LAUER EXTERIORS & HOME IMPROVEMENT

The kitchen job was extremely messy as it meant cutting dry wall along with the framing for the wall. The stairs were easier and not such a mess. They cleaned everything up after the job, contained the mess during the construction and we allowed them access to the house while we were at work and everything went as planned. Great job done with both projects.

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LEHI replaced our exterior window trim and installed new window screens last November (see review in November 2013).  We were so pleased we went with them again the second half of the house spruce up. 
Ron is quick to respond, polite, personable and delightfully tactful when pointing out how things could be done and also very happy to handle something differently based on discussions.   His quote was very timely and it covered all the items on our list with the notes related to discussions during the walk around.  Ron kept us posted on timing, anticipated delays due to rain, etc.   Ron and Nate  were polite, friendly and busy.  The work area was kept in good shape and the workmanship was excellent.   When they finished painting the siding,  Ron asked us to  walk around the house several times at different time of day to look carefully for any spots that might need additional coverage.   There were a few spots that looked as if they might need another coat only seen in the very early morning light.   I noted those on a small drawing of the house and those few areas received another coat of paint first thing the next day when they arrived.  The evening before the final day of work on fascia covering, Ron asked me to walk around the house again and make a punch list of anything that I saw that might have been missed in the going.  As had happened in the fall, as I walked around, I realized Ron had taken care of a few "really nice things to do" that weren't on the original contract or in discussions.  We really appreciate Ron's appreciate his approach to work.  It speaks to his commitment to making sure the work is well done and his customers are satisfied.   The invoice was per the quote as well. 
And two different sets of neighbors asked if Ron could do some work for them as well after watching the work that's gone on here.  What better recommendation could there be?

Called and left messages twice, but never called me back.

Very prompt, very responsive, vey knowledgeable, very helpful.  Installed weathersripping on sliding glass door and replaced damaged siding boards.  Very pleasant to work with, price was exactly per the free estimate.  Will definately use again.

Showed up on time. Did the work well. Charged me what he quoted. Polite and helpful. I'd hire him again.

Older house with 10 original weight/sash windows still in solid shape, with exterior trim and sills developing rot.  Chose to retain original windows, replace exterior trim with PVC, including sills and front door trim.  As is the case with older houses, angles are no longer straight.  Ron scheduled appointment promptly after our call and understood our reasoning for our decision.  He also agreed work could take place as we imagined (others were less comfortable with this approach).  Discussions took 2 times around to be sure we were both on same page; Ron was very patient with the request for extra discussion.   We decided on Lauer Exteriors due to comfort with Ron's expertise and very reasonable price-including some extras not provided in other quotes.   Scheduling moved a bit due to wait on ordered storm windows in particular.  Ron kept us posted all along the way.  Ron told us the first 1-2 windows would go slowly as they "learned about the house" - right on the mark.  We made some adjustments to plans for the sills after the first exterior window trim came off and they could see the full original sill workmanship.  Ron was very quick to suggest some other options for handling the sills.  Work was completed on time (per original estimate of time needed once work began), some additional and very helpful corrections were made to the front door trim in particular, we felt very comfortable with the team working on the house, the exterior work areas all around the house were left in great shape, and Ron told us he would be happy to come back to give work a once over and touch up any caulking/etc that might have been missed.  There were a few spots requiring touch up (as is the case when I work on the house as well) and Ron was back promptly to address those spots.    I'm still enjoying looking at the house now and very pleased with work of Lauer Exteriors.

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I wanted warped and cracked cedar siding boards replaced, additional nails put into existing boards and caulking at all of the board ends. Ron came out and we discussed what I wanted done and then he sent me a quote for what was needed. His quote was not detailed enough for my liking so I went over the whole house on my own again and noted the position of every board that I thought needed to be replaced. This caused Ron to need to come out a second time but I then felt confident that everything was included in his revised quote. His original quote said any extra work would be at $40/hr plus materials and I wanted to be sure there were no extras. Turned out to be one extra but it was my doing and the labor was only an extra $30 so I was happy about it. Ron and his two guys did a good job with replacing the siding and caulking but missed a number of small spots with the staining that we had to point out. Maybe we were just being picky but Ron and his guys were very patient with us as we point out the spots and made sure they were done. I think the spots occurred because they used a roller rather than a brush to stain the siding. The quote was only for the labor with materials to be billed separately at cost. I was not provided receipts for the materials but did not ask for them since my own calculations showed that the amount was reasonable.

Ron and Rich showed up on time or early every day. They worked steadily from 9am-4pm and cleaned up after themselves after each day's work. The work was delayed by weather for 1 day, but was otherwise moving exactly as planned. Ron & Rich obviously work together often because they are in constant communication and their respect for each other's work and knowledge is obvious.
The windows went in, look beautiful and the 3-lite slider idea was just short of genius. I paid the bill happily and then my partner & I compiled a list of other things we wanted Ron to do for us.
Since the first visit, Ron & Rich have installed laminate floors for us, insulated our attic and garage, and vented the attic. He is coming back next week to replace most of the windows, install security lights and powerwash/paint the house.
In every instance, Ron has offered (gentle) opinions about what he thinks will work best, and we will often accept his suggestions. He always outlines his plans ahead of time and if there was any question at all, he was right there to explain, often in person, and to allay our concerns or answer our queries. His estimates are spot-on, as are his time commitments. He is very communicative, often more so than we are. Ron and his team are professional, courteous and knowledgeable. If you are looking for a handyman, stop searching and call Ron. There is little point in doing anything else if you want the work done. well
I read the "D" review below and this sounds nothing at all like the Ron Lauer we've worked with for nearly a year. For our part we plan to invite Ron to our house "re-warming" party once all the work is done so we can introduce him to all our friends and corner the market on his services.
Well done, Ron. May you have many happy years of good service and delighted customers. You may count us among that very large group.

Project:  (Only the siding repairs are documented below.  The kitchen and laundry faucet repairs were cancelled by me)
Lauer Exteriors received a very high rating on Angie?s list with many positive comments. That is why I chose him. The worked performed for me doesn?t match up to all the good ratings he has gotten in the past. In my opinion, this may be due in part to his other projects, especially the flooding, but also doesn?t excuse what I have presented above.
My initial call to Ron Lauer was March 13th and he came to the house the next day to see what I needed to have done. I received a quote two weeks later and I asked if he could come out to explain it. He came out one or two days later and we discussed what was to be done. I also mentioned that he was offering a 10% discount to seniors that was not included in the quote. I am 62 and asked what his "senior" criteria was. He said he would send me a new quote which I received one week later. His listing on Angie?s List also mentioned a 5% discount for those that used Angie?s List to hire him. This was never considered in the quote and I never brought it up. Work started on Tuesday, May 7th promptly and was completed the afternoon of Wednesday May 8th. This should have taken longer.
All trim boards and 4x9 panels were stained by myself prior to Ron beginning work. He dropped them off at the house along with 4 metal horses for me to use as supports. They were really handy to have and made the staining much easier.
Outcome:
East wall appears to be ok except for the very large cutout that was required to accommodate the gas line into the house. The pipe was about 1 ½" wide but the cutout was 7 ½" inches. They created a "filler" piece but once inserted was not flush with the rest of the panel. Not sure why the cutoff was so large.
Patio was not done well at all. There is an upper and lower portion to the patio wall. The upper 4x9 panels
that are being replaced have 1½" and 10½" grooves. When the new panels were attached, the grooves were
not aligned with the bottom portion (the existing panels that were not replaced.) I mentioned this to Ron
after the patio was completed and he did acknowledge the error. Since this was the only patio wall with upper
and lower portions, nobody would probably know anything was wrong? except for me that is. I accepted this
as "ok" only because it would have been a major undertaking to redo it and the panels were already cut. The
4x9 panel closest to house is tilted and it looks like the panel next to the patio door, which was not being replaced, was cut to accommodate the poor fit. Same panel was cut at the bottom to eliminate the "tilted" look but was done very poorly and has more of a curve instead of a clean straight cut. It appears that the far right panel was not flush with the underlayment and it made the corner boards not fit tightly, exposing more of the North facing 4x9 panel. I had to use filler underneath to seal the large gap between the panel and the underlayment. Due to the panel not being flush, the nail holding the bottom of the panel had nothing underneath to grip to. I had to glue the two pieces together at the seam. Also Tyvec was protruding from a joint of two 4x9 panels which was no big deal. I used a knife to remove it.
East wall South corner the new trim boards were installed incorrectly revealing an unpainted portion of the North facing original panel and the East facing original trim board, neither of which was being replaced.
East eve on the patio side at the roof line has a big gap close to the gutter.
East eve over front door panel joint close to the roof was not nailed. Was able to put finger between joint. There is apparently no support behind this section to drive a nail. This same problem existed prior to repairs but I assumed this would be fixed during the repairs.
West eve over the North side of the garage seems to have a big gap where the siding meets the soffit. This soffit was not being replaced so I assume the gap was damaged in the process of removing the old siding.
Wondering why there was no flashing placed at the roofline on all three eves. Ron mentioned it but it was never added.
I requested metal soffit vents but plastic was used instead. Squirrels wreck the plastic and I mentioned this to Ron explaining why I wanted metal.
While painting the 4x9 panels and trim boards, I had to remind Ron that I did not get the soffit
boards. He had to make a special trip and he brought a ¼" 4x8 piece of plywood. I mentioned at the time that I thought that the soffits were 1" x 8" but he said that the ¼"x 4x8 panel cut to the proper width was common. The next day, I also realized he did not bring the 1x8x12 trim boards for the East side of the house. He had to make another special trip for those. I mention this because at times Ron didn?t "appear" to have my best interest in mind, or possibly had too many other projects going on. I never saw him right down anything. There was severe flooding in a neighboring town and he stated numerous times that there was a lot of work to be done there. He also asked if it was OK for him to delay work on my home for a few days due to this. I agreed and we set a new date. I got a call from Ron a few days prior to this new date asking if he could delay it another day. I agreed. It seemed that my project was becoming "less important". The flood occurred after I had signed the agreement to begin work.
As mentioned previously, Ron used ¼" plywood cut in 8" width strips for the soffits, not the 1"x 8" that was originally used. I mention this because the original 1"x 8"had rotted over time. What was the ¼" going to do? After the new installation, the soffit boards look "wavy" probably due to the lack of rigidity. Time will tell.
Gutter straps were not replaced where originals were, not a big deal, but it revealed the faded lines and the old screw hole. Lacked attention to detail.
At the end of each day and at the end of the project the work site was cleaned appropriately.
Rich and Jeff assisted Ron and all were very courteous.
Work ended on May 8th and Ron said he would be calling me to come out and install some flashing? somewhere, not sure exactly what or where he meant but I assumed it was probably at the roof eves.
Ron called me on Wednesday, May 15th to schedule a time to finish caulking. I thought the caulking was done and he was going to bring some flashing which he mentioned the last day of his work on May 8th. Anyway it did not matter and I told him that I was dissatisfied with his some of his work and to bring the final bill along with receipts for some of the materials used. He arrived at 12 noon, the time we previously arranged. I let him in through the front door and I then proceeded to the kitchen table where I had my notes and our prior agreement paperwork. He remained at the front door and I asked him to come into the kitchen and "have a seat". He did come into the kitchen but did not sit down. I reviewed his final charges and some of the receipts he had brought along. I disputed one of them but did not take into account sales tax. The receipt given to me at a prior date only showed a total amount. All this time Ron barely said a word to me. I got up and asked him to come outside so I could show him what I considered problems. He refused to go out and look. I asked him a second time and again refused to go. He was starting to get upset with me and I was already upset with him. He never said a word. I asked him a final time so he had a chance to see what I was talking about and possibly dismiss what may be considered as petty. He declined a third time. During this I was writing out a check for what was owed. I have no other choice bu

The work was excellent and the area was immaculate. I highly recommend.

Ron was prompt, thorough and quick.  He cleaned up so well that my wife asked when he is going to come do the work but, it was already done.  Two thumbs up for Ron.

I contacted Lauer Exteriors on Sept. 12 to get an estimate to repair the back wall of our garage.  Ron came out that day, reviewed the damage and then provided an estimate later that day.  I accepted what I felt was a very appropriate estimate, and Ron set a date for a week later to do the work.
Ron and Rich arrived exactly at 9:00 and began all necessary preparation work: cutting existing nails from the original 2x4's, jacking up the wall to insert new 2x4's, cutting 2x4's to length, installing 2x4's-securing with screws, notching out a spot for the existing cross support, removing old pieces of 2x4's - sheathing - and carefully removing the siding-setting aside, stacked up on work horses; then measuring, cutting and installing the plywood and weather protection sheathing, then finally replacing the old siding, corners, and repairing the downspout and re-installing.

I had some aluminum siding that needed to be replaced. Ron Lauer came out and gave me an estimate for the cost of materials and labor. I accepted the estimate and a week or so later the work was done. I'm satisfied.

Though the job sounded simple it was complicated. I had 4 different companies come out and look at the job and they all passed on it. Defiantly not a job for a man with just  a hammer and a ladder. A fairly high skill level was required. It is hard to find someone with this skill level who will do a small repair job such as this.
Two sets of 3 french doors in a line needed to be taken out. The opening (and house) then needed to be jacked up and made square again. The plate on which the doors sat was replaced. The doors were re installed and the interior trim was replaced. The exterior siding was replaced by spare siding I had on hand. They left the painting to me and it was very easy as they left very little evidence of the taking off and replacing of the trim on the inside. After I did touch up painting on the trim and put fresh paint on the new siding, one can not tell that any work was ever done.
To make sure the job went fast Ron brought I think 5 people to do it.
We were very happy with the job. The site was clean after they left and they did a good job of communicating with me.

Got a quote and the job was done a few days later with no problems.

Ron is an excellent worker.  He is old school - a gentleman who cares about his work and his customers satisfaction.  I would definitely use Ron again!

Ron was great to work with - he offered some good suggestions, and designed some simple molding around the top and bottom of the columns, which really improved the way they look.  He replaced much of the exterior wood, and offered us some suggestions for which original material could be re-used to keep us within our budget.  The work was done on time, and the finished product looks great - really improves the overall curb appeal of the house.

Ron was very professional and courteous from the start. He came over, took some measurements and came back with an estimate. The only minor issue was that the estimate took a little longer than I anticipated (about a week or so and I was about to go with someone else) The quote was competitive compared to the other bids I had received and I decided to go with Ron because he seemed very knowledgable and provided the most insight as to how he was going to not only address the rotted siding, but also how to address the root cause of the rotted siding (water issues due to the roof).

Ron and his team always showed up when he said they would. There were some slight delays due to weather, and he was very good at communicating that. He finished the job on time and we are very happy with the work he did. Compared to another contractor I had used before Ron was very pleasant to deal with and I would recommend him and plan on using him again!

I made an appointment with Ron to discuss the project.  He was on time and very professional.  He looked at the job, took some measurements and noted that he had cedar siding in stock.  He said he would get me an estimate in the next day.  The estimate was very fair and I scheduled for him to come out the next week.  He was on time and finished the job within a few hours.  He even repaired the wood on the chimney for a nominal cost.  We stained the wood and it looks as good as new.  I would highly recommend him.  His estimate was fair and the finished product looks great.

I am pretty happy and I would give the overall experience an "A" but my wife would give them a "B-", but she is under a lot of stress because we are moving. The price was excellent. I would say the quality is an "A"' but my wife would say it is a "B". We will probably be using them in the future.

Overall it was great dealing with Ron + team.  They are a upstanding group of guys and they are true to their word.  They did a great job on reusing some wood to save costs and repairing my deck floor.  It was about 1 week of work and they were prompt, courteous, clean, etc.  

The only problem I had is there were some issues  I found after they had completed that were less than perfect in finish.  But Ron returned twice to fix without even flinching or asking for additional money.  Thats probably the only reason I put them with a "B" for quality was the initial problems left behind but again......one email and it all got resolved asap.

Would certainly use again and recommend to friends. 

Ron completely resided my split level home. His price was very competitive. He kept the job site clean and he was very courteous.

Am not able to do the job right now, but we will use them when we do. They promptly returned our phone call, were prompt with the appointment, seemed very knowledgeable and price competitive.