Olde Bostonian

Anthony and his team are the best. Restored 13 windows from 1743 and they came out beautifully. He went above and beyond for excellent customer service and helped us even a year after the windows were (re)installed! Highly recommend and tell everyone about Olde Bostonian.

Extremely professional, windows look like new and open and close like new. Really happy we didn't install replacement windows.

I interacted with Anthony. He was always very responsive on email or his cell. Olde Bostonian offered the best price and I was very pleased with their work. Our windows were striped of the lead paint (not encapsulated), all of the pulley systems were replaced with chains. Windows look beautiful. Almost like new! They were also very accommodating, as our windows were in their shop for almost a year as our construction process was delayed.

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We have amazing old windows in our 1895 Victorian and wanted to restore them.  After getting quotes so high they made me, literally, cry we stumbled on Olde Bostonian.  We toured their workshop and were so impressed with the windows they had worked on--they looked like brand new construction after they were finished!
Anthony has gone out of his way to come up with a  price we can afford, and is on par with replacement, so we'll be able to keep our windows after all.  Plus he gave us a crazy deal on new storms.  He is always courteous, punctual, and patient.  We've signed on to have Olde Bostonian restore 35+ windows in our house this spring.  
Then winter hit and ice dams started causing leaks around three windows.  We called Anthony in a panic and he sent a crew to take out the windows, patch the openings with heavy plastic and open a path to let water drain away from the window frame and (hopefully) out of the interior of the house.  His crew was on time, worked quickly, and cleaned up after themselves.  They even took off their shoes to keep our floor dry.  
Anthony always treats us like we're his only customer and every time we turn around he's doing something extra for us.  I plan to update this review after we get the windows actually restored, and if current performance is any indicator, we'll be completely thrilled.

We had purchased a new condo and were planning to close with a week to do repairs/upgrades prior to welcoming new renters.  Olde Bostonian was able to fit us in/accommodate our schedule by having their crew come out on a Sunday to fix the windows, which weren't up to code since they didn't have locks and didn't open/close properly.  The crew did the work in about half a day and cleaned up nicely afterwards.  The only complaint I have is that I paid with a check on the day the work was done, but they later double charged me using the credit card I had given them for the deposit.  Then it took almost a week to get the credit card charge reversed.  Otherwise I had a great experience.

Overall, the quality of the work was very good and the price was quite reasonable.
It took a couple of months to get the work done however - much longer than they had told us.  There were also some problems initially with what they did.  They came back and fixed the problems without any fuss, and the final product was excellent.  It was still a little annoying to have to call them back.

They do really good work. They sort of lost track of our item for a time being. They made up for it in their service.

The performed the work as promised on time. They are very knowledgeable about period piece replacement and restoration
of doors, fireplace mantels, etc.
A really great place to check out if you are looking to restore or replace woodwork in your older home.

These guys really took advantage of me. They saw that the house was recently renovated and they said it would be suucha shame not to really do the delux treatment on the windows. I asked for just the basics for most of the windows, and a few front facing ones could have the delux.

They took the windows all apart in October, and then emailed me this:   As stated in our contract, we are responsible for repairing any corner rot and sill rot.  There are some other issues in the window sashes themselves that need to be addressed.  A few of the rails (that's the side pieces in the window sashes) are completely rotted and/or broken.  These consist both of bottom curved rails and side rails.  Also, a few of the rails were being held together by a bondo material in the corners that ran up the rails almost six inches.  These types of fixes are not part of our scope of work repairs.  

They said all needed the full treatment. I felt I was getting soaked, but I couldn't do very much with all the windows in pieces in the middle of a snow storm and me being thousands of miles away, I sort of had to trust them.

What really made me crazy though was when they started charging my credit card at random intervals without telling me. I got my bill and I would see these $3,000-$4,000 charges. I told them not to do it. I told them to bill me, I would inspect the work, and then pay. But they had my number because I had given them an advance via credit card, so they kept doing it.
When I threatened to accuse them of fraud, they were very apologetic, blamed their accounting department. I still don't have any invoices from them though.

***UPDATE*** December 31, 2012 ****

So, I need to update members to say that Olde Bostonian was willing to make certain amends for their errors and omissions in exchange for an update of this review.  They came back and did two windows without charge and re-did several windows that were inadvertently omitted. They were courteous and timely, and the quality of the work was high.

Olde Bostonian picked up the piece, cleaned it, repainted, and delivered.  There was a delay for further cleaning prior to painting, but we are very happy with the final result.

We were very satisfied with every phase of the process, from the initial meeting and estimate, to the removal and installation of our beautifully restored windows. It is a family business, and we met with the owner's son, Anthony, for the estimate. He patiently and clearly explained what to expect and all of our options. We had received two prior estimates, and decided to go with Olde Bostonian because of the price and recommendations from those familiar with the company. Working with Olde Bostonian was uncomplicated, and the work they did for us was performed exactly as described. Anthony's brother Dave performed the installation of our windows after they had been restored off-site, and this phase went as smoothly as did the removal. They did a thorough job cleaning up and we had very little to do when they were through. Our windows look as good as new and, best of all, open and close without effort! They are also much better insulated than before. We recommend having windows removed during the warmer months, however -- we had a few very cold weeks when we had no sashes and only our old storm windows. Olde Bostonian is extremely reliable, the prices are reasonable, and they do top-quality work. We would not hesitate to hire them for another renovation project.

They came and picked up the door. A week later they brought it back and it was like a new door. They tripped probably four or five layers of paint and refinished it beautifully. They did a very nice job and just really brought it to its original state. The price that we paid was worth it because they were fantastic. There were some cracks, but, they put fillers and matched it with the color.

I WAS SURPRISED WHEN THE SON CAME TO PICK UP MY OLD, DOUBLE FRONT DOORS (WITH ANTIQUE GLASS WORTH ABOUT $2,000) IN A PICK UP TRUCK AND WAS TOLD "DON'T WORRY, WE DO THIS ALL THE TIME. IF SOMETHING DOES HAPPEN, WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE OF COURSE." LUCKILY, NOTHING HAPPENED TO THEM, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE IN THE BACK OF THE TRUCK WITH NO PROTECTION WHATSOEVER. THEY DID A GOOD JOB OVERALL OF STRIPPING AND REPAIRING, AND I WAS TOLD THEY WOULD BE COMPLETELY PAINT READY. WHEN THE DOORS WERE DELIVERED, I WAS UNHAPPY WITH THE FILLING IN OF OLD HOLES, CRACKS. I HAD TO SPEND 2 WHOLE DAYS MYSELF FILLING IN HOLES BEFORE PAINTING. TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE CONSIDERING THE PRICE I PAID, AND WHAT WAS COMMUNICATED TO ME. THE COMPANY LACKS GOOD COMMUNICATION OVERALL. I FOUND THE SON (WHO WAS MY CONTACT) TO BE COMPLETELY ARROGANT AND PUSHY. IF I RAN THE COMPANY, I WOULD NOT HAVE HIM INTERACT WITH CUSTOMERS BECAUSE OF HIM, I WOULD NOT HIRE AGAIN, AND TRUST ME, I HAVE 25 WINDOWS TO HAVE STRIPPED/REPAIRED.

THE WORKERS FINISHED THE JOB IN 9 DAYS AND DID QUITE A NICE JOB, WERE PLEASANT, AND CLEANED WELL WHEN THEY WERE FINISHED. THERE WAS SOME MILD DAMAGE TO THE WALLS WHICH WERE TAPED AROUND THE MOLDINGS, AND THE FLOORS ON THE EDGE OF THE ROOM, WHICH THE OWNER INFORMED ME ABOUT BEFORE STARTING THE JOB. THE OWNER OF THE COMPANY WAS QUITE KNOWLEDGEABLE AND HELPFUL, THOUGH PUSHY AT TIMES. THERE WAS SOME CONCERN ABOUT THE COMPANY FOLLOWING OSHA REGULATIONS IN TERMS OF THE APPROPRIATE EQUIPMENT FOR THE WORKERS (RESPIRATOR MASKS) AND TURNING OFF ELECTRICITY WHEN WORKING WITH FLAMMABLE EQUIPMENT. OVERALL, THEY DID A VERY NICE JOB.