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When it comes to building or remodeling your home, you want to ensure it’s in the best of hands—but a trustworthy team who can faithfully execute your vision might seem next to impossible to find. To learn more about what makes a reliable and able contractor, we talked to the experts at Donjo Construction about their residential services and what sets them apart from the competition.
What are the most important things to ask before beginning a home-improvement project or new-home build?
During our initial consultations with potential clients, we always ask them the most important question: “What made you decide to renovate your home, or build a new home?” The answer to this helps us provide sage advice on how to help them proceed.
For example, if a client is looking to renovate to increase the value of their home and sell in a few years, we want to make sure they make design decisions that are not too trendy. If a client is expanding their home because they have outgrown their space, it’s important to know how that space will be used. Aging-in-place requires design that ensures mobility safety, for example.
Another important question is budget. As each home and each individual is unique, there is no one-size-fits-all budget for home renovations. We work to maximize their budget so they can get the dream space they deserve. We like to say that remodeling is for the future. Clients should aim to make an investment that continues to offer returns.
How do you ensure that you capture a client’s vision?
During what we call the discovery and develop phases of our process, we capture as much information as possible about the client’s wishes. Depending on the complexity of the project, this may include 3D renderings and architectural input. We discuss and capture everything from optimizing space and ensuring fusion and flow from the old space to the new space, to maximizing natural lighting and other elements. In the age of Pinterest, we can also see their design preferences. We use those as guides to help them find the right finishes within their budget. Once work begins, we perform regular site visits to inspect the quality of work and provide updates to our clients.
What separates your business from other construction companies?
Many companies woo clients with their leadership, and then as soon as a contract is signed, they are passed off to lower level managers. At Donjo Construction, we pride ourselves on the relationships we develop with each of our clients. Our leadership is in constant contact with them to ensure the project is going smoothly and meeting expectations.
Our leadership is also not afraid to get their hands dirty. One of our guiding principles in business is a book called Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life (our CEO played rugby his whole life and the All Blacks is one of the most successful professional rugby teams in the world.) One of the first principles is what they call “sweeping the sheds.” This means that no person—whether senior in status or not—is too big to do the small things that need to be done. For us, we are never too big to do the small things. We do whatever it takes to make our clients happy to get a job completed.
Besides residential work, what other services do you offer?
We are a full-service firm, which means we provide ALL the services required to get a remodeling job done—from plumbing to flooring to electrical and HVAC—our services run the gamut of everything a client would need for any home service. We are also a registered builder and can build custom homes.
Additionally, we also provide remodeling services for the commercial sector. Recently, we remodeled the new The Rice Crook restaurant in Cross Street Market, we have worked on parts of Earth Wood & Fire, and also provided electrical services for Abbey Burger Bistro in Mt. Washington.
