A-Z Home Repair & Improvements

Mr. Allmen came to install baby gates and child proof some of my furnitures. I am very satified with his work. He is very professional and punctuate. The price is very reasonable too. I already recommended him to my friends

We could not be more pleased with the work Mr. Von Allman has done for us. He comes out and talks with you about what you want him to do, and gives you a written estimate for the job. His work has a one year warranty with it. Shawn has done several jobs for us that neither myself or my husband is physically capable of doing, and will continue to contact him for future jobs. Update as of 2/11/2013: The door started developing problems getting stuck, you would almost have to kick the bottom of the door to get it open. The latch was not working properly and the door frame where the latch goes into was coming off the door frame itself. When it would rain, water would get between the storm door and the main door to the house. When I talked to him, he promised he would come back because his work is 100% guaranteed. He came back one time to work on it and bent the outside frame. He told me ordered a new frame for the outside of the door and would be out to make the repair, but has never shown up. He won't return calls about the issue and I've stopped trying to call him. I understand that not everyone can fix everything, but if this wasn't his area of expertise, I wish he would have let us know.

Shawn scheduled an appointment to examine the job within 12 hours of the initial call. He attempted to stop the leak and determined that the valves were so old that they would require a complete rebuild or would have to be replaced. (The were the originals from the house construction in 1965!) He scheduled a return visit with additional plumbing expertise and was able to repair the set in the tub. The set in the shower was acutally broken and needed replacement. He had to cut into the drywall in that bathroom to cap off the pipes until he could come back with replacement fixtures. He returned with the replacement fixtures, they were installed and he patched and prepped the drywall. Shawn was prompt and arrived at each appointed time, explained our options at every decision point, and was at the house three times before we paid him anything. His price was less than half of the first estimate that we got and the leaks are definitely fixed! He is patient, courteous and gave us a written warranty for the work. We have already started our work list to do actual bathroom renovations with him.

Mr. Von Allmen arrived on time and started work immediately. We have custom cabinets that are not modular so that presented some difficulty in customizing the cabinets. The only good option was to trim off the lip of the cabinet. Mr. Von Allmen was able to spare the "lip" or frontispiece so that it can be reattached in the event that we sell the house. It didn't take long and the price was a little under his estimate. He cleaned up after himself and was even nice to the nosy kitty that tried to get in his way occasionally.

Great. It was a heck of a job, but the work was quality. I can't believe he does this stuff by himself. Very low price for the quality of work. Nice guy too! I've used A-Z in the past and will use again in the future.

I got the name from Angies List for my daughter and he came and gave a rough estimate. It had to be open due to not knowing how much damage there was until he actually started. He did give a rough estimate. She paid the downpayment and signed the contract the end of March. The work went agonizingly slowly and was not completed until Oct. Windows had to be special ordered and that delayed it for several weeks. His work was good when you could get him there to do it. Communication was spotty at best and he seemed to resent questions, input, etc. Toward the end he did admit that it probably was too big a job for him to have taken on alone. We concur. His attitude left a lot to be desired. She'd signed a contract and couldn't get someone else so she was stuck. It just was a very unpleasant experience on the whole. If the job is small and time isn't a factor, he's the man for you. If not, move on.

I had almost completely gutted this bathroom and hired Shawn to put it back together. In the meantime I decided to sell the house so was in some hurry to get the bathroom finished. He provided all the labor and expertise, as well as considerable design ideas. Shawn is a pleasure to work with - very pleasant and professional. As a one-man operation there were a few challenges - early on the work went a little slow when he had to attend to family issues and once or twice when another customer had a repair emergency. The job took longer than I would have liked, but much of the delay was beyond Shawn's control (one supplier "lost" the window we ordered, and another - a local big box - messed up the cabinet order twice). Shawn gave me excellent ideas on design and construction and his work is high quality. For instance, I notice wallboard quality more than most people, and am impressed with Shawn's work - you won't find the seams. I doubt that I got all the money out of the bathroom that I put it, but the house sold the first weekend it was on the market (with the first walk-throughs happening while the final touches to the shower were still happening) and I'm sure the bath helped a great deal with the sales. Shawn subsequently advised me on the buyer's inspection checklist, and provided a very reasonable estimate on a list of small repairs. The deal went a different way and I didn't need to use him, but he offered the same estimate to the buyers.

He accepted the job in early March and gave an estimate of $700.00 which was to be paid half up front and half upon completion. We paid the $350.00. He came out relatively quickly and marked the area with flags and a rope, started the exacavation by hand, and then found some buried stumps.He told us we would need to pay extra for a back hoe for him to dig out stumps. We paid $125.00 for him to rent a back hoe. The next we saw was that he had pulled a trailer onto the driveway; filled it with some of the dirt and put the biggest stump on the top of this. The trailer has a flat tire. There was also a considerable pile of dirt at the front of this trailer. Shawn told us he had no idea where to put the dirt or the stumps. We told him that they could go in the back of our house but he claimed they were too heavy for him. And so matters sat for months as we exchanged emails and he gave us one excuse after another as to why he could not continue. We informed him that with my husband home from the hospital, it was imperative that we have better access to the handicapped ramp. He replied " Thank you for letting me know that you are home and having problems with access. I will make it a priority to get over there and finish this job." Still no progress. It also looked bad from the street to have a pile of dirt and a trailer filled with dirt that grew some spectacular weeds. Finally Shawn sent us an email stating that he could not finish the job. Here is the final note " Mr. Bob, In my line of work, its either feast or famine. Back when I accepted this job I was in a famine situation. Its hard for me to turn work away when I have bills and mouths to feed. In reality I should of never taken this job. I thought I could do it. I was thinking that it would be just a few inches of dirt moved, frame pour and done. Having a hyrinated disk in my bad back does not help any either but I was strong willed when the job began and I had help then too however it mushroomed into a much larger job ie. dirt to move. The kind of work I do flooded in and so I am left ashamed of myself for not having completed your work and not physically sure I can. Am I making anything off this job? Not really......and is it worth more physical damage? Not really I cant find anywhere to take the clay and I know I cant physically haul it around your property. I feel stuck. Ive never quit a job and Im not a quitter. Im at your mercies what should I do? --Shawn " We had our yard person move the dirt that was on the driveway to the side of the house for a cost of $145.00. So currently we have a dug-out triangle ( about 4" deep) with a trailer (with a flat tire) beside it full of dirt and a big stump. There is no frame for concrete nor any other preparation for concrete. And we are out $620.00 and have an unsightly front yard with his trailer, a dangerous dug-out area and the only access to the house is the ramp as his trailer is blocking our front stairs.

Overall, it was a positive experience working with Shawn. He is a capable handyman. You get the impression that business is good and schedules jobs tightly together and at least three weeks out. This is only bad if he runs into unexpected circumstances and cannot complete the job. That was not the case here. He wanted a deposit before he would commit to a work date, which felt like a bit of a catch-22 (I didn't want the work done if it wasn't by a certain date, he wouldn't commit to date unless I gave him a deposit to do the work). He did a fine job with the installation and cleaned up after himself. I would most likely use him again.

Shawn did an excellent job. He gives a one year warranty on all of his work. One of the fluorescent fixtures stopped working properly over Christmas. So we called him out again--turns out the fixture itself was faulty, so he had to basically rewire it internally before it would connect with our mains. Shawn was extremely responsive and helpful. I highly recommend his work.

He was very busy so he had to squeeze us in. It was a little slower than I would have liked on the other hand he did communicate very well when he could be here and when he could not. He did a good job and I was happy with what he did.

I had a window leak that needed repair. The leak was a product of wood rot and old caulking that had gone bad around the exterior window. I called Shawn on a Tuesday afternoon to see if he could come take a look and provide an estimate to fix it. Shawn was there first thing the next morning! Not only was he prompt in responding to all calls and emails, but Shawn was also very detail oriented taking time to explain to me every facet of the problem & resolution. Shawn was able to put a "temp" fix in place to get through the heavy rains forecasted for the next few days until he had time (and good weather) to put in the permanent fix. His time estimate was accurate and he completed the work, without any problems, on time. The work was excellent in quality and I haven't had a problem since. I will definitely be contacting Shawn to work on projects I have in the near future.

He worked really hard for us and will be coming back at a later date to cap the chimney for us. He went to the store and got all the materials for the job.

After getting a few quotes from professional plumbers, I asked Shawn if it was a job he could do and for an estimate. He said that it was difficult to estimate since the new sink was not in place, but gave me a range depending on whether or not he could modify the existing system or need to rebuild. The high end of his range was lower than the flat fees I was quoted from the plumbers, so once I had the counter installation scheduled, I let him know and he made sure to be available the day after (when the sink mounting had cured) so that I could have kitchen plumbing right away. Shawn arrived with some parts in hand but after assessing the situation, realized it would need an entire rebuild. He immediately went to get the parts needed to finish the job. He consulted me on the positioning of the faucet with respect to the swing stops and also offered to use some of the components from the old sink connection to save $ but warned that the seals might not be as good as replacement components. After everything was complete, he flushed the system with a lot of water to test for leaks and also tested the dishwasher to ensure that it had been installed properly by the appliance store since the appliance store was not able to test due to lack of plumbing.

He is very reliable and always does a great job. He has been here four times now, and he can do everything that I've asked him to do. He is very reasonable. I always feel like he could have charged more. He is also very honest. I would give him a house key to let him come in if I wasn't here.

Superb handyman. An outstanding job was done on this challenging job that other appliance installers and handyman turned down. Shawn was up to the challenge. He is very bright, took a careful look at the problem and said "I like challenges". He took his time, thought through the problem and found a creative, inexpensive solution and provided a free estimate. He lifted the countertops, installed dishwasher, and returned countertops in perfect condition. He worked cautiously, efficiently and responded promptly to email communications. He cleaned up afterwards was courteous and I was very pleased with his work. I will use his services again for simple or complicated handyman jobs.

Shawn has exceeded our high expectations based on the reviews here. We asked two additional contractors for estimates and they were both more expensive and proposals were not nearly as detailed and comprehensive. Not only does the new room look fantastic, Shawn went the extra mile to find matching crown molding and custom-made base boards. He continuously updated us on his progress, our options (and how much they'd add to the original estimate) and approx. when he would be done. What really made him our contractor-of-choice that we will be recommending to friends and family is how he assisted us with a water leak that occurred during his contract. Not only did he help us by shutting off the responsible valve, but he also cut out the dry wall for the insurance inspector and was presence during all subsequent inspections and no cost to us. He furthermore looked at multiple jobs that we re considering and gave us great advice on additional enhancements we could be making to the house. His integrity, very pleasant demeanor and sincere desire to do a great job have made this best contractor experience that we have had -- and we will definitely call upon him first for any needs around the house.

I described the issues to Shawn over the phone and he provided a rough estimate of the cost and time needed to perform repair so that I could determine best scheduling. At the first site visit, Shawn provided a written estimate and then started the mud work. He even patched some smaller holes that I had left off the list because I had planned on patching myself. The following site visit, he finished the sanding and cleaned up, providing a 1 year guarantee on the work.

It was very positive. He was very efficient and he was very nice. He was on time and finished the work quickly. He cleaned up after himself. I would definitely use them again. He is my new handyman!

After another roofing company I had used before did not return two calls for my small repair job, I called Shawn. He gave me an estimate and said he may be out of town the following week for vacation but would call me after the weekend and let me know. He kept his word and called me to schedule the work. Shawn showed up at scheduled time. I showed him which roof boot needed to be replaced from the yard. He wrote up the estimate as discussed on the phone and did the repair. He inspected the other two roof boots for me without my asking. When I voiced concerns about water damage to the roof and mold, he told me that he did not see any mold and that the wood did not appear to be soft from the leaking when he nailed through it.

Shawn got in touch promptly when I first contacted him. He came out within a few days and provided me a detailed estimate, then started work within a week. He kept in almost daily contact via email about the projects to let me know how things were going and to ask questions when things came up. He finished work in a timely manner. He is very professional and cares about the quality of his work. He will make suggestions and discuss potential problems. I will call him again when other projects come up. Overall I was extremely pleased.

It went great. Prompt friendly and reasonable.

Shawn arrives on time, gives detailed estimates and does exactly what is needed. His prices are very reasonable, and we feel very comfortable with him in the house at anytime. His work is excellent. If he has not done something before, he tells you and then researches how to best fix it (candle wax spill). Shawn will be installing speakers for us next, and we are passing his information on to our homeowners' association.

I initially contacted Shawn on a Thursday or Friday. He was able to give me an estimate based on my description. He came to the house on Monday, verified what needed to be done and agreed to complete the work on Thursday of the same week. (I was fortunate since he happened to be doing another job in the area.) He contacted me Thursday afternoon to indicate the work had been completed and debriefed me on issues he encountered. (There were no major issues).

The job went very well. I could tell when he gave the estimate Shawn really knew what he was doing. Once I told him I wanted the work done it did take several weeks to begin as he was already scheduled with several other jobs. However, usually being busy and booked is a sign of a good handyman.