Brook-Mill Homes Niagara Inc.

Highly recommended. My wife Kim and I were looking for a general contractor who could completely renovate a kitchen and pull together anything and everything that was required. Through a neighbour, Dan Santin and Brookmill Kitchens were referred to us. We met with Dan and found him to be knowledgeable in just about every facet of home building and renovations – especially kitchens.

Our project was a complete renovation of a large kitchen in our 20 year old bungalow. Everything was removed, right back to the bare floor and walls and we had a wall removed that closed off the kitchen from the rest of the house. We purchased new appliances and Dan installed them into the finished kitchen. It’s a large kitchen, measuring about 22 x 22 feet, wall to wall.

Our only complaint was the amount of time it took to complete the project. We had expectations of three months but it took closer to six – it seemed that the last 20% took 80% of the time. We became a little frustrated. All that said, we’ve come to accept that many large renos take considerably longer than planned and on reflection, we contributed a bit to the delay. We have a neighbour whose contractor went out of business after they had only partly redone their kitchen – a nightmare scenario.

Now for the good. Many delays in renovation projects are due to indecision on behalf of the homeowners – and we were no exception. Dan was able to work with us to make those decisions easier. In fact, he made several valuable recommendations that we didn’t even think of. The most important was the choice of material for the countertops and backsplash. We had not been aware that porcelain was such a versatile, durable and beautiful alternative. Dan arranged for us to tour a supplier’s huge inventory where we were able to select some fabulous materials. He directed us to a lighting supplier who was very helpful in narrowing our choices. We knew we wanted to paint the kitchen and main floor grey – but what shade to choose? Dan showed us the exact right colour. On and on it went – little recommendations here and there that were really helpful.

On a project of this size, you can always find SOMETHING to nitpick – but we are really proud of the end result – it’s a beautiful kitchen, one that we both enjoy spending time in. In the end, it’s the final product that matters – a couple of months delay in exchange for a lifetime of enjoyment and a showpiece kitchen.

In summary, we’d recommend Dan for your kitchen renovation. His pricing is reasonable and his advice and recommendations are invaluable. A final comment about Dan – although the delay tried our patience mightily, we really like the guy.

Don & Kim

NOTL