Last year, my wife and I were involved in a major construction project at our home in Essex, NY. Our project consisted of building a finished double garage with a living space above. The project started in the spring of 2017 and was completed by late summer / fall, 2017. I write to highly recommend the builder, Ben Chamberlain of Flying Hammer Construction, LLC.
Mr. Chamberlain was the general contractor. As such he supervised the removal of the old existing garage, digging out and laying the new foundation and the overall construction of the building. Mr. Chamberlain, working with the architect, electricians and plumbers built a structure that is not only beautiful, but practical. We were impressed with Mr. Chamberlain’s skills as a builder and as a carpenter. Both his craftsmanship and attention to detail are outstanding. The project was completed on time and on budget.
Because this was a project at our vacation home, we were not always present during it’s construction. Mr.Chamberlain always kept us informed on the progress of the building and never hesitated to reach out to us when building decisions needed to be made. We knew he cared about our project and we took great comfort in that.
It was a pleasure working with Mr. Chamberlain. He is a smart and honest builder who takes great pride in his work. Without hesitation, I highly recommend him.
-H. Kennedy
Ben Chamberlain of Flying Hammer Construction recently completed a near total renovation of our cabin in Keene Valley, NY. In fact, they ended up rebuilding half the structure. The original cabin was built in the 1920’s as a summer hotel cottage, and had gone through many small renovations and additions over the years, leaving a very challenging mishmash of issues to work with. Our original plans and material choices were beautiful, but twice over budget; Mr. Chamberlain figured out how to amend the plans ands build a smaller but very similar version for half the money.
We now have an amazing, beautiful, modern house, with all the quirky charm and feeling of the original cottage. Visitor after visitor is wowed.
Mr. Chamberlain kept us abreast of things when necessary, but knew how to make solid decisions on his own, and keep the project moving. He kept us right on budget. If something unexpected came up (which always happens!) he knew when and where spending some extra time or money would be crucial and well spent. (He also upgraded several items, and redid some old footings he wasn’t fully confident about, out of his own pocket.) He and his crew worked cheerfully through the grim Adirondack winter, at a hilly work site famous for having snowstorms that no place else in town seems to get.
Ben has been a pleasure to work with from start to finish. My husband and I live out of state, so Ben was our boots on the ground on site for most of eight months. He is scrupulously honest and careful with both money and the correct execution of tasks. He has excellent people skills and stays calm and pleasant under pressure! His experience in the field enabled him to advise us on appliances, lighting, flooring and other materials, and design questions throughout. We were 100% happy with his judgment calls all along the way. He was glad to tweak things so they worked for us, and bring back his subcontractors if needed to get things just right. It really mattered to him that we were happy and satisfied.
I recommend this fine person, and his great work, wholeheartedly. You would be very lucky to have him onboard.
Truly yours,
-C. Twichell
It gives me great pleasure to writer this letter of recommendation on behalf of Ben Chamberlain Of Flying Hammer Construction. He has completed a significant building project at my home in Essex and I am nothing but pleased with the quality of his work, his professionalism and the outcome the whole project.
Ben moved quickly and carefully through the work over the past six months and answered any questions I had. I believe my new addition, done on the footprint of an old barn attached to my house, to be expertly done and with great care given to extra details and the vagaries of working with old buildings.
Aside from his obvious building skills, one of the things that helped me so much during the project was Ben’s design and artistic abilities. He was patient and understanding to help me make successful decisions about finishes and elements of the project— something I was not expecting but am grateful for. Throughout the course of the renovation, Ben was a consummate professional and was accurate in his assessment of the scale and cost of this building project.
I believe anyone would be fortunate to work with Ben. Sincerely,
-A. Sparre