Classic Restoration

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Classic was extremely responsive and were true professionals (showed up on time, worked hard and cared about the work yielding a great finished product...they weren't focused on jamming through the work as fast as possible...which inevitably would have damaged my building).  James appropriately identified that we had butter joints that would require more hand grinding and care and that he would use a higher lime composition mortar versus many other proposals we received.  They also focused on matching bricks as closely as possible as well during the replacement process.  The Classic team showed up consistently, worked hard, communicated consistently throughout and truly took pride in their work.  I am extremely happy with the work and would definitely work with them again in the future.  Even some common face brick that they touched up underneath our future front stairs looked excellent once they were done.  I look forward to working with Classic again in the future.

They did a great job and worked every day that it was not raining.  They cleaned up pretty well and some leaks that we used to have are now all gone.  They found some vintage brick for the face of the building that matched perfectly.  It really looks great.  The limestone coping that was ready to fall is now secure. 
My only complaint is that I wish we had known in advance that the dust and exhaust would go into the apartments.  I had a tenant that complained constantly already that was a real problem during this.  We put up plastic on all the windows once we realized but advance notice would have helped. 

They were awesome. In fact, I'm thinking about giving them a call really soon because we need to have the place basically tuck-pointed and sealed. I live in a building with three units. I'll probably give him a call and ask him to give us a bid on the work. They were great. My contact person, James, was very courteous and on time. He made sure I stayed in the loop with regards to the project. I couldn't be home during the day when they were doing the work. They came anyway and got the work done. They were not only considerate of me but they were also considerate of my neighbors as well. They cleaned up. They did exactly what they said they were going to do. When I had questions about the building being sealed, they were great about talking to me about basically the difference between good sealing and bad sealing in buildings. He was very honest with me about what the approximate cost needed to be. I was really happy. Their price was very fair. The quote was originally for three windows and I had a small window. I asked them if they would do that one as well. They didn't change the quote. They threw in an extra window and did it basically for free. He was really nice about it. If I had a question, James would get back to me. He was very realistic with the time that they had available. He communicated some of the problems with the building that we had. He followed-up with his last invoice very quickly.

Given the scope of our projects, we engaged the services of a mechanical engineer to plan and oversee the necessary work. Our engineer, the owner of Classic Restoration as well as the construction crew established a very good working relationship. Classic was continually in communication to ensure that the work was done to spec. I was impressed that the crew was diligent about making sure to get direction anytime they encountered something about which they were unsure or had questions. 
Overall we were pleased with the results and very pleased with the reasonable cost.
The project required attending to different sections of the building. As we progressed I was a bit impatient that the areas were being addressed sequentially rather than simultaneously. Having scaffolding and construction crews on site for extended periods can be trying. To be fair, we were late in getting our project out for bid and late in the season getting started. So, no doubt they were juggling other job sites along with ours. 
We would certainly invite Classic Restoration to bid any future projects and we would be happy to work with them again.

They did excellent work, especially on the front stoop.  They removed and then cleaned off original brick, reusing the brick to rebuild the walls surrounding the concrete steps.  It looks great.  We are now one of only one or two of the house style on the block that still has brick to side the concrete front steps (others just have bare concrete with iron railings.  The cost was in line with what it would have cost to replace the concrete and install iron rails.  It's been two years, and the brick walls show no sign of ware.

They did a very very nice job. They did what they said they were going to do, came on time, and if we had any questions we were easily accessible. They are especially good with older buildings and preserving the look of them

The rebuilding went very well. Classic showed up and set up their equipment. Then, they worked pretty much non-stop, 6 days a week, until the job was done. The owner, James Mahoney, was always readily available for questions and responsive to our concerns. He explained every aspect of the work with clarity and brevity. His workers conducted themselves like professionals. They started in early Summer (as I remember). They finished before Labor Day. It was a huge job: parapets on 3 sides, removal/replacement of 12 courses of brick, replacement of limestone caps, rebuilding of crumbled chimneys. Classic did their jobs superbly.

It went fine and they did a great job. They were on time and performed the work nicely.

Estimate was good & thorough. Got a good explanation of how masonry on my old house (built 1891) should be handled. Estimate was higher than "non-restoration" masonry companies that clearly did not know how to handle historic masonry. Estimate was about 2/3 of a competing restoration masonry company (which also wanted to do unecessary work & would not make any changes to its standard contract). Classic Restoration made several changes to the contract that I requested, with no questions asked. Work crew was pleasant & professional. They kept the work areas extremely clean, which is not easy to do given the nature of the work (they left our attic cleaner than they found it). Job required 3 stories of scaffolding - when they got up to the top, they found additional work to do for an additional $1,200. Total price was still lower than competing restoration masonry company.

They were certainly punctual. The experience was good but we encountered a few minor issues. I think there was some miscommunication as far as what was our property. It wasn't anything major and once we clarified it with them they were fine. I felt that their price was good.

We got several quotes for work repairing our chimney and a concrete seal that had been crumbling around the foundation of our house (as well as some other tuckpointing and lintel repair that we decided to do later.) John was quick to respond to our request for a quote and when he came over it was clear that he had a lot of experience in working on historic homes, including bungalows. His price for the chimney and concrete work was much more reasonable than the other bids that we received. I sent back the contract and the deposit and called to schedule the work and they came to do it so quickly that I didn't even notice it was done. They did an excellent job and the work that they did looks great. The work far exceeded my expectations.

They do great work. I had a really hard time getting in touch with them but once they did do the work, they did a great job. They did arrive on time and they did do quality work.

It was all good! They respected the proposal that they gave us. They were good at looking out for our best interest. They were a little late on their schedule but that was okay for us. The work they did was excellent, and they did a good job of cleaning up after themselves when they were done.

Our 1904 building is under going conversion to a single family home residence. The previous owner did an ugly job bricking up the original 1st floor storefront, but he ignored the 2nd floor of the north facade, which was heading south. After talking with several contractors, the consensus seemed to be that it would be better to demolish and rebuild the front straight again. James, Robert, their crew chiefs, and laborers have a lot of experience in this field. This was not an easy project, and a hack crew could have screwed it up. The majority of the facade work was done in 3 - 4 weeks, with other jobs added and completed over the course of the summer. (They would squeeze me into their schedule for some of the smaller jobs.) If there was a question or concern, James would take care of it after I called. I found James to be reachable by cell phone, and he'd respond promptly to voice mail. Overall a great experience, and I'll continue to call them for other work.

Our inspector recommended Classic Restoration based on their experience with historic buildings and we weren't disappointed. We've heard horror stories about how improper tuckpointing can damage a building. When James Mahoney originally gave us the estimate, he explained all the issues and potential alternatives. We proceeded with only about half of the work and plan to have the crew back next year to complete it. The guys were true artisans in their approach. They cleaned up everyday and worked to keep the neighbors happy through the dusty process. The work lasted about 1 week longer than outlined - we were glad they didn't rush through it. But anyone with tight schedule issues might want to keep this in mind.

Excellent craftsmanship by true artisans. I hestitated on whether to spend this kind of money on detailing a garage, but wanted it to match the house. It looks fantastic and really adds character to the structure. If you plan to add an addition onto a house with a Lemont limestone foundation, have Classic cover the cement foundation wall with a matching veneer. You can not distinguish it from the original except for the color, and that improves with age.

The work is absolutely beautiful. Applying hanging bead joints on greystone is an art form and these guys are definitely artists. The front of the house just gleams. Communication was great. The crews who worked on both the house and the garage were extremely professional. The work started ahead of the schedule I had hoped for and continued on schedule. All of my questions and concerns were addressed promptly. The site was left clean each evening. I knew it would not be inexpensive to have this type of work done and I feel that I received more than full value from my investment.

Our experiences with Classic have been very positive, which is why we keep going back to them again and again and again. They are not the cheapest company out there, but the quality of work, attention to detail and customer service we have received from them has been impressive. One incident in particular happened the first time we used them. When Classic chemically removed paint from our limestone columns, some liquid made its way into our doorbell buzzer system and it shorted out. When we approached Classic with the problem, they immediately offered to pay for the damage with no questions asked. We expected a 50/50 arrangement or something like it because it isn't clear that this outdoor component should have been so susceptible to water damage. There have not been repeat incidents since and the work that has been done is excellent, quick and clean.

EXCELLENT WORK.

JAMES MAHONEY'S PEOPLE REBUILT THE STAIRS, CHEMICALLY CLEANED THE STONE FRONT OF THE BUILDING, REMOVED AN OLD SIDEWALK AND POURED A NEW SIDEWALK. WE WERE VERY PLEASED WITH THE RESULT. THEY SHOWED UP WHEN THEY SAID THEY WOULD, AND FINISHED THE JOB ON TIME. WE HAVE A 100 YEAR OLD GREYSTONE, AND IT LOOKS GREAT. I HAVE HIRED THEM FOR ADDITIONAL WORK ON ANOTHER PROPERTY.

UNHAPPY WITH THE RESULTS, MANY AREAS ARE UNACCEPTABLE OR JUST SLOPPY. THERE'S CHIPPED BRICK. SEEMS THERE WAS A LACK OF ATTENTION TO DETAIL.

CLEANED UP BEHIND THEMSELVES AND DID A REALLY GOOD JOB!