William D. Becker, Inc.

Very  well.

Pleasure  working  with  Bill

.

Be very careful if you are a snowbird contracting in Key West. Contractors, of which we have had three, see

you coming and while they promise to send regular communication emails with attached photos of their progress, that just doesn?t happen unless pressed and Bill is no exception. 

We contracted Bill Becker in October 2013 to do a gate and deck and he encouraged us to have him prepare and submit the

drawings and paperwork in late October so that all the various approvals from the city would be done by the time

we arrived in Jan so he would be ready to begin work. This long lead time was because dealing with Key West

building department is frustrating and problematic but it is not just the city lead times it is the contractors as well. 

Bill has lots of jibba jabba on why the process was not done in a timely manner and he can get downright offended

when questioned on his lack of progress or concern when we said we did not want to have done work when we

were absent. It seems as if it is always someone else?s fault but when you actually look at the paperwork and dates

of submissions it tells quite a different story. 

Bill finally completed the work on June 6th 2014, fully seven months after being contracted. We had to leave for

home in April because nothing was being done and there was no point in waiting. Pretty horrific track record, but working three to four jobs at once and playing the game are the sad norms in Key West.

Bill?s quality of work is always very good and he does not stint on materials. He had done work before on the inside

of our cottage, some that maybe needed to be done but was not requested, and he did a good job. He was offended

that we did not fall all over him with gratitude when we arrived and got that bill. We were also quite surprised when

he offered to get pavers at a great price but he did not quote his price of delivery or stacking the pavers until we got

his invoice later. We would have appreciated the full cost disclosure when we agreed but it was too late then.

If you are away, then so is Bill. Just talk to your neighbors. If you are there and on top of things on a daily basis

you will probably get a great job.  He does good work but his communication, and logistics in organizing his work

and clients is sadly lacking. We would never ever have any further work done by any contractors unless we are there.

We are going to use Bill to construct a deck for us when we return to Key West for the winter.  He always gets back to us and keeps us informed if he is going to be late or can't make it. He will probably become our permanent handyman for any further work we have done on this cottage. He is not the least expensive but after the construction team  we have had down here and all the issues we have had to deal with using other contractors, he is someone you know you can trust.
 
I will be happy to report further when we use his services in the spring. In fact he is going to be doing work for us when we are not here for the next month.
I can't give you a cost of services because it depends on what he has to do but he charges an hourly rate and has a helper work with him,

I initially spoke with Bill Becker to work on issues that were a result of our roof being replaced by another contractor.  We were getting rid of two skylights and also a cupola type structure on the house.  The house needed some exterior wood that was rotted to be removed and replaced.  Also I needed the ceilings and carpentry work to repair where the roof skylights and were removed.  Bill did a good job on the exterior work and he had to deal with some pretty tricky place to work (out over water and on small decks).  He was quick to identify any problems he saw such as electrical or other damage and let me know about it so I could decide what to do.  He also had recommendations on how to proceed which were always good to heed.
Once he moved inside Bill had a couple employees he brought to assist.  We had identified a few areas in the ceiling that needed to be repaired and Bill started that work.  The project turned out to be much larger than we anticipated but Bill and I talked through the progress and the plans often. 
I explained most of the work above so I am going to give you my opinion on why I chose Bill and why I gave him the scores I did.
- Bill is more expensive than what you could get from some other contractors, but I think he also provides a better service for what I needed.
- Bill is an honest contractor and could be trusted to give good advice and do what he said he would.  I gave Bill the key to my house for the entire 3 months he was working on the house.   This was a very big factor for me.
-  Bill does the job right and doesn't take shortcuts.  He always let me know when he found something unexpected in the house or noticed something that was not up to code.  He let me make the decision on what to do and gave sound advice.
-  No job was too small.  For example, he put trim around the microwave for me since it was something that bothered me, even though he didn't have any work in the kitchen.  On the other hand he can do some really big jobs and he has the right tools for every job.

It went well/took some time to get the necessary parts - but was meticulous in the work done

First, thank you Angie's list for supplying excellent business's for various things.   Where to begin about Bill Becker and his crew.  He was on time, started the job on the agreed  date and his work is excellent.  You would never know where the problem was in the ceiling.  He had recommendations for paint color and did the job with little fuss.  They picked up after themselves each evening, was considerate of our space and always kept us informed as to where they were at with the job.  I can't say enough about Bill!  It is so hard to find reliable workers who do the job and are trustworthy.   I was so impressed with him that I recommended him for a big job at my neighbors!  If you want the job done correctly, efficiently, and someone who you can trust and who will give you a reasonable quote and stay within that quote Bill Becker is your guy.   There is not another repair in my home without  Bill.  We have found our contractor!  Thank you

As usual with any remodel it cost more and took longer than we anticipated but the end result was worth the time and expense.

Bill was part of a team hired to do a remodel.  Once again everything turned out beautiful. I ended up coming to Bill for clarification on progress, concerns, etc. I felt confident that having him as part of the team that things were being done correctly. He made suggestions for things that I had never even thought of.  I have since had him back for other small projects such as putting in a closet, changing out a faulty shower faucet and ceiling fan

I was very pleased with the work performed. Mr. Becker went the extra mile to make sure it was done properly. He also kept me updated, and answered all my questions, no matter how simple.  He showed up on time, kept the area clean, and finished on time and budget. I have gotton many compliments from friends and neighbors. My deck will outlast me!