Testimonial

 

Both Kevin and I are very happy with the work that you did on our upstairs bathroom recently. It really is quite beautiful to look at, and the level of detail and the quality of workmanship is truly first-rate. Thank you. Your guys, from the beginning of the demolition through the spackling and painting, were very clean and tidy. Your men are to be commended. Although I personally did not see the guys that were at our house every day, I did see the progress that was being done Again thank you for a job well done.

Bill Jaglowski"

"Marc-

 We had a graduation party for my daughter Sunday. The powder room is now the talk of Maplewood, South Orange and Beyond!

Thank you,

 

Lauren (Maplewood)"

"Mark & Lori

Thank for everything. The shower doors are in one piece! And they are great. It was really nice working with you.

Deb"

"Marc,

 Thank you so much for a job well done and for your care and concern for us. I hope we are still “friends” and I feel I can always get in touch if necessary.   

 Lori as well, was helpful to us in many ways. You are lucky to have her at your side.

Fondly,

Marilyn & Jack Kravitz"

"Marc Spector is no ordinary contractor. His business has an unassuming name, The Home Design Studios of Dr. Fix-it, But don’t let that fool you as it is a first class design and contracting business. Home design Studios is located at 215 Valley Street in South Orange.

We initially met Marc four years ago when we hired him to do some renovations in our prior Colonial home, circa 1913 on Maplewood Avenue. Marc renovated a bathroom, added an office to our basement, and made other enhancements to our home that were not only beautiful but in style with the age and grandeur of the house. We appreciated his work back then, but soon came to rely on Marc in a whole new way.

On December 16, 2008 our prior home had a bad fire. Running out of my office after I received a call from a neighbor telling me what happened, my first actions was to call Marc. Marc was talking to the Maplewood Fire Chief when my partner and I arrived soon after the fire. Marc was already assessing the damage and planning how we were going to address our family’s immediate needs. My partner and I were in Shock and thankfully Marc was there to help guide us.

Marc took the lead with our insurance company and within a short period of time he had put together a twenty five page estimate including electrical, plumbing and smoke restoration sub contracting costs. Marc’s detailed estimate, negotiating skills and singularly focused approach with the insurance company allowed us to obtain a generous settlement figure for our dwelling claim. Marc was also extremely helpful in advising us with the other two parts of our insurance claim, i.e the personal property claim and our alternative living expenses.

We had compled confidend that Marc was going to do a fabulous job renovation our charred home. Ultimatley, however, we decided to sell our home before the renovations began. We proceeded to purchase a new home in Maplewood that was entirely and gutted and needed a complete makeover.

We turned to Marc and began planning for the renovations at 20 Highland Place in February 2009. before we closed on the house. Marc quickly eye balled what had to be done and gave us a “ball park” figure. Minus our add-ons, Marc delivered on his target estimate! We created a new home—a kitchen, 2.5 baths, a master suite from raw space in the attic, a finished basement, a new electric heating and AC system, new plumbing, etc. We made minor structurally changes—such as enlarging the opening to the dining room by the foyer entrance—but spent hours painstakingly working through remaking the fireplace and other finer details throughout the house.

 We had a lot of fun working with Marc and going through the process. Where as other people told us nightmare stories about working with their contractors, we had a great time restoring this Queen Ann Victorian, circa 1905, with Marc and his team.

Marc is not a one man show, he has an incredible team of craftsmen behind him that implement and execute all of the agreed upon design strategies. Bobby is Dr. Fix its extraordinary carpenter, who is unbelievably talented—as well as charming. Bobby’s craftsmanship shines throughout our home, he carefully recreated moldings on every floor, enlarged the dining room entrance and built or exquisite deck. Giovanni and George are all around craftsmen who did everything and anything, that needed to be done. The floors are original and took a lot of sanding, repairing and staining to get them looking so beautiful—all thanks to Gus. Juan installed the tiling in our bathrooms and designed many of the intricate patterns himself. And there are others that helped too, including Rego and long list of assistants. And as is usually the case, the whole operation could not function without Marc’s wife, Lori, who is consistently working behind the scenes making sure everything, moves smoothly!

Marc was realistic about timing: never promising what he couldn’t deliver. While not “on the clock” Marc sent his men to help us get settled into two rentals before ultimately moving into our new home. He stored our outdoor furniture and other odds and ends, moved our hot tub numerous times and was always there for us. Need we go on? Marc’s work speaks for itself. We just wanted to let you all know how grateful we are to him for everything he did for us over the course of almost two years since the fire occurred.

Sincerely.

Maddy, Julie, Jessie and Caroline"

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