In the summer of 2008 I bought a delightful apartment in a co-op building not far from Harvard Square. While the location was without equal and enjoyed lovely views of the Charles, the decor and maintenance of the apartment itself had been neglected since the ‘50’s, with both plumbing and electrical systems that dated to the unit’s original construction in the early years of the last century.
On the recommendation of one of my long standing business partners, I turned to Azem Dervisevic of Sincere Construction for help with a total renovation of my new home. The scope of work included removing and replacing the sagging, ancient ceilings and installing high density mass loaded vinyl acoustical insulation throughout, rewiring the apartment in it’s entirety to meet current codes, installing recessed lighting to modern standards, stripping, plastering, painting and refinishing walls and floors throughout – and that was before installing a thoroughly modern glass and marble bathroom as well as a bright, functional and airy kitchen to gladden the heart of any cook.
For most of the past thirty five years I have worked in and around commercial construction. I’ve hired literally hundreds and hundreds of contractors and subcontractors representing every trade and specialty, not to mention every shade along the ethical rainbow.
While I understand the process of construction very well, my exhausting travel schedule meant that I had, at most, a day every week or two to review progress, scrutinize billings and accounts, and generally ensure that the projects was moving along to my satisfaction. Azem’s military punctuality, obsession with the details not only of construction itself, but with the niceties of client communication, not to mention his constant availability on the phone or via e-mail, made him a pleasure to work with through a project that ran eighteen weeks and came in within two days of estimated completion. Above all, however, my trust in Azem’s organizational and professional abilities, together with my comfort with his ethical standards, made it possible for me to complete a major construction project with virtually no interruption of my otherwise busy business life and travel schedule.
In summary, then, here are my observations:
First and foremost, Azem is smart by any standards, a fundamental character attribute that makes him infinitely easy to work with in every respect.
Second, his pricing is fair. Some prices ran a little higher than I would have estimated, some somewhat less. On balance, his prices were what I should describe as “Right down the middle” – dead fair.
Azem never pushed extra work, materials or services, but didn’t hesitate to advise me when he thought I was making an ill-advised structural or aesthetic decision.
Azem and his crew are considerate of their working environment. As a newcomer in new residential community, he greatly facilitated my relationship with my new neighbors, a number of whom made a point to tell me how considerate Azem and his crew were over the course of a lengthy project. They were clean, quite and unobtrusive, and several chose to engage his services for their own projects large and small after observing the quality of his work in my unit, and the cheerful graciousness of his crews.
I honestly believe that one would be hard pressed to find a more competent, gentlemanly and responsible General Contractor for virtually any job metropolitan Boston.
Joel Tranum
