Dufficy Fine Carpentry And Design

I had the good fortune of coming across John and his beautiful sculpture/​woodwork via Dwell on Design. As a local interior designer I am always looking to join forces with talented artists. I reached out to John to see if he’d like to collaborate on custom full wall bookcase/​media/​fireplace mantle project I was working on that required a certain level of expertise to execute. Suffice it to say, working with John exceeded my expectations on every level. The finished piece was absolutely incredible — exactly what my client and I envisioned for the space down to the smallest detail (and there were many). He showed up throughout the process as a consummate professional, keeping the project on schedule, answering our questions in a timely fashion — keeping both my client and myself abreast of key milestones along the way (which really stood out). Aside from his multi-​level skill set and business acumen, John is a very kind, accessible, solid human being who was a delight to work with start to finish. I look forward to collaborating with him on future projects and would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a top notch custom woodworker/​artisan.

It was time. Time to get furniture that didn’t come out of a box, and we are so happy that we decided on entrusting John with the task! With minimal guidance from us, he constructed a beautiful walnut home office desk to fit an unusual corner. He really put care into the creation of the gorgeous piece. It has the most beautiful set of drawers I have ever seen!
John came over for an estimate and to measure out the space, and was always very responsive to email and willing to work with our schedules.
The project took a little longer than we expected, but it was worth the wait.
Would recommend him for any custom furniture or wood-​working project.

John is an amazing artist and true craftsman.
When we bought our home in Noe, one of the first things we needed to address was an unsafe area in the stairwell that had no railing (we have young children). We received ideas and estimates from many contractors and nobody was able to come up with an attractive AND functional solution. This was not an easy project given the odd shape of the area. John created what ended up being the most beautiful part of our home. The final product blew me away and was far beyond my expectations. I am a perfectionist and can say without question that his work could not be improved upon. He made tiny adjustments as needed during the design/​install process and wasn’t satisfied until everything was just right. He was very neat and always cleaned up after himself. He was friendly and even let my young son «help» him. John is the first, and only, person I would call for any future carpentry work.

John is a class act! His craftsmanship is amazing.
We had him build a desk into one of our rooms. He was able to use sustainable materials without sacrificing on quality and looks. The results were dest that fit organically in our space. It is functional and beautiful, so we are extremely happy with it! Thanks, John!

If I could give this guy ZERO stars, I would.
I am an interior designer in the Bay Area and in Aspen. In all my time dealing with clients, contractors, vendors, and sub-​contractors, I have never dealt with a craftsmen who was so unprofessional to work with.
I suggest spending time finding a craftsmen who is not only talented, but who can properly communicate, possesses professionalism in every way, and conducts themselves in a transparent and forthcoming manner. All characteristics which Mr. Dufficy DOES NOT have. Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way.

John is a true craftsman. We live in an old Victorian with sloping floors and no perfect right angles anywhere. We needed a door made for our kitchen and John was very careful to get the shape perfectly right. The door is beautiful, John is a real pleasure to work with. It doesn’t hurt that he has a very good sense of humor!

We worked with John to build a wall unit with open shelves and storage with sliding doors. He is a true craftsman and absolutely wonderful in helping us realize our design concept. I really appreciate the fact that he took his time in creating the most beautiful piece of furniture and even provided some guidance on proper portions and designs. John was very professional and great to work with. The final product is truly a work of art and I am happy to support a local artisan.

John is a one of a kind craftsman and I am so happy I had the opportunity to work with him. I live in a 1899 Victorian and needed to build a media cabinet to reflect the period detail of the house. John took the time and listened to what was most important to me and came up with great ideas. The moment you speak to John you can tell he is an expert in woodworking. But, what I found most important is that John is not only talented, he is humble, creative and a pleasure to work with.
After going over the ideas on paper, John invited me to his shop to see the prototype. Finally, the media cabinet was finished and he came over and installed the wonderful piece in my house.
All the time, effort and thought that he poured into his piece is worth tons more than what he charged me. I am going to appreciate this piece for years to come and will definitely pass this on to my kids. I am truly honored to have met John and respect not only his skills which are one of a kind but his approach and dedication to make the customer happy which makes him truly unique.

John is a craftsman and a gentleman. He took the time to understand what we wanted and made it happen, even though there were no shortage of unforeseen complexities that popped up along the way. We had no qualms about giving him the key to our home while we traveled, knowing that he would leave it immaculate when he was done.
While our work was more along the line of «fine carpentry» than «furnituremaking», I had the opportunity to see some of his amazing furniture designs underway and after completion and I hope to have him make us something wonderful and decorative soon. In the meanwhile, we wish John nothing but success, and encourage all Unilocalers to consider him for special projects in their homes.
UPDATE:
We sent John a couple pictures of a beautiful curvilinear bench we had seen and of some dining room chairs that were no longer made and asked him for a quote. From the photos, John crafted truly exquisite furniture that will last for generations. The quality, the passion, the workmanship, and the heart and soul that were poured into making these pieces is evident from the moment you see them. I believe that John can build anything, and that when he does it will be absolutely exquisite.

We needed a custom-​shaped door (triangular-​top attic space) which was way beyond my carpentry skills. John provided an very fine finished product and installed it very nicely. The door fits perfectly and is of high quality, and John was helpful in choosing a finish that matched the rest of the space. In addition John was very nice, polite, and helpful throughout the process. I highly recommend John.

John did a great job last year by creating a pop out bookshelf door that I wanted to replace my HVAC door in a hallway. He got the exact dimensions and special brackets so they heavy door would hold up with books on it and he even did a great job painting it. He completed the project quickly and really listened to what I wanted. I’ll be reaching out to him again to discuss custom built-​in bookshelves.

I live in a 1907 building where the front doors to each of the 4 units is identical and highly stylized. They are nice looking doors, but the problem was that I could not lock the deadbolt on mine due to the house settling.
John made a new door for us and you can not tell it isn’t the original. It looks amazing and importantly — it locks! John was great to work with and went above and beyond to make the door look exactly like the other doors in the building (which made my HOA very happy). He was responsive to questions and kept me well informed on timelines. He also spent all the time needed to get the door fitted well and made sure we could open and lock it easily.
I would happily hire John again for any carpentry work we needed done and I know I could trust him to get the most intricate details correct.

John has done a few projects in our home and with each project, we continue to think of a new project for him to do! His work is exceptional and he is a pleasure to do business with. He recently completed a built in desk for my husband in a funny corner of a room. He worked around the odd space and made a wonderful working area. He also made a built-​in seat in a bay window that is beautiful. From day 1 John has been punctual, honest about timelines, reasonable about costs, and passionate about his work. I would highly recommend John Dufficy Fine Carpentry.

John built two items for me – a custom desk that conforms to the contours of a bay window, and a large set of bookshelves. I can’t say enough about the quality – truly amazing craftsmanship. Incredible attention to detail. A very nice guy too, very accommodating of a mistake related to the drawing I sent him. I would highly recommend him, especially if you are willing to be a little patient. He over-​promised on turnaround times (by about 50%), but in the end it was definitely worth the wait. He will be my first call when I want another item made – in fact, I love the items he made so much that I’m starting to dream up new stuff that I don’t really need! Kudos to an exceptional carpenter and an all-​around great guy.

This review is long overdue.
While walking along Market street one day last year, we stumbled across John’s (now gone) storefront near the Castro. The most unusual and stunning woodwork caught our eyes, and we wandered in as if into an art gallery. His artistry and workmanship were amazing, and we fell in love with an amazing bench (see photo) that we eventually purchased. Since that time houseguests constantly compliment us on the amazing bench, which not only looks amazing, but feels so comfortable.
Since we were so happy with the bench, we got John to design a custom wooden base for a glass-​top coffee table. Once again, we had no idea where to start, but his vision and technique produced another stunning piece of one-​of-​a-​kind furniture/​artwork.
Finally, we had a rather mundane project of replacing some odd wall fixtures with new shelving above an existing side counter and cabinets in an eating area. I thought we would end up with basic planks in shelf formation, but John came up with a brilliant set of simple yet artistic and fully functional shelves that added so much usable space and yet kept the place open and made the area more attractive!
Soon, our whole house may be filled with John Dufficy originals…

We found John on Unilocal when we were looking for a skilled carpenter to build some custom bookcases to take up the entire wall of a fairly small room. We weren’t entirely sure what we wanted, and John provided us with excellent ideas and helped guide us through the process. The wood he suggested was absolutely beautiful and fit seamlessly into our existing furniture. John was able to work around the molding in the room and make the bookcase look like it came with the house. We wanted to keep the electrical outlets and the furnace vent on that wall, so he built all of those items into the bookcases. The wooden box he built around the vent was genius! John seems to be a perfectionist, which is certainly a plus in a situation like this. We would highly recommend him to anyone.

It was a great experience working with John. On two occasions he created pieces of furniture that I am more than happy and proud to have in my home.
John’s way of working with me was very collaborative and natural. He not only understood what I was looking for, he brought suggestions and ideas that enhanced each piece to a level I wasn’t expecting.
Beyond his excellent work ethic and immense talent, John fills the work relationship with fun and innovation, inspiring excellence in every detail.
I hope I can get to use his talents on future projects.

John worked at our house for a month recently, building in several sections of custom bannister work in order to make our home kid-​safe. He had to match some existing designs that were pretty challenging and other sections had to be built from scratch. He’s very knowledgeable about which types of wood to use for which purposes and the quality of his work is very high. He’s also very neat and completely cleans up his work areas at the end of each day. John is a very pleasant guy to have around and he always shows up when he says he’s going to. I think he typically prefers to take jobs that are at least a few weeks in duration as opposed to projects that will only require a couple of days work.
We would highly recommend him for detailed and challenging carpentry work in your home or business.

John is an exceptional carpenter and an absolute pleasure to work with. He installed a gate at the top of our staircase and when we first contacted him, we weren’t quite sure what we wanted. He did a wonderful job designing a gate that would fit the space. He chose a wood that looks perfect in the space. The gate looks great, it works really well, I love the way the lock latches smoothly into place, he chose beautiful hardware… I could go on and on about the gate itself. But as completely satisfied as I am with the gate, the best thing about working with John is his professionalism and pleasantness. He was prompt, communicative and just very easy to work with. He gave us a quote and stuck to it. He gave us a date and stuck to it. John is the best!

This the second time I have used John’s services and he has exceeded my expectations again. John replaced both front doors to our home and both times the job was a challenge due to the age and former maintenance (or lack thereof) of the property. Both times he went above and beyond to get the job professionally completed with minimal extra costs. I am so glad I found John (through Angies’ List) as he has brought new trust and satisfaction to having someone work on our home.
Thanks John!