CUSTOM MASONRY & FIREPLACE DESIGN INC

From start to finish Paul Walker was amazing. He helped me think about the design I wanted and sent me to an amazing tile provider. I had to wait about a month for him to start. He does such a great job he is in great demand. Once he began it only took 2 days. He tented off the area he was working in which kept down the mess and dust in the rest of the house. We are so pleased with our new fireplace.

Custom Masonry and Fireplace Design Inc. are very pleasant and very prompt. They were timely and professional.
I haven't used the chimney since then, but it looks like it was done well.

Everything went well.

When I purchased my home it had an old outdated red brick fireplace. I contacted Paul and he came over to give me an estimate. I can only describe his work as excellent in terms of quality of work, professionalism and just the whole installation process. there was a lot more to the process than I had realized. Paul was very supportive in helping me choose the type and style of the marble and he remained available by cell if I had any questions. I would certainly rate this company very high and I would gladly recommend them to others.

The work went very fast and very well. Plus, Paul was meticulous in protecting my yard, porch, brick walkway, floors, rugs and furnishings. He and his company certainly deserve their excellent reputation.

After looking at an eyesore of a fireplace for too many years, I selected Paul to do the work after contacting several other comnpanies and meeting with him for an on-site opinion and estimate. The original cinder block and plank mantle had been painted about five times (judging from the paint I had to scrape and sand off the mantle), and it was time for a real change. You can see the original stripped mantle and where I started to scrape off the layers of paint on the hearth in the attached and quot;beforeand quot; photo.

On the appointed morning, the workers showed up punctually and ready to work. They put a plastic dust barrier up and protected the hardwood floors well, and throughout the two-day job the dust and noise were well contained. Throughout the job I got regular updates on the progress; the workers were courteous, personable, and professional. The cleanup was fast and thorough.

Custom Masonry and Fireplace Design doesn't do new mantles, but they have a good working relationships with The Wood Furniture Factory in National City ( http://www.thewoodfurniturefactory.com/) and Bret Qua was very helpful in choosing a design for the new fireplace. I supplied a leftover plank from my hardwood floor and he matched the color well.

All in all, I am very pleased with the new fireplace and mantle. The pricing was at the higher end of my budget bracket, but in retrospect Paul gave me my money's worth.

A while after contacting him, Jim, the owner of the business, met with us to discuss the problems with our chimney and to give us an estimate. he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to find matching bricks, as our house was built in the 1970's and the type of bricks used them are no longer made. Several weeks later, he sent two very hard working individuals to do the repair-the replacement bricks had been found and they matched perfectly. The workers were there most of the day, did the repairs and cleaned up after themselves very well. Jim came later to inspect their work. It was a good experience dealing with this company.
Several months later, we noticed a loose brick and called Jim to look at it-it took several attempts to get him to respond, but he finally did and came out to look at it and repair it. All went smoothly and we would definitely use this company again.

I had been ignoring a long term problem with my fireplace. It was leaking water into the living room during heavy rain and my and quot;solutionand quot; to the problem was placing a towel on the mantle to soak up the mess. Hearing rumors of a possible wetter than normal winter I knew I couldn't ignore it this season. I wasn't sure who to call so I checked my usual sources: Goggle, the BBB, Angie's List. After researching I decided to give Custom Masonry and Fireplace Design a call. They are appropriately licensed, bonded and insured and are also members of the Golden State Chimney Sweep Guild CA. Equally important, there were no unresolved issues mentioned in past reviews of the company.

The owner Paul Walker was quick to respond to my inquiry. After a thorough examination of the chimney and fireplace he gave me the bad news. He showed me where there was deterioration and damage to the flue tiles and interior of the firebox and how the damper was no longer functional. There was also a design fault in the crown construction and the chimney lacked a spark arrester. The fireplace was a safety hazard and unusable in its current state. I received a very detailed bid of the work to be done which I approved. To keep additional labor expenses I might encounter in the future to a minimum I decided to have the old water-stained brick fireplace resurfaced with a natural stone veneer at the same time. I moved the furniture away from the fireplace and Paul and Hector carefully covered everything with plastic. They rolled out strips of carpet and laid down sheets of plywood to protect the hardwood floors. They also covered the other entry ways with plastic to contain the dust from the demo in the living room. A pleasant surprise, they also placed sheets of plywood across the patio to prevent any damage to the stamped concrete surface.

The work was completed on time and on budget. Debris was properly carried off and the areas worked in were vacuumed, swept or washed down. I am extremely pleased with the quality of the work as well as the efforts taken towards protecting the interior and exterior of my home. In terms of appearance the fireplace is stunning. It has become the focal point of a once drab living space. Everyone who sees it gasps. And the craftsmanship is top notch. The areas where one would expect to see issues (up at the top where the cuts had to be angled) are perfect. As for function, we had a few days of heavy rainfall soon after the work was completed and not a sign of water coming through. I am very, very pleased with Custom Masonry and Fireplace Design. A big thank you to Paul and Hector!

It went great, even though the manufacturer's measurements were not correct to fit the unit into the finished box. Paul had to come back out and take out more brick and my wife was not happy with the height of the new unit so he moved it up without a complaint and really made her happy. As my friend says "happy wife, happy life". Works for me. Great job, nice guy and really was "on the job".

Paul did an excellent job. He showed up as scheduled and got the job done in the quoted 3 days. He prepared the area with heavy pads for the floors and plastic sheeting for the walls and furniture. At the end of the job, he did a good job cleaning up both inside and outside (where the materials were). I plan to enlist Paul's services again in the future to reface the front of my house. Thanks for the great work Paul!

I thought Paul at Custom Masonry did a great job at updating the fireplace/chimney in our 1938 house. From setting up the work, dealing with the street construction that came out of nowhere, our old chimney, our cats and kids. The work took 3 days, and on one of those days, Paul came, and our mail did not! Talk about service, more reliable than the mail! Paul was able to take a project that seemed overwhelming, and broke it down to its more simple components. Paul supplied a contact for locally made craftsmen-type tile, lovely stuff, that they then installed. Paul had attention to detail, and willingness to work out the problems that come up (as they always do). A good attitude, goes a long way. Three days was a little rushed. They were often working until about 7:00 each night. But it is messy and intrusive, and you do want them not to linger. We set up the work date about a month before, and received a call the night before confirming. More heads-up would have been good.

We are extremely satisfied with the work that Paul did on our fireplace. Paul and his staff were punctual and fast, refacing our full wall fireplace in just a few days. We had just had new white berber carpet installed prior to getting this work done, so we were very concerned about the possibility of ruining our new carpet. However, our fears were unfounded, as Paul and his staff went the distance in making sure all surfaces were covered and protected in multiple layers of padding, plywood, and plastic. The job was finished quickly and the workmanship is excellent. We have had a lot of remodeling done on the house, but one of the first things everyone comments on is how much they love our fireplace, a testament to Paul's work.