John Himchak Construction Company Inc.

Mr. Himchak is a terrific contractor. He scheduled a time with me, and called before to confirm. He showed me pictures of his work and handed me references right from the start. Once I showed him the job that I wanted him to do, we talked through it, and he strongly suggested I have a structural engineer look at the piers to assess the state of disrepair and to find the best way to do the work without damaging the structure of the house. Mr. Himchak was the only contractor who made this suggestion, and I am extremely glad he did so - the engineer found severe fissures in the piers and damage to the footings, indicating a complete rebuild of the piers and repouring of the footings. The engineer then created drawings from which Mr. Himchak did the work. The work was done over the course of five days, including two days of lousy weather when they couldn't work. His crew was very respectful and cleaned all the debris. Mr. Himchak's estimate was the highest of the three that I received, but his initial suggestion gave me the (correct) indication that he would be overseeing the work in complete detail, and would be offering a level of quality that the other contractors to whom I spoke wouldn't be able to achieve. I hired him again for another job right away.

The job was delayed one day by rain but the next morning John and his crew showed up exactly on time. The job foreman Hosea was a very experienced concrete person. He and his two helpers worked all day until 6:30 PM to finish the job. The wood sidewalls were carefully installed and then re-bar was installed (none of the other estimates included re-bar). The concrete arrived at noon and it took about 90 minutes to pour. The crew then a fantastic job on the finish work (see the photos). They also cleaned up well and removed all the debris. Overall, I couldn't be more pleased.

John was nice and his estimate came in a couple thousand under a competitor, but we decided not to use him. He seemed a little rushed and the quote was a written estimate rather than being itemized showing a separate cost for labor and materials for the various projects. He never talked to us about our options on various materials and costs, but supposedly those costs were included in the estimate.

John Himchak responded to my request personally and promptly. Prior to the work, he provided a written estimate and asked that payment be made once the project was complete and I was satisfied with the results. He also provided references. Once we agreed on the project, John set a time frame and delivered on the results. I was very satisfied and would recommend him as a contractor. You can see the results at 117 Kentucky Avenue, SE.

I think they are very fair in the price that they charged for the work that they did. The work that they did was excellent, and I liked the outcome of everything. They came on time and cleaned up very well. What I liked the most is that they had very good manners. I will definitely use them again for some more work when we find something for them to do; they are very good.

Expenditure over 2003, 2005, 2007. Mr. Mimchiak and his crew were on time, very patient with my questions and concerns. His price was very competitive and the final result on all the projects I hired him to do far exceeded my expectations.