JOSEPH JAMES CONSTRUCTION INC

Arthur was prompt to respond to my inquiry and to make an appointment to come to my home. He made recommendations and was very professional. He followed up quickly the next day with a formal quotation for the work. The quality of work done was outstanding, we couldn't be happier. They built a new brick mailbox near the street to our design. The work was done promptly and looks beautiful. I would highly recommend them to anyone.

We contacted Josaph James in July.  We expressed urgency to get the front wall of our home repaired as it was impacting our 2 year old son.  This was a very busy time for Chicago masons with all of the rain received in June of 2013.  Everyone was booked, but Joseph James understood our situation and made time for this job in their busy schedule.  They repaired the front wall of our home quickly.  We had to wait until October to get the garage repaired, but it was not urgent and we didn't mind waiting.  
Everyone that worked with us from Joseph James was punctual, professional and friendly.  The work was beautifully done in a quick, timely manner.  They were always considerate with taking off shoes when entering our home and keeping outdoor gates locked, etc.
Our final bill matched their estimates.
 
We would use them again and recommend this company.

Everything went well. 
They were able to start earlier than promised and finished more quickly than promised.  There was no arguments when some minor changes were made to the work requirements.  The work was well done.  They cleaned u after themselves.  There was no damage or problems of any kind.
I will call them 1st when I need more work.

A wonderful experience with Joseph James Construction.  Had originally hired someone else to do the job, but they kept flaking out.  Called Joseph James because I'd used them before for chimney repair work and they did a great job (I found them on Angie's List).  Ron was very courteous, professional and accommodating.  Even though it was late in the season and this was a small job, they were able to fit it in within a few weeks.
Price-wise, they are more expensive than others I contacted, but it was money well-spent.  They took care of getting the proper permits and Ron communicated well and kept me up-to-date on the project status, which I greatly appreciated.  Even though there was lag time between tear-out/prep and the pouring of the concrete, they kept the area safe and secure, putting up caution tape so no one wandered into the construction area by mistake.  When the concrete was poured, they protected the driveway with plywood so the cement truck didn't damage it.  I was home when the concrete work was done and was very impressed with the crew - they were all friendly and very professional.  It was obvious they knew what they were doing and enjoyed their work.  The finished product looks amazing.
(After the concrete work, they also replaced old, rotting posts that connected to the roof, re-did the ceiling and installed a new light fixture.  A separate review of that work will follow.)

I emailed the company on a Sunday; received a reply on Monday.  By Tuesday they had inspected the property and given an estimate.  They met with me on Friday to answer questions, and did the work on Saturday.  The following Monday they were back to answer my questions and review the completed work.
I was very impressed with their responsiveness - in answering emails, getting the work done, and completely answering all my questions and concerns.  I feel totally confident in their product and work.  Even though the caulking has a warranty of 24 years, I know they will respond asap if there are any issues?
Joseph James Construction provides many different services - they will be the ones I call the next time I have a home project!

very well

They were very nice to work with and did a great job, at a very fair price for the work involved. I would recommend.

We contacted Arthur with Joseph James in mid May to get a quote for our project -along with a number of other companies. They came in somewhere in the middle as far as price, but they were knowledgeable and professional and we felt confident that they would do a good job, so hired them for the job. At the time we explained that we were ready to hire and given schedule and other projects we had going on, wanted it done soon. Arthur said no problem and explained the process, letting us know the entire thing would take a few days. So, we sent our deposit check, it was cashed and we did not hear from them for about a month. When I called, it was explained that they were very busy and our project would start soon. I got the feeling that we were a small project and not high priority. They came and broke out our old concrete steps, rebuilt the wing walls and then left for the weekend. We were without stairs in the front of our building for about a week. The work was finally completed early August when someone came out to clean up the concrete that was smeared on the bottom portion of our brick walls. We also had a new stone threshold installed, which does not match the pitch of the concrete steps and looks uneven.
All-in-all, I am not happy with how this project went, or with the finished product. I did feel that Arthur and associates were professional and respectful.

They arrived on time and proceeded to scope the details of the work needed.
Then removed the bad bricks and chimney top and it needed a section of the fireplace flue pipe replaced
They worked carefully and completed the job the same day.
They cleaned up the area but needed to return to remove the wood frame.
I had to call twice and they returned to  remove the wood frame and the job is done to my satisfaction.

Arthur was my main contact and he was terrific. The crew was prompt and polite, and the work was done quickly and in a professional manner. The cost was reasonable, and overall I am very pleased with the service.

We were planning on starting the project in April, but due to a death in the family, had to postpone the project. They were very sympathetic. When we were able to start the project, they were ready. It was a small job and only took a few days. They were very neat and cleaned up the work area each evening before they left. I would recommend them to anyone looking for masonry or roofing work.

Great

Very well done and completed in one to two days.  Looked better than what I expected.

Arthur from Joseph James came over right away and reviewed all the projects with me. Except for the sliding door opening, all the projects were small and scattered all over the house. Arthur did a great job keeping track of all the small projects so nothing was forgotten. Arthur also helped me with the permit process, which was great. I'm in Oak Park and the permit process can be a bit elaborate, but we had no problem and I think it was due to Arthur's detailed sketches. The whole project was supposed to take 10 hours, but rather than do it in one day, we decided to have them come over two days to make sure there was enough time to complete everything. They did a great job matching the old brick and matching the old mortar. I can't tell where the new tuck-pointing starts and stops, which is great. Making the sliding door opening in the brick was a challenging project because we had an old ice box that overlapped part of the opening. Joseph James did a great job bricking over part of the ice box opening in a way that is seamless with the existing brick. The permit inspector called the new lintel "a thing of beauty" and I have to agree with him -- the opening for the sliding door looks wonderful. I was very pleased with the outcome of both the large and small projects -- I felt like everything was given close attention and resulted in quality work.

unknown

Workers arrived on time each day and worked very professionally until the job was done. All the work turned out great. The company followed all my requests. Our home looks great now.

I received various quotes and they provided the best value because they included Tyvek wrap and new Aluminium around a window.  They also removed existing fascia and replaced it so that I got a good fit.  Others were going to charge more or less and not do the job right.  They had a big crew that came out here and knocked the whole project out in one day.  Very nicely done.

Met with Arthur, who assured me that the job would be done by professionals. Arthur emailed me the estimate and continued to communicate with me as to status of job. Job was completed as promised with no complaints. No one would have thought that there was any construction done because they left the area  very clean. Good Lord willing any future projects I will call Joseph James construction again for their services. Thanks, Edgar.

We have a 60 year old brick home that needed tuckpointing. Arthur, who prepared the proposal also was part of the team performing the work. They identified areas that required attention and actually repaired more areas than we discussed. The chimney was re-built from the roof line to the the top and they built a form and replaced the chimney cap. Very pleased with the work of the company.

The entire experience was very good.  Arthur met me as scheduled to view and discuss the work to be done.  His estimate was reasonable and he was able to schedule it for a few days later.  The crew arrived on time and completed the work as promised.  The finished job looks much better and should provide better protection from wind and water entry.  I will call again for future projects.

Outstanding! The service was excellent from the first meeting through the replacement of the roof. Everyone from the company was very professional. All debris was removed from the premises. The end result was a great job.

Joseph James Construction installed a mechanism to divert rainwater away from the chimney and repaired badly worn masonry. We experienced significant rainfall the following day -- dry as a bone. We are very pleased with the results and highly recommend Joseph James Construction.

Joseph James came and expected our house soon after we made the initial contact. They quickly sent us a proposal. As soon as we accepted it, they were able to come out and do the work. We greatly appreciated that, as we were concerned to have the work done before winter.

Signed contract and agreed to a start date a few weeks later in mid-June. Actual work started over a month later than agreed upon, and took 4+ weeks to complete, not the 1-2 weeks we discussed. Forms were placed which I pointed out were not level. There was difficulty communicating and understanding of my concerns with foreman on site. And, repeated calls to Arthur, sales person, went unreturned. Had to bring out my personal level to demonstrate problem using sidewalk as an example. When pouring cement, the truck operator failed to stop the cement flowing into wheelbarrow when it was full, and cement spilled a large 4 foot diameter 1 foot high pile on my grass. Even though they tried to remove as quickly and completely as possible, most of the grass died. My biggest complaint is that the driveway ultimately is not level. Beyond cosmetically looking like it is tilted, water flows to the middle. When this accumulates during the winter with snow and melting, it will cause ponding of water and ice to form.

I am not an expert on pouring cement, but the forms were not laid properly. A long level board was not used to span either side of the forms to make sure the cement was leveled off equally from one side of the form to the other. The technique I witnessed was the use of a 4 foot wide paddle on the end of a long pole to move the cement arount, eyeballing the relative height of the cement. If you are particular about look and functionality, I would look elsewhere.

unknown