P STEINERT INC

Re: P. Steinert, Inc.,4433 N Lamon Street, Chicago,
Illinois.
I give P. Steinert Incorporated an unequivocal positive recommendation.  Phil is third generation in the business started
by his grandfather in 1947 and the work was performed with old school
craftsmanship.
Everything stated in the written proposal was accomplished.
The job was to replace the existing front porch and sidewalk
leading from the public sidewalk to the front porch continuing around to the back
of the house.  I don?t care for the gray
look that regular Portland cement yields so I asked if it could be done using
white Portland?  Phil made up four
samples.  One with white Portland, one
with gray, a third with two parts white one part gray  and the last with two parts gray and one
white.  This was done before he knew if
the job was his.  He is very
accommodating and helpful.
Work started by reducing and breaking up the existing porch
and digging down three feet to pour a footing. 
Before the footing pour, several ½ inch rebar lengths were doweled into
the existing foundation.  The footing set
overnight.  The next day the porch was
framed and a matrix of ½ inch rebar assembled throughout the porch on 16 inch
centers and the junctions wire wrapped together.  The porch isn?t going to move.
I didn?t want stones popping thru the surface as can happen in
regular aggregate pours.  He recommended a
¾ inch top coat of just sand and cement to prevent shalling or popping stones.
There was a crew of three men in addition to Phil who was on
site 80% of the time.  Each knew what to
do and didn?t have to ask questions.  Each
could fill in for one another whether framing or finishing.  They are an expert crew who has worked
together for years.
Concrete for the porch and stairs was mixed on site and the
¾ inch topcoat applied.
The sidewalks required sand and stone fill which was tamped
with a motor driven tamper.
In order to set the sidewalk forms, some patio blocks had to
be taken out from an adjacent patio area. 
When the forms were removed, the blocks were replaced, leveled and set
in sand so there?s no evidence of ever being disturbed. The grass was replaced
by hand and tamped in place.
The original estimate was $4,170.  I asked that the stairs have a radius.  Rather than coming straight across I wanted
them to bow out 6 inches in the center. 
Phil made the curved forms on site. 
There was an additional charge of $130 for the flex framing material.  White Portland is more expensive so for the
mix I wanted, 20 bags were required for an additional charge of $280.
I couldn?t be more pleased.