Cook’s Kitchen & Bath, Inc. is a licensed design/build contractor that specializes in full-service kitchen and bathroom remodeling. Serving residential clients in Solano, Contra Costa, Northern Alameda and Southern Napa Counties, the family-owned and operated company manages every aspect of a project, including designing, bidding, planning, pulling permits, scheduling, ordering, installation, cleanup and follow-up.
President David Cook, with more than two decades of experience in the construction industry, says he has developed a keen eye for detail and a reputation for excellence that attracts all types of quality-seeking clients. “Our aim is to take the guesswork out of kitchen and bathroom remodeling. Most people have never been through the process and have no idea what to expect or what things cost. Our job is to guide them through the process step by step so they know exactly what’s happening.”
Cook’s Kitchen & Bath, Inc. is an authorized dealer for Dura Supreme Cabinetry, Grothouse Wood Countertops and Bestbath Systems, a leading manufacturer of walk-in bathtubs, curbless showers and standard showers. Cook’s Kitchen and Bath works closely with clients to meet special needs, helping to retrofit their bathrooms for both safety and comfort. Mr. Cook invites potential customers to visit Cook’s Kitchen & Bath’s Benicia design studio (by appointment) for more information.
“Remodeling is a relationship business! With so many variables involved, it’s up to us to educate clients about the process. To be successful, we take full responsibility, managing every aspect of every project from start to finish. Our ultimate goal is to have our clients walk into their new space every day, as long as they live there, and say, ‘I love it!’”
If your kitchen/bath contractor doesn’t answer "yes" to these questions, consider looking elsewhere.
By law, any licensed contractor must hand the customer a statement saying whether they do or don’t carry general liability insurance. Yet clients of Dave Cook, co-owner of Cook’s Kitchen and Bath, tell him their prior contractors have never complied with this requirement.
“It says a lot about some of the problems with this industry and some of the issues about integrity,” he says.
When evaluating potential contractors for your kitchen or bath project, it’s important to compare “apples to apples,” says Mr. Cook. He advises against making a decision on price alone.
Here’s a list of questions that can help determine whether a contractor adheres to high standards for quality, ethics and business practices.
• There are about 40 different classifications of contractor licensing. Are you and your employees licensed in the proper categories?
• Do you have general liability insurance? Can you provide the required disclosure form?
• Do your trade contractors carry general liability insurance? Are you named as “additional insured” on each of your subcontractor’s policies?
• Do you carry worker’s compensation for your employees?
• If your trade contractors have employees, are you a certificate holder of their workers' compensation policies?
• Does the Better Business Bureau accredit you?
• Do you guarantee your price? Do you use a fixed price contract?
• What are your dust protection measures? Do you site-protect walls, floors and other finished surfaces?
• Plumbing, electrical structure, wet walls around tubs and showers, and the opening of a wall all require permits. Do you pull permits for your work?
Your contractor should answer “yes” to most, if not all, of these questions, says Mr. Cook. Otherwise, you should consider looking elsewhere.
Even though Dave Cook's company specializes in kitchen and bathroom remodeling, he considers himself to be in "the relationship business." The best contractors don't merely see themselves as project managers, says Mr. Cook, co-owner of Cook's Kitchen and Bath, they take responsibility for the entire customer experience–with good communication as their key approach.
In the case of Cook's Kitchen and Bath, that customer experience resembles a well-oiled machine, calibrated to deliver on-time, on-budget and trouble-free performance, says Mr. Cook.
The family-owned company (Dave's brother, Christopher Cook, is co-owner) manages every aspect of your project from start to finish: Bidding, designing, planning, pulling permits, scheduling, ordering, installation, clean-up, follow-up and, of course, guaranteeing their work. This business model, known as design-build, spares you the hassle of juggling multiple contractors. More important, all accountability for your project rests with one company. When you have problems, there's no run-around; you know where to turn.
Moreover, the Cook's Kitchen and Bath team stays in constant communication with its customers. The company actively solicits ongoing feedback, says Dave Cook, asking, "What can we do better?" and "How are you feeling about the work?" Customers are never left frustrated or kept in the dark.
Cook's Kitchen and Bath has developed a highly regimented process that ensures bids are based on real-life considerations and not, as is a common practice in the industry, "allowances and wild guesses," says Mr. Cook.
Because Cook's Kitchen and Bath is a smaller company with only one or two ongoing jobs at any time, it will never pull its workers off your project because they're needed elsewhere. What it starts, it finishes–on time and on budget.