To put it in 1 word: AWESOME!
I'm admittedly picky when it comes to work done on my custom home, and hold all contractors to a very high standard. Danley's performance was perfect, and managed to meet or exceed my high standards.
Walter Danley, the owner, came at the promised time to provide an estimate himself. He immediately struck me as a professional in every regard: he was patient in explaining my options, and expertly answered all my questions while presenting information I needed to make a decision in an easy to understand manner. He did not try to "oversell" me a larger generator than I needed, and in fact he talked me down from a much larger generator I had researched because it was overkill.
I ultimately chose a 22 kW Generac Whole House generator with load shedding features to power the entire house in the event of an outage. I had specific criteria in how I wanted the outside gas & electrical connections routed, and Walter devised a solution that would meet my somewhat unconventional specifications. He was neither pushy nor aggressive, and did not expect a purchasing decision on-the-spot as some other contractors did. He sent me a written proposal via email promptly, and worked with me to revise the proposal a few times without complaint so that I would be content with the written statement of work (I warned you I'm picky).
In the weeks that followed I met with other contractors and compared their bids. Walter's proposal was not only the best in price, but also in value. That I already admired his professionalism from our meeting made the choice clear in my mind that Walter Danley's company would win the bid. I became busy with the trials of life, family and business and failed to contact Walter to award him the project. Though I had forgotten to "seal the deal" his office did not. His pleasant secretary followed-up with me (as one would expect from a professional to do) to inquire if I had any further questions they could answer in order to make my purchasing decision.
Once I signed the contract I made a nominal deposit and his office handled the necessary communications with my gas company to ensure my gas feed would support the generator. They obtained the permit, and as soon as I sent them a copy of my survey (which they called my town to prepare for me to simply pickup) they did all the background tasks necessary to schedule the job with me. As we approached the scheduled date, they called to confirm our installation and let me know what to expect once they started work.
Their installers arrived as promised. A 5-man team skillfully completed their tasks that day and each of his employees showed the same professionalism and proficiency in their tasks as Walter himself. It's a large house, and for aesthetic reasons I wanted the generator installed on the opposite side of the house as the main gas and electrical feeds. This meant they had a lot of work to do in order to make their gas & electrical runs.
They were respectful of my home, careful in their work, and tireless in their diligence to complete their tasks. You could tell they enjoyed their jobs and were happy as they worked. You can't fake that type of dedication!
Though we had a few unavoidable surprises (such as a surprisingly high amount of rebar embedded in my concrete foundation) the crew expertly resolved all the job-site challenges without skipping a beat, nor trying to up-charge me. I asked to be involved in the installation decisions so that I could ensure minimum disturbance to my home and maintain the most "hidden" installation mode possible so that as little was visible as possible. As a result, they called me over to review precisely where the generator would rest outside, locations where they wanted to drill into the foundation for the service line runs, and exactly how the lines would come up from underground into the generator (yes, I'm that picky). It was evident that they understood my concerns and respected by specifications as I approved their recommendations without any edits.
The project was completed on-time, on-budget, and passed all city inspections the first time. Within 3 days of starting the project, they were able to run a test of the generator by simulating an outage and fully complete the installation. One of the electricians then spent the time to review features of the transfer switch, followed by a trip outside to walk me through the menu settings, options, and even how to change the oil (I can still remember that my generator requires 1.9 quarts of full synthetic 5W30) in the event that I might want to do it myself. Though it was raining outside, the technician did not rush me through the orientation at all. Finally, service contract options were also presented with no pressure to sign-up (though I did chose to do so).
I was entirely pleased with every aspect of Walter Danley's operation, and could not have asked more of him or his employees. In my experience with read more