Yankee Renovation

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Yankee Renovation's work was of the highest quality, professionalism and timeliness of any renovation job I have ever heard of! While it was our family's first renovation job, I can only imagine that few home renovations as extensive as ours stick to the timeline with as much diligence as Yankee. But that was only one of the positives of working with Frank Judge and his team.
Frank kept a constant eye on our expenses! As a young family we were deeply concerned with the inevitable and quot;overagesand quot; that everyone associates with contractors- and while we did go over the original estimated budget, it was only with projects related to the age of our home (inevitable OLD electrical was discovered that needed updating, our uncovered floor need major leveling) but not with the original project scope. Frank kept us up to date with all happenings during the project, so we never felt surprised by any of the obstacles or costs associated.
Frank and his team were also conscientious of our home (and our three indoor cats who had to live through the day to day!). Frank and Brian carefully blocked off all access points to the renovation to keep dust and demolition dirt out of their living area, and even corralled our cats on their one escape attempt! Every evening I would return to see the front hallway thoroughly swept, the tools more or less cornered in their and quot;placeand quot; and the doors locked and alarm set. I never felt like our home was left in disarray even in the most destructive of phases (like tearing down the walls!).
I also appreciated the professionalism of the sub contractors. The people that work with Frank are clearly experts in their field, and reflect his highest standards. Everything from the and quot;unseenand quot; work, to the final installed cabinets were of highest quality, and passed inspection with no problem.
From the very beginning, Frank Judge was there to answer any of our questions, help us navigate through our first home renovation project, and maintained the highest respect for our space and our family's needs. In short we will be working with Frank on any future projects we undertake, and highly recommend him to anyone looking for a superb renovation experience with the finest quality end product.

Frank Judge from Yankee Renovations is the best contractor with whom we've ever worked. He has over 30 years in the business and is booked solid because of his reputation for excellence. (We were lucky to get him because a job fell through so he had the time for our job.) Frank is smart and hard-working and knowledgeable and calm when problems arise. (Our old wiring made the new A/C unit that had been installed short out, and Frank and the electrician dealt with replacing the wiring and getting a new unit at very little cost to us without getting us involved in the drama, for which we are grateful.) Frank's subs are top notch and loyal to him and did amazing work that was on schedule. Every one on the job, particularly Frank's assistant, Brian, was respectful of us and our home (since we lived in the house through all of this, after a year of living through interior renovations with another contractor.) Frank was great at communicating throughout the job and was very fair about pricing, particularly when surprises occurred, which they always do.
Frank is a nice person who really cares about his customers' well-being. He often would carry in groceries for me, referred me to a medical specialist for an allergy/headache issue I was having, and came on a Fri night after my young son locked us out of the house (and the hide-a-key had disappeared), climbed on his ladder in the pouring rain, and went to every window until he could find one open to climb into! (My husband, who had the only other key, was in Chicago on business.) As Frank says, and quot;We are a full-service operation!and quot; And indeed he is.
Frank is the only contractor we will use from now on. I would highly recommend him.

Frank was great with helping us come up with ideas for our bathroom facelift.
We had cracked tiles that needed replacing, but the tiles were no longer being made. Frank suggested we replace the tile around the tub and then adding wainscoting around the rest of the lower half of the bathroom. We picked out a new vanity and toilet which he installed. We also had our very old tub resurfaced and a vent fan installed.
working with Frank was a breeze. He is honest and hard working. I trusted his opinion throughout the project and the outcome was better than we had imagined, I will hire Frank for all our future projects.

The service received by this company was exceptional. They promptly returned my initial call and came over to view the site. From the beginning, Frank (the owner) was very cooperative and forthright. I had asked for a preliminary estimate to help we budget expenses; this estimate was very close, and the only reason my final estimate was larger was because several of the cabinets I ordered were special ordered.
Frank recommended both a cabinet dealer and a granite dealer, and met me at each of these locations to discuss the various items available. My original estimate in time was 3 months; the actual time was about 9 or 10 weeks. All of the workers that I met who worked with Frank were very professional, and everything was well cleaned up when done. Anything about the final product that I was not 100% happy with was my own fault (e.g., I hate the refrigerator I chose).
After the work was finished, I had two minor electrical problems. One was a GFI button on an outlet, and the other (a partial loss of power) had nothing to do with the kitchen work (is was the electrical service provider problem). However, both Frank and the electrician he worked with were very responsive to my calls.

It was a wonderful experience throughout. Frank is an honest, good guy that really watches out for his clients.

The whole project went really well.

Our daughter lives in a condo, and Frank was very considerate and diplomatic with the other condo association members, which was a significant component in helping the overall project run smoothly. We highly recommend him.

Frank Judge, owner and general contractor at Yankee Renovations, made a great impression from the start: not only was he the only contractor we interviewed (out of 5) who was able to bring forward a quote within a week, but he was the ONLY general contractor who brought in his HVAC and electrical contractors in to see the work within that week, only to make sure his quote would be as accurate as possible. By the end of quote week, he had been to our house 3 times (compared to the other contractors who just came in once for a look). Although we did receive other quotes that were considerably lower than Frank's, we felt strongly that Frank's was the only quote we could trust. When Frank gives you a price, he will try to stick to it throughout. In our case, the original quote was for $36,000. However, due to (inevitable) adjustments and a few structural surprises, the final price ended at $40,000. Any job should budget for these "surprises," and we knew that going in. But that was better than accepting a quote for $27,000 and watch it balloon up to $40,000. The expectations must be set realistically, and Frank was the only one that gave us a realistic price. As opposed to other contractors, Frank never nudged us against getting permits. He was always 100% ready to go to the town hall and get his papers and inspections in order. This was a KEY selling point for us. In fact, the day I called him to give him the job, I had a surprise for him: we had just found out that we needed a permit by the NEXT DAY in order to apply for a certain loan at a specific interest rate. He immediately flew down to Norwood city hall and worked his magic even though he had not previously had a relationship with any of the inspectors in this town. Miraculously, he was able to get the permit that same day (they normally take anywhere from a week to a month). The basement was completely gutted. We had already taken care of removing asbestos tiling and old studs off the walls. Frank's job was to take our architect's design, and make it work. This included installing a brand new furnace (in a different orientation as the last one, making the job more difficult), create a big closet space, tear down a couple of walls, lay down tile floor, put up walls and insulation around the house, and paint/insulate and lay down carpet in a room in the basement. It was not a small project. Frank's crew started work on the last week of October, and gave us a quote for 90 days. He finished the work completely by January 17th, marking 84 days of work. He is likely to quote a high date range, and strive for finishing weeks early. In our case, we were out of town for part of December, and for the last few weeks of those 84 days we were waiting for the right time to complete the inspections. However, the actual work was done within 60-70 days from the start, which pleased us very much. Frank's team was clean and efficient. They kept a neat work site, and always worked during the day, such that we were never bothered in the evenings. Frank was always in touch. He picked up his phone 90% of the time, and the rest of the time he replied to voicemails on the same day or the day after. He made sure we always knew what was going on with the basement. We felt communicated to every step of the way. Frank also was willing to work with us on paying for certain things with a credit card, such that we wouldn't have to wait around for a building loan to come through to come up with the cash for the job. For instance, we paid for the floor tile and the furnace by credit card on our own. Not only was he willing to work with us on a realistic payment schedule (which was based purely on building milestones), but he also looked for the best deal for us. For instance, the floor tile was the same kind he used in a previous job, and he found out that the company was discontinuing that particular color. So he got a 50% discount on the tile, which saved us an important amount of money. He also helped us pick a carpet that was to our liking, and he alerted us that there was a particular color that was on sale. He tried to help us save money wherever he could. He was also very open to suggestion. I am not an easy customer. When I set my mind to one way, it is very hard to change my mind. With Frank, it was never him against me. It was always "how are WE going to make that happen in a realistic fashion?" He had great points and showed an immense amount of patience with me. He talked me out of having hard wood floor in the basement, and he was right. We could not be happier with the results. We have had no issues with the end result of the work, and we feel very lucky to have found Frank to guide us through it and to help us accomplish it in just 2 whole months of actual labor. We were never disturbed, and we were communicated to every step of the way. I always said I would pay a premium for hiring someone who could give me the same peace of mind as Mike Holmes gives to his clients on his famous HGTV show. I would dare to put Frank Judge on the same level. We are still in touch with Frank, and we do hope he will help us build a master suite addition in a few years. He has built his business on relationships, and we are comfortable entrusting him with any job that may pop up in our home. We would recommend Frank Judge for any remodeling job.

All the jobs we have done with Frank (large remodel including kitchen, master bath, master bedroom, complete gut and remodel of basement as well as a number of other smaller jobs) have all gone very well.

Frank Judge/ Yankee Renovation truly know construction and needless to say, the bathroom was finished in three short weeks, on time. He was friendly and enjoyed connecting with us as the client. He went above and beyond other contractors in numerous ways! He was energetic, forthwith and a skilled listener. He was always pleasant with us and importantly, stood/stands behind his work! Frank and his crew were on site everyday! They helped us with an architect, the town, decorators, finishers and others with every part to the job, we never felt bereft. Frank Judge has +30 yrs. experience and expertise which exerts knowledge of quality work and individuals. He possesses the highest personal integrity and commanded the job to be completed on time, budget, and in the best quality. He even came back to check up on his work and repaired/repainted the ceiling do to cracks from moisture, to no fault of his work. He also helped us out with some flooding incidents; what dedication:) We have the upmost respect and confidence for Frank Judge and Yankee Renovation. He is personable, interesting and has a confident personality that is unmatched. We are thrilled to have met him and the company, and consider them more than renovators. We highly recommend Yankee Renovation for your renovation,remodel, addition or new home, wish them the best, and look forward to hiring them in the future! Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

All our projects with Frank have gone very well! The large addition was finished on time and on budget. No one believed me when I said it would take 3 1/2 months, but it did! Frank is reliable and you can tell he really cares about his clients and takes pride in his work - of course that is why we keep having him come back. The recent basement remodel was also on time and exactly on budget. He had great ideas that improved the project such as the design of the custome cabinetry we had installed. I have recommended Frank to many friends and a number of them have used him fo their projects.