In short, my wife and I are absolutely thrilled by the end result of both jobs. She is threatening to move into the kitchen because of the inner peace she gets from being there. I am only kidding a little. My expectations for working with a contractor are generally: 1. Does the estimate describe the work in sufficient detail for the customer to gauge its accuracy and track changes against it? 2. Is price in the original estimate plus any approved change orders held to? 3. Is the job schedule held to? 4. Are materials quoted in the estimate delivered as described? 5. Are the inevitable misunderstandings that occur handled in a professional way? 6. Are all punch list items satisfactorily addressed? Working with Dave and Jenny, the answer to all of these was "YES, absolutely". There were in fact very few punch list items, all were minor. Dave's estimated schedule was shorter than those from other contractors, but not only was the schedule met; he had time to take on additional unrelated jobs within that schedule. There were inevitable differences over materials and design, but Dave and his crew handled all of these situations objectively and was happy to see things our way, although we were smart enough to take a lot of his suggestions. To the list above, however, I can add a few more expectations for any future contractors, courtesy of Dave and Jenny's professionalism. 7. Are the contractor's suppliers and subs first rate? 8. Do the contractor and his suppliers provide added value in great ideas that the customer would not have thought of? 9. Does the contractor perform his work with the least disturbance to the customer's household? 10. Does the contractor think of ways to make the experience better than the customer expected? 11. Is the contractor a stickler for maintaining a thorough paper trail of contract transactions? Dave's employees and subs were all as dedicated as he is. They all worked fast and well. Dave pointed us to a number of trusted suppliers, who provided a lot of the good design thinking that resulted in the finished product, and with minor exceptions, delivered everything on time in perfect order. Dave is very particular about the suppliers he does business with, because their performance affects his reputation. If only all contractors understood this as well. Dave's innovations (things we would not have thought of) included using a pocket door in the bedroom closet to save space in the two rooms, using a nifty standard light switch with a slider button to replace an old rheostat knob, adding and rewiring switches and outlets for greater availability. In both jobs, Dave spent the better part of the first day securing the work area against foot traffic, dust and noise. Throughout, we had very little dust, and my wife was sometimes unaware that the workmen had arrived in the morning because they were so quiet. Dave taped masonite paneling on all approach area flooring - afterwards the floors were in perfect shape. At the end of each day, he ensured that all the work area was secured and clean. If there was any question as to the responsibility for a particular task, Dave invariably took it on. In fact, without asking, he and his crew did some project tasks that I thought were on my plate, which was an unexpected, but great relief to me, and were done a lot quicker and better. Dave and his plumber, after performing a separate plumbing job in our lower bathroom replaced suspended ceiling tiles in the next room that I had removed due to a leak. I was more than willing to pay them additional to install two outside hose bibs, reinstall cut-out tile in an upstairs bathroom, fix a leaking three inch copper drain pipe and patch and paint the ceiling that the leak had ruined. They did all of these additional tasks within the schedule. That was a new experience. Throughout months of working with Dave and his crew, regardless of any curve b****, Dave was patient, knowledgeable and pleasant to work with. Jenny's accounting and paperwork was thorough and consistent throughout. When we agreed on a possible change to the scope of work, a change order for my signature appeared before any work was started, and when I returned them for minor changes a couple of times she corrected them quickly and pleasantly. She and Dave work well as a team - work items we discussed with Dave were stated accurately on the estimates, contracts and change orders. Very little information was lost, which exceeded any prior experience I had had. They really make sure that they understand what you want, and communicate that to you. Jenny's Design Build not only met but far exceeded our expectations and we recommend Jenny's Design Build without qualification for any job that they are willing to tackle.