Local business · Osterville, MALocal business · 42 Wianno Ave Unit 1164, Osterville, MA 02655, USA
Verified record
Typical Greater Boston range for this kind of work, from regional averages — not a quote from deMartin Dunham Builders. Use it to sanity-check bids, then get the real number in writing.
Estimated range
$23,000 – $35,000
Typical remodeling project around $29,000
Ten homeowners have written about deMartin Dunham Builders and every one of them gave five stars — but the newest of those accounts was posted in January 2023, so the praise on file is a few years old. The Osterville firm describes itself as a boutique Cape Cod design-build practice and as family-owned: it draws the plans in-house, then manages the construction itself. Its Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration is active and held in the company's own name. The LLC dates to April 2019, and its BBB page pairs an A+ grade with five employees. The work customers describe is not small. In a January 2023 review, a homeowner walked through a kitchen renovation that meant moving a load-bearing wall and reworking the exterior bay to open the kitchen, living and dining rooms into one space — a job stretched by a year-long wait on refrigerator doors that the customer did not hold against the crew. A 2022 reviewer credited Bert with a year of permitting to build on a beachfront lot, then a teardown and rebuild from scratch. In a December 2021 review, buyers of a fixer in East Orleans said several other builders had come and gone without a single idea before this firm came back with a design that worked around wetlands restrictions. The through-line is design. A 2020 reviewer put it most sharply: the firm's own drawings carried the project, and an architect was needed only to approve the finished design. Cape Cod LIFE, writing in 2024, described them the same way — a family-run build-design firm that designs the house and then manages the build in-house. Two things are worth pinning down before you call. All ten of those accounts sit on Houzz and none is newer than January 2023, so ask directly about current work — who would run your job, and what has been finished lately. The company is also small: five employees on its BBB page, on projects reviewers describe running a year or more. Worth asking how many builds they carry at once and who is on site day to day. There is a wrinkle in tenure, too — the LLC was formed in April 2019, while a 2022 reviewer described meeting Bert eleven years earlier, so the company is younger than the builders' own working history. No complaints and no government actions appear on its BBB page. If you are planning a whole-house renovation or a new custom home on the Cape and want one team to both design and build it, this is a firm whose customers describe exactly that kind of project. Ask for recent references and to see something finished in the last year.
“Cape Cod based, the small, closely-knit staff at deMartin Dunham Builders is uniquely equipped to provide the personal care and attention that any family home deserves.”
“The family-run boutique firm is primarily a build-design firm, meaning typically they both design the structure of the home themselves and then manage the construction in-house.”
We needed a big renovation of the kitchen. in addition our home had the kitchen, living room, and dinning room in a relatively close layout. Donny and Burt created a great open design that incorporated all three rooms. This was a major job. For example, it required changing a load-bearing wall, and modifying the external bay of the kitchen. In addition, we needed to deal with the supply disruptions in the appliances markets - just to give you an idea we had to wait for a year for the fridge doors - and all the pieces arrived piece-wise (literally). The job Donny and Burt did was flawless, the kitchen looks beautiful, and I think I can play bowling now in the open design. They were extremely responsible, and responsive to all our needs. And increadibly flexible given all the delays we had with the appliances. This is my third home and in all I have had contractors before (in 25 years of being a home owner). This was the best job I have ever had. I am sure that the next remodeling I need I will be calling them, and I recommend them to anyone that wants to improve their property.
We met Bert 11 years ago. He took care of the year-long process of getting permits to build on the beachfront and then tore our house down to start from scratch. The final product was perfect and still is! Along they way it became clear that Bert's attention not only to detail but to our vision was great combination. I think he (and Dan) know where every nail in the house is located. Bert remains a trusted friend. From time to time we have modest maintenance needs and Bert has always been helpful either doing the work himself or referring us to one of his colleagues. We think the world of Bert. If we could give him more than 5 stars we would.
So we bought this house in East Orleans on a whim. We loved the location but the real estate add accurately described it by saying “the bones are good”. It desperately needed major renovations but we couldn’t figure out what to do with it. We had a number of building companies come in to help us along in the process, but no one could give us any concrete ideas or any kind of ideas at all for that matter. About 2 years went by and we were still at a loss and barely able to use the house It was about at this time, we came in contact with DeMartin Dunham Builders. They came by and listened to what we were looking for, understood the restrictions we were facing due to wetlands and within a few weeks came back to us with ideas that we could have never dreamed of. Not only did they show us rough ideas of their thoughts but they spent so much time taking us to other projects they had done to make their ideas come alive. We contracted with them initially for the pre-construction phase. This encompassed putting their design on paper. When we first saw the design we were blown away. We never thought we could do all this. The perspective that Bert and Donny saw when they walked through our house was something that no one else saw at all. The way they reconfigured the house to come out with the best layout for our needs was incredible. Not only are they builders, they are visionaries. Our renovations are now complete and we are just loving our home. It was truly a pleasure to work with DeMartin Dunham Builders from beginning to end.
I’ve worked with many builders over the years and Donny and Bert were by far the best. Quality work, creative design, on budget and on time. Would absolutely use again and highly recommend.
We were very happy with the projects completed by deMartin and Dunham. Their team was both friendly and professional. The quality of their work was excellent. We would highly recommend for any projects.
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Certified attributes are verified against the public registry. Others are the business's own statement.
Added 10 new comments, added 31 new photos, verified active license, established rating 3.7
Roof deck builds4.4
Porch and deck rebuilds4.4
49 years in business4.4
Low-disruption projects4.4