Testimonials

Mountainside Townhomes at Northstar
Truckee, California

“Ed and his team came in at the last minute on our Stellar Townhomes Project and provided a very high level of craftsmanship in a timely manner. We have been very impressed with their workmanship, their attention to details, and their integrity and will definitely be including them in our bid pool for future work. I don’t often recommend subcontractors, but I am happy to do so in this case.”
Hayes Parzybok, Vice President of Development
Mountainside Partners | Northstar at Lake Tahoe

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Esalen Institute
Big Sur, California

“Ed Welch navigated competing visions from multiple stakeholders and successfully crafted meeting room doors for Esalen’s newly renovated Lodge building that provide a compelling narrative for the iconic, Big Sur institution’s continuing mission. Old growth redwood, salvaged from a Wisconsin pickle brining factory, repatriated to the West Coast, embellished with oculi describing winter and summer constellations, and “Seed of Life” door pulls. Dovetail furthers the aesthetic tradition established at Esalen by Selig Morgenrath in the early 1970’s and conducts it into the new century.”

Tom Beil, Architect
Arkin•Tilt Architects | Berkeley, CA

“Ed Welch has created the portals to Esalen Institute’s future. The doors that we designed and created with Dovetail Construction are beautifully crafted with care, and are the perfect entrance to our two new premier meeting rooms. The artistry and craftsmanship of these doors is unparalleled, and offers as inspiration to people as they enter into the space. Built with old growth reclaimed redwood, and featuring custom metalwork, these doors are built to be an iconic feature of our newly expanded lodge.”
Esalen Institute | Big Sur, CA

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Custom Family Home
Squaw Valley, California

“I recently used Ed Welch of Dovetail Construction for a very demanding project in the Lake Tahoe Area. In addition to the complex kitchen and bath cabinets, Dovetail provided the interior doors and the custom built-in furniture.

Ed’s skillset and capabilities go way beyond basic cabinetmaking. His veneering and laminating capabilities are unmatched in my opinion. In addition to his superior craftsmanship and knowledge, I found Ed to be a problem solver with the ability to identify potential problems. On top of all this, Ed was easy to work with within the collaborative framework that was necessary for this project.

There are probably a few other cabinetmakers with similar skillsets but, in my opinion, it would take a nationwide search to find them.

I look forward to working with Ed Welch and Dovetail Construction again.”

Kevin Strange, Owner
KS Construction | Olympic Valley, CA

“Very cool Ed. We have developed the highest level of respect for you and your craft. Thank you for your great work. I cannot wait to see it all come together! We will definitely request you on future projects!”

Tim Chappelle, Principal
Arcanum Architecture | San Francisco, CA

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“Dovetail Construction can build anything you can imagine. Ed Welch and his team are true craftsmen. Their work is beautifully made with an attention to detail, while simultaneously mindful of performance and sustainability. Our experience collaborating with Ed has always been a pleasure and I look forward to working with Dovetail Construction on future projects.”

Mela Breen, Architect

“Ed Welch is not a new age craftsman who takes shortcuts to achieve a superficially good looking product that won’t hold up to the stewards of time. His doors are truly masterpieces. His attention to detail is not often experienced these days. He was extremely easy to work with and in my case contributed his design skills by bouncing ideas off of me until we achieved a very personal and amazing collection of his works of art.”
Steve Matuszak, Client

“I love to work with artisans like Ed, who make my projects better than I imagined.”

“Ed’s craftsmanship and service exceeded our expectations.”

“I appreciate the creativity, craftsmanship and service that Ed brings to our projects.”

Michael Heacock, Architect

“I am writing to let you know how much I appreciate and enjoy this beautiful ‘hutch’ you have built me. It has been a masterful and beautiful piece since the day you delivered it, and has only become more stunning as the cherry wood it’s constructed with has ‘matured,’ becoming more golden over time. A day does not go by that I don’t gain pleasure in looking at this gorgeous cabinet, and can’t tell you how grateful I am for your attention to detail and craftsmanship. Thank you so much!”
Honora M. Hanley, PhD., Furniture Client

“Dovetail has provided me with quality work from beautiful high-end doors to simple cabinets for several years now. They are topnotch craftsmen with complete understanding of all woods and can do about anything imagined.”

“Their complete shop is also great for any woodworking task difficult to accomplish on a job site.”
Dave Good, General Contractor

“Ed Welch is a bona fide craftsman.”

“Very clean, modern, crisp home with an influence of Japanese design and craftsmanship.”

“The plaster and the woodworking in this house are awesome!”

Marc Mandel, Owner of Crossroads Recycled Lumber