Cheney Construction

Cheney Construction is a small Outer Cape general contractor run by Fred Cheney, working Orleans, Eastham, East Harwich and North Chatham. Houzz files the business under the owners' names, Debra and Fred Cheney, and the work described by customers is the classic small-builder mix: porches, additions, kitchens, basements and whole-house renovations. What customers write about him is unusually consistent on two points - he shows up when he says he will, and he is meticulous. In a 2014 review a repeat customer who had used him for several jobs, most recently a basement remodel, called him extremely fussy and a neat worker who starts and finishes when he says, and added that his subcontractors give him rave reviews. In a 2016 review a homeowner described a new screen porch finished quickly enough to use that summer, then a kitchen renovation where he removed a wall between the kitchen and dining room, installed a support beam, hung the cabinets and brought in plumbing and electrical subs. He also takes on the hard Cape jobs. In a 2014 review, owners of a 200-year-old Chatham house said they chose him to renovate and expand it because the project had to satisfy both neighbours and the town; they described him sitting tight through approval delays and then working efficiently once permits came through. Price comes up repeatedly and always favourably - reasonable rates in one account, competitive pricing in another, best prices in the third. The written record is dated, and that is the honest caveat. Google shows five stars from five ratings and Houzz five stars from three, but the newest readable account is from March 2020 and the three detailed ones are from 2014 and 2016. The most recent signal is an April 2025 Nextdoor thread in which a Harwich neighbour, answering an Eastham homeowner looking for a kitchen contractor, simply passed on his name and number. He is a good fit for someone who wants one experienced builder on site rather than a large firm, especially on an older Cape house or a permit-heavy project. Because the written accounts are several years old, ask for two or three references from the last couple of years, and confirm his current Massachusetts Home Improvement Contractor registration before work begins.