TESTIMONIALS
Cristi & John Ludwig, Bellevue, WA:
John Farrow has worked on a variety of remodel projects at our Bellevue home. He does an excellent job scoping out the work and providing a schedule and cost estimate. We always have a very developed plan when we work with John, we know exactly what has to happen and where the uncertainties are.
He also manages his jobs very well. He communicates on a regular basis about upcoming events, and he communicates when a schedule change has to occur. He meets the schedules he sets out for the project.
He has access to a good set of subcontractors, and he is on site with them to make sure that they understand the plan and can get their work done efficiently. Finally, we are very pleased with his work, it is all of great quality. We continue to work with him on new projects, and expect to call on him in the future when we need help.
Dr. Patricia L. Dawson & Dr. Donna H. Kerr
We recently marked the third anniversary of living in our home that John Farrow built. Although between John’s building it and our purchase there was another owner, John has treated us as if we bought it from him. We begin with this observation because it characterizes the pride with which he builds houses and the kind consideration he has given us as persons who dwell in the spaces he created. He has earned our trust and appreciation, even though he had none of a builder’s obligations to a first owner. That is the sort of person John is.
Although we have both been blessed to live in lovely houses, neither of us has experience a home that is functionally and aesthetically so well designed. There is a logic, flow, and ease of living here, which is created by five features. The first is the subject of the most common remark guests make: “Your home is so peaceful.” The second is the open space that comprises the living room, dining room, family room, and kitchen. It feels both cozy for two and comfortably accommodating of large numbers. The third is a kitchen in which it is a joy to cook. The fourth is sufficient storage – walk-in closets, storage rooms, built-in cabinets – to provide a place for everything, so as to make living in a shipshape way is easy. The fifth is the attention to light and perspective. Even in Seattle’s dark days, our house is filled with light; its sweeping views of the lake never cease to please. Although we did not have the pleasure of working with John and his architect, this house – better still — was designed in a better way than we could have imagined!
It is a true pleasure to offer this highest of endorsements to John Farrow as a homebuilder and trusted construction expert.
Christine A. Lee & Eric Vallières:
It is our pleasure to provide a letter of reference for John Farrow. We had the pleasure of working with John from November 2013 to March 2014 on a major renovation of a condominium we purchased in downtown Seattle. This is now our primary residence. We had no prior relationship with John or his company, Farrow Homes, when he came to us highly recommended by two sources: by our designer with whom we have worked on many projects and trust implicitly and by a close friend and colleague whose house John had built from the ground up. They both had great things to say and John lived up to all of it. In particular, we give John high marks in the following critical components of our project:
Integrity and professionalism:
Throughout the course of the renovation, John was a consummate professional. He was accurate in his initial assessment of the scale, timeframe and cost of our project; and he took care to anticipate where the Achilles’ heels in our project might be before we even started. This way, we were prepared when demo revealed one or two issues that needed to be addressed. When situations arose where extra work needed to be done (because of hidden problems that were not apparent until work on the condo had commenced), John either took care of it without charging us extra, or (if it was more extensive) involved us in an informed decision making process culminating in a solution that made us happy. He also responded well when we made some changes of our own during the project (adding a heated tile floor throughout the entire lower level, for example … .) or wanted to tweak the esthetics of something. We came to trust that our best interests were his highest priority and that it was exceedingly important to John that we love the final project.
Effective communication:
My husband and I have chaotic work lives and can be hard to reach during the day. John always kept us up to date (even when we made it hard for him to do so). He provided regular progress reports, keeping us closely informed of work crew schedules, delivery dates, and projected completion dates of different phases of our project as it progressed. We also found him available and responsive when we reached out to him.
Project management and Quality of work:
John selected sub-contractors carefully and managed them well. He is finicky and expects the best from everyone working on the project. He rejected a few products for minor flaws that we may not have even noticed ourselves and made sure that all of the subs lived up to our expectations. Our neighbors tell us that John’s crew was always respectful, made sure to avoid making noise during the expected quiet hours and were impeccable about cleaning up after themselves. In fact, a few of our new neighbors have voiced interest in using Farrow Homes for future projects.
Delivery date:
He knew we had a very tight schedule moving out of our old house and moving in to this new residence. He delivered the fished product (minus a few trivial details that have since been taken care of) on the due date as per the signed contract. This was really a first for us as never before have we had a contractor deliver the end product on time.
Budget:
John takes the budget very seriously and is precise in his record-keeping. It appears to be a matter of pride for him to stick to his original timeframe and cost estimates. When unforeseen issues surfaced (e.g. problems with existing fireplace, poor condition of existing concrete sub floor), he found creative solutions to minimize cost overruns, rather than maximizing his profit margin. In fact, the only real cost overruns that we encountered were due to changes that we requested during the project and the few relatively minor things that came up during demo. When the project was completed, all the work was done as expected and agreed upon in the original proposal, and there were no hidden costs, extra expenses or unpleasant surprises.
Follow-through:
Since our project was completed, we have encountered a few minor issues, mainly with appliances that were not replaced as part of the remodel and with some ceiling damage resulting from a leak in the unit upstairs from ours. Even though these really aren’t John’s problem as they were not within the scope of the original project, he knows our schedules are nuts and he has helped get these taken care of for us at basically no cost for his time. I am not sure how many general contractors would do that?! We have not encountered any problems with the work that John did, but I have confidence that if something does come up in the future he will address it immediately as he takes a tremendous amount of pride in his work.
In summary, we love our home. We have been extremely impressed with John’s work and would hire Farrow Homes again without hesitation.
Lawrence Bailey, Des Moines, WA:
I write this letter in strong recommendation of John Farrow as a general contractor.
I had the pleasure of working with John on a project to remodel the interior of a home that I just purchased. From our first meeting and throughout the duration of the project, John paid careful attention to ensure that my vision was implemented within budget. He accomplished this by providing me with the appropriate amount of details to maximize quality and value. I especially appreciated the time he spent explaining the details in a way that I could easily understand. Having been involved in remodeling projects historically, I especially appreciated John’s management of sub-contractors which was seamless and pain free.
I could not be happier with the workmanship of the completed project and there were no surprises. John Farrow would be the first person that I would contact for any future projects. He has more than earned repeat business, as well as my strongest recommendation to others planning home or building improvements.
Jeremy Katz, Seattle, WA:
… As a new home owner with no experience with construction projects, I especially appreciated the time he spent explaining the details in a way that I could easily understand, as well as his willingness to accompany me on numerous shopping trips when I needed to select materials.
With the work now completed, I am absolutely thrilled with the outcome. Everything turned out at least as well as I had hoped, and more often than not, even better. I bought my house knowing it had the potential to greatly improved, and John turned that potential into reality at an extremely competitive price. I learned many things throughout the experience of my first home remodel, and at the top of this list is to call John Farrow for any future projects.
Greg & Vania Rudolf:
We are pleased to provide a letter of reference for John Farrow and Farrow Homes. We have known Mr. Farrow since 2005. He was the builder of our home, which was built after we had arranged a pre-sale prior to construction. We worked closely with him and his staff over a period of nearly one year as the house was built. Mr. Farrow was always open to receiving our input and ideas about details of the construction of the house, even though it was not technically a “custom” design. In the end, the quality and appearance of the home exceeded our expectations, and we had developed a strong relationship with Mr Farrow based on respect for his professional competence and integrity, and fondness for him personally.
This past Spring we chose to repaint the exterior of our home, and to do some minor work on other aspects of the exterior and interior. We hired Mr Farrow as a general contractor for this work. Mr. Farrow hired excellent craftspeople to complete the work with quality and efficiency, and maintained a steady presence while the work was being completed, acting as our advocate and go-between. Without a doubt, the end result benefited from Mr. Farrow’s involvement, and costs were contained based on negotiations he forged with the subcontractors.
Mr Farrow takes a great deal of pride in his work and is uncompromising when it comes to delivering the best quality possible. He is a pleasure to work with, and provides experience, resources, and flexibility which are reassuring. We give him our highest recommendation as a builder and general contractor.
Michael & Joy Cafferty, Bellevue, WA:
We worked with John Farrow of Farrow Homes to do an extensive remodel of our home in Bellevue during the period of June, 2011 – August, 2011. The project was completed within budget allowing for change orders that were mutually agreed upon. His subcontractors were of high quality and his timing of their work kept the project on schedule. He does his homework and is very knowledgeable about all aspects of home remodel. He was visibly present at the house throughout the project and was very responsive to our calls and concerns.
Per our experience, we would highly recommend John for any and all interior house remodel projects.