D.C. Construction

We had major termite and dryrot problems partly because the house had been a rental for the 30 prior to the renovation. Dennis came up with great ideas for the balcony and deck hand-railings.  Previously, the balcony hand-railing had penetrated the balcony which created issues where water could get inside the balcony framing and ultimately deteriorate the balcony.  Dennis came up with the idea of using lag bolts to attach the hand-railing to the outside of the hand-railing which had the effect of making the balcony a little wider as well.  The deck hand-railing had previously penetrated into a stucco wall around the deck which, like the balcony hand-railing penetrating into the balcony, was a weak point that could allow water in and, ultimately, deterioration.  These weak points in the hand-railings were because these penetrations had to be sealed very well and monitored diligently to ensure that no failures had occurred. If this was not done then water could get in even a small failure (e.g., a small breach of caulking).  Dennis devised solutions for these and I didn't even ask him too (because I didn't even realize that something different could be done). I had many other contractors bid on this job and none of them suggested doing anything different that what had been done previously. This was one (but not the only) selling point about Dennis for me; he clearly looked at the work as more than a job and this became even more evident as he performed the work.
This house was built in the 70's and, probably not unlike many houses, the original contractors build them as fast as they can and aren't always meticulous.  So, for example, doorways are not always as plumb and square as they could be.  Dennis did a great job with issues like this and this was pointed out to me by a building inspector.
Dennis never used day laborers off the street.  He had a right-hand man with him at all times and hired people he knew when extra help was required. I trusted everyone that worked on the house and they were all pleasant to be around. I would often leave them alone in my house and I trusted them implicitly. Dennis takes his work seriously and he aims to be a quality contractor (seriously).  That is, he's not just in this for the money; he likes what he does and he does it well. He takes pride in his work.
So, did everything go perfectly? No. There were problems that came up, and my criticism of Dennis would be that he didn't always deal with the adversity in the best way but, in the end, everything worked out well. Dennis made sure that I was happy and, ultimately, he went to extraordinary measures to do this. I have no complaints as to the workmanship or Dennis' ability and skill. I would use (and have used) Dennis again and I highly recommend him. Besides that, he's a nice guy and he's got some funny stories.
My only regret is that I didn't write this review earlier (sorry Dennis)!

We had a great experience with D.C. Construction. Dennis was very involved in the project, was almost always there when he said he would be (or let us know if he was not going to be there for some reason), and kept the project moving along quickly. At the start of the project, he had us meet with the cabinet company that was going to build our cabinets to help us design the layout. He provided us with references and arranged for us to visit one of his completed projects. We completely demo'd the kitchen, ripped out the dropped ceiling, installed new custom cabinets and appliances and refinished the hardwood floors. We also did custom cabinets in our front hallway and office, as well as in our family room (which included removing the brick face of the fireplace and installing tile with a new mantle). So there were multiple projects going on around the house at the same time, and Dennis ensured that all of the sub-contractors he brought in to do the work (cabinets, floors, tiling) were top notch. Whenever we had changes to the original plan, Dennis was always amenable to talking them through with us and making the changes. The entire project took about 13 weeks, and we were back in our completed kitchen a little less than 9 weeks after the day the demolition started. We heard a lot of horror stories about bad contractors from friends that have had major remodeling done, but we were very pleased with Dennis. For most of the project we were the only job he was doing, which meant he was very focused on getting things done. We are very pleased with the results, and would highly recommend Dennis.