Beard' Restoration & Remodeling LLC

We hired Dan for a complete remodel an old home. We found Dan through word of mouth within Portland’s old home community (my husband managed the antiques and vintage department at Rejuvenation). He was easy going during the bidding process. Of note, this is our third complete home remodel but our first time using a general contractor. We are very aware of the challenges of old home remodels. We used a bank construction loan and Dan definitely struggled with the process at each step. Dan gave a completion date of three months. We fired him at the seven month mark with projects not even scheduled. Ron, the main person working at our house, rarely came to work before 10am and was always gone before 5pm. There were many days no one was working. Dan took 3 extended vacations during this time with little or no notice to us. Dan and Ron’s carpentry skills look good from a distance, but… Most of the trim work dose not sit flush to the drywall. There are visible gaps between most of the spindles and railing. We used the original doors, but a couple don’t close after install - to which Dan says is our fault for using the old doors. He did not communicate this problem until we asked why the doors were not functional. Dan and Ron installed the finish trim before it was stained resulting in horrible overspray and repainting of all the rooms. The painter later told us that it was the third time he’d seen Dan fired. There are still holes in the drywall around the ceiling fixtures. Again, he said it was the antique lighting even though we were clear that the old lights needed smaller openings. There were four new windows included in our contract that was signed in October. Dan did not order the windows until January charged us the new years pricing even though it was his delay. The window he installed does not operate correctly, he cut through and damaged the exterior trim. He removed the downspout for install and would not reassemble it. The bedroom window was ordered to match the existing old windows - it’s the wrong size and he doesn’t understand the problem and refused to reorder the correct size. His plumber didn’t cap the sewer line so we ended up with raw sewage in our basement. He said this was not his doing but was unable to provide proof that a test had ever been completed. During CCB mediation he finally agreed to pay for the hazardous clean up. Dan was rarely on site to check the work of his subs. He never did walk throughs with us as projects were completed. We even asked for this at the end, but he still was unable to identify any problems with the work. Obviously, we can not recommend Dan for any project, small or large.

Dan brings a love of old world carpentry to all he undertakes. He uses a cooperative problem solving style that makes him easy to work with. He is also flexible and takes client-directed changes in stride. His work style makes him well suited to remodels. Can't wait to do more work with him!