Artistic Cabinetry in Oakley

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He was fair, he was a little lower than a couple other bids we had gotten.  What I disliked was he is more of a artistic person not necessarily a finishing carpenter.  So had some issue with the finished product once he got it in here.  We had molding at the top the bookcase and my husband definitely wasn't satisfied with that, he did not miter the corners.  When he brought it in and installed it they didn't meet and my husband was not happy.  My husband ended up doing the molding on the top of both bookcases.  Now they are perfect.  Prior to that he put puddy inside to make them meet and all that and my husband was like no you are not going to do that.  We didn't pay you that kind of money to put puddy inside that.  You are not a finishing carpenter obviously.  My husband took it down and re-did it.  He mitered everything like it was supposed to be.  He has the artistic abilities there, he's just not a finishing carpenter.  There were a couple other places that I didn't like that we had to have him re-do.  He thought we were kind of picky.  I told him it's not up to you, we are the customer and we are paying you for a service.  If it's not done correctly then we are going to have an issue.  We weren't asking for anything outstanding, we just wanted to make it right.  We just wanted it to be correct.  I wouldn't use him again.  We bought the wood and we had him stain it.  We wanted a particular stain we did a couple tries and we ended up mixing a couple of stains to get the color that we wanted.  As far as the cutting and the way it looks and all, it looks great.  It was just the install the was kind of messed up, the finishing touches is what he could work on.

He is punctual, creative and utilized out input.  His portfolio and web site are beautiful.  He built lovely furniture around 300 year old french doors.  He also built a CD/electronics cabinet.  He worked well with our builders schedule.

Actually it was all good. But the contractor sent a sub. This is why i was somewhat disappointed. I felt like I could not fully evaluate the person I paid for.

He did great work, and cleaned up every day.

He removed the old rotting steps and replaced them with new steps. He also installed a railing. He did the work very quickly and finished with plenty of time to spare. Jim did a great job.

The work he did was more than his quote, but everything turned out fine.

He did some rework for me.  He took the sliding doors and made them into by-fold.  He took them to his home and brought them back twice to make sure they were right.  I had another door that was once a regular door and someone did some botched the woodwork after they removed the door.  He redid the trim and made it look much better.  I had two other doors that weren't closing correctly and he made sure they were working correctly.  He did a great job with all of the projects.

They would get straight A's down the board!

The workmanship is fine, but the service was sub-par. Jim has someone he hands his work off to and that is where the problem began.  I've blocked his name from my memory.  The guy called me in August, asking when I was looking to have the work done. I was in no hurry, so he said he'd call back when his schedule freed up. He called again in September. We set a date/time. I have the ability to work from home when I need to so had made plans to do so. He couldn't make his first appointment because he said he had truck problems. We scheduled a second appointment. He called to say he couldn't make that appointment because he'd been called to jury duty.  And, he'd gotten the day/time wrong.  At this point I was becoming suspicious that this was a sham and furious so I called Jim. Jim came out that day and gave me an estimate for the work needed, said he'd handle it with this guy. For some reason I was thinking work would be performed that day but it was just an estimate. The guy calls and we made a THIRD appointment, which he actually showed up for. But, this guy talked my ear off. I told him I was working from home but I don't think he knew what that meant, he didn't respect my time while I was trying to work from home. When he arrived, he started walking around my home like he was in the tour of homes, commenting on various things in my home, telling me all kinds of stories. i'm okay with small talk to be cordial but this was beyond being cordial, it felt like he was lonely and he was looking for someone to hang around with. I had to work from home that day. At one point in the afternoon, he was launching into another long-winded story/comment and I told him I can't talk anymore I have to get back to work. I was really irritated because I did not feel like he respected the fact that I had to work from home. When I'm working from home I don't have time to chat and be in long conversations with service people. And at the end of the day he asked me on a date and that just p***** me off even more. I am not here to entertain service people or to be asked out on a date by someone 20+ years older than me. My shed looks fine, he painted the wood. He left the old screws laying on the deck. I wish it had been a more pleasant experience. I was waiting to write this so I would be more calm and objective about the experience.

I bought a Big Deal coupon from Artistic Renovations last July and spent the next six months trying to get someone to come do a couple of relatively minor woodwork repairs. After exchanging several phone calls with carpenter Douglas Rowe, I finally contacted Jim Williams, the owner, who apologized and assured me the work would be done. More time passed and I contacted Mr. Williams again. Another apology...and this time he said he would come and do the work himself if I could wait another month while he finished a big job. He was to call me at the beginning of February. In mid-February, I contacted him again. This time he made an appointment and showed up. I had two small projects to repair: the frame of my front door and  a badly damaged strip of wood flooring in front of my fireplace. He looked at both and then went to the hardware store. He returned and worked on the door frame, filled in the hole with a piece of scrap wood and affixed a new strike plate. He had been working for about an hour by then (including the trip to the hardware store.) His repair did make the door latch securely, but it was still a mess with the metal plate screwed onto scrap wood inserted where the wood had been falling apart. He suggested I get some wood fill and finish it myself...and pointed out a gap that needed to be caulked. Then he started packing up to leave. I asked about the floor repair and he said, "Do you want me to do that too?" Well, yes, I did want more than an hour's work for $89. That's when he explained that the vendor gets only 30% of the money from these Big Deal coupons, and went on about how people expect so much when all he got was about $30. I told him I would be willing to pay additional money if necessary to get my repairs completed, so he measured the flooring and said he would be back to fix it. That was two weeks ago and I haven't heard a word since then.

Mr. Williams strikes me as a very nice person... pleasant, sincere and professional in his demeanor. But an hour's work for $89 - especially after waiting for six months - is not really a good deal at all!

They are coming again tomorrow. They went above and beyond so we are using them for additional work. It was a coupon and then we added on. They were excellent. They were responsive, very professional and on time. We were pleased. Their cost was good. I am a very tough customer and we are continuing to use them.

They phoned me within a week of signing up for the deal.  But, It took a while for a date to be set and then that changed a few times.  Annoying but fortunately, I have a flexible schedule so it worked out.  There was some rotten wood at the base of my garage door on both sides.  After the carpenter dug a little deeper, he discovered the entire surround had rotted out, making the job more difficult then we both anticipated.  He demo'd and replaced all the wood and added really nice trim.  It was really well done wood work, good engineering and caulking.  He offered to paint but due to humid and rainy weather, just wasn't possible.   I told him I didn't have a problem painting once things dried out.  He gave me good advice on primer / paint etc.  Overall, good job!

I would rate them high.  They were very efficient and affordable.  The guy was reliable, honest and upfront.  Overall, they were excellent.  I would use them again in the future if need be.             

After sharing our thoughts about what kind of solution we were looking for, Jim did the rest.  He knew where to go and what materials to get in creating the perfect and permanent solution.

We found Jim to be talented, knowledgeable, and trustworthy.  What impressed us the most is that he actually listened to our ideas and placed a big emphasis on our satisfaction of his work.

Jim is definitely someone we would not hesitate recommending to others, and we look forward to working with him in the future.

Jim was very easy to work with. He completed the project by the date we asked. The quality of his workmanship is very good, and I am extremely pleased with the finished work. I would definitely recommend Jim Williams to anyone needing custom cabinetry work.

Very well.

Jim responded promptly to my call and prepared an estimate quickly. He started work on schedule and arrived each day around mid-morning. Jim's repair of my baseboard and crown molding section were excellent, as was his tile work. Jim's other work was not as successful; I fear that he took on jobs beyond his interests or skills. He repaired a hole in the soffitt, but didn't paint the new wood. His concrete step repair ($120) continued to crumble (he came back to try to fix it again yesterday and told me that he isn't "very good with concrete"). Two of my windows had upper sections that would not stay up. He replaced the window ropes in those ($210), but a few days later, the top section of one had dropped again. When I called to tell him that, he said "Yes, it didn't want to stay up when I worked on it." He came back to fix that, but didn't seem to feel responsible for actually fixing the problem. Jim's a great guy, but not great at handyman work. I think he's better at woodworking.

VERY GOOD WORK, DONE EXACTLY WHEN PROMISED. WORK WAS DONE QUICKLY, AND PRICE WAS VERY FAIR.

ALTHOUGH HE DID NOT CLEAN UP WELL, I LIKED THE GUY. VERY NICE MAN. I WOULD RECOMMEND HIM. THE QUALITY IF HIS WORK IS EXCELLENT.

EVERYTHING WAS DONE TO MY SPECIFICATIONS. HE IS VERY GOOD WITH COMMUNICATION.