Socelvic Co

The way we expected.....Very well done. They were on time, always clean up in the end of the day, organized and hard wokers.

From start to finish, everything came out the way we expected.

Overall I was pleased with the work. The company lowered their initial estimate to match that of a competitor significantly, which was very good. The work was done in a timely manner and as discussed in the contract. Here's where I was dissatisfied: They told me that they would need to break through shingles on the first-floor roof to install a wooden post, and there may have been additional charges should they find rot and that the foundation was unstable to support the post. I understood this. What they didn't tell me was that, should the foundation prove stable (which it did), that they would not replace the roof shingles they removed and insulate around the post--that was an entirely different job to them. Though legally the contract didn't state they would do this, it was something I had assumed was a package deal--if you break a shingle to insert a post, you'll fix the shingle you broke-- I assumed wrong. Had they pointed this out to me in advance, I wouldn't have used them, or would have negotiated to include this in the entire price. They instead provided me with a new contract and estimate of $1,700 to then fix the ENTIRE roof. They said they wouldn't simply fix a portion of a roof due to warranty issues. So after the job was "finished," I was left with a great post, but a roof missing shingles and insulation. So when it rained, my first floor ceiling began to leak due to the missing roof shingles. I feel like a different contractor may have given me an all-in-one job-- if you break through shingles to install a post, replace the shingles you break--just don't tell me later that you will only fix the entire roof. I found this off-putting, not to mention it was nearly half the cost of the first job alone. In the end, it was my mistake though. Perhaps had I been more experienced with contractors, I would have thought in advance to ask the question, "Is roof repair included, assuming the roof is in good prior condition"?-- because legally their contract covered their doing just the post work. As I said, they did a great job and were professional about the post, but I was left with a bad taste in my mouth regarding the lack of transparency about the roof. Had I known to ask that question, things may have turned out differently.

I called to get an estimate for this work. Celio came the next day, gave me the estimate and arranged for the work to be started that afternoon. Alex did the power washing. The next day, a crew came early in the morning, repaired the railing, scraped and painted. The whole thing was accomplished on that day. It looks wonderful.

They were done on time to remove snow.

I sent an e-mail requesting someone to look at the problem, and was called the following day. Alex came over and said he could do the work the following week, but actually they called late on Friday and asked if Saturday would be satisfactory. They had scheduled an 8 am arrival and arrived 15 minutes early. It only took a few hours for the work to be completed. The cost was more than estimated because it turned out the entire wall had to be painted.

I first called them when we needed service immediately during a huge snow storm, they were extremely responsive, got back quickly, helpful, professional and really listened to individual issues and offered different options to meet my needs. I am very impressed with their service and would recommend them highly. Their bid was reasonable and they have stayed with the price they quoted. They also allowed me the option to supply ice melt products instead of salt which damages our wood and concrete. they came back when the ice was very bad, and are reasonably quick to arrive after the biggest snows.

Clearing snow on our property is a challenge -- space is tight, and when we have the kind of snowfall we had earlier this winter, there's not a lot of room to maneuver or put the snow. It's an effort that requires some creativity and thoughtfulness, in addition to hand shoveling. So far, I'm very happy with the quality of the work that Socelvic provides. They show up promptly, clear the snow down to the pavement, and seem genuinely committed to customer satisfaction. I also like that the pricing is per visit -- no more getting charged by the inch (unlike the previous provider), which was difficult to track and verify. I'm also happy enough with the result that I plan to get proposals from Socelvic on other work for the condo association, as well as some remodeling that I've been wanting to do in my unit.

It's been a great experience, from start to finish. Celio, who co-owns the company, has been in charge of the work, and he's on-site every day. He responds quickly and completely to our questions, and he and his crew are punctual, efficient, respectful, and they always clean up after themselves. Celio even offered to go to our tile and bathtub suppliers and pick up the materials we'd purchased, even though we'd bought the bathtub at the Lowe's about 20 min drive away. Our new standing shower is perfect - the tiling was done beautifully and quickly. The painting looks great as well. Celio and his crew were even willing to start work the day after we accepted their bid and sent in the deposit; we were the limiting factor, because we were traveling for work. Celio has also been fantastic about dealing with our changes. We're new homeowners and this was our first substantive remodeling project, so we asked lots of questions. And there were things we just didn't think of before they started work. For example, I had forgotten to tell Celio to take down the ugly light fixture, and I phoned him in the middle of the day and asked him to (after he'd started painting!), and he had it removed and patched over by the time I came from work. Also, Celio approves of IKEA furniture, and is happy to assemble and use IKEA vanities (for example), which is a big plus. I'd highly recommend Socelvic. In fact, we've hired Socelvic again to remodel our guest bathroom, and the work is proceeding just as smoothly as in the first bathroom. Note that technically the final cost was higher than estimated, but that's because we asked them to do additional work (replace all the exhaust fans in our other 3 bathrooms, etc). So I feel as though we got extremely good value for money, and they were fair and transparent with their pricing.

This painting crew (usually 3 men, including one leader) were incredibly well-trained. They had a systematic way of doing things. Overall, they did an excellent job in terms of workmanship and attention to detail. They really worked h****** the prep--which is the key to a long-lasting job. They were thorough, made efficient use of time, and were pleasant and helpful. Alex, the supervisor who handled several sites a day, was usually quite responsive. He was particularly cooperative about my need to try one or two colors before deciding which to use on the doors and shutters. Once or twice an instruction or message I left on his cell phone voicemail fell through the cracks because an administrative person apparently listens to his messages and he gets them second-hand (or maybe not at all). My house looks terrific. Time will tell if the paint job will last a long time. The carpentry work was determined as it was identified by the painters. Most of it was clapboard replacement. Some was replacement of a rotted threshold and some other wooden items on the north side of the house. The carpenters were adequate. But they left nails on the ground here and there and also left a one-inch gap between the top of the threshold they replaced and the door that hangs over it. I had to install a door sweep before winter to stop the major draft into the garage the resulted. Also, they did not properly replace a cement step that sits in front of some clapboards they replaced at the bottom of the outside of the garage. The painters rushed a bit during the last 2-3 days of the job, during which they painted the doors plus shutters and hung them. Other than that, I cannot fault them for anything.

I called Solcevic the day before a storm to see if they could help while I was out of town. While they don't usually do one-time snow removal, they agreed in this case. Alessandro was very communicative and called me once he'd finished the job to let me know how it had gone. The $90 fee included a $30 surcharge for there being over 4" of snow. I was very happy with their price, work and responsiveness and will definitely call them when I'm out of town in the future.

Meticulous and conscientious work, cleaned up after each day. Were careful with my possessions and pets, even washed the windows when the job was done!

I received a call back from Socelvic that they were unfortunately unable to help me; they were busy during the time I was looking to have the work performed. I appreciated the return call.

Socelvic did an outstanding job. They were hard-working and really went above and beyond. One of the biggest challenges in the project was that there was a huge amount of dirt and debris below the side porch which had to be dealt with. Alex told us before we hired them that they would do their best to remove as much dirt as possible, but we were concerned that if they only removed part of the dirt, then the remaining dirt would wash away through the lattice work over time and make a big mess. But in the end, Socelvic removed all of the dirt & debris. They incurred a lot of extra cost to dispose of it but they did not charge us extra for this. The structural work was all performed soundly and the lattice work that they created was very attractive. I was very happy with the work and the price was reasonable. They were also very responsive when we had questions or concerns. I would definitely hire Socelvic again.

Got names from Angie's List, called for estimates (2 out of 3 showed) took low estimate, general impression being the same. Workers showed up, put down tarp, began prep work (3 workers on porch, 1 in bedroom) prep work took 3 days. Painter put on primer followed by two coats of paint on porch. In hall & bedroom they stripped wallpaper, put skim coat of on ceiling and walls & painted. They came back to touch up a few mishaps. Alex was excellent.

I called Socelvic Company and spoke to Michelle, who I believe is the office manager and handles billing as well. One of the nice things about dealing with Socelvic is that a person almost always answers the phone. She said that Alessandro (Alex) could come the next day to do an estimate of our job. The next day Alex arrived and took a look at the job and agreed to send an estimate via email in a few days. I didn't hear anything for a while, so after a few days I called to see what was going on. I spoke to Alex and he promised to get a quote out soon. After a few more days we received a quotation which was more than we were prepared to pay, so in consultation with Alex we cut out some of the less important work, and got the price to a place we were comfortable with. We were told work would probably start in 1.5 to 2 weeks. At that point I gave a deposit of $1000. When we didn't hear back after two weeks I called Socelvic to see what was happening. I spoke to Michelle who explained that because of the large number of rainy days during the last two weeks the schedule had slipped, but she put us on the schedule for the next week on Monday. The Thursday before they were scheduled to come I received a call from Michelle who said that they had a cancellation and could come on Friday (the next day). I made arrangements to be around. The painting crew arrived on Friday morning and got right to work. I stayed for a while and talked to the foreman and observed. I had expected pressure washing, but they used sanding and air blowers, which they claimed was efficient and effective for the exterior porch painting we had contracted for. It seemed to work alright. There seemed to be a little confusion about what work was contracted for. I got the impression that Alex and the foreman had not communicated sufficiently about the job, but we managed to get things straightened out. The other two workers did not speak much English, and I didn't speak any Portuguese, so it was somewhat difficult communicating with them. We did alright with gestures and a few words. The porch used 3 distinct colors, white, light grey, and dark grey (for the steps). They only had brought two colors. After it became clear that the stairs were much too light with the light grey paint, I let them know that we would need to have them repainted in the dark grey (iron grey). They requested that I purchase the paint, and I did. The window sill painting went alright, as did the removal of the shutters. I had not expected the "shadows" left when the shutters were removed, but I suspect weathering will bleach them. There was a problem with installation of the threshold (transom) in back. They had to come back Saturday to paint the stairs anyway, so also completed the threshold then as well. All-in-all we are happy with the work, though I had to supervise a bit more than I would have liked, and getting the pain was extra work.

The new room is tremendous. The workmanship was first-rate--all of the carpentry finishes, painting, flooring, etc, are perfect. Socelvic was also an extremely creative problem-solver. They worked with me throughout the project, from beginning to end, to figure out how to address unique situations (such as how to flush-mount the big screen TV into an odd space) & also made great suggestions regarding skylights, windows, closets, etc, that would never have occurred to me. Socelvic also worked with the town building inspector (who was a pain in the behind) to find innovative solutions to various issues.

I have mixed feelings about my interactions w/this company. The deck project went smoothly-my questions were patiently answered by Alessandro & Celio. The men doing the work arrived on time, worked hard & cleaned up each day. (The only problem was that sometimes the only people on site spoke limited English which made asking questions difficult). Because of changes I made in the scope of the work as the project progressed, the cost ended up being nearly double the estimate. (It is not clear how much of that increase was a result of my not fully understanding the limitations of the project as originally conceived vs. other factors). In the end, I was happy with the results. The bathroom rehab went less smoothly. Because of a miscommunication, the wrong tile was ordered. This was not discovered until after the tub area had been gutted. (It took 4 days to get the tile during which I had no shower) Installation of tile took several days longer than I was told to expect, but, in the end the tiling looked good. After the work was completed, I took a shower & became aware of several problems the tub was not draining properly-after a shower the water was 3" deep & took >5 minutes to drain-& the shower faucet was dripping. Because the contract for the BR work specified "clean waste line w/a plumbing snake." I contacted Alessandro who again told me that that the workers had already snaked the drain so it must have worked fine when they finished the work. He suggested I try Liquid Plumber & call back if that did not resolve the problem. After 3 applications of Liq.Plumber, there was minimal improvement. Within a couple days the problem was worse than it had been so I called Alessandro. Our phone conversation was extremely unpleasant. He insisted that workers had covered the drain opening while working so that debris couldn't get into the pipes & in any case, they had snaked the drain. As our conversation progressed, he implied that I must have done something after the workers left which caused the problem. He insinuated that I was being dishonest &/or taking advantage, expecting Socelvic to resolve a problem they had not caused. He told me he would send their plumber over to snake out the drain, but, if the plumber felt that the clog was not a direct result of their work, I would be responsible for the cost. (I asked how someone snaking a drain would know exactly what was clogging the pipe & when the clog occurred, he had no answer). In the end, I took care of the problem. A plumber came out at my expense, easily found the problem - the part of the drain used to close off water to fill the tub, had apparently jammed in the down position. When the part was repositioned & cleaned, the tub drained perfectly. Had I written this evaluation based on the porch work only, I would have recommended this company. However, given the way things ended I cannot.

We did not end up going with Socelvic, but it was a close call and we would have been comfortable and confident in hiring them. The ratings assigned are ":Good" rather than "Excellent' only because we didn't actually use them. $10000 estimated cost.

I was completely underwhelmed by this contractor. Luckily, Socelvic was among the last we interviewed so we already had a fairly good idea of the work requirements and budget. The company could only accommodate an early afternoon appointment for an on site estimate. I left work early in order to assure I would be available. The representative was late by 45 minutes. He did phone to advise me. This was the only contractor to take NO measurements of our bathroom, he took only digital photos of our bathroom and windows. He also advised me three times that this job would be easier if I were located on the first, rather than the third, floor. I finally told him that I was not on the first floor so to please provide an estimate based on my location. He also was the only contractor to suggest that our window replacement would require a boom lift and a police detail. I could also not locate a license for this company in the MA database (I'm not implying they don't have one, just that I could not find it). I was able to locate licenses for the other contractors we interviewed very easily. I was not impressed in the least by this company and would not consider them in the future. ." FOLLOW UP: The contractor's comments are not accurate. Our bathroom is 9x16 (not 5x5), the standard sized toilet, vanity, and cabinet, as well as six windows were all brought up via our staircase (we've also brought up a full sized refrigerator, dishwasher, and stove this way), the windows were replaced and the sills repaired internally with no need for a boom lift/police detail, or damage to our home. This company is licensed (the database to which I refer is the MA State Dept of Public Safety licensing database) however the company is located in Framingham and not Allston as their Angie's list information states. Also, you can see my reviews for several other companies that supplied estimates. Only this company was not prepared or confused regarding the work request. Solcevic has positive reviews, however, given their response (and their view that the job was not doable) this type of renovation project does not appear to be their type of work.

They were very good at the painting job itself. They seemed like a big skillful crew of good painters. The only thing is that they were not clear when they were going to start on the project. When they did get here, there was a little bit of a language problem. I would advise anyone who hired them to have someone on the crew that can speak English. Then they had suggested to replace the porch that we had. We had them do that and they did mainly use pressure treated wood, but they put pine up and painted that. The pine did start to decay and paint was flaking off. They said that they would repaint for free and they did. Their carpentry work was not the best and they didn't guarantee it. I believe that they should back the work up, especially if they suggested it and we did not hire them to do that specific type of work. I would definitely give them an A for the painting, they did a great job with that. If I just had them do the painting, I would use them again.

Alessandro was very pleasant and professional when he visited us. We enjoyed talking with him about the job. We were very optimistic about the estimate. The estimate itself was a bit disappointing. The method he used to price the job "time and materials" was difficult for us because we felt it was too open ended. Also - even the low end of the range of hours he provided was considerably more than the fixed labor charge of other similar companies. In the end, we decided to go with a company who provided a more definite estimate.

Alex came on a Saturday to give an estimate. He was very reassuring that our ceilings, with multiple cracks, could be repaired instead of replaced. I called subsequent to receiving the estimate as additional areas that I wanted painted were not included in the original estimate. I was told they are usually part of exterior work. Additionally, I was told that if one does not accept the estimate within a 1-2 week period, the discount that is offered expires.

We were very happy with Socevic from start to finish. Alessandro came out to our house to inspect the porches and our rear deck. He submitted a bid for the two porches and the rear deck. After discussing our needs with him, we decided to hold off on the rear deck work as we finalize design plans. Once we agreed to the work on the two porches, Socelvic scheduled us for a convenient time. They started work on a Tuesday morning and were done by that Saturday afternoon. The crew of 4 to 5 workers were very impressive and they maintained a clean, orderly work site throughout the week. We're very happy with the work they performed and we look forward to having them replace our rear deck early next year.

Allessandro came to our house and did a thorough evaluation of both houses, listening carefully to our needs and concerns, especially in regards to the age and character of these houses. He clearly explained the process of how the work would be done, and got back to us right away with an estimate, which was the true cost. His workers were very professional and courteous. They did an excellent job prepping both houses; powerwashing, scraping and priming before painting and staining. The carpentry work was excellent. We are planning major upgrades to our house and chose Socelvic as a kind of "audition" to see if they might be a contractor we could trust to do the work on our old house.