James Whelan of Clare Home Improvement is a true godsend. As a first time homeowner, I called about a dozen or so local and nearby contractors for an estimate to jack up the front porch and replace the footings. It became one big headache after another. Contractors were either charging an arm and a leg or alternatively wouldn't take on the "difficult" job. Most made me feel like they were taking advantage with the price. I called James Whelan one afternoon and he was able to meet at my house that evening even though it was a 45 minute drive from where he lives. He was friendly, knowledgeable and able to communicate the scope of the job in a way that wasn't condescending or curt. Although he humorously described the toughness of the job as "not HGTV," he put me at ease with his personality and openness. Although a family emergency postponed the start date, once the work began - it barely took him and his crew a week to complete. He is such a hard worker. Even the neighbors were impressed! At our first meeting, I had a gut feeling about Mr. Whelan and immediately trusted his craftsmanship and years of experience. I really look forward to using James and only him on more upcoming projects. read more

Clare Home Improvement LLC - Mr. Whelan fixed our front porch footings. - General Contractors Near Me

We did two projects, one an interior repair, second an exterior project. First one went well so we figure, no brainer who we'd use. You can't let this contractor do his own thing. You need to watch his workers so they dont cut corners that are expensive later to fix. You need to get the agreement in writing, otherwise promised work will be forgotten and you will have no recourse a year later when the cut corners finally reveal themselves. No matter how much they come with a sob story, stick to half on deposit and not another cent until the project is complete and a punch list is done. This is a business transaction and his employees financial woes are not your problem. I should have trusted my gut when the siding guy was working alone and using nails, now Im having someone come by to quote how much its going to cost to tear down everything and redo it. Appears they have the skill to do great small interior projects, but cant manage employees to do anything larger. But the one big thing, get a written contract or plan on paying someone else to fix problems later. read more

Beware of this company and stay away . We will pursue legal action . Water pipes are not up to code and cheap . After 5 years now we have to re do the floors bathroom and remove kitchen cabinets . More details will follow with his responses and pictures read more

James and his crew did an amazing job helping refresh and and restore the outside of our 1865 home. If you have an older home that needs some TLC to help preserve and maintain the look and feel, Clare Home Improvement is the company you need to hire. James has a tremendous amount of knowledge and appreciation for older homes. His team is meticulous to every detail and clean up. Thank you to the whole team (James, Monique, Kerry and team) read more

I couldn't be happier with the craftsmanship. James is a true carpenter that will customize your home to your liking. Check out Clare Home Improvement on Google. Pictures to prove he does outstanding work. read more

I had them do a kitchen for me and was charged 7000 dollars for shabby work. Where to start I could point out a lot of things But here's are a few. First I had a dishwasher that my brother gave me that he said was a bar dishwasher ( whatever that means) It was missing some part that I was going to get the missing parts but didn't feel confident in his installation. So I went to Lowes and got a new one After his work was done I found a leak under the sink and ask him to fix it After he left it still leaked so I wound up fixing it myself. One theashhold in the doorway was never nailed down and I had to fix it Now for the floor It was installed but made a lot of noise in the area for the entrance to the basement and now it Bow and acts like a wave on the ocean I have called him I have texted him And now I am posting to Facebook in the hopes that he will come and fix my floor. All those reviews that praise his work are questionable read more

I have used Clare several times over the past 15 years without any problems. Called Clare for this job, owner of Clare said he had a few things going on, but could get me the 2 best carpenters in town and he would supervise the job. Well, the 2 best carpenters had a hammer in one hand and a phone in the other. Job took way longer than it should have. It seemed fine when they finished and I paid the owner of Clare. Needless to say, several months later a whole 8 foot section of railing had come loose and fallen off the deck. Why, because they stapled the railing together!!! Called Clare, the owner came over and fixed the railing and shored up the rest of the railing with screws. About a year later, we noticed the middle part of our 30 foot long deck railing was bowing out about 3-4 inches from the rest of the railing. Called Clare again, he complained about the workmanship of these guys and how it keeps haunting him. He came and took a look and said he could shore up the railing. Well he threw a few lag bolts into the deck and snuck out without saying a word. The railing should have been totally rebuilt, those lag bolts made no difference in the bowing. But Clare refused to do the right thing. read more

James is a talented craftsman and a woodworking master; his work is his passion! I was fortunate to find a contractor who is knowledgeable but also business savvy which is extremely rare. James also brings humor and comfort to projects that could be extremely stressful. read more