owner John Downie to do the project. John was very responsive to our request for quote and was very competitive with the other quotes we received. He and his team were able to start the project on time and finish earlier than expected. John was very thorough and helpful through out the entire process by making suggestions and guiding us, while we considered our options. There were only minor issues, which John handled quickly decisively and we never had to worry about minor details. We look at the transformation and we are truly thrilled with the results. We still cannot believe how this project came together and how easy the construction process was for our family to deal with. We have nothing but praise for John and his team and would not hesitate to use them again for future projects and to recommend them to friends and family.

John, Val and Billy were extremely professional. They showed up promptly at 7am every morning and left the house and work area clean each afternoon. The price quoted us was the price of the finished product. The job was completed in the time frame originally quoted. We can't say enough praises about how happy we are with our new bathroom. John made suggestions to us about where to look for vanities, medicine cabinets, sink, tub, toilet, fixtures, lighting, tile, paint etc.. Ultimately we had MANY choices and we essentially designed the bathroom WE wanted, not one that was sold to us. John and his crew do ALL the work themselves. One thing that was really great, is that they were able to recess the medicine cabinet into the wall. Cosmetically, this made a significant difference! John went above and beyond to provide exceptional service. I highly recommend him and would certainly use him and his crew again!!

I am very happy with the work that John and his team did. They remodeled a full-size and half-bath in my home. They were prompt, professional, courteous and responsive. The job came in on-time and on-budget and the quality level was high. They also did a great job cleaning up every day.What more can you ask for? I would hire Busy Bee again and would highly recommend John and his team.

John came out and quoted me on a bathroom remodel for a small half bath. Another contractor had already quoted me more than twice the amount John quoted, claiming he would have to gut the entire bath. John told me that he did not have to gut the bathroom, that it was not necessary, since the walls were in good shape. John and his crew did a beautiful job on the remodel.....when the vanity style I wanted did not come in the size we needed, John offered to modify the cabinet himself to fit the space. John was also the only contractor I have used who, without being asked, provided a packet along with his quote showing his certifications, copies of insurance, and licenses. John and his crew were prompt, professional, and polite. I will definitly use them again.

In January of 2012 my wife and I learned rather suddenly that we needed to sell our home of 19 years and relocate to another town. We set an aggressive goal of listing our property by the middle of May. Unfortunately, the kitchen needed a complete renovation, a crumbling attached greenhouse had to be removed and exterior masonry work was needed. We assembled a short list of contractors from Angie's list, with an eye to those who had experience installing IKEA kitchens. We left messages with John Downie of Busy Bee Construction, as well as another contractor. John quickly returned our call, visited the property, spent considerable time meeting with us, and gave valuable feedback on what we should do, as well as a few things that we should not bother with. When John indicated he could not start the job until April, we were a little nervous, given our schedule. (In retrospect, this is a good problem to have. Do you *really* want to choose a contractor who is immediately available? Being immediately available is generally not a good sign.) John delivered a written estimate before the other contractor even returned our call, and we accepted. John began on April 2nd, right on schedule. A portion of the kitchen is a bump-out addition to rear of the home, built many decades ago. As the demolition proceeded to expose the bones of the house, things got interesting. John broke the bad news about what I will call the Beam of Death. The bump-out addition had been badly built decades ago. An overhead beam was unsafe, sagging, and not properly supported at one end. Worse, rafters were attached impropertly to it. We had lived for years beneath the unsafe roof which, under the weight of feet of snow, could have been at risk of collapsing. John explained that the only proper solution was to remove that portion of the roof, replace the beam, and rebuild the roof with a different roofline. My wife and I were ok with that, as this sort of thing cannot be a surprise if choosing to own an old home. John and his team proceeded to do a great job solving the Beam of Death and rebuilding the roof above the kitchen, seamlessly integrating with the existing rooff. This unexpected twist added a very reasonable additional cost, given the work that was involved. At this point, my wife and I were very relieved that we had hired Busy Bee for the job, quite capable of dealing with unexpected structural issues, rather than a more specialized kitchens-only contractor who may have found themselves over their head. As to be expected in any complex project, there were a few small mistakes made along the way, but when brought to John's attention, were quickly made right. John's team did a great job overall, finishing the project in about 8 weeks, in keeping with our original schedule. We listed the home shortly thereafter, and it quickly sold. Busy Bee's fantastic kitchen made it all possible. When the time comes to call John for another job, I hope and expect to be told "Sure, but it will take me four months to start the job because I'm booked solid" because all of you have decided to hire him.

Once the work started things went very smoothly. They kept the house/work area clean and were very punctual. Did all the work with great quality workmanship. In our absence they even plowed the snow and worked. They explained all our questions with patience. We would hire them again if we need to and I am pretty sure anybody that hires this company will be happy with their work.

We got a trifecta of quality, price and timeliness. Busy-Bee started on time and completed their work in the month allowed. The job was messy and they cleaned up everyday. They worked around and solved the many problems that you always encounter in older houses with real professionalism. They also readily corrected a couple of mistakes that had been made by a plumbing subcontractor. John Downie and his crews were a pleasure to work with and made good suggestions. We wanted to create an unusual design of tile in our shower and John not only worked with us on it, but executed it beautifully. The finish work was excellent. My wife and I are very pleased with how the job turned out.

I really enjoyed working with John Downie, the owner of Busy Bee. He walked me through the entire process and was very thorough. His contract was detailed and complete. The worksmanship was excellent and his crew was friendly and very tidy. We are absolutely thrilled with the addition to our home and would use Busy Bee again without hesitation.

Did great job on shed. Porch took longer than they expected thought they would fix where they had to chane where the rails went into the front of the house but we have to c*** it and paint it because owner said spent too much time. Also I asked him about replacing the back door and never got back to me. Quality fine but unsure if I would call again because of obove reasons. I think more interested in much bigger jobs.

We had John over to give us an estimate on a bathroom remodel. When showing him where the water lines ran through the bulkhead, his first comment was, "Wait -- this is not exterior space; this is supposed to be interior space and you need an exterior door at the base of those stairs!" We ended up choosing Busy Bee to install that door after getting a quote on -that- job. John sent a two-man crew over with an insulated exterior door. They had to customize the door to fit the space, including building out the jamb to fit the deep concrete wall in the bulkhead. They did a very good job and finished earlier than I expected. The door works just fine; the interior area is now inside an appropriate door, and the exterior side is kept out where it belongs. We may have him come back next spring to re-do the door at the top of the bulkhead stairs which is in worse repair than it seemed.

I was to get one after the first of the year, but I haven’t heard anything.

We chose Busy Bee Construction out of three contractors for a number of reasons. John, the owner, was very friendly and professional, and took the time to go over his estimate with us and answer any additional questions we had. This was our first major project as homeowners, and we wanted someone who could guide us when navigating our various design and vendor options. The price was also very fair (note that it included parts and labor). We had a good idea on what colors and style we wanted, and that we wanted some extra shelves for storage. John gave us suggestions on places to look for tile and other fixtures, as well as some design ideas. He also promised that we would always have a toilet available when we got home from work, which was important since it was our only bathroom. The project was scheduled to start in October, but ended up starting in November. John, Val, and the rest of the crew were very friendly and professional, and we had no worries about leaving them in our apartment while we went to work during the day. It did take longer than expected (almost 4 weeks instead of 2) and we got a little concerned about the work falling behind a bit, especially as Thanksgiving was approaching. However, to his credit, John answered the phone almost every time we called him to check in, and he understood our concern. They ended up working the entire Thanksgiving weekend while we were away to finish a large part of the job, including the installation of our shower. The responsiveness and hard work were really appreciated. As for the bathroom itself, they did a really fantastic job. They created exactly what we wanted: a bright, modern-looking bathroom with high-quality fixtures and lots of shelf space. We've already gotten lots of comments from friends about how great the bathroom looks, and we couldn't agree more. They designed custom shelves based on our ideas about what we wanted, and we also used some other suggestions from John and Val such as the color for the walls and the layout of the wall tile in the shower. The new lighting and quiet fan that they recommended have also been a huge improvement. Overall, we were very happy with the project and the staff at Busy Bee. They were very responsive to our ideas and needs, really friendly and easy to work with, always available whenever we needed to call them, and we're thrilled with how everything looks. Great job!

When we started looking to remodel the bathroom, I wasn’t really sure what would work with the space. I chose John because he was able to understand what I wanted and came up with a thorough, fair priced plan that got me really excited about the project. John and his team did a fantastic job. Very clean, on-time, great quality. The bathroom looks better than I had hoped (I’ll attach pictures when we’re done painting). I would definitely suggest getting an estimate from John. I hope to work with in on future house projects. Thanks John!

The man was very nice and very personable. He gave me an estimate on something totally different than what I asked for.

Quick to respond to estimates. Came promptly for site visit - very easy to talk to. Timely in estimate for work.

They are very expensive that is what I disliked. They seemed very knowledgeable and went over everything. I did like that he came in with a book to show work that he had done and giving us some information what or not. He seemed like a nice guy; but he came in about 20 times higher than anybody else. I consider having them give a quote again in the future. They come in so much higher than everybody else, so I still won't use them.

I chose Busy-Bee Construction LLC Company for the project out of a few other companies that I had contacted. They were excellent with their quote process. My garage collapsed by the time they gave me an estimate. However they were really nice about quickly changing the plan of action to rebuild it. That was why I really went with them. They even came on a Sunday to look at things and refigure the estimate. I didn’t even ask them, they just showed up with the new estimate, which was nice. They are going to start on the project soon.