Smallwood Design & Construction Inc

Fantastic.  Rob is very professional and all the sub-contractors he brought in were top-notch.  Work was done on time and on budget.  He won't be the lowest-cost option but the quality of his work is superb.  We since have gone back to Smallwood for another project (an upstairs deck that needed repair) and again, the work was done excellently and he brought in very good sub-contractors.

From the outset I was impressed by the presentation Rob Smallwood gave to me. I decided to go with his company and was hopeful, but you never know. Well, the project is almost done and I couldn't be more pleased with every step of this project. I wanted to be able to have Thanksgiving dinner in my new home and the project not only came in on time, but on budget as well. We had set a budget for the project and after doing preliminary design work with the designer smallwood had connected us with it project was over. They worked to make adjustments to bring it within the scope of our budget without compromising the quality of the final product. Smallwood sought competitive bids from the various trades--cabinetry, flooring, tile work, etc. and we ended up with beautiful results. The process was transparent also in terms of cost and schedule. There was a weekly site meeting to assess progress and upcoming work. We were provided with a spreadsheet periodically which showed us which parts of the project would be addressed and when. We knew when the cabinetry was due to be installed, when the flooring people would be doing their work, plumbers, appliances, tile, etc etc. if there were any changes to the schedule we knew beforehand and could plan accordingly. We lived in the upstairs during construction and the team accommodated us in every way they could. The project manager was always available by phone, was frequently on site, and the construction manager likewise. He was the one inside who was always available to answer questions for us and supervise all aspects of the construction. At the end of the project, (actually on Friday as I write this on Wednesday) the cleaner comes to clean and wipe down every speck of dust (and there was a lot of it!) so that we are able to move back into the space. I cannot say enough about this firm. Professional, accountable, easy to work with, and a truly quality product in the end. I am spoiled. If we ever move and I have to do this again, Rob Smallwood and his company will be the benchmark against which I will measure any other contractor.

He is very thorough and everything is transparent. I understand every step he is going through and I don't question anything that he is doing. He is very professional and responsive. We are just in the beginning stages. He put me in touch with a designer and I really like her services, too.

When we went to sign the contract, it was not ready and we signed a provisional agreement that allowed work to begin in March 2006. In June 2006, we had Rob Smallwood to the house to discuss problems that obviously were not minor. He refused to acknowledge that there was anything wrong and walked away so we fired him. He sent a bill for the last month’s work which we refused to pay until these problems were corrected - all previous bills had been paid upon receipt. After a couple of months he offered ~$5,000 for heating duct work. We refused, his lawyer sent a threatening letter and we hired an attorney and filed a countersuit. The case was settled out of court in June 2009 for half of the disputed amount. The project was completed by other contractors. However, attorneys fees and the not insignificant costs to correct problems caused by Smallwood’s seeming lack of due diligence (he charged for project management which presumably included oversight to prevent these kinds of problems) created unnecessary apprehension and added significantly to the original cost estimate of ~$450,000 of which Smallwood Design and Construction received ~$150,000.

They do extremely good work and are very reliable. They aren't the cheapest but they do things right.