Brian Dowdall

I ordered a new front door from Brian and he was super nice in the beginning of the process, but unfortunately disappeared at the end and would not (and is still not) responding to many inquiries. The door was not properly flushed and I could feel a breeze come in. The company that manufactured the door came and even replaced it (as Brian was not responding) and they said the bottom of the threshold is not sealed and had a few other comments that they said the contractor should be fixing. But he is gone with the wind ...

If you are looking for an honest, hardworking, caring, cost-conscious and attentive contractor then if you've found Brian Dowdall and his partner Jerry, then you found exactly what you are looking for. Brian has been doing work in two of my homes over the past 4 years. He came in after the massive winter storm several years ago and worked with us to repair our basement (we did a full upgrade including replacing the stairs from the mail floor to the basement), replace worn out front porch steps and deal with several leaks left after the storm. We knew we hit the jackpot when Brian's estimates were well within reason, he showed up when he said he would and he convincingly talked us out of doing a few things in the house that could have lined his pocket but didn't ultimately make sense for us to do. When it came time to prepare the house for sale, Brian was the first person we called to help fix all of the issues we had ignored for the past 10 years. He got the work done in a timely fashion and provided sage advice as to what to focus on. Having left Brookline for the burbs of Foxboro, we wanted to update our master bath. We called Brian and Jerry and got a very reasonable estimate for the work and hired them again on the spot. While the work was in progress, I needed to move my elderly dad up to Foxboro from Florida. All access points into the home required several stairs which was not going to work. We decided we needed to put a handicap ramp going into the side of the house and asked Brian if he could take that on. He asked when it needed to be done and within 3 days, our ramp was ready for my dad's homecoming. Not only did they get the ramp done on time, each time I came home with my dad, Brian stopped what he was working on to help me get my dad into the house safely. During a very stressful time, I felt I not only had a great contractor but also had one with empathy and compassion. Brian and Jerry's work is first rate and I always felt his pricing was fair and competitive. He will be the only contractor I would call if and when we need more work done on the house. The folks he subcontracts with are all first rate as well. Enjoy your project with Brian and Jerry and keep them talking as their Irish accent is just delightful.

Our problem was we did not receive an written estimate of the work he was going to do for the price he gave us of $1800. He came with different skilled people to do the work, specifically three electricians and a carpenter. It took three hours to do all of the work. When he left and after paying him, we felt that he had overcharged us for the work. We asked for a itemized receipt which he should have given us before. Since we had already paid him, we were hopeful we would still get a receipt but two months later we are still waiting. The quality of his work appears to be fine but we feel he did not do enough work to warrant the payment made and he was not responsive to our request for an itemized bill.

Brian Dowdall is detailed oriented, honest and fair. His crew were efficient and talented. The install on the wainscoting involved a lot of cutting around original window molding (home built in 1895). The carpenters were able to preserve the original woodwork which was very important to us. The new crown molding was installed into 8 foot ceilings and looks as if it was always there. The bevel work around some tricky corners is flawless. The exterior of the home had asbestos siding and some wood shingle. Our goal was to not have to replace the siding or cover it. Brian and his crew were able to repair and replace all damaged siding and facing boards allowing us to keep the cost down and avoid the environmental concerns of removing asbestos siding. The window install at the peak of the house allowed for needed ventilation in the attic. The newly installed cedar shingle surrounding the new window looks beautiful and decorative. Brian coordinated his team to work closely with our painters to keep the job moving. The cost was reasonable and on budget with the estimate. The work site was clean and equipment stored out of the way each day. I highly recommend Brian and his team for your next home improvement project.