Frank Duarte makes it a priority to provide his customers with the personal attention they need to feel comfortable throughout a construction project.
“Many customers will tell me, ‘Working with you and your staff makes us feel like family,'” Duarte said. “What better way to end a project.”
And, with his son Aaron by his side, Duarte is perpetuating the family business as he teaches the ins and outs of assisting families with their building and remodeling needs.
“Working in my dad’s plumbing business wasn’t easy,” said Frank, who started learning the plumbing trade in 1961 and was certified as a master plumber in 1968. “He was a hard worker who only went to the eighth grade because, being the oldest boy, he needed to work to help support the family. I owe everything to my dad. Now it’s my turn to train my son, Aaron, who I’m very happy to say has taken a huge step in becoming the third generation of plumbers in the Duarte family.”
As the owner of D’s Plumbing and Ohana Home Additions and Remodeling, Frank has honed his craft as an integral cog in the family business. After learning the ropes with his father at the helm, Duarte — the oldest of three boys in his family — started D’s Plumbing more than 31 years ago, and is still going strong today as a general contractor. Meanwhile, Aaron is continuing to learn from his father, something he’s done ever since tagging along with Dad as a kid.
“Ever since I was young, I worked with him. I kind of grew up with it,” said Aaron, a member of the D’s Plumbing team for the past 11 years. “Of course, he wants me to take over the business one day. I take pride in what we do. We’re a small business, and he expects a lot of me, so we do everything we can to please him and the customers.”
Customer satisfaction is the top priority at D’s Plumbing. The 73-year-old Frank recounts stories of contractors who fail to deliver, whether it be botching a job because of lack of experience or certification, or simply taking payment and not living up to the contract.
“As a small company, we offer personal service like no other,” Frank said. “My men are skilled in so many trades, and it gives me great pleasure to watch them showcase their skills. More and more, clients will call me and tell me how polite they are throughout the job. You can’t imagine how that makes me feel.”
D’s Plumbing is well-versed at replacing aged materials with modern alternatives, including swapping out old, dark wood to enhance lighting and replacing galvanized piping with copper. Other techniques, including modernizing bathrooms by expanding shower areas to accommodate the disabled, or adding housings in a kitchen to free up more space by getting a microwave off the counter are just a few in D’s arsenal.
Frank recounts a recent job during which a woman was looking to expand a shower in order to accommodate her elderly father. D’s worked with the customer and decided on a design that involved converting part of an adjacent closet into space that could then be used to extend the shower. Stability bars and an easily accessible entryway to the shower were also incorporated — and all this was done within the allotted budget.
“We may be a small company, but with the skills that we possess, we are great in numbers,” Frank said.
For more information, log on to www.AffordablePlumbingHawaii.com or call 230-8308 or 734-2032.
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