COPPER BEECH DESIGN

Tom responded in a timely manner to our request, scheduled an initial visit to our home to discuss our plans and provided us with a comprehensive and accurate quote for services. He scheduled multiple design review meetings at appropriate intervals to ensure he was successfully meeting our objectives. The result was a comprehensive set of design documents that meet the needs of the local Conservation Commission, the local building inspector and the selected general contractor. In addition, Tom provided insight and guidance to us that could only come from a seasoned professional well acquainted with all current building practices and codes. Lastly,Tom provided a comprehensive list of general contractors that would best match our unique requirements.

Tom provided sound advice and later he checked in to see what we decided and if we had any questions. He was friendly and prompt with all correspondence. We really appreciate his guidance and will likely seek his services for any upcoming renovations.

Not good

Tom is very friendly and his demeanor makes him easy to work with. He did his research for our city and prepared the documents that we needed to get a building permit, as well as to send to contractors so contractors can quote on the project. It may be that he has a lot of projects but we had problems with his responsiveness. The turnaround time was not as planned for the documents. We were also hoping that he will give us more ideas on the design perspective but didn't really get that. I think his cost of service is reasonable.

I have given all the details above. I hope to work with him in the future.

Tom returned my initial call the same afternoon and scheduled his visit within the week. During his visit, Tom was very generous with his knowledge - giving us information about how our house was constructed and offering up novel ideas for tricky structural issues we wanted addressed. I really enjoyed learning about the process from him. We ended up choosing an architect that was based closer to our home and offered a quicker turn-around time to move forward with the work. If time and budget were unlimited, Tom would have been a fantastic choice.

Fantastic!!!! I had never used an architect before and did not have any knowledge of the cost and the timeline involved. I needed to submit a plan to the building department before I could continue the project. I checked Angies list and decided to call Tom. Tom returned my call the same day and right away I knew that he was the guy to use. Tom arranged to meet me the very next day at the house and explained the process. I had planned to get three quotes but after spending 15 minutes with Tom I decided to hire him. Photos and measurements were done two days later and Tom worked over the weekend to get me the plans. The work was exceptional and every time I had a question I could e-mail him and he would be back to me very quickly. I had some questions about flooring and he was quick to point me in the right direction. I would recommend him to anyone needing architectural services. I received an e-mail from from Tom this week and he asked how the permiting process was going. This is the first of many projects for me and I will use Tom on all the rest. Top notch!!!!!

It was a fabulous experience.

We interviewed three other architects/designers. Tom was the only real architect it turned out. We found him relaxed and guessed that he'd be easy to work with. Furthermore, his bid was competitive. Due to various scheduling complications on our side, all planning meetings had to fit into little one or two week periods. And design work needed to move swiftly when we were available. - Tom was able to live with that, making miniatured sheets with design alternatives for us to carry on a trip so we could discuss them while away, and listening well when we just couldn't arrive at the same conclusions as he had. (Not easy!) We relied on him for advice about everything from whether we should try to choose a design within the setbacks (in hopes of not needing zoning exemptions), to how the survey might fit into the design, to a list of contractors that he had winnowed down to a few he thought might work well for us specifically. What I want to emphasize most is the incredibly thorough job Tom did. AND the amazingly wonderful results. Our house, being in Boston, must meet Boston's FAR requirements, ratios of house space to plot size. (Believe me, NO ONE thought we could build this without 4-9 months of zoning anguish. ) Instead, Tom talked with ISD first to hear what advice they would give him. Then he prepared elaborate analyses of the house which proved that we did meet FAR requirements. Result? We went to ISD on a Monday and that week we had a building permit! Unheard of! (This is not about cheating or pulling strings. This is about wonderfully careful preparations. Preparations that saved us many hours of worrying and distress.) We feel fortunate that Tom did our design and are enjoying working with one of his recommended contractors as we move into the actual building stage.

My interaction with Tom right for the start has been very pleasant - I liked him and it was easy to work with him during the design phase, the back and forth with him on the design was enjoyable. We ended up with a design that we really liked and Tom prepared the plans that we submitted to the town for the building permit. However, the design was such that it required a stamp from a registered architect or structural engineer which Tom was unable to provide. No other architectural firm agreed to stamp the plans that Tom had prepared, so we had to pay another firm to redraw the entire plans just to get them to stamp it. This led to us spending another $3000 on preparing the same set of plans. So in the end we ended up paying Tom for just the design and not the actual plans, which worked out to be quite expensive. The fact that Copper Beech cannot provide plans stamped by a registered architect is something that I should have been told prior to entering into the agreement. The other problem we ended up with in the plans is the way the attic stairs were designed - apparently they did not conform to the Mass code. We were able to fix the issue with some compromise on the design, but again this is something that I feel that Tom should have paid attention to. In spite of these issues, I think that Tom is a good designer and a great guy to work with. I would happily recommend him for projects where the design is the main criterion and not so much technical details. If I do another project I would probably re-hire him but with explicit agreements about the deliverables.

COPPER BEECH DESIGN is a very professional company and was on time with all items promised. We decided not to use their service because of a personal relationship with another architect. Tom was also very reasonable as far as costs go and we do business with his company again.

In the end we decided to sell our house, so we did not hire Tom. However, if ever need an architect, we would absolutely consult Tom again. He is experienced and personable and really listened to what we wanted in a renovation.

Everything about him seemed first class. His references raved about him. He did a great job presenting himself but I ended up going with a different company.

In one word - GREAT! My wife and I were so impressed with Tom that we decided to use him even before finishing the interviews with two other candidates. Tom and my wife shared great design ideas, and he was an amazing team player. He was honest in his pricing, and was reliable and always on time. In something like this, the architect becomes part of your family for a while, and he was wonderful in our home every time. Furthermore, his recommendations for contractors were excellent, and the person we ultimately used was exactly as he explained - and was a great match for us. Now that the work is almost completed, we couldn't be happier. With his design as the foundation for the final product, we LOVE what our house has become. His vision was exactly what we wanted. We would work with Tom again in a heartbeat should the opportunity arise.

We decided not to hire them. We like them very much. We went with somebody else strictly because of references. They were on time and friendly. The estimate was quite reasonable.

Terrific experience with Tom Timko. He was very easy to talk to and he was very detailed and professional in his estimate. He gave us a good price. We faced a difficult decision when we chose another architect who lives near us.

I decided to go with them mostly based on the recommendations on Angie's List. We got a quick response from them. They were able to do things in with the speed that we wanted. They did a nice job with the design. They probably didn't follow through as much as I hoped they would, as far as details go.

He was very good, but we didn't end up using him. We were on the fence and could've easily gone with him. He was very attentive and professional. I've spoken with a lot of people who have used him. We really appreciated the personal attention he gave us.

See above.

The proposal was very well written (he is obviously a good listener) and seemed extremely personable. His price was great and he has an impressive resume. He also seems very flexible and practical. We will definitely consider using him in the future!

We chose to work with a more expensive architect who had previously worked with friends of ours. It was a difficult decision. In particular, we felt that Mr. Timko was a very good communicator and was easy to work with.

The plans Tom generated were extremely detailed, well thought out and demonstrated exceptional design sensibility. Several of the builders commented on how rarely they see plans as complete as the ones we submitted for bids. The comprehensiveness of the plans allowed us to make an educated, apples-to-apples comparison between the builders' proposals, and we believe they went a long way toward enabling us to select the right one for the job. The house plan that we approached Tom with at the beginning was for a Craftsman-style house, which is not all that common in this region. Tom was able to not only suggest exterior features that accentuated this choice of style, but also suggested a number of interior design elements (staircase balusters, materials choices) that emphasized it as well. Tom was patient with us during an iterative process of refining the plans (we changed our minds on some features several times) and produced top-notch end deliverables.

I have worked with Tom at Copper Beech Design on several projects in my capacity as the owner of a residential construction company, and so knew the quality and thoroughness of his work. When it came time for my wife and I to finally consider our own renovation, I knew he was a good fit for the work that we wanted to do. Tom is well-versed in the traditional New England architectural vernacular, but he is also extremely skilled at building modern workability into a traditional design. He is a pleasure to work with and he pushed our design in directions that we hadn't considered, to the benefit of the project. We are beginning to plan the actual construction and look forward to seeing Tom's design come to life. We recommend him highly.

The original 1950s space was quirky, tucked into a multilevel space that had tight angles and had many structural and plumbing restrictions. The second floor was a complicated collection of small rooms. We couldn't afford to build out and add on so we needed a creative solution to restructure what we had. I confess, I had grown tired of all the materials I saw in contemporary bathroom designs (huge boxy rooms and cream marble come to mind) and sought something more texturally complex and uncommon. Over a period of several months, we worked out a plan that wouldn't have been obvious to us up front but really made an incredible amount of sense. The architect was there through the construction process, keeping an eye on the builders as well as making sure there were no cost overruns. He helped us select fixtures, stone, tile and some very different, beautiful materials like blue quartz and Idaho quartzite. Many of the materials we were able to buy over the Internet at a much better price than from standard showrooms. My most favorite part of the design are the light, varied textures, the flow, and, most definitely, the visual surprise as you're drawn in. Nobody expects such an extraordinary space in a traditional home.