We hired this company to do masonry (at first it was front steps, walkway, retaining wall, lower steps). He did a good job for my mother-in-law without any serious issues. Unfortunately, we weren't so lucky.
It wasn't bad at first. We paid half of the agreed upon sum and they started working fairly quickly, in a few removing the old stuff and starting working on new steps and wall. However, he immediately found a way to charge us more money. First, it was a piece of lower wall adjusting to the lower steps (somehow it didn't occur to him to mention it in the proposal). Then he persuaded us to add the driveway as it would be cheaper than doing it separately. Then, after removing the front steps, the frame under the door was supposedly damaged by the termites so he added another $$$ to get it reinforced. All in all the final sum was 50% more than the original one.
After about five days of work we paid 90% of the money but there was till a lot left to do (the whole driveway, railings on the steps, most of the walkway, finishing the retaining wall). That's when the no-show started. For two weeks, he promised us his workers would be on site but they never showed up. It's Monday of the third week and still no sign of him or his crew. Now, I understand that we're all human and anything can happen. But why all this lying? The weather was mostly fine, so it's not an excuse either. I suppose he's one of those contractors that take on more contracts that they can work on at a time. In any case, we're seriously considering calling a lawyer.
Bottom line: maybe he does a good job (sometimes), but to us he's been unreliable and greedy. Stay away from this guy.
Pros: decent quality
Cons: Unreliable, estimates always rising
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