“There are two reasons people write reviews - Either to praise or condemn. This is an example of the former. In pursuit of this goal, I will not be heaping accolades on craftsmanship, price, materials selection or any of a myriad of other criteria normally used to describe the quality of someone's work. Doing so would be redundant given my stated goal. Rather, I'm going to explore the character of a man. Tom Naylor to be specific.

I’ve done a lot of jobs in my life - Currier, electrician, camera operator, opera singer, computer programmer, technology consultant. I even spent six months as a phlebotomist. My path has crossed with those of hundreds of co-workers, colleagues and associates. Most were best described as “clock watchers”, awaiting the moment they could be free from the shackles of work. Not that they were bad people, just average. But, here and there, one proved to be exceptional in both conscientiousness and quality of work. A cut above, if you will. Tom Naylor is such an individual.

The circumstances of my relationship with Tom began with a personal tragedy and ended with relief, gratitude and respect. My father passed from pancreatic cancer in February of 2020 leaving my mother, who has health problems of her own, alone and living in an extremely rural area. Long story short, she needed to move in with me and my wife to a house we had just bought in a location 1700 miles from her home of 45 years. We needed accommodations ready for her arrival within a few months. Stressful cannot begin to describe the situation. We started looking for contractors who could turn an “interestingly” finished basement in a mother-in-law apartment. Calls were made. Appointments were scheduled. A few of them even showed up. Tom was one of those few.

Tom showed up. We bumped elbows. Did I mention this was at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic? As he listened to what I wanted he took notes, cast his eyes here and there, already planning how he could accommodate my requirements. He pulled out some impressive tech and started scanning, measuring, compiling the design of our new basement in real time. All without having to kill a single tree. Tom spent about an hour going over everything with the practiced ease of someone comfortably skilled and confident in their profession. When he left, I had a rough estimate, timeframe and a floor plan which made my crude attempt look like the drunken efforts of a blind, three-legged ferret let loose from a paint bucket. Needless to say I was impressed. Two days later Tom emailed me an official bid and the finished floor plan. After going over it with Mom, we accepted and the race to finish before she moved here was on.

What followed was one of the most competent builds I’ve ever witnessed. Tom displayed a depth and breadth of construction technique and skill more associated with artisans than simple carpenters. They knew what they were doing at every juncture, from material acquisition to navigating the morass of local government permitting. Tom’s insights and suggestions for design were spot on. He thought of details which frankly I hadn't even considered. He took my amorphous ideas, sanded down the rough edges and polished them into a thing of both function and beauty. Tom also knows his weaknesses. He called on his network of local craftsmen to do those things he couldn’t or didn’t have the time to do. His drywall guy matched the existing finish as if he’d installed the original. The countertop guys were in and out before I even knew they’d started. Everyone Tom enlisted was courteous, professional and represented his philosophy of a job worth doing is worth doing right.

The whirlwind of uncertainty which was my life for the first half of 2020 finally began to wind down when Mom’s arrival drew near. Tom worked diligently to meet that deadline and did so with colors flying, even after my realization that some work I had intended to do turned out to be beyond my capabilities added a bit more to their plate (sorry guys). I was roadtripping an old dog and some items best not left to the whims of moving companies across the country when she got to her new abode. Most of my drive home, she texted me every few hours to tell me about some other detail she just noticed and how wonderfully it matched her sense of style. I told her to thank Tom for listening."