Testimonials
In our years of practicing architecture we have worked with many general contractors. Martin Willard is one of the finest we have had the pleasure of collaborating with. His ability to understand and sympathize with both the architect and the owner's concerns, his organizational skills and his high level of craftsmanship made the process of realizing a challenging renovation project seamless. One of the qualities that distinguishes Martin from other contractors is that he sets up at the job site and works from there. Our project was impeccably managed and every detail was taken care of. His experience and talent gave him excellent judgement and so through the collaboration the design got better, as each decision built on one another. Martin kept in daily contact with us, so that we always felt in tune with what was happening on the job site. We recommend Martin highly. If we could figure out how to build all our projects with him, we would.
Nancy Shapero and Bill McIlroy
registered landscape architect and registered architect
Shapero/McIlroy Design
Boston, MA
Martin and his team of professionals did a terrific job renovating and expanding our 1930’s brick colonial home, creating a media room with a vaulted ceiling, a guest bedroom suite with modern bathroom, and a walk-through breakfast bar in our kitchen. Martin also enclosed and heated our screened porch to create a four season room. Just as we had hoped, our house was transformed without losing any of its period appeal. At our request, Martin achieved an ideal blend of the old and the new, so no one can even tell where the one leaves off and the other begins. We told Martin, “We don’t want an addition that looks like an addition,” and he came through for us in every detail.
The six-month project was on time and on budget. Martin was always on-site personally every day, both working and supervising, and the efforts of his crew and subcontractors were unerring. We lived in our house throughout the project, and barely noticed any disruption. Martin’s conscientious approach was exemplified by the complete lack of dust and careful clean-up at every juncture.
We found Martin to be an excellent listener, and he seemed to understand intuitively what we wanted. There was never a problem that Martin could not solve, even matching exterior brick walls to the original brick and blending granite countertops in seamless fashion. The result is a house so appealing and true to its original design that it was featured on the annual tour of historic homes of Newton, sponsored by the Jackson Homestead. Our neighbors unanimously share our enthusiasm for Martin’s achievement, and we have happily recommended him to several of our friends, who have told us they experienced the same careful and caring approach, and beautiful, practical results.
We wouldn’t change a thing about our project, or the service we received. Martin is both a devoted craftsman and an honest businessman, who cares as much about his customers as he does about his trade. It is our pleasure to know Martin and to live in a house that features his handiwork.
Mr. & Mrs. B. White
West Newton, MA
Willard Remodeling Co. is a top-tier company that is reliable, timely, reasonable and honest. They worked on a major year-long project for us including the addition of a breakfast room, mudroom and bedroom with en suite bath, as well as the complete renovation of our kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms. Martin and his assistant Donny were wonderful to work with and unlike many other construction companies, actually are present at the job site on a daily basis and do much of the work themselves. Their attention to quality and detail is unparalled. As master carpenters they created rich architectural details, unique moldings, and finishes that beautified our home. It was a pleasure to watch them work at their trade and we truly felt as if we had artisans in our house.
Additionally, Martin and his team were extremely professional and patient during the whole process and went out of their way to ensure that we were getting everything we dreamed of plus more.
Beyond the client relationship, they are excellent at working with all other parties including the architect, subcontractors and other service providers.
Since the job has been completed, Martin and Donny have been back several times to add some requested touches and additional minor work at our request. We always look forward to their visits! We had selected Willard Remodeling Co. among three other Boston-based companies we investigated and have no hesitation to recommend them to anyone considering a renovation or new home. A homeowner would indeed be fortunate to have WillardRemodeling Co. work on their home.
Beth B and Fred M
We embarked on an extensive remodel of our modified split-level home in 2011. We worked with the architectural firm of LDA, and Martin was one of several contractors that we interviewed. We were impressed by the work he had done with LDA, and by the unfailingly positive references from his previous clients. Furthermore, we realized the scope of our project was an excellent match for Martin and his team. Perhaps most importantly, we were guided by our very positive first impression of Martin: he seemed to us to be forthright, calm, knowledgeable, experienced, and honest. We think it was an accurate first impression.
The job lasted from August 2011 to March 2012. We moved out of our home during that time, but were fortunate enough to rent a place nearby and visited the work site almost daily. Martin and his assistant Donny were always friendly and considerate. They were very diligent, arriving at the site early each morning, keeping the home extremely clean, and sticking to budget and timeline. Their work was always of the highest quality. Whenever issues arose -- whether caused by changes in the design, or by unforeseen developments -- they were handled intelligently and expeditiously. Martin was patient in explaining to us the technical aspects of the work, and he was patient with us when we struggled with certain design decisions. His subcontractors were of the highest quality as well.
We have been extremely happy with the quality of the workmanship. Since the completion of the project we have continued to feel that we can call on Martin and Donny, and we plan to use Martin again for any additional projects that we will undertake in our home.
Robert and Archana
We were embarking on a major renovation that entailed expanding the footprint of our Victorian house, reworking the layout of the first floor, redoing a kitchen and renovating two baths. Having done two prior renovations, we knew we wanted a contractor for this project who would dedicate 100% of his time to our job. Martin fit the bill perfectly. He was there every day, consulted with us daily, gave us regular status updates and ensured that we were totally satisfied with every aspect of the work. We loved his attention to detail and the fact that he would not execute on any aspect of our architectural plans until he was sure that it made sense, that we understood the costs, and that we would be happy with the results. Above all else, Martin is eminently fair, honest and upfront -- we made a number of significant changes during the course of the renovation, and Martin always explained to us what those changes meant, in terms of additional costs and time added to the project. Throughout our year long renovation, there was, literally, never a surprise. Finally, we love the quality of Martin's work. He is a master craftsman who seamlessly integrated the newly renovated parts of our house into the existing structure, maintaining the integrity of the architecture while giving us all of the updates we wanted.
Susan and Ken
We hired Martin as the general contractor for our 500K+ renovation of our 150+ year old house. The project involved a near gut-renovation of the rear wing of the house, updating the entire third floor, complete remodelling of five bathrooms, the kitchen, installation of AC through the house and new floor in more than 50% of the house, and several structural changes including removal of a chimney. We hired Martin on the recommendation of our architects and it was the best decision we ever made.
The project took two months more than the six months initially projected, and cost a bit more than the original estimate. The final product is of stunningly good quality - we are extremely happy with our home. Every aspect of the complex renovation was taken care of to the minutest detail under the watchful eye of Martin. The project took longer due to many complications which we did not anticipate. There was asbestos in parts of the house. Parts of the house frame were not sitting on the foundations! And we decided to change plans midway as well. Despite all this growth in the scope of the work, Martin was able to hold the pace steady, and bring the project to completion with what we considered to be a minimal delay. Going in to the project, Martin told us that he only takes on one project at a time, and spends his entire day at the project site. This feature was essential both to the quality of the work at the end, and the timeliness with which it was conducted. It also allowed us to change our plans midway introducing new delays, or inflating costs, leading to a house that we are in love with today. We are thrilled with Martin and his work. If we ever need to start a project again, we would go with him without a moment's hesitation. He was always available, very calm, very thorough. We never had to worry about coordinating with the electricians, the plumbers, the HVAC folks, the asbestos removers, the structural engineer, the painter, the cabinet maker, the painter etc. etc. - Martin was on top of all this. There was never any friction with the architects. And finally, the most important aspect, is that at the end the house looks beautiful and feels most comfortable. Renovations of this size are hard to cope with when you are going through the process! Choosing the general contractor is one of the most important decisions and we felt incredibly lucky we made the right choice! Madhulika Somasekhar and Madhu Sudan
"I found Willard Remodeling to be a talented, thorough and professional organization. Beginning in the pre-construction phase, Martin Willard and his team continuously helped my client develop a flexible, accurate project budget that helped finalize our design document package and resulted in a beautiful final product. The team worked with numerous installers and subcontractors, kept the owner and I in the loop on timelines and pending changes (which were few, and mostly due to undiscovered existing conditions), and worked diligently through some pretty miserable weather to boot. I also found Martin's warm, open demeanor to be particularly disarming and easy to work with. The job site was always tidy, and the project was completed on time and on budget. I heartily recommend Martin and his team."
Peter Nobile
Principal
LDa Architecture and Interiors
We are extremely happy with the job Martin did on our remodel. His work is meticulous and of the highest quality. He and his subcontractors are hard working, honest and fairly priced. We lived in the house through the duration of the project, which took over a year. It was a pleasure having Martin and his crew around every day and I was sorry to see them go. Martin is extremely neat and considerate and kept his work area very tidy, making sure to minimize disruption to the rest of the house. Our remodel consisted of an expansion of the square footage of the house and an update of about 50% of the existing space including a new kitchen, garage, laundry room, and 4 bathrooms. Martin managed the project to schedule and kept excellent communications with the architect, sub-contractors and us throughout the process. More recently, he has continued to help us out with minor maintenance issues and also came to my rescue when I accidentally flooded my laundry room causing damage on both the first and second floors. I would definitely use Martin again for any project, and could not recommend him more highly.
Marion Golin
Freelance Web Development
Work:617-964-7527
Cell: 617-835-3499
www.golinwebdesign.com
Martin Willard and his company have completed more than half a dozen residential addition and renovation projects designed by LDa Architecture & Interiors. The projects have ranged in size from $250,000 to over $1,200,000 in construction value and have included traditional to more contemporary styled homes. Most of these additions and renovations were completed with the homeowners still living in their homes and all required careful attention to detail and coordination with existing conditions and our design vision and documents. Martin and his team met these challenges with confidence and care while completing their work with a high level of craftsmanship. Martin is dedicated to providing his clients and their designers with dependable, high quality and value focused service. He is a pleasure to work with and we hope to continue to work with Martin in the future.
Douglas Dick, AIA
Principal and CoFounder of LDa Architecture & Interiors