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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 2,500 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).
.
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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