hammer and hand inc

Hammer and Hand was the general contractor on our kitchen renovation which we completed around 2009. We also engaged an architecture firm, Emerick Architects. The principal people we worked with were Daniel (partner at H&H) and Stephanie (project manager at H&H). We own a 1925 saltbox colonial. We took the kitchen down to the studs, redid all kitchen plumbing, lighting and electric (we used Reds Electric), installed a new fusebox, added a tiny bit of square footage by enclosing a space within the framework of our house, and changed the roofline. We stuck pretty closely to our original design plan, we did come across a few normal problems endemic to old houses that changed the budget - but were within our contingency/emergency overage we planned, an we simplified a few things (eliminated a custom chalkboard area and simplified some woodwork on the cabinetry to manage costs). In the pre-work, we first had a very general budget, and then a much more detailed budget that included materials, labor and overhead. We went through it carefully and against planned work on the architecture plans. My husband then monitored charges and invoices carefully against the planned budget and we made small tweaks (like the cabinetry simplification) as needed. We loved the process (except for the concurrent stock market dive just after we started work) and really felt that Stephanie was the gem that really made our project work on a day to day basis. Also, the fact that she had a positive working relationship with our primary contact from Emerick was really helpful. We have since had H&H back for small projects and bids and look forward to working with them again. I also was happy with the subcontractors as a rule. We did have an issue - there were too many large knots in our wide plank flooring, but Stephanie helped us mark the spots where we needed to replace planks and they fixed the floor to our satisfaction - for which I am grateful. Because you work with so many subs it is important to get to know them and their reps as well. Overall, our experience was really positive and I would work with H&H and request Stephanie again in a heartbeat. One last mention: five years before we started our reno I spoke with 3 to 5 residential architects and also went on a lot of home tours and asked about many of the local contractors to hear about their reputations. In the end, we were very happy with our choices and the new kitchen really made our house into our home.