Dufficy Fine Carpentry & Design

John was very responsive and produced a table top that exceeded expectation. I would give him an A+ for quality if it was an option.

I went great. No surprises and on budget.

IThe project was a bit much for only one person, which is probably why it took much longer than I had anticipated. There were some slow periods, when it felt like nothing was happening...then all was well .  It did cost a bit more that I had anticipated, but after it  was completed it was...... So WORTH....   the time and money.!! 
I would highly recommend John Dufficy for anyone with an eye for detail & not in a rush to have the job finished in a hurry.
John takes his time to do the best work that he is capable of.  He is really a good guy.......

Great!

I contacted several carpenters about the project and spent a lot of time with two. Both were experienced and professional, but I went with John because he planned to use solid wood throughout and the other carpenter was advocating MDF+veneer. Working with solid wood requires more labor (and so is more expensive) but the difference is clear. 
John came out to my home two or three times to get a sense for the place, to measure, and to give me feedback on my design. Apart from that we communicated by email. I sent him very detailed sketches and we tried to get all the details right ahead of time, so that John could do most of the build at his shop and minimize the time and mess at my apartment.
 really appreciated John's attention to detail and pride in his work. He gave me a lot of feedback on my design. For example, my first sketches included shelves more than 5 feet wide. John was concerned that these would bend under the weight of my books without additional support, so I changed the design.
That detailed preparation paid off, because the results are exactly what I envisioned. John can work from a doodle on a napkin, but he'll be forced to his discretion, and while his taste is probably better than yours you might not like the result :)
John made one mistake during the build, but corrected it at his own expense. (This is another advantage of detailed designs - no ambiguity.)
I really enjoyed working with John and recommend him without hesitation.

John's work in fine woodworking is obviously his true skill, but he explained how he could get us back on track and what we needed to buy by way of a lockset. The project was done on time and on budget. John's a true craftman and does wonderful work. Could not be happier.

We found John when we were looking for a skilled carpenter to build some custom bookcases to take up the entire wall of a fairly small room.  We weren't entirely sure what we wanted, and John provided us with excellent ideas and helped guide us through the process.  The wood he suggested was absolutely beautiful and fit seamlessly into our existing furniture.  John was able to work around the molding in the room and make the bookcase look like it came with the house.  We wanted to keep the electrical outlets and the furnace vent on that wall, so he built all of those items into the bookcases.  The wooden box he built around the vent was genius!  John seems to be a perfectionist, which is certainly a plus in a situation like this.  We would highly recommend him to anyone.  We also appreciate that he communicates well by e-mail and didn't ever shirk a commitment.

John looked at the pics I sent him, discussed the problem thoroughly, answered all my questions, recommended a simple solution with a quote on the spot.  Completed the job efficiently and stuck to the quote, even though there were opportunities to increase it.  Although I wasn't there for the repair he took a picture of the repaired frame before installing the metal, to show that he actually did the repair (instead of just covering up the damage or a sub-par repair with metal).   He even put a coat of primer on for me.  Work area was left clean.  Repair was well done, and I appreciated his responsiveness, skill, efficiency, and honesty.  Will definitely hire again should the need arise.
 

(see above comments)

We called John, who came to do an estimate within two days. He had other jobs, so we had to wait about two weeks for him to do the work, but his price was fair and we were impressed by his Angie's list reviews. He custom ordered the door and made it look like our previous door. The door is high quality - it is made from birch and works to keep the elements out. When he came to install the door, he found that our house is settling in two different directions, so he had to shave underneath and around the door to make it fit properly. He was very professional and our door closes perfectly!

Work was performed over a six month period from summer 2010 to Jan 2011.

He took the time to meet with us and created a design that perfectly fit the style of our home. This is a door that will be an heirloom piece for our family. Every time someone new comes to the door, they compliment the design, choice of wood and stain. It has been a conversation stopper and a great way to meet our new neighbors. Hopefully John will add a picture of this door so everyone can see his stunning work.

My building is 127 years old and a section of the parapit wall was deteriorating badly. I chose John initially because he spent a good long time looking at what needed to be done and devloping a custom solution. He was straight forward about what he could and couldn't do and what I was looking at. He sounded more trustworthy than the other people I had looking at the job. John's solution really worked out well and it looks great. He created new accent pieces for the wall that were damaged or missing. They really made a difference to the look of the building. John even painted an area on the other side of the wall that wasn't part of the job. In the end, I got a very good job at a fair price.

First of all, John was a honest, hardworking and trustworthy contractor. He did the installation without damaging the surrounding stucco and made the install look very clean and professional. When he ran into unexpected issues he worked with me to decide on the best course of action. He did not take any shortcuts even though the job ran a little longer than he planned. In the end he did an amazing job and we are very happy with the results and highly recommend him to everyone. Thanks John!

John asked me to communicate with him over email. He was very responsive. Came out quickly after my initial overview of the job to offer an estimate. He returned to complete the work and adjustments as necessary and left the space clean and free of debris. It is exactly what we had hoped for.

We hired John to build some built-in bookshelves in our family room. He is a fantastic craftsman and takes great pride in his work. I couldn't be more impressed with the shelves he built. He went over the materials and design in great detail. Everything was customized to the room and TV that we had. The woodwork is absolutely beautiful. It's exactly what we envisioned, only better. He built the shelves around some tricky pipe coverings that had been shoddily hidden by the previous owner of the home, and also integrated the shelves with a built in fireplace. He did most of the construction work offsite which limited mess and inconvenience. He also did some waterproofing around some windows in our upstairs bathroom, and did some wood restoration/painting on a rotting deck rail outside our bedroom. We would use him again for any relevant project in our home. He was the second person to work on the waterproofing and succeeded where others had not properly done the job. He tested the repair work at length and made sure there was no more leaking before moving on. We had some time constraint here before rainy season and he got the job done. Super considerate and a very nice guy as well.

Mr. Dufficy came to review the job on the same day that I called him. He sent me an email bid within 3 days. He was very flexible about coordinating our schedules. He constructed and painted the components quickly. Everything was extremely well made, fitted perfectly, and professionally finished. All of the work (including removal of the previous tract accordion fold door closures) within a 5-hour period. Everything was completely and thoroughly cleaned up.

John was professional, meticulous and punctual from start to finish. He provided a detailed estimate and was able to complete all the tasks on time. He was conscientious of our budget, time frame, design esthetic and our HOA guidelines for construction work. I've had the chance of working with other "craftsman" before and I must say that they left a lot to be desired. In fact, my previous experience with them was the reason I decided to join Angie's List. I decided to go with John after conducting what many would consider "anal" due diligence, but am happy to report that it was extremely worth it. I will definitely hire John again without hesitation.

John provided excellent estimates of cost and proceeded to complete the work. He is flexible and resourceful, talented and a real pleasure to work with. I plan to have him provide additional services.

Working with John was a very pleasant experience. He is an extremely conscientious and highly skilled European craftsman who provided us with a knowledgeable understanding of the many alternatives and solutions to our problem. Our 35+ year-old front door was warped, quite drafty and our entrance way was tiled up to a rotten thresh-hold. John quite expertly replaced the threshold without damaging the grout or tiles. The door has a reassuring air-tight closure and is very beautifully finished as you can see from the attached photographs. The final bill did not exceed the original estimate and John was punctual and accommodating to our schedule. I would like to emphasize how pleased we are with John's service and professionalism. We will be calling him again for another project. I hope you do the same.

We are extremely happy with the built in wall unit in our Victorian. We were worried our request might be too large for the room, but John told us he felt the room was large and high enough to accept the cabinet without varying from the Victorian nature of the room. As I said earlier, John is more of an artisan working in wood instead of paint. At several times while the work was being done, he asked us if this was what we wanted, just to make sure he was meeting our needs.

I live in a remodeled Victorian house built in 1904 where one of the bedrooms was separated from the living room by french doors. I wanted to make the bedroom more private and completely separate from the living room, but not close off the wall completely to allow sufficient light. So the work required converting the french door to a high and wide window, incorporating some of the moulding and period details. John did a great job first researching the materials to find an exact match of the trim and moulding, and then ensuring that the work was seamless. The result was a window that looks like it was built as part of the house in the early 1900s! I had many friends comment on the great job. I would definitely hire John again. Besides professional, he was friendly and courteous. We're lucky to have him here in San Francisco!

Great. John is marvelous, and we intend to use him again for other wood-working jobs.

A few problems were encountered due to the original doors being improperly hung. John had to build a new frame for one door, and rebuild part of another. It took longer than I originally expected, but I wasn't in any hurry. John dealt with all the unexpected issues that always seem to come up when dealing with an old house. He showed up when he said he would. He cleaned up every day before leaving. John was concerned about potential water damage and sealed one door after installing it because he thought it was going to rain. This was not part of the original contract. He also installed a metal cap on one door that swung out to prevent any water damage. I am very happy with my new doors. And John offered a discount for Angie's List users.

Excellent. John is super professional. Was very flexible working around the season's first storm. Would highly recommend him. Fair price for great work.