Alex'S Home Solutions

I was looking for a handyman who could install an air conditioner in a sliding glass door. This is an unusual type of installation, and I had trouble finding someone who was capable and qualified to do the job. A friend recommended Alex to me. He told me how others in his neighborhood, some quite demanding and difficult customers, regard him as the "go to" guy for handyman work. After working with Alex, I understood the rave reviews. Alex not only completed our job in much less time than I had expected, he did a flawless installation. His meticulous work was accompanied by him explaining the theoretical aspects of air conditioning. He made sure that I understood exactly what was going on at each step of the installation. He gave me suggestions on other work (especially safety issues) that existed in the house, all of which he completed in record time. Alex is skilled at a wide range of repairs, construction, electrical work and installations inside the home and outside. He has a solid knowledge of his profession. On an interpersonal level, I enjoyed working with Alex very much. His drive and ambition is overwhelming, yet he is always tactful and diplomatic in dealing with my questions and requests. After the job was done, I contacted him with numerous follow-up questions. He always answered promptly and accurately.

Our house had a 70's era kitchen - linoleum floors, formica counters, builder grade cabinets, and 50's vintage wiring.  Alex transformed it into a sleek, modern, and very usable space, all for an unexpectedly reasonable price.
Alex gave great advice on what was worth spending on and where we could save a bit.  He lined us up with beautiful granite countertops that were priced substantially less than anywhere else we looked.
He did a meticulous installation of our new cabinets, dishwasher (he's also a plumber), sink, countertop, and range hood.
The hood was a real challenge and testament to Alex's creativity.  We have an Eichler style house, which makes many renovations a huge pain.  Not having attic ruled out an island mount, and a cutout between the kitchen and living room caused all sorts of problems with wall mounting.  Most of wall mounted hoods are screwed into the wall at the bottom of the hood - not an option in our case - and are unfinished in the back.  We were at a loss.
Alex devised and built an ingenious housing on the wall for the hood.  Even better, he extended it in such a way that he was able to route the exhaust out the hole used by the pre-existing ventilating fan, and he added an out of the way outlet that we'll use to power some accent lighting.  Now that it's finished, the entire assembly looks like a natural part of the house, and we were able to avoid cutting a new hole in the roof for the duct (and paying $700 to a roofer).
He was great about stopping by to address a few minor issues that came up after the installation.
One thing to know about working with Alex: he has strong opinions about the right way to do things, and he's not afraid to share them.  It's best to listen to him - the few times we chose not to follow his advice we later regretted it.
He's a stickler for quality, and he's unhappy with work that's not up to standard.  When he started working with us, he expressed concerns about the work a flooring contractor had recently done and came off as a bit grumpy.  We later discovered (to our chagrin) that he was completely on target.
In hindsight, the one thing we'd have done differently is to have had Alex's people do the rewiring of the kitchen as well as the installations.  We went with another electrician, as we were having some other electrical work done in the house, and that led to all sorts of headaches.
We'll be giving Alex a call when it's time to redo our bathroom!