Shamrock Doors & Gates

This was one of the most awful, traumatic experiences working with any contractor I’ve ever had. Patrick was extremely difficult to work with and a terrible communicator. He hardly answered emails or when he would, he’d ignoring the content. When communicating verbally, it was in one ear and out the other. It took me a year and a half to get the gate installed. From April 2019 to May 22, 2020, I just had the gate posts there in my driveway, and no gate. When they finally brought over the gate and installed it, it was not made according to the agreed-upon specs, so they carted it off and re-did it. Even in the 2nd install, while now the gate is made according to the specs, there are still unresolved issues that I don’t even want to bother with fixing any more. In April 2019, after Patrick knew which of his gate styles I wanted, he came with his guys to install the posts in the cement and install the electrical wiring under the house, and we went over various positioning of the future gate. I needed the gate to open outwards but he said that wasn’t possible. A friend of mine said it would be, and made designs, which I both emailed him and hand-delivered in Nov 2019 when I went to his workshop in Tujunga, 30 min. from my house. I brought my friend to discuss it in person before they even started building the gate. The gate design I had wanted was based on a photo of a gate in his studio and one installed in Pasadena which I sometimes went to visit and take measurements from to provide him. I insisted on including a design of the gate with the contract. He provided me this design, which was missing the central thick post, which is one of the main features I liked about the actual gate- that it looked like two doors. Instead, this was one panel. I asked him to re-design it with the measurements but based on the photo of a gate he had done but he refused, saying he had to pay someone $100 to make the first drawing. So I did it myself using this photo he sent me as the basis, and I gave that to him with specs written on it. Also, because Patrick complained that there weren’t specifics on how the gate would open outwards, and just designs, I gave him those specs, too, which my friend carefully designed. In my Nov. 11, 2019 email to him, I tried to make it crystal clear: “Hi Patrick Ready to move forward again on the gate. Todd even made a 2-D model to make sure that my car will fit though and i’d have about 10” on each side of my sideview mirrors. I’m attaching his diagrams and measurements here in the PDF and I asked him to write down in text form what he wants to say about the 3rd page. 1. Weld a second 4” by 4” steel post to the existing one so that the gate can swing open to the backyard with its hinge pin centers located 5” away from the house’s wall (requires custom block or bracket to weld hinge pin bodies to post). 2. Weld the hinge pin bodies to the BACKSIDE of the gate on 1/4” steel reinforcement plates which are welded onto the gate’s 1.5” by 1.5” vertical posts. 3. Mount the Liftmaster LA400 on a custom-made bracket so it’s pivot center is 2” left and 8” back from the hinge pin center axis (left means towards the house wall and back means towards the backyard). The Liftmaster LA400 should be installed low and out of view behind the bottom panels on the gate. 4. Attach the actuator arm of the Liftmaster LA400 to the BACKSIDE of the gate 45” away from the gate’s hinge pin center axis (will require a 1/4” steel reinforcement plate welded across the gate’s 1” by 1.5” horizontal members at the attachment point).” On Nov. 12, he wrote back: “We can not work with this. It has no guidance at all . Plus I think we can do it without the second post. So I think we need to meet again. We have an other option for the gate which would allow us not to use the second post” It then took 9 more emails to figure out from him WHEN would be good to meet. Finally, on Dec. 5 , 2019 after 2 days of unanswered emails, I called. I thought he needed to come back on site to go over the design but he refused to come back because he claimed I made him stand in the sun for two hours and because of his illness it’s not good for him, to which I said I was not familiar with that illness or its dangers, to which he said “you’re a teacher, you should look it up.” At his initial measuring meeting in April 2019, he never at one point suggested going inside because of his illness. We met again on Dec. 6, but this time I went out to his studio. I handed him hard copies of the designs and dimensions of the gate, (apparently he didn’t have the specs anymore), which included details like the distance from the wall in both open and closed position, where the actuator should be installed, the length and height of the gate, the width of the pickets. I even provided a picture of a gate he had done in Pasadena that I took in situ, and pointed arrows to the elements that should be recreated and what elements (just the flowers) should go. It was essentially the same gate. We were very specific so that there wouldn’t be any mistakes. I wanted it in writing, as a written record for both of us. On Jan. 26, 2020 I got an email they were moving ahead with building the gate, but I then heard nothing back for a month, so on Feb.20, 2020 I asked for an update. I figured they were still constructing and he’d call when ready to install. On April 15, 2020 I called to find out what’s going on, but Patrick had broken his ribs and said he’d said someone to my place to take another set of measurements on my driveway of the post distance again and he gave me Kearney’s number to make arrangements. April 20, I called Kearny, but the phone number didn’t work. I had to call Patrick back to get the right number. April 25, Kearny came. Finally, on May 22, 2020, over a year of back and forth, they finally came with the actual gate and installed it. Except the gate dimensions were off. The pickets were too thick (3/4”) and therefore there were fewer pickets. I wanted the same thin (1/2”) pickets as the gate in Pasadena for it to look more delicate. Also, the central spire was way too high in this gate - not the same 86” height as the Pasadena gate or what was written in the spec I handed him. All of this was unbelievable to me, esp. since in his April 8, 2019 invoice estimate he wrote that gate design items would be placed to customers measurements. I was explicit that I wanted my designs to accompany the contract, but it seemed he no longer had them. A few days later, they came back to take back the gate. On July 17, 2020 my friend and I went back to the workshop to look at faulty gate and drop off yet another set of hard-copy designs, and I took careful notes about what we and Kearney agreed on. Patrick was not there, but that was actually better because it never was clear that he actually understood or would carry out the agreed actions. Eventually, they came back with the revised gate, installed it but the computer box wasn’t working and Patrick had to order another panel. So I had to keep the gate open for three weeks or so. In early Fall 2020, they got the gate to open and close, but there are still issues with it, like when they touched up the black paint on the gate, they also sprayed my house in several places; they added a ball cap instead of the flat cap on a post that we had discussed; the electrical wires they installed on the front of the post make the whole thing look cheap and he refused to put them behind the post; and the original small chain link fence up the driveway is still there even though at one of the visits to his workshop, his employee Kiernan agreed to me they would remove it.

Came out same day I called and did a quick and simple repair. Got my garage door working again right away.

Replaced the faulty part, now works well.

They fixed it quickly in 20 minutes.

It went very well. The workers were very professional and efficient they carried themselves is such a way that their actions were reflected of the prestige of the company they represent. They epitomize the best that company.

An important factor for me is to be able to call a contractor and the person responsible for planning and overseeing the job answers immediately or calls back promptly if with a client.  So the same day I get Patrick to come out and give me an estimate.  Everything went smoothly, it was only the light rain that caused some delays for certain parts of the job.  It's great having a remote controlled gate for my driveway and a manual gate for the auxiliary side.  The manual gate opens and closes with easy.  I like doing most things myself but with the crazy curves and slope of where these sliding gates where to be installed definitely required an expert who knows how to make custom gates.   

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From the first phone call to the finished product the people at Shamrock Doors and Gates were responsive, quick, professional, and communicative.  I was pleased at how fast the job was done and the quality of the work.  I am happy to recommend their services.

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Patrick did an amazing job and fit us in ASAP. He was punctual and really had to work with our busy schedules.

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Prompt response to estimate request.  Patrick followed up email questions promptly.  Two parts to project:  new post installation for gate on one day and new gate installation on second day.   Price very reasonable compared to other estimates received.  Patrick's worker, Fausto, was very thorough and courteous.  On both days, he and other workers worked quite diligently to get things done.  They also cleaned up thoroughly.   The gate appears to be working well and we are pleased so far.   Only issue - be clearer about when work would be done.  We were surprised when Fausto showed up on a Friday, instead of when we were told - the following Monday or Tuesday.  But at least we have the gate sooner rather than later.

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Professional, punctual, and took care of the problem after a few iterations.  I thought I would have needed a new circuit board but Patrick was able to resolve the issue.

Absolutely awesome! These guys know their craft and got the job done quickly.

Saturday morning we discovered that the counterweight spring for our heavy, wooden garage door  had snapped. We could not lift the door manually. Our cars were trapped! I checked Angie's List, then called Shamrock early Saturday and spoke with Patrick. He came to our house 1 ½ hrs later! Patrick is a knowledgeable, professional, friendly person and quickly gathered the needed info and gave a quote. I felt very comfortable with him and asked him to do the repair. The special order springs were installed by noon of the day they arrived. The Shamrock techs did great work. They not only installed new springs, but they also adjusted and lubricated the system and did needed maintenance. 

It went fine and the door worked. They were okay.

The provider was able to quickly identify the problem and fix the garage door immediately.

Patrick came out,looked at job and showed us examples of what was avail.to suit our needs.
  He had to put up with us as homeowners,with a couple of mind changes,and was very understanding of our needs.
than   The workers were all excellent, hard workers. Always showed up on time,and did  very professional work. The gate turned out even better than we expected. Nothing but rave reviews from all our friends and neighbors.
  Would most certainly recommend Shamrock to all who ask.

Patrick showed up promptly and quoted on the spot and sent an email confirmation.  Others sent out sales people bent on upselling.  It was a simple job, but most vendors wanted to email me a quote when they got back to the office.  Why wait?  Why can't they tell you on the spot?  One contractor I found on Angie's List wrote the quote on the back of someone else's business card.
Shamrock's price was not the lowest, but was very fair.  The guys came and did the work , and it looks exactly like I ordered it including the brown powder coat that I asked for.
Patrick was scheduled to be on vacation when I needed the work done, and his guys did the work without him.  They were perfect.  They came when they said, they worked, they cleaned up and left.  I paid.  

I really liked him a lot. That was for my mother. She has trouble walking up and down the stairs at her age, and they matched the railings nicely all the way to her front door. They did a great job. I researched them. I liked the scoring, called him, liked him, and we did it right away. The price was reasonable. My mother was very happy. She was skeptical, but she liked it. We would use them again and recommend them.