D'Ambra Construction - Huntington Beach, California

Dale Giali

D'Ambra was the general contractor for a major, wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling kitchen remodel, including structural (lengthening beam & moving post into wall, strengthening footing), all new appliances (2 dishwashers, 2 sinks, pot filler, 4 ovens, separate fridge & freezer, cooktop, new vent hood/exhaust, etc.), cabinets, flooring, lighting, painting, etc.
We are absolutely thrilled with the gorgeous, high quality result. Could not be happier. We had an extremely positive experience with D'Ambra. Chris, Dennis and their subs are all just terrific. D'Ambra is very responsible and responsive, very easy to get along with, very timely and the pricing is very fair. No surprises. We highly recommend D'Ambra for any construction needs, big or small.

Kelly Brookland

I normally don't review places I've done business with but in this case I just had to. Why? Because of my experience with D'Ambra as compared to my neighbor's down the street who went with a cheaper contractor and ended up with total chaos. My project took about 7 months to complete because it was very involved. Whenever I had an issue or question, Chris was available with a simple phone call. Always around even on weekends if needed. That was refreshing. The quality of work was amazing, but what stood out was when I came home one day, he was there making the carpenter (who hired these two new guys) take down the crown molding they just spent the entire day putting up because he - yes - HE - didn't like. When have you heard of that? I honestly wouldn't have even noticed probably, but hey, he's the expert. Something about since it was floating to accommodate the rope light behind it, it was done wrong.

Now my project was quoted at $378k. Painting and flooring was not included. All in I was into the project about $410k. It was a large job. So my neighbor had them quote their house once they saw ours coming together and was floored at the quote. (They bought their house in the mid '70s for about $100k - hard to imagine spending double or more than that on just a remodel) So they went with someone who apparently quoted them about $50k less - supposedly for the 'same' thing. Honestly, it made me question what I was spending. But then about a month into theirs, they ran into me on a Sunday and opened up about their mess. EVERYTHING was an extra. Everything. 2 months in, they were already committed to over D'Ambra's bid proposal. The biggest problem they had was I think it was the same 3 guys were doing ALL the work. Plumbing, electrical, drywall and on and on. The quality is horrible. I can see it because I compare to my job. Of course I don't tell them that, but they know. It's really sad. The inspector told me he sees that stuff all day long everyday all around town and gave me the nod for hiring D'Ambra.

I'm so glad I made this decision because I don't know what I'd do had we been stuck in that mess. Thanks Chris!

D

Tammy Giuliano