In February 2014, I contracted with Dalton Distinctive Renovations (DDR) to repair my condo apartment unit after outside melt water seeped inside and damaged the engineered flooring and drywall. It was an easy decision to select DDR, as they were my contractor for the very extensive, and very beautiful, renovations to my condo in 2012.
DDR arrived on site within a few days of my phone call to assess the damage and provide a detailed scope of work and costing. With the water damage beginning to produce mold, it was imperative that the repairs be undertaken as soon as possible. DDR immediately contacted the original flooring company to order new flooring materials, and was able to start the repairs 3 weeks after the damage occurred. They estimated 3 to 4 weeks to complete the job.
Jason, DDR’s owner/manager, brought Nick, who would carry out the work, on the Friday prior to starting the work to check the work site and to meet with the building staff, thus avoiding any surprises on the first day of work. My unit is in a high-rise tower, where parking, construction work, noise, and use of the freight elevator etc, are restricted. DDR was fully compliant with the building’s constraints, which resulted in the full cooperation and support of building staff throughout the repair project.
Nick was the project’s sole man on site. He phoned me each morning just before he arrived, on time, every day, and notified me in advance on the two occasions when there were reasons for a morning delay. The first morning before starting work, Nick helped to move the remaining heavy pieces of furniture away from the repair area, and ensured that the furniture and undamaged flooring were all protected with dust sheets and tarps.
The main difficulty of the repair project was removing the glued down floor boards, and the underlay which was also glued to the concrete slab. This was a time-consuming, finicky and frustrating jig-saw puzzle of a task, which Nick did with unfailingly good humour. At the end of the first week he had completely removed the damaged flooring, being careful not to remove more than necessary, and had replaced insulation and repaired the water damaged drywall. And, the flooring materials were all delivered.
At the end of the second week, the new flooring was down, the walls repainted, the baseboards re-installed and painted, the site cleaned and all the rubbish removed for disposal off-site.
This is a Really Big Thank You to Nick, who was a pleasure to have around, especially since I often preferred to stayed home and watch the Sochi Winter Olympics on TV rather than venture out into our own winter. Even while suffering most days with a stomach bug, Nick was always polite and pleasant, and worked diligently. Without fail he was respectful of me and of my property. He kept mess and noise to a minimum and cleaned up the site at the end of the day. It all made a huge difference in a 1300 foot apartment, where only my bedroom and one living room armchair were useable during the repairs.
At the end of the two weeks, Nick gave me back my lovely condo. He had seamlessly repaired 300 square feet of floor in three areas of two rooms, repaired four walls, and helped move the furniture back in place. Many, many, thanks Nick!
Jason and the staff at DDR made it their priority to undertake and complete the repairs as quickly and painlessly as possible, and they succeeded completely, just six weeks after the damage had occurred. Thank you to all.
Hilary
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