Chicago Porch Repair

The work was done very well. The repaired treads are better made than the weather-beaten ones when they were new.

These guys are amazing. They fixed our front porch. Work was even better than I could have imagined. Would love to hire them for other projects.

The team was timely, considerate, and professional. They did great quality work and our porches look like new.

We bought a 100-year-old house in late 2011 and, in the past nine years, have had more contractors than I can count work on it—plumbers, electricians, HVAC, masons, you name it. I start my review that way simply to note that we have extensive, years-long experience hiring and working with many, many contractors. Some have been good, some bad, and a few, well above average. Anthony Giangrossi and our two-man crew, Marco and Edgar, probably rank at the top of the list. The first clue came when Anthony came out to give us an estimate. He walked around the house, taking his time, noting all kinds of things, pointing issues out, explaining things. Of our multiple quotes, he came in the highest—about twice the price of the our other quotes. But the reviews we saw on Angie’s List and elsewhere were so good that something made me keep him in consideration as we sorted through the quotes. Eventually, we decided to bite the bullet and hire Anthony. We have not had a single moment when we have regretted the decision. In fact, I’d say Anthony has been the single most responsive (and responsible) contractor we’ve ever hired, period. He responds promptly, explains things clearly and understandably, and is genuinely concerned that you make the decision that will make you happiest. One major reason we went with Dynamic Colors is because of the prep work. The condition of the previous paint job was okay and the wood underneath, for the most part, was solid. But Anthony promised—and delivered—on what is probably the most thorough and careful job of prep work I’ve ever seen. It took Marco and Edgar the better part of a week to prep just two sides of the house (because of the cost, we split the job over two years). Marco and Edgar took their time, were diligent, thorough, and meticulous. Cleanup at the end of every day was so remarkable that, except for the tools and materials they left in place, you’d never have known that anything was going on at all. Once the prep and power washing were complete, painting began. Same thing: diligent, thorough, and meticulous. Nothing rushed, nothing skipped. Although we never changed our minds on the house color or the trim color, we dithered and changed our minds more than once on the stain for the front steps, for the porch, and for the front door. Anthony was supportive, patient, and helpful throughout. It took us some time to settle on what we wanted (or thought we wanted) and all three were amazing throughout the entire process. The house (at least the two sides they worked on) are in better shape than when we began. They silently made little (or not-so-little) repairs, fixed things, took care in disassembling and reassembling things (like the front door hardware). One day, I saw Marco cleaning the storm windows before he put them back in place. Cleaning the storm windows! I would venture to guess that 99+% of painters out there are going to do a beautiful job of simply putting the windows back in place. How many of them will actually take the time to clean every storm window, front and back, before replacing it? We still aren’t certain what to do about the front steps and railings, but Anthony was there every step of the way to offer advice on how to proceed so that if we change our minds by next spring, he can revise what they’ve done with the least amount of time and effort. One downspout has been leaking noisily since they replaced it. I can’t emphasize clearly enough how attentive Anthony has been in getting that resolved. I wish they cost less. But they are worth every penny they charge. We have not regretted choosing them for an instant, are very pleased with the job, and would recommend them without any hesitation whatsoever.

Contractor came out to look at the work. I only wanted part of the porch repaired. Estimate was more than I expected.

Mark was very easy to work with, fair, and provided quality work. He took time to ensure he would complete the job in the best way possible and we are confident our porch will last for a long time.

I have no complaints about the porch repair. However, after completion of the project, Jacek Lawrenz (owner) friended me on FB. Thereafter, he posted a meme on my FB wall publicly criticizing my decision to take my 9-year-old son to the Women's March in Washington. He consistently posts "fake news" from sites like "Eagle Rising" and "Silence is Consent". He has attacked women, muslims, and other minorities on FB. If you are against this type of bullying and abuse, I suggest finding another contractor.

Jose has done outstanding work for our family many times! He is meticulous- both in his work and in clean up. Jose takes the time to do jobs right the first time and we have never had a single complaint. I highly recommend Jose!

Kevin went above and beyond to clear city building violations , his crew did masonary work, new concrete driveway , new drain , and fixed my porch. Kevin waited 6 hours to meet the inspector and get the violations signed and cleared. He and his crew were punctual, best price among other bids, work was completed earlier than estimated.

DAL was very professional and knowledgeable. There were some items that I could not decide on at the time, and DAL followed up with advice and an additional offer of help. I ultimately decided to hold off until a later time.

Fortune has a wonderful 5 year warranty. Three years after they repaired key elements of my porch I thought the drainage was adversely effected by the restoration, causing water to run down one side on the brick of the house. They installed gutters, fixed the mortar, and repainted as part of the warranty. Near the end of the project, I began to realize that this was a problem with the original design of the house and not a result of their work three years ago. Once I realized my mistake, I tried to pay them, but they refused. I will be using them again in a few years for total painting of the exterior of the house.

James was very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable, but suggested I consult another firm that specialized in exterior porch work and would be more cost effective He did look at the issue in detail and discussed how it could be remedied and specifically what to ask for . We shared our love of old houses and I appreciated his input,

James rebuilt our front steps including the replacement two historic railing posts/columns. He replaced the railings to match the existing railing to remain. He then painted the entire porch and railings. He was easy to work with and flexible, he painted accents on the columns and dealt with an old rubble post foundation for no extra charge. We were happy with the work so we had him come back about a month later to paint our first floor. We were also satisfied with that work.

THEY DIDN'T RETURN CALLS. THE WORK WAS DONE INCOMPLETE AND SHODDY. THEY HAD NO INTEREST IN COMPLETING THE JOB. THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO DO MORE, BUT NEVER GAVE AN ESTIMATE FOR MORE WORK OR FOLLOWED UP.

We set up an appointment for 9:00 on Friday, October 10. At 9:20, a woman from the office called and told me that the estimator was stuck in a meeting in Chicago and couldn't make it. Even if the meeting hadn't run long, I don't see how the person could have made it from the city to our location, but I rescheduled for 12:30 on Thursday, October 16. At 12:55, I called. I was informed that the estimator had just called the office and requested I email pictures of the problem so that he could be prepared with materials when he came out. So he never had any intention of coming to my home at the scheduled time. Had I not called, I don't know if anyone would have contacted me while I was waiting. The organization had almost a week to let me know they would have liked to have seen pictures. I rearranged my schedule two different days to accommodate them, and both times were an utter waste. I have never submitted a review before, but I was encouraged to try them based on the positive reviews, and I thought I should share my experience. Perhaps they do good work if you get to that point, but we never got the opportunity.