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This growing work had inspired us to
develop this alternate web site to reach clients through the Internet.
These days over half our gutter clients reach us on-line, and over
80% of the custom copper work is for out of State clients. This
custom copper work has begun to over shadowed our gutter replacement
business.
I had first published
my web site for the gutter business back in 1996 under
http://dmrgutters.com,
but at that time the web address on the side of my work vehicle
got more attention than the actual web site.
Over
the last decade this has gradually changed to the point that our
web site is now more beneficial to our gutter replacement sales
than even referrals. We have now published over 3,000 photos
and put thousands of hours into it's development over the last decade.
Homeowners have become a lot more web savvy. More and more people
are carefully research the web to find something better than just
the normal contractors who talk a fancy jargon, but only deliver
a fraction of what they promised. Looking in the local hardware
stores or in their Yellowpage directories just isn't cutting it,
so Homeowners are beginning to network on-line through web sites
like
Angie's List and
The Old House
Web .
We struggle to find the best quality
parts available at a reasonable cost, yet sadly our suppliers report
that we seem to be the only contractor in our area who consistently
buy the better materials, so it is not profitable to stock them
for just one client. It seems to be true; as I have not personally
met any decent roofing or gutter contractors in our local area.
If you are not able to do the installation
yourself I wish you good fortune finding a reliable contractor in
your area. I have several links to
Angie's List here to help our clients find relatively competent
and honest contractors in their local area to do the installations
of our products. If you are able to find a contractor that
you feel comfortable with, have them look over our web site here
to see just how we do our installations and have them contact me
with any questions. If they claim they completely understand
just what to do already, that is probably not a good sign.
I will be able to provide all the high quality parts and stainless
steel fasteners with detailed installation instructions for them
to use. You will not want to trust them to get any of the parts
needed. Even the lumber. I hope you do not think I say this
to pad my pocket with more sales $. All the contractors I
have met see the building codes as a thorn in their side, where
I see it as a minimal guide line: just as they were intended.
I honestly seek to raise that bar after seeing what commonly fails
in construction over the last few decades. I would not want anyone
to work on my house who's only hope is the parts to last a year.
Just enough to avoid any liability. About 25 years ago, this
was the motivation that inspired me to go into construction, after
needing to figure out how to do everything on my own. Schooling
was useless, since their primary focus was how to get jobs that
can be done fast and cheap, so they would be profitable and contractors
would financially succeed.
We stand behind our quality with our
extensive warranty (see: our
Warranty & Service web page for details).
We provide a 20 year manufacturing warranty on the copper products
we sell. The only reason we do not offer a longer warranty
is that it would be unrealistic and would insult your intelligence
to offer more. Where will I be more than 20 years from now at the
ripe age of 65?
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One of my copper chimney caps
after only a few months on a
beach house in New Jersey
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What are Our
Qualifications?
I am personally
diligent to respond to client e-mail within 24 hours, but it can
take as much as a dozen hours of my time to get all the details
ironed out over the course of several weeks of correspondence with
a new client on a small one time project. That is depending on how
fast the client responds back with the info I need. Then several
more hours to design, fabricate, box up, and ship a simple $200
roof cap.
Besides my high standards and good ethics,
I (David) had been tested to have an
unusually high aptitude for math, a 99% mechanical aptitude, with
an unusually good aptitude for spatial arrangement as well. It takes
these abilities to visualize and diagram new original designs for
fabrication and make sure it will be strong to last over a century,
easy to install, as well as decorative. We strive to place a lot
of focus on strength and function. If built well; it should be able
to last well over 100 years and be reused each time it needs re-roofed.
That is why we supply the stainless steel screws along with a new
#3 Phillips tip to do the installation with, so it can be a cherished
heirloom.
David was highly interested in art since third
grade. At 17 he got his first professional contract to make a life-size
Darth Vader
for the promotions of Empire Strikes Back
(first release) with working
LEDs in the belt units and a lit light saber. All built on a shoe-string
budget of only $300. One of his artistic passions is authoring these
hundreds of web pages, but most notably is how he is the primary
designer and fabricator of the copper work you see here.
One reason that David has these talents is
his Grandfather (John
William Rich) was a brilliant inventor of several well
known products, but most known for his Rich's Frozen Food Program
back East, and his TV chairs seen at large airports and bus terminals.
But his greatest invention was the development of the Rich's Safety
Bumper for cars and City busses made of a large hollow rubber cell
filled with water for the low-tech hydraulic absorption of the impact.
It made driving like playing bumper cars; with his 15 mph no damage
bumpers, offering drivers a 20% discount off their auto insurance.
He stepped on the toes of the major auto makers here in the USA
and his company was crushed like an annoying bug. You can read more
about it on our
Ethics web
page.
Tia has demonstrated a talent in artistic
design and has assisted in designing these web pages
since early 2000 and helps proof read them. She also consult in
design ideas for copper work and helps in the shop.
Tia's Father worked on the robotics of the Disney rides
in California, and her Mother was very involved with crafts and
paintings.
This attention to detail and reliable
service has earned me a spot as finalist 2 years in a row for the
BBB Business Integrity Award (shown below).
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What about contacting you and good communication?
We have been told by numerous clients that
in searching the web for this sort of information; we clearly have
the most comprehensive web site on custom copper sheet metal design
and fabrication in the world, with our 200+ web pages and over 2,500
photos, that link to full screen digital images for a better look
at our work and price examples that those clients had paid. You
are likely to agree. Some people feel we
have over done it here with so many photos, but these are from the
pictures I take to send to the client each night while working on
their project. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so
I do what I can to best communicate with our clients through the
process.
We feel there are already hoards of simple
web sites that you could navigate and read over within a few minutes,
but that is not the grouping we want to compete with. We virtually
stand alone here on the web for an on-line store front for a small
business like ours.
If nothing else this
web site shows our commitment to good clear communication, which
is very important to us. We are careful to check our e-mail at least
twice a day and respond within 24 hours. If you had not heard back
from us within that time, call our toll free # you will find on
our Contact Info web page to check if we
received your e-mail. We will answer calls personally, but we do
not quote projects over the phone for a couple reasons: (a) it
often takes an hour or two to do the careful calculations and write
up a detailed quote. (b) it is foolish to rely on memory as to
what the terms were, so through e-mail we will both have a written
record.
We specialize in custom copper designs.
We rarely get a chance to reuse a pattern or template a second time,
since each clients needs have been uniquely different. We actually
encourage unique designs, as opposed to pushing clients over to
generic designs by offering discounts. The only discounts
we offer are for clients who have carefully read through our web
site and have provided us with all the info we need to provide a
quote in the first e-mail exchange. There is also a volume discount,
but that rarely happens.
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