Textured brick, cleaning and tuck pointing.
I had the front of my house cleaned and tuck pointed by Bill and his dad (very small job - 1 story brick). As people, they really are great. As contractors I find myself making too many excuses for them because I like them as people.
Bottom line: I can't recommend them. This job was clearly rushed and I am left feeling like an obstacle between them and a bigger project.
Pros:
-Very likeable guys.
-Always returned phone calls.
-Brick colour turned out great.
-Mortar colour they selected compliments brick perfectly.
Cons:
-The Job was rushed, corners were cut (in and out in well under 1/2 day).
-Mortar work is inconsistent and sloppy.
-Damaged my brand new, custom milled, hand railing (tool marks and chemical spillage).
-Scratched paint off aluminum window flashing.
-Left a very big mess. They came back a week later to clean up but not thoroughly.
-Too many excuses.
It was an attractive quote, they had good HomeStars reviews and the competition even recommended them. Not sure what happened here but I did not get the same level of care the other reviews did.
I'm disappointed that I paid to have this done and now I need to spend a weekend chiseling excess mortar out of textured brick and refinishing handrails when another hour or two of prep, cleanup and care would have made the difference.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $800.00
- Company Response
I appreciate the response, although absolutely false and misleading.
I had a meeting with the homeowner listened carefully to his needs and wants, we agreed upon a price and we started the job earlier than previously planned. Prior to starting the project I explained some issues that I had with the home owner, the windows being brand new I told the home owner that I would cover them witch I did, the damage was done peeling the tape of of the aluminum window, almost impossible to avoid.
As to the sloppy brick work I explained to the homeowner unless you grind and re point a rug textured brick you will not get a smooth finished joint, this was explained on numerous occasions and thought to be understood!
The custom milled hand railed done by the homeowner himself were beautiful and well protected by us prior to washing, unfortunately there is no way we can completely keep out water run off from getting to them 100%.
The clean up was done properly with broom and brush vigorously prior to us leaving the site, I explained that we can not wash up immediately after because the mortar was still wet and we did not want to get it wet causing the mortar to run and ruin.
After the job was completed the homeowner was ecstatic and thrilled on the outcome of the job and even discussed bringing us back to do more work on the side of the house.
At every step of this project the homeowner was brought up to speed on what was going on, we completed this job in a timely manner and provided quality workmanship and expertise, even came back after we received a phone call regarding some clean up issues, and power washed the whole site down completely again.
In a way I appreciate this negative review because nobody is perfect.
We here at Victorian Restoration over the last 31 years of service to some amazing people take pride in our work and strive to offer the best
service and quality workmanship every day.
It's unfortunate that this inconsistent and inappropriate portrayal of our company from a disgruntled and confused consumer leaves me confused and upset because 31 years in the industry and our previous reviews prove us to be better than how we were portrayed in this ill advised review.