Professional Home Improvement Inc

The old windows and siding were removed and taken away. A foil faced insulation was attached and Tyvek wrap was installed before the siding was put on. All windows were box wrapped for a pleasing appearance. Wood stops were installed inside to seal any gaps. Oversize outside corners were also installed. I worked with Mal Graifman (president of PHI) from the initial quote until final installation. Mal was not only very professional but also pleasant and knowledgeable about his product and his competition. He pointed out all the options we had. He also gave us the phone and address of the Alside showroom where we could go to view the exterior accents (water and electrical framing, vents, etc). Mal's crew did a great job of instalation and clean-up and were friendly and informative. There were a couple of quotes lower than Mal and several higher. Mal was always pleasant, prompt to return calls and great to work with. I highly recommend him.

While we knew siding was a main element of the work we planned for our two-story house and detached garage, it was only part; from the start, we planned on replacing nine windows, the front porch railing, the back porch pillars, and garage doors. Even the siding wasn?t usual; we wanted to border each window group with a stripe of red. We asked three companies to bid on the project, but only one?Professional Home Improvement?agreed to do the entire project. Their price, which included the carpentry work, was less than $1,000 over the bids that wouldn?t include the porch work. The crew arrived two days after the siding and porch material arrived, and they worked almost straight through until the job was done (they went to another job for one day to finish a job that had been waiting for windows). Throughout, Henry, the foreman, made us part of the process; if he had a question about what we wanted he asked, and if we questioned how the crew was doing something he either showed us why they were doing it that way or he did it our way. For instance, they originally install the front-door surround flush with the siding; when we questioned that, he said, ?You?re right. A half-column would look better.? So he pulled off the surround, built it out, and re-installed the surround. The job didn?t go perfectly. When the Marvin window representative came out to measure the window openings he mis-measured two of the smaller windows; that meant Henry had to rebuild the window frames without massacring the seven-inch yellow pine surrounds on the interior of the window. Mal Graifman, the business owner and chief salesman, forgot to order the side door for the garage, and the crew installed a temporary door until they could install the proper door we had to order. At the same time they came back to install the correct door, they also installed installed 11 pairs of special-order shutters (with cutouts) that we had ordered and painted. Nothing as complex as this goes 100 percent according to plan, but Mal, Henry, and the crew worked quickly and professionally to complete the job. Throughout the three-week process the crew kept the worksite as clean as they could, with minimal damage to the landscape. We let them use half the garage as storage for their tools and major equipment, which meant that they could start work almost immediately after they arrived without having to set up again each day; if you can, I would recommend doing that with any contractor. We thought the job was done right when they left, but others have confirmed it. While out gardening, we have been stopped by more than one stranger who said, ?I watched the job being done, and the house looks wonderful.? We think so too.

Mal came to our home and had a very comfortable non-pushy sales approach. He brought his laptop along which contained all of the previous jobs his company had performed. This came in handy as we were trying to decide on various styles and finishes for our window framing and the visual examples helped us visualize how these adjustments would look on our home. As we were deciding on the color Mal dropped off a couple 3 ft sample pieces which were were able to hang on our house and which ultimately helped us make a better choice of color. It was far easier to see how it would look in the morning & afternoon light instead of the typical 6-8" pieces or smaller tiles that some companies let you use. We were a little disappointed when the job started a couple days later than initially planned. Once the crew showed up they reassessed the job and indicated that the work would take a couple days longer than anticipated. The crew showed up everyday on time and worked throughout the whole day. After the first day of demolition there was more quite a bit of trash, nails and pieces of siding, around our home and we were concerned that our children or pets would get injured. We addressed this with the crew chief the next morning upon thier arrival. Each day after that thy left the grounds around our home as clean as could be expected. This is just one example of the accomodations that the crew made with each request we made. They frequently checked in with us to insure that they were doing the job as expected. Mal came out to inspect the job part way through and was able to answer the multiple questions that we had accumulated over the first few days and walk the perimeter with us. He answered all of the questions we had and then insured that any pieces that needed to be addressed with the crew were. The crew chief followed up with us the next day to verify the slight adjustments or concerns we had. Overall our experience was very good with Professional home Improvement, Inc. They were courteous (which is not very common in the labor industry) and were affordable. They were not the lowest quote we received nor were they the highest but they delivered a quality product with a comfortable overall experience.

The work went smoothly. It did take a little longer than expected, but communication was open which helped tremendously. We were impressed by the professionalism and care from the president and from all company workers. The men worked hard, conscientiously, and cheerfully. I felt that the work and care they gave would have been the same for their own families.

Mal was great to work with. He provided an impressive portfolio of completed work as well as an extensive list of references. His price was not the cheapest quote we received, but I was confident that he would do a professional and high quality job. That was exactly right. He and his crew communicated well during the process and completed everything in a timely manner (three days). They installed our new lighting fixtures for us as well. They adapted to last minute requests (capping a large window that we had originally not planned on doing) without jacking up the price. The one snag we hit was that the siding ordered was a dutchlap, which I had indicated I did not want. I didn't notice this until the house was already half done however, and I found that I did actually like it and indicated that it was not at all a problem. I can't speak to how the company would have dealt with the issue had I asked that the siding I originally asked for be ordered, but based on our overall experience, I think they would have worked with us to resolve the issue.

The wooden windows in our home were over 50 years old and didn't stay closed. The wood was rotting in places. Mal recommended that we choose vinyl-clad windows. We are happy with their appearance and their insulating qualities. They are easy to open and to clean. While Mal was here I asked about siding the front porch. He not only sided the ceiling but added decorative touches to our plain columns. We are very happy with the company's work.

Excellent. They were wonderful. We needed 26 windows replaced. They were punctual, very efficient. I met with three or four different window co. and none of them were as good as this company. This guy came in and gave a quick estimate in a timely manner. The installation was metiqulous. Two gentlemen came on time and picked up after themselves after the work was done. They were quiet and went about their business.

During the initial meeting with Mal, he was very friendly and eager to sell us more than we were looking for eg: windows, even though we were giving him a large job. He convinced us to purchase gutter leaf guards stating that he even has them at his home. We were initially very skeptical but he managed to convince us of their effectiveness. The leaf guards have been very disappointing. They do keep leaves out of the gutter however the holes in the guards that are designed to let rain water into the gutter are so small that if there is a rain that is heavier than a light drizzle the gutters overflow and spill the rainwater over the edge of the gutter instead of down the spout. We called Mal to discuss this and he insisted that it must be due to an excessively heavy storm stating that he has the same leaf guards at his home, however Mal is incorrect, the leaf guards cause the gutters to overflow even in a moderate rainshower. When we discussed a solution to our disatisfaction Mal only offered to come and remove them however there would be a charge to remove them and no refund on the cost of the leaf guards. As for the roofing the job was completed and apparently was done professionally. During the 1st year we had no compliants regarding the roof however now that 2 years have past there are a number of loose shingles. While there have been several storms during that time there have not been any storms that would cause damage above and beyond normal wear and tear. 2 years is too soon to be finding loose shingles on a new roof. We have not addressed this with Mal based upon his unresponsive and unprofessional attitude regarding the leaf guards. The chimney work was by far the worst of the issues, the workers that installed the chimney liner used the wrong type of liner. Instead of a chimey liner they incorrectly installed a furnace liner. When we smelled smoke on a regular basis after using the fireplace we contacted another chimney company and we were informed that the wrong material was used and we were lucky that we did not have a fire. The other company we contacted said this was a serious and dangerous problem, smoke was backing up into our attic and the temperatures in the chimney could have caused the wrong material that was used in the chimney to catch fire. When we contacted Mal regarding this instead of taking it seriously he literally laughed it off and said 'well your house didn't burn down'. We found Mal's professionalism and candor to be lacking. When meeting with us during the initial sale he informed us that he does not contract any work out to subcontractors and that all labor was done by his employees. We learned from crew doing the job that they do not work for Mal, even though he made a big issue of this during the sales process. As we had issues with Mal we learned that he only wanted to deal with the 'man' of the house which seemed a bit backward as well. Overall, the most disappointing contractor ever.

Both my husband and myself couldn't be more satisfied with the job done by Professional Home Improvements. Over the span of years that we have lived here, we have had several construction/roofing jobs done and we know first hand the aggravation and frustration of having a job done poorly, and having to pay someone else to undo and redo it. So it was a real pleasure to have a job done well the first time and for a very reasonable cost. First of all, Mal is a very easy person to deal with and he really knows his stuff. He was always easy to reach, and prompt in answering any of our questions or concerns. The products that they installed are made by Alside. The windows look great, work beautifully, and have a lifetime guarantee as well. The siding looks terrific, and together, the windows and siding make our home look like new. I am also so glad that they used the Tyvek Homewrap. Our house had been drafty when it was windy outside, particularly in one area where a room addition joined the original structure. Now when the wind blows the place is snug and comfortable. However, Professional Home Improvements' biggest asset are their installers. They were always on time, worked hard, and were easy to get along with. But what I appreciated the most was the pride they took in their work. Everything was installed neatly and carefully. Even the caulk they applied was smooth and even. Inside our house, all the mitered corners of the window trim meet perfectly. To sum it all up, I would recommend this company without reservations!

It was an excellent job overall. No complaints. The foreman was really easy to work with and accommodated many special requests, including dealing with phone and cable TV wiring on the outside of the house, working around the electrical service pole and several other "gotchas" that they were able to deal with easily.

Again, the company did not actually do any work for us, but the pleasantness and professionalism of our phone conversation was top-notch!

I liked that they seemed to do an excellent job of removing the old stuff and installing the new. I asked them to box out the windows and they did that. For no extra charge they replaced my face board on the side of the house. The quality of the windows and siding is very good. The owner did an excellent job, he explained everything and did real good work.

Best experience we've ever had dealing with a contractor. They did what they promised, all within the quote, and performed a great follow up.

Mr. Graifman worked with the board of directors of our townhome complex to get the whole picture of what we wanted to accomplish. He provided samples, built displays using the different colors of the samples, offered a very good warranty, and provided workers that did a excellent job. Some of the chimneys were rotted and needed to be replaced and rebuilt, his crew did a quick efficient and very professional looking repair job on the chimney chases. The 2 crews we had working on our building were always on time, usually ate their lunch on the jobsite, cleaned up atfer themselves after a long day of climbing ladders and cutting vinyl siding. The workers were careful about placement of ladders and considerate of the existing flowers and plantings around the buildings. Even though we had our own engineer, Mr. Graifman was on-site, making sure all went according to plan. I would recommend Professional Home Improvement to any commercial or private individual looking for a professional job, done by good workers and a manager that takes the time to be sure the job is done right.

They installed everything with high quality installation & left the site with nothing to clean-up. I am very picky about installation. The windows did not damage anything in the house including paint, wallpaper or window treatments. The windows are a real pleasure to clean & do not leak air. The gutters never clog & there is no maintenance with the windows or gutters. one. Mal & his crew were very professional & I have already recommended him two numerous friends.

I'm in my mid 50s and have owned several homes and been involved in numerous renovation projects over the years...I can honestly say that working with Mal Graifman and his crew at Professional Home Improvement, Inc. is the best experience I've ever had with a building contractor. I live in the Houston area, but was up in the Chicago suburbs in late October to help my Mom manage a major renovation project at her home in Arlington Heights involving new James Hardie fiber cement siding on the entire house, all new window trim, gables and vents, soffits, facia, gutters, electrical fixtures, etc., along with a complete rebuild of her deck and restoration of her storage shed. In other words, a complete facelift. There was a lot of custom carpentry involved in the deck portion of the job and many external cables and electrical wires attached to the siding that had to be avoided. A project of this size requires constantly updated communication between the homeowner and contractor. Mal was always extremely accessible, and he did a great job of communicating and reiterating our wishes to his excellent crew. We had terrible weather with several days completely rained out. So Mal's guys made up for the lost time by doing carpentry work and painting at home in their garage on rainy days, and by working both weekend days on back-to-back weekends, and sometimes arriving at the house as early as 7:00 am on weekdays. A special thanks to Enrique and Benjamin for their superb work ethic and for the respect they showed to my mother and her home. On several occasions, we changed our mind on color and material decisions, and Mal was extremely tolerant of our changes. With all the weather interruptions, and given the complexity of the job, the entire process took about twice as long as originally expected. I know the extra labor costs must have cut into Mal's profit margin. Yet he never asked for a single penny above the initial contract price (other than for extras that Mom added midstream). In a nutshell, Mal takes as much pride in the final product as the homeowner does, and how often can you say that about your building contractor? I'm a real "belt and suspenders" kind of guy and would normally recommend soliciting bids from several contractors before making a final selection (e.g., Mal's bid was one of three that we received before choosing him). However, I think you will find Mal's pricing to be very fair for the quality of work that he delivers and, in this case, I would say don't even waste your time with the other guys. Just hire Mal and you'll be happy you did. An extremely satisfied customer with a very happy mom, Jim Jordan Spring, Texas

Mal is a real pleasure to work with. He did a great job explaining our options, explaining the choice of products, and working with the insurance claims process. He helped guide us through the process of making the claim and was even able to come meet with the inspector when he came to our house and answer questions about the work he would do. The finished job looks great! His estimate for the job was very competitive. His men worked very fast and cleaned up well after themselves each day.

After having 3 quotes, we went with this company as they seemed the most knowledgeable and provided the most detailed estimate. Also, without a request from us, they provided insurance information and references with the estimate. The references all checked out. A long list of homes they sided in the chicagoland area was also provided. We drove past some of these completed jobs and were impressed. The job went very well. Before the job and during the job someone was always available for our questions. The crew paid attention to detail by trimming out the windows, outlets, lights, etc. I enjoyed working with Mal and Jerry. They addressed all concerns we had quickly.

We hired Professional Home Improvement to remodel our recently flooded basement. This is not park of their normal business plan but contracted with a gentleman named Gerardo to do the work. It worked out wonderful! Mal was very quick to deal with any issue that arose and Gerardo was a professional that really took his time and paid attention to detail. Instead of just drywalling the walls he straightened them out, and we did not even know they were crooked! We plan on redoing our kitchen next summer and will hire them in a second. They are even doing out neighbors basement remodel (dang flood) as I am writing this.

I'll begin w/small backstory, please bare with me here. About 10 years ago we hired a crew to replace all siding and windows. It was an absolute nightmare. Besides the very shoddy workmanship, they failed to fill out all warrantees and estimates. They totally destroyed our yard and our faith in any kind of work from outside contractors. I ended up buying my own tools and learned how to do many things. Unfortunately, I did not ever learn aluminum. So all these years we have put up with drafty new windows and siding that I occasionally would have to resecure here and there. When we decided to hire out a professional, I can tell you that we were sticklers for all above mentioned shortcomings of the "nightmare contractors". Well thank goodness for Angies List! We chose two differnt names from Angies and two from a home improvement show we went to and had them all estimate. We decided on Home Improvement Services, as Mal Grafton really took the time to explain every detail. He has the mannerisms of your typical sales guy, but he did everything we asked. If we weren't happy with anything we called him, he addressed it and we went to the next step. His crews were very conscientious and courteous. And they did know their trades. The trades were sub contractors, but we were assured that Mal had used them for years (whether that is true or not I cannot say-yet the repore between them was an obvious good one). We have had quite a season of rain/wind storms since the work was done, and I can tell you that I have not found any leaks in the roof or air flow through the window casings. The gutters and downspouts work as they should and our yard is still in one piece. So I can go on record here for you fellow skeptics and recommend Mal Grafton and his company Professional Home Improvement, Inc. in Palatine, Il.

I found Mal to be very knowledgeable on siding and the installation process. I like to know how a company does their work and Mal explains everything. His men were very professional and expert at their trade. Their attention to detail is very evident in their work. I would highly recommend Mal and his company. I should add that we were adding stone to our house and they found structural water damage. Mal sent his team out the next day to repair so the stone company could complete their job. So our estimate was a little higher.

I got 3 estimates for the work. Professional was the highest but they had a better warranty, took the time to show us the materials, gave us several references in our neighborhood that we could look at, and the names of previous clients to talk to. I called Mike and let him know the other estimates had come in considerably below his and he dropped the price to be more competitive. It was still the highest, but we felt Professional offered more. Plus, they were very responsive and have someone who answered the phone every time I called; no waiting days for a call back. They started work exactly a week after we signed a contract. It took 3 days. They worked on our house while we were away. The workmen cleaned up after themselves every night. The foreman was professional and very friendly. Mike called with questions that came up, and stopped by the house to relay the details to the foreman. The work they did looks fantastic and the attention to detail was very good.

I had a very good experience with them. The owner was actually the one who came out and gave the estimate. He was very courteous and the workers were very polite and friendly. I was very happy with the job that they did. I would highly recommend them to anyone.

The president of the company, Mal Graifman, called then came out to my residence and showed me ways to fix the problem inexpensively, because they didn't do that service but still came out to help me.

I received 3 estimates for siding and windows, all from Angie's list. Nobody was even close to Mal and Professional Home Improvements. Mal came out and gave me a very detailed explanation on exactly what would be done. He gave me options on both windows and siding types. When the work began Henry and 2 other men started the job, they were always at my house at 7 am and were always very pleasant and put in a good 10 hours of work each day. If I had questions about anything Mal was always very quick to call me back. My house looks wonderful, everything was done in a very professional manner. Everything Mal promised to do was done with no surprise extra costs. The whole process from beginning to end could not have been much better. He even put up new lighting and a mailbox for me at no extra cost. I would definitely use Professional again. Mal and Henry were fantastic, highly recommended.