D. Cook Construction Comparative Summary

When D. Cook Construction takes on your remodeling project, the most important member of its design team is you.

Owner Dustin Cook calls the design process “ongoing and evolving,” built on close collaboration and daily communication between his company and its clients. There are no cookie-cutter solutions, no “product we stamp out and say, ‘Here you go, goodbye,’” he says.

Founded by Mr. Cook in 1981, D. Cook Construction is a general building contractor that specializes in remodels, additions and structural repairs.

Every D. Cook Construction project begins with a roundtable discussion that’s designed to set expectations and reach agreements on every pertinent aspect of the job. The number one objective, says Mr. Cook, is to “keep the client at ease, in touch with what’s going on.” With potentially large sums of money involved and clients “bound to have apprehensions,” he believes his role is to keep lines of communication open and calm jittery nerves. That’s why a retention amount—a portion of the overall payment—is set aside and left untouched until a project is completed to the client’s satisfaction.

Even after a remodel project is complete, lines of communication remain open, says Mr. Cook. It might be as simple as periodic follow-up calls to check that everything is satisfactory and functioning correctly. Or, for more critical items, the company might schedule regular follow-up calls or even an inspection.

The response to this approach has been overwhelmingly positive, says Mr. Cook. Customers relay the satisfaction of being told, “We can do that” instead of, “No, that’s not possible.’”