Today Joe DeMarco of Perry Brothers Construction sits down with Craig and Moray Wilson of Newburyport, MA to hear about their recent home remodeling project with Perry Brothers Construction. From the communication to the quality of work, Craig and Moray detail their entire experience throughout the remodeling process.
Joe DeMarco: So I’m Joe DeMarco from Perry Brothers Construction. I’m here with Craig and Moray…Wilson?
Craig Wilson: Wilson.
Moray Wilson: Yes.
Joe DeMarco: Wilson. And I just wanted to interview them about how the scope of the project went. The first thing to start would be, what work did Bill do for you guys?
Moray Wilson: He did a lot. They completely ripped out the floors in our kitchen and put in hardwood floors, and then refinished pretty much all the floors in our downstairs. Completely gutted our bathroom downstairs and built a mudroom area in our basement, and then we also put in a new front door and did some exterior trim work as well. And then, we did new counters, updated the backsplash, and a facelift of the kitchen.
Joe DeMarco: Did you guys want all that work done ahead of time, or was some of that work coming up as the project was ongoing?
Moray Wilson: Most of it was preplanned. I think some of it, like the front door, we knew we wanted to replace at some point, and then once we got into the project we ended up adding that and we added a couple of extra lighting fixtures outside and some things like that, but most of it was preplanned.
Joe DeMarco: What was the time span of the entire project from start to finish, after the contract and permits and all that?
Moray Wilson: Right. Well, once they started, really, I would say the bulk of it was about a month, although it was really more like two or three months altogether, just because we did add in a couple of things at the end, or there were some little finishing touches that needed to get done. But most of it took really only about a month.
Joe DeMarco: What would be something that was an unexpected problem that might have happened during any of those projects? I see you smiling-
Craig Wilson: Yeah.
Joe DeMarco: You laughed a little bit.
Craig Wilson: That’s the classic project issue, and for us, it was actually water damage on the exhaust for the fireplace, but that was actually from the original builder, who didn’t frame out the exhaust properly, so when they were redoing the siding, they found that and had to end up replacing a big section of the chimney for that. So yeah, that was an unplanned overrun, but again, it was better that they caught it and were able to do it, because it would’ve eventually gotten worse.
Joe DeMarco: So they caught that during the project?
Craig Wilson: Yep.
Joe DeMarco: Well, just how much time did that extend to the project once you found that out? Not much?
Craig Wilson: No, not at all. Yeah, they absorbed it seamlessly, would be the way to describe it.
Joe DeMarco: Okay.
Craig Wilson: Yeah. All in all, Bill’s budgeting, proposal, everything, they came on target-
Moray Wilson: Yep.
Craig Wilson: And the overruns we had were the ones unplanned, but that was rot, or they were elected, like the front door, we’re like, “Let’s add this onto it.”
Moray Wilson: Yeah.
Craig Wilson: But they did a great job with their proposal and staying on budget.
Joe DeMarco: Did you feel comfortable with all the guys here and stuff too?
Craig Wilson: They were amazing.
Moray Wilson: Yeah.
Joe DeMarco: Super friendly.
Craig Wilson: They were amazing.
Joe DeMarco: Yeah.
Moray Wilson: So nice.
Joe DeMarco: Yeah.
Craig Wilson: All the way through. You essentially have a crew living in your house with you during this time, at least it feels like that, because they’re here for the most part. And you end up, let’s just say, asking for favors, having stuff moved that’s not part of the job.
Moray Wilson: Yeah.
Joe DeMarco: Oh, yeah.
Craig Wilson: I had a motorcycle accident and they helped move stuff around that I should have been doing as the homeowner. They went above and beyond throughout the whole project.
Moray Wilson: They really did.
Joe DeMarco: I was just going to say that exact phrase.
Moray Wilson: Yeah.
Joe DeMarco: That’s awesome.
Moray Wilson: Yeah.
Craig Wilson: Yeah.
Moray Wilson: They were so great too, they kept saying, “We’re here until the job is done,” and that was really just the attitude that they had the whole time. We ended up getting our roof done, which we had to delay a little bit because of the colder weather cause it was too hot when the other parts of the project were going on. And I just felt like if there was another little detail that I added or something that I needed help with, they just kept at it and kept coming back until we were completely satisfied with everything that was done, and I really appreciated that. It wasn’t like they just disappeared after the bulk of the work was done. They really waited until we were completely satisfied with everything.
Craig Wilson: We only deal with Mike and Bill in those areas, and they managed all the subs. They were on-site when the subs were on-site, but for the most part, it was Bill’s main crew.
Joe DeMarco: So they hired all the subs and made sure all the subs-
Craig Wilson: Yeah.
Joe DeMarco: He scheduled them and everything?
Craig Wilson: It was really the tile and the countertop guys.
Moray Wilson: And the roofers.
Craig Wilson: And the roofers, yeah, those were the only subs on site. Outside of that, it was Bill’s main crew. But like I said, even when the subs were here, they were here.
Moray Wilson: Yeah.
Joe DeMarco: Was it a convenience for you guys to have Bill schedule the subs and stuff?
Moray Wilson: Absolutely, yeah. Yes.
Craig Wilson: Never would’ve got done if he left it to us.
Moray Wilson: Yeah.
Joe DeMarco: Yeah, it probably takes a lot of stress off.
Craig Wilson: Yeah. I said it before, they managed the project end-to-end extremely well. Very pleased.
Joe DeMarco: Okay. Did Perry Brothers Construction meet your expectations?
Craig Wilson: Absolutely.
Moray Wilson: Yeah, I would say meet or really exceeded. I just was so happy with all the work that they did, and just the whole process was so smooth. As we were saying before, the guys are so friendly, so professional, it just was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. So in that sense, I would say they exceeded expectations.
Craig Wilson: Yeah. We’ve recommended them to friends, family members-
Moray Wilson: Neighbors.
Craig Wilson: And I’m sure we’ll have them back again.
Moray Wilson: Yeah. Oh, we definitely will have them again.
Joe DeMarco: Yeah, that was going to be my next question.
Craig Wilson: Yeah.
Moray Wilson: Yeah.
Joe DeMarco: Would you hire them again?
Moray Wilson: Oh yeah.
Craig Wilson: Absolutely.
Moray Wilson: Yeah.
Joe DeMarco: Cool. For the bathroom project, I just want to hear real quick, was this a bathroom remodel or a bathroom renovation?
Moray Wilson: They really pretty much gutted the whole bathroom. It’s a small half bath that we have downstairs, and they just pretty much took everything out of it and completely remodeled it. It was a sink, vanity, toilet, tile, all of that, light fixtures, and a mirror.
Joe DeMarco: Okay.
Moray Wilson: Even painting, they pretty much did everything. There was old moldings and railings in there that they took out.
Joe DeMarco: Probably no issues with the bathroom or anything?
Moray Wilson: No, it was actually, again, it was all just easier than I expected it to be and a lot smoother.
Joe DeMarco: Okay. So I just want to say really, thank you to Craig and Moray for allowing me to interview them for Perry Brothers Construction, and it was a pleasure. Thank you. We’ll see you next time.
If you’d like a home remodeling experience like Craig and Moray, or just have some questions regarding your future project, don’t hesitate to reach out to Perry Brothers Construction. You can visit our website or call our office at (781)-233-7511. Thanks and have a great rest of your day!
