DURKEE KITCHENS

Great design, wonderful to work with. My contractor caused a mistake and - even though it wasn't his - Eric and Mustafa (countertop pro) immediately jumped in to fix it. Have recommended them to several friends since, who have been equally impressed and happy with their work.

Durkee works with Classic Granite and we went there to pick our slab of granite from which the countertops were cut. Classic sent a technician to our home to create, via computer, a template. Amazing job! The Durkee installer came on a Monday, right on time, and removed everything. On Tuesday the Classic Granite installers came and did a beautiful job installing the new granite countertop. Before they left the Durkee installer was back and hooked up our new waste disposer and the kitchen plumbing. What an outstanding job everyone did! They were prompt, profession, and pleasant. It was an enjoyable experience from beginning to end.

Right from the start, Eric was straightforward and up-front about what was and wasn't realistic about my ideas. His directness and focus are a reflection of the precision and experience he will bring to your project. The quality and range of cabinet choices and options was excellent. There was no pressure re what to choose or how long to take deciding --I can be rather obsessive! Janice Durkee, as knowledgeable and helpful as her husband, helped me narrow my choices and options by pointing out specifics of form and function I never would have thought of myself. Once my decisions were made they moved forward immediately to keep the project on track. The cabinets arrived exactly as promised and right on time.
Choosing the countertops was also a huge, anxiety-provoking decision for me. It was made so much easier by the patience and professionalism of Durkee's associate granite genius . Likewise the folks at the tile company I was referred to: experienced, helpful and friendly. This was a cooperative, efficient team. We got the job done - right - and enjoyed each other's company along the way!
By the way, I'm sure our kitchen (photos attached if possible) was far from the biggest job on the docket, but you would have thought it was by the attention and focus it got. As you can see, it's on the modern side; Durkee handles all styles equally well.
I have only one regret: I allowed our contractor to pressure me into letting him do the installation -- I suggest you NOT do this. First, it took WEEKS, instead of days to complete. Worse, he made several small and one huge mistake that would have been disastrous, had not Eric and the wonderful granite genius (wish I could say his name!) taken it upon themselves to IMMEDIATELY and perfectly fix! Where others may have criticized or quarreled over responsibility, they jumped right in and chose to make it right. That's the kind of integrity you can expect from this outfit.
I've already referred two friends and both their jobs went perfectly and quickly with Durkee handling the installation. I recommend them highly to you too. Can't imagine you would do as well - or have a much fun and support with your project - anywhere else.

Planning:
Stuart helped me with the kitchen designs, using an autocad-like program that allowed me to and quot;seeand quot; the kitchen cabinets in dimensional looking renderings. This really helped me to visualize how the kitchen would (or wouldn't) function in the planning phase. He is very knowledgeable about all the aspects that need to be considered in a kitchen plan and how they need to work together to meet code and to function optimally. Also I never felt that he was pressuring me to increase to project cost, as I had when dealing with designers at one of the big box stores. In fact it was the opposite! He pointed me to the best deals when it came to anything from cabinets, glass door inserts, granite, and appliance suppliers. I did a lot of comparison shopping, so I know that he saved us money! Also when I had concerns, he listened well and often understood what I was trying to explain or ask, even before I was finished with the explanation. I wanted to do some non-standard design choices that the big box store designers really did not want to do for me (like allow room above the fridge and below the cabinet for my spices in their tray, or allow more space than usual beside the fridge to accommodate a step ladder, since I am short). I liked that the cabinet company that we ended up using was nearly local (Lancaster, PA), which made the job a little more environmentally friendly. The cabinets cost about the same as the estimate I had for Kraftmade cabinets from the big box store, but they feel much more solid and well finished. (Our previous house's kitchen remodel was done with comparable Kraftmade cabinets.) Also, the company is able to design them in much more custom dimensions for each job. The end look is very clean, no panel inserts to make up gaps.
Spec'ing the job on site before the cabinet order was sent in:
The owner, Eric Durkee, the foreman, Marc, and Stuart, the kitchen planner, all came to our house to look at the existing kitchen, take measurements, and even (with our permission, of course) open a soffit to make sure that the cabinet height for the upper cabinets could work without needing modification (an issue that they work around all the time, but is good to know during the planning phase, since the cabinet making company can build it right into the cabinet design, saving the installers time and effort on the job site). They did a lot of planning and trouble shooting right then. They answered our questions. Also, I loved that even though my husband was present, I was not treated as the and quot;little wife,and quot; as male contractors very frequently and unconsciously do to me. I never felt ignored or and quot;brushed off.and quot; At the end of that visit, my husband was very confident that we had the right team working with us!
Gutting the old kitchen:
Marc and his coworker, Elliott, began our job on Dec 5th, 2012, with the promise that the job would be finished (except for painting, they don't do that part, but recommend a contractor) by Christmas. 3 weeks. I have to admit, I was very skeptical. The kitchen was gutted in 3 days tops! They re-studdded out the walls and built in support where it was needed for the new kitchen design. Nothing was left out as an afterthought. So they never needed to redo anything.
The remodel:
Marc and Elliott did most of the work. They had great attention to detail. They brought in an electrician, who answered my husband's questions and fixed some existing electrical troubles, with such thoroughness that he earned the title, and quot;geek of his trade,and quot; a high compliment from my husband, meaning that this guy knows his stuff and loves his job! I was a smidge less impressed with their drywall guy, just because I felt I had to pull my 4 year old out of the house so that he (my 4 yr old) wouldn't learn some new words from the man. His work was fine. Although, the room needs one more sanding and a coat of joint compound and pointing up, before it can be primed. This means for us that we have to hire someone to paint the kitchen, since smoothing the walls and ceiling is a little beyond my skill level. (I was a painter before becoming a mom.) Marc kept such a tight and well coordinated schedule that I had to hustle to get the faucet. I thought I would have more time! He recommended I look at Faucet.com. I found the best deal and selection there, and they had free and super fast shipping! Can't beat it! We were steered to wonderful supply houses for our granite choice and appliances and the team made sure we made arrangements so that the kitchen could snap together as quickly as possible. Our new kitchen was mostly finished by Dec. 21st. There are just a few odds and ends remaining that were beyond their control. (I ordered the wrong kind of threshold end-cap and had to order another one. I need to polyurethane the wood for a doorframe before it can be nailed up.) Marc, during the job even did a few extras for us, like he fixed our toilet that tended to overflow because of having an incorrect part. He took 20 minutes out of his day to install the replacement part to make sure the toilet would not overflow again and destroy the kitchen ceiling.
The finished product!:
I can't praise them enough! I love my new kitchen! They have kept in touch to make sure we are ready to have the loose ends tied up. Our new kitchen is well designed, airy, has beautiful flow, is a pleasure to be and work in, and it is gorgeous!