Don Foote Contracting

On the recommendation of friends, after interviewing several firms, I hired DFC for a kitchen/bathroom/pantry renovation. From the beginning it felt like a collaborative and creative endeavor. I tremendously enjoyed working with Marta to update my space and benefited from Don and Elise's input. Don is extremely knowledgeable about working in historical buildings and brings a terrific team of specialists whose input was enormously helpful in judgment calls about where to spend money and when a more economical choice would do just as well. There were no surprises in the budgeting, everything was clearly laid out and explained. I also greatly appreciated that Don willingly met with my condo association to explain a design choice that required their approval. I trusted the team (led very competently by construction manager Steve Perkins) to be in my home when I was out of the country for two months. In the aftermath of the renovation, they have been responsive in tweaking the results and addressing issues that arise. I am enjoying my beautifully renovated condo and I'm so pleased with the outcome! This is a team with integrity and style!

I would highly recommend DFC and his amazing crew! They are extremely knowledgeable, friendly, professional and have great vision on a loose palette. They show up on time, work hard during the day, clean up and end of day and come back the next day exactly the same. I'm so glad my amazing decorator, Brenda Reishus of Interior Fashion Advisors brought us together..The Dream Team

We worked with Don Foote Contracting (and project manager Steve Perkins) for a recent remodel of our kitchen and of a bathroom. We loved working with them. They were extremely thoughtful and helpful in the planning stage. The designer, Marta, came up with an idea for the layout of our kitchen that I would never have thought of and was a huge improvement over the original layout. Don went out of his way to think about the mid-century style of our house and make recommendations that suited it. And they were very receptive to our own ideas and thinking of ways to make them work. The construction process itself was extremely well organized and went pretty much to schedule (and no budget surprises). Steve was a pleasure to work with, and great at handling any little problems that came up, and handling various tricky construction details. We're delighted with the results, and would definitely work with DFC again!

My wife and I recently completed a large, 3rd floor remodeling project with Don Foote Contracting. We were pleased with the professionalism of his team, quality of work and the timeliness of the project to completion. We are very happy with our new space and would definitely work with Don's team again.

"Dear Don, As we move through our first holiday season, my wife and I just wanted to send a quick message of thanks for everything you did to transform the house we bought into the home that we love. From the very beginning your team made (what for many is a daunting prospect) our renovation manageable and actually kind of fun. We were immediately impressed with the professionalism of the team. There was a balance between the design, planning and the execution of the project that resulted in a perfect product at completion. Thanks to excellent communication from the very beginning, we had confidence from a very early time point that our interests and goals would be honored and that we could rely on you to make the best decisions for us when needed and reach out to us when our input was necessary. The longer we are in the space, the more we appreciate it. I hope that we will be able to work together in the future. Please let us know if there are any prospective clients that you would like us to speak to, as we have nothing but good things to say."

We talked to 5 contractors before selecting Don Foote for our addition, new kitchen, bath and HVAC/hot water system upgrades. His estimate was in the middle to high end of the quotes we received, but the detail in his pricing showed a thorough understanding of the job. We did not get any surprise costs, and his pricing of our change requests was fair and in line with the market. Don impressed us with his knowledge and efforts to reduce the overall job cost while still achieving a top quality result. Don's project manager did a phenomenal job to keep the various subs on track and no detail was too small for him to address. The entire Don Foote team always followed through on our requests. Don's carpenters did an amazing job and his cabinet makers are highly skilled. We highly recommend Don Foote Contracting.

Just the thought of construction made me cringe, then we met Don Foote and his team - From start to finish they were all FANTASTIC. They stuck to timelines, budgets and explained everything along the way. We relied heavily on them for their expertise and they did not disappoint. Living in a construction zone can also be a nightmare but every single contractor they used ALWAYS left our house as clean as possible. We loved the design, the quality work, the professionalism - I cannot believe the transformation of my home - If you want hassle free remodeling (which I thought was unheard of) then I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend Don Foote Contracting!

We hired DFC for an extensive addition to our traditional Cape style house. The final addition included a large family room, three season room, master bed + bath, and an additional stall to our existing garage. Our experience with DFC was fantastic...the areas in which they excelled were many. They exceeded our expectations in 1) design/architect interactions, 2) flexibility, 3) final timelines were met without alteration (even after experiencing unanticipated delays), 4) the quality of the finished product is amazing. Our family moved out of the house during construction so we were not present for the majority of the time; however our neighbors raved about how diligent and courteous the DFC team was for the duration of the project. We were hopeful that we would get high quality results delivered on time, but our expectations underestimated what DFC delivered for us.

Don Foote makes first rate custom cabinets. We do the painting, staining and finishing of his cabinets and have seen the quality workmanship over many years. Don is easy to work with and a true professional.

We hired Don Foote Contracting to completely redesign a very dated first floor bathroom. They were creative, flexible and patient with our design decisions and provided great design choices on how best to work with the adjoining first floor bedroom. During construction, their timeliness, communication, and workmanship were all stellar and very professional. They also had great recommendations for places to consider for fixtures and other design features. It's also important to know how a firm works with you when there is an issue. When our marble top showed signs of staining, they quickly diagnosed the cause and made sure everything was resolved. perfectly! The bathroom is beautiful and Don's team is highly recommended!

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Don Foote Contracting. From the moment we met Don it just seemed different from meeting with other contractors, in fact we chose DFC simply because I did not feel comfortable leaving our project in anyone else's hands. We had never done a project of this size (2,000 sq ft) and we needed direction. With the help of Marta, the design phase went smoothly, she has amazing ideas for the use of the space and gave us several choices for each area. Once we began, the project all went smoothly. The budget and the timeline was maintained, which seemed an incredible feat after taking with friends who had done similarly large projects. In fact, in the end we literally moved in the week they said we would move in! The budget was dead on, aside from minimal surprises and changes on our part. Our project manager Michael Webb was an absolute pleasure to work with, he always did what he said he would do, and he went above and beyond by providing consultation, ideas, and rolling with minor changes to the designs. He took on my project as if it were his own home. Mike and DFC took full responsibility for any minor errors that came up along the way and worked to resolve them to our full satisfaction. DFC custom made all of our cabinetry (kitchen, bar area, mantle piece, double vanity, laundry area) and the quality of the construction is far superior to any cabinets we researched in the same price range. We are thrilled with our new space and the relationship with have forged with DFC, I could never imagine using anyone else in the future.

The project: gut renovation of kitchen, bedroom, bathroom; install "green", heat pump for central heat & AC; level and re-floor exterior porch; So, most people probably wouldn't say this about a gut renovation on their house but -- well -- working with Don and his people was actually fun. Collaborating with Don & Marta (designer) was always productive and they both really listened and came up with *fantastic* ideas. Working with Don & Marta was significantly different than some other teams we'd interviewed in that they started from the 'big dream' possibilities and tailored them back to budget rather than from "let's think small and cheap work work our way up to budget." It took a while from the start of the overall project to the moment that the crews came on-site but I think that that made the construction phase of the project go much much more smoothly. By the time they started demolition and construction, 95% of the decisions had been made. Once the work started, they were here almost every day (that we weren't experiencing a blizzard) so there was noticeable daily progress. Harry Hoyle was our on-site manager and he was also fantastic to work with. One of the nicest thing on working with Harry was that I literally didn't have to mention anything more than once. "Harry, could you do XYZ?" "Sure." After that, you never have to mention it again. No reminders. No chasing anyone around. Oh...and Don's got great taste in music. Be sure to ask him for music recommendations.

I hired Don Foote Contracting for a design build project at my two family house in Cambridge after seeing his excellent reviews on Houzz. We wanted to redesign our kitchen and renovate the front exterior of the house. Don's designer, Marta, came up with excellent design solutions that aligned with our needs and input. And Don was a great sounding board for design decisions. The process went pretty seamlessly. Harry Hoyle, Don's construction supervisor, is really first rate. He is careful and attentive to detail, easy to work with, and organized. Don has several carpenters and they all do really good work. We were impressed and that is saying a lot. The back office team did a good job of keeping track of change orders, decisions, and billings. It was an unusually professional operation. We really had no complaints about the work that they did and will use them again for sure.

I highly recommend Don Foote Contracting. From the first meeting with Don, I knew that my office/guest room plus laundry/bath renovation would be in good hands. Don is thorough and honest in his upfront estimate…even bringing in his sub contractors to review the project as part of his initial estimate. He brought creative ideas to some tight spacing situations in my project. Don also has established a great team from his very responsive office manager, to a great project supervisor who worked through each detail of my project with me, to very professional and experienced sub contractors. I am very happy with my finished renovation and for choosing Don Foote.

We hired Don and his team to build a master bedroom and bath on top of an existing first floor addition. We ripped the roof off the existing addition and raised the ceiling 10" so it wasn't a simple job! Don was completely open to our vision and made some wonderful design suggestions. Our foreman, Harry, was on site (early) every day and made sure that the subcontractors were on time, respectful and did excellent work. He ran everything like clockwork. We were incredibly impressed by the professionalism of everyone who worked on the project which is important since we were still living in the house during construction. We had a few small glitches (which happen in every project) but Don and Harry made sure they were fixed right away with no argument. I loved the transparency with which Don presented the proposal and his willingness to work with us to keep things within our budget. The project was finished on time (and we had a very aggressive timeline) and on budget! And most importantly, we LOVE our new addition! We have recommended Don to several friends with no reservation.

We had a great experience with don foote contracting. We bought a house that needs a lot of work and Don and his crew were able to get in there quickly to overhaul 2 full bathrooms before we moved in. We also had them oversee an insulation project and a complete new heating and cooling system. They also built his and hers closets in the master bedroom. The people in the company are pleasant to work with, and despite the last-minute and hurried nature of our decision to do the work and the push to do it before we moved in, all went smoothly and we are happy to have had it done. We had them do a custom cabinet in the master bathroom that we just love. Also, we had our own painters do some of the painting and the project manager was accomodating about working with our painters at the same time as they were doing work. We are moving on to redoing our kitchen/half bath next and will have them do that as well because of our good experience.

These people were wonderfully respectful and honest; they came pretty close to their estimate. They had a very ambitious schedule which they did not meet, but in the end it took a very short time, partly due to changes we made along the way. They did some very difficult things that other contractors could not see how to do. They were always very polite and careful of our feelings, although it's still stressful having strangers in the house all the time. They provided imaginative solutions for some of our problems, and they helped us save money in a number of ways. All-in-all, although it's remains a difficult process, they could not have been better! What they did: Insulate dry-wall, plaster and paint basement Add heat and electricity to basement Put up drywall ceiling in basement Install lighting in basement Build Pantry in kitchen over-top of basement stairs Build shelves and drawers with countertop for 16' wall in kitchen Move laundry from basement to kitchen Install vanity in basement bath Add some lighting in kitchen and hall A lot of different things that many contractors would have dribbled on for a long time but they finished within a few months. We're happy!

My wife and I hired Don for a major kitchen renovation in 2011. We had the sort of experience that led us to recommend DFC to many close friends and colleagues in the years since: at every step of the process, DFC impressed us with their professionalism, skills, thoroughness, and timeliness. Everyone we worked with at DFC -- Don, Jill, Ruthie, Marta, the carpenters who did the cabinetry, and even the demolition team -- was a real pleasure to work with. We didn't believe it was possible to have our old kitchen removed, and several walls taken out, and a new kitchen put in, while my wife and I and our two young children continued living in the home. But DFC made it happen -- cleanly, painlessly, on time, and on budget. Don's sense of humor helped a lot. He seems to set a good tone for the whole company, and his personality probably explains how DFC has established such a robust network of talented and reasonably-priced subcontractors. We feel we lucked out when two good friends recommended DFC to us. They are superb.

Last year, I worked with Don on a whole house rehab, converting an 1894 Victorian two-family to a single family home. This is the second major project I've done with DFC & I wouldn't do a third without him. His team (Harry, Jose, Felix, Marta, Jill, etc., etc.) are fantastic. Don keeps the sub-contractors on-time & accountable. He uses people/suppliers that are passionate about their craft (woodworkers, plumbers, glass makers... ). He understood my priorities - what I would be willing to compromise on for the budget and what HAD to be part of my home. Two final points. When there were issues ( and there will be no matter who you hire), DFC took responsibility and made it right. Finally, I actually enjoyed the renovation... We had a lot of laughs. Thanks for making my vision come to life Don!

Four years ago DFC completed a major renovation to our Greek Revival house in Somerville, MA. The work was professional and beautiful. We moved out of the house for 6 months. The team came in on time, and were perhaps 2 weeks over the scheduled end date. That was impressive. Don has great relationships with this contractors and keeps them on schedule until their part of the job is complete. They also stand by their work, and returned to repair a problem that emerged 1.5 years after the work had been completed.

Don Foote contracting was asked to build a home office utilizing the space of a walkin basement that was currently being used for storage. Don himself spent time with me listening to the space I wanted to create with lighting and a large work area with shelving that would provide for the ability to place numerous computing work stations in the office within enclosed walls and doors to close off the office. To make the long story short, I love my office that was created and built. The carpentry is superb. Electrical breaker box modifications and wiring to provide for Internet connectivity made it possible to install Ethernet connectivity along with two phone lines housed along the wall at multiple connection points. All bumps along the way during the construction journey were handled with a professional demeanor that made me feel that don and his organization were my partners, not just my contractor, bringing my construction goals to fruition. I would hire him again and will do so when my next project presents itself.

Houzz Review of donfootecontracting We worked with donfootecontracting when we remodeled our small Cambridge kitchen. We interviewed three design-to-build contractors, and chose donfoote because they seemed the most responsive, conscientious and fast. We were not disappointed. The demo (down to the studs) and installation went quickly and without major hassle. We now have a beautiful new functional kitchen. Donfoote was very good at keeping us informed about next steps and keeping us on track making our design choices (fixtures, appliances, tile, etc.). They accommodated to our requests for minor changes in scope of work (adding new flooring to the pantry or adding a new storm door to 2nd floor balcony). They also went above and beyond expectations to respond to snafus that came up during the install—including getting an appliance that would not fit up our narrow stairwell up to the second floor kitchen. All of our interactions with donfoote employees were pleasant; they were very professional. Donfoote coordinated very well with their subcontractors (they showed up on time and finished on or before schedule). Although donfoote offers design services, we came to them with plans we had developed with our architect (Bill Hubner of Incite Architecture, also great). They were willing and able to work with us to implement these plans. Similarly, although donfoote could have also built custom cabinets to fit the design, we chose to use another vendor for semi-custom cabinets, and they were willing to accommodate that. Overall we had a great experience working with donfoote to go from our initial plans to an excellent final kitchen. Don and his team listened to our ideas and concerns at every stage and gave us good feedback based on their extensive experience.

Don undertook a complete gut and remodel of our kitchen, dining room, mud room and main bath, which also involved substantial system upgrades (heating, cooling, electrical). The result is stunningly beautiful and of very high quality. I was especially impressed by Don's enthusiasm about my idea for custom bamboo cabinetry in the kitchen and bath. While his shop had not worked with bamboo before, they embraced the challenge and the result exceeded my expectations. Aside from the quality of his work, I can only offer the highest compliments to his team and subcontractors. To a person, they were considerate and professional, which meant a lot to us as we lived in our home during construction. While the project took longer than anticipated, it was completed on budget, which was, in the end, much more important to me. While every project has unforeseen challenges, Don handled all with a 'can-do' attitude and quickly addressed them. Finally, and the truest sign of a quality job, he has stood behind his work after the job ended. When an electrical outlet that had not been secured tightly recently came out of the wall, his electrician was at my home the next day to take care of it.

Don Foote Contracting built a well-insulated music room in my basement which my musician son used for two years before moving to Brooklyn; did upgrades to my laundry room, built a custom 48" storm/screen combination door, and did other miscellaneous work for me over the last four years. The company is very responsive, highly professional, with an excellent esthetic sense coupled with practical knowledge.

We are currently on our 4th project using Don Foote Contracting. Our house is well over 100 years old so it seems like we always need a creative approach to any renovation project. Their work is of the highest quality and it's a pleasure working with the entire team: Marta handles the design component and is superb at seeing how space can be utilized & transformed. Don does an excellent job upfront on making sure the proposal reflects our needs and is comprehensive/clear. The project leaders we've used (Harry and Steve) keep everyone on schedule - including us. We've always been very happy working with Jill and Ruthie in the offices. If there is ever a question on a bill they've been more than fair. All in all, I give Don Foote Contracting my highest recommendation.

Don and his team were great to work with. We've done three projects with them -- a design build of a new kitchen and master bedroom, a bathroom and a small window and siding project. They have great ideas, are real problem solvers and do what they say they are going to do, when they say they are going to do it. His workers and subs are very polite, easy to work with, highly skilled and do a great job. Highly recommend him.

Don and his crew were great to work with, and I would use them again. Not a day went by during the project that there wasn't a crew member, subcontractor, or all of the above, present at the job site. We lived in the house through a major renovation, and they all made it as painless as it could have been. Though there were certainly bumps along the way, they were nothing compared with horror stories I've heard from friends & family. And they always worked very hard to smooth out those bumps!

We have engaged Don Foote Contracting for both major work (2005-06) and minor work (2009 & 2013) -- and we could not speak more highly of the firm! Their work is done extremely well, on-time, and on-budget (which is the result of the very highly skilled and dedicated staff). We highly recommend considering Don Foote Contracting for your major or minor home projects.

Ruthie Ristich designed 2 bathrooms for me 4 years ago. I am very happy with the results. Both bathrooms continue to look and function like new! Ruthie was very knowledgeable, courteous, and patient with my many questions and requests for suggestions. The entire team of contractors were easy to work with and completed the work in a timely manner. I particularly appreciated their care to ensure that I understood the cost of any decision I made before the work was done! I would definitely recommend Ruthie and Don Foote Contracting!

Don Foote and his crew do fine work and are a pleasure to work with. They problem-solved numerous challenges with our kitchen redesign and related renovations in a turn-of-the-century home, maintaining the integrity of the historic character and creating a beautiful modern result we thoroughly enjoy.

It was great working with Don and his team! They did major renovation of our kitchen/first floor about 7-8 years ago and then did more minor bathroom renovation about 4-5 years ago. Both went really well! They were prompt, transparent in terms of cost, got everything done on time, or ahead of time! We had one small problem in bathroom renovation (weird window in shower broke) and Don managed to find an exact replacement for it. I'd definitely use them again!

We're so happy with our new renovation and Kitchen bump out by Don Foote contracting! The space was designed by Marta Kruszelnicka, one of their in-house architects and I have to say the kitchen, closet space and the 1/2 bath exceeded our expectations. The flow of the space is seamless and beautiful and we are really enjoying our new living space. We felt very confidante trusting Marta and Don's advise in the layout and design. Their experience and expertise are top rate. The crew was great and their workmanship was of high quality. We had several custom built-ins done and other detail work and they turned out beautifully and very solid. Mike our construction foreman was very personable and accommodating, he went out of his way to help us with any issues or concerns we had. All in all we would highly recommend this company.

Working with Don and his team was terrific from the start to the finish. They had access to great subs and were responsive, knowledgeable, fastidious about the schedule, willing to stand behind their work and totally transparent about the budget and our progress against it. We would strongly recommend them as we had a large project done in a high quality manner, on time and with clarity about what we were spending at every step of the way.

Don Foote Contracting offered us high quality work on time and within our budget. They were organized and pleasant to work with and kept the project moving along efficiently to complete our 3 story addition in just under 4 months. We love our new space !

Don runs on time and on budget. Don and his team deliver quality results. We have used them for three very different projects and in each case Don was committed to getting the result right so that we were satisfied. Armed with a good sense of humor and a transparent business model, working with Don is not like working with most contractors. Its worthwhile including him in your list of bidders.

Don Foote Contracting designed and executed a kitchen upgrade in our Victorian home. They did a beautiful job matching existing trim, and making the new kitchen feel like it had always been part of the house. The employees and sub contractors were pleasant and courteous. The few mistakes that were made in the process were promptly dealt with by the project manager.

Don Foote Contracting is a first rate outfit. We are 7/8s of the way through a remodel with them. They have been fabulous from the beginning. They listened to our wishes and created nice design options with elevations of inside and out to help us imagine the look and feel. They have kept us in the loop about subcontractors bids and change orders. They have a great system for keeping on top of details, like what decisions we need to make and where we can find what we're looking for. Oh, and the work itself - so far so great - it looks beautiful. Can't wait to show it off. Don is expert in highest quality workmanship AND in customer relations.

We needed to redesign our bathroom in a very small footprint. DonFoote and his design team helped us make the most out of the space. Because we planned for some lead time, we were able to make series of revisions for the design. The process was smooth with useful back and forth discussions. We received a clear building schedule and the team was able to stick to it for the most part; they also were clear with any changes. The subcontractors were all good-respectful, punctual and up-front about any issues. Rizzo Tile gets a gold star for their work-we are delighted with the intricate tile work. The overall budget was higher than we planned, but all those costs were discussed up front and thru the process. Only complaint is that we had some trouble with a couple of the supply companies they recommended. Wolfer's Lighting was not able to get the fixtures we chose in time for the rest of the electrical work, but refunded our money without any drama. Murray Design, the tile and bath supply store, created numerous problems with incorrect orders, unresponsive staff and billing mix-ups. That said, our overall experience was excellent. We love the bathroom and it has come in on time and and on budget.

We hired Don Foote Contracting for a total renovation of a 3300 sq ft old house. Work involved demolition to the studs, reframing and then complete renovation. The job moved along rapidly and they were always quick to react to any bumps along the way. Don and his team work very hard to be as transparent as possible with what is happening and costs of various aspects of the project. They are also very organized and push the homeowner to make all necessary decisions up front so things are not delayed waiting for material or while a design decision is made. Despite having a very detailed and explicit plan before we started we still made some changes along the way. They took these in stride. The team and subcontractors were clean and respectful of ourselves and our neighbors and they did great work. We ended up with a wonderful house that we love. I would absolutely hire them again. Final bit of advice: Plan EVERY BIT OF DETAIL POSSIBLE for your project BEFORE YOU START. A good contractor will love you for it and you will save money.