This was a really big job, but Pier was more than up to the task. I inherited an old house, and honestly it had been well over 40 years since any significant repairs were done to it. So, it was just in hideous condition. There were leaks everywhere and there were gaping holes in the ceilings in two rooms. Some people said it was a tear down. And since I've never owned a house before I had no idea where to start or what I was doing. The first general contractor I spoke with told me that we had to take it down to studs because of "mold" and "rats." And his quote was correspondingly astronomical. Pier was the second general contractor I spoke with. I asked him about one of the walls that the first guy told me might have mold. Pier looked at it, pounded it with his hand, and said, "This wall? Looks pretty solid to me." So, I had a pretty good feeling about Pier, and right away I thought that he would be able to help me figure out which parts of the house could be salvaged and which parts were beyond repair. Pier did most of the work putting the guts of the house in shape: new electrical, new roof, new framing, new copper plumbing, new main plumbing, sleeving of pipes going out to the street, new ducting, raising ceilings, scraping away the popcorn ceiling throughout the house, new tankless water heater, interior painting, new flooring, and a lot of smaller stuff which is too numerous to list. There are a lot of things that can go wrong with a house that has been in disrepair for over 40 years. Everything needs repairing. We already had some other contractor in mind for the bathrooms, kitchen and windows. But most of the tough gritty work was done by Pier. Here are what I consider his strengths: 1. Expertise and professionalism. It doesn't take long before you realize that this guy really knows his stuff. He says he specializes as a finished carpenter. But actually, there is practically nothing about building that he doesn't seem to have expertise in. And I would say he has very high standards. Admittedly, I have no expertise in evaluating whether a contractor is doing good work. But it seemed to me he had very keen eye for detail and was concerned with doing extremely good work. For example, I know that he ended up painting at least three coats of paint because he was dissatisfied with some of the work. On the whole I have a lot of confidence in Pier doing any job and doing it right. 2. Hard work and getting the job done on time. Pier started immediately after I hired him. And he worked practically every day (I think he even worked occasionally on a Sunday. In fact, when I first called him it was on a Sunday.). He was there in the morning and usually the last to leave in the evening. He knows how to schedule tasks. And he brings in experienced crews who will get right to work. This whole job was accomplished in less than three months and that's even with a major unforeseen, stumbling block that set us back a couple of weeks. I think a lot of other contractors would have been working on this house for another six months. You see that sometimes when you look at other projects that have been going on for months and months. But we didn't have to deal with that. 3. Communication. There is definitely no communication problem with him. He lets you know exactly what he's doing every step of the way. And he will tell everything about the problems and what needs to be done. When you call, he almost always answers the phone, and if he doesn't, he calls you back right away. 4. He is a good manager. You need a no-nonsense person to make sure that the work is being done correctly and on time. He's a good manager that's not afraid to make sure that everyone is doing that the job the way they're supposed to. I overheard him on more than once occasion say to a subcontractor, "That's not how it's done." And one time he sent an door we had ordered back to Lowe's because he noticed it was damaged. Got into an argument with the delivery guy about it. But it went back. Does Pier charge a lot? Y'know, it's really difficult for me to evaluate price. I've never hired anyone to do this type of major renovation and I probably never will again. I don't think he's cheap. Our total bill was almost $300,000. But early on I got burned by working with a cheaper subcontractor. If Pier had done that portion of the job from the start, I would've certainly paid more, but it would have been done right the first time and without the huge uncertainty of when it would be finished. So, I'm thinking that yes, I could have saved some money by shopping around. I might have found someone to do the work for cheaper. But would I have had the confidence in them doing the work right? And how long would it have taken? I think that there is some truth in the saying that you get what you pay for. In sum, I've learned a lot over the last three months. But if I had another house that needed major remodeling -- which I don't -- then I would not hesitate to hire Pier to do the work. Robert Bloom