Restoration Specialists Inc.

Last summer I started a project where I build a couple of semi-circular retaining walls. I had built them and put a faux rock cover on them but I didn't feel confident about putting the capstones on because I'm not certain how to measure for angles to create the semi-circular top. I found RSI Builder in Angie's List and contacted them. Their mason, Jason, arrived on time and finished the job in one day. Jason was pleasant and patient with my questions. He even was complimentary on what I had already done. When he finished, both my wife and I were happy with the results.

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Out of all the companies that I contacted through Angie's List RSI Builders (20 years in business!) was the only company to show any real interest in this repair job and to respond promptly with a written estimate via e-mail in just a few days time. And I contacted quite a few businesses: Royal Flush Concrete, Sierra Masonry, Art Con, Inc., Harrelson Masonry, Miller Tile and Construction, Eric's Masonry, etc. Most companies simply did not even bother to respond; Art Con, Inc. (John Sellers) did come by to have a look at the wall (2 weeks for an appointment!) and then I never heard from them again - no estimate, not very professional at all.
After I first contacted RSI Builders in mid March 2014, Ingrid Hummel, Director of Operations, came out personally to my property within just 2-3 days time to have a look at the problems that I was having. She was very friendly, knowledgeable and professional; I had my written estimate for $926.00 to complete this job the very next day, 03/19/204.
The job itself was scheduled for 04/10/2014 since I had first unsuccessfully attempted (see above) to get a few more estimates in the meantime. Half the cost ($463.00) was due up front and the rest on completion.
Two workers/technicians arrived as scheduled on 04/10/2014 and completed this job in about 4.5 hours time. Everything proceeded as planned according to the written estimate, no problems whatsoever. The written estimate of $926.00 did not change. There was quite a bit of paint left over after job completion. I will be putting it to good use whenever and wherever any touch-up is needed around the house.

I have an elevated corner landscaping area in the backyard that borders my CMU block walls. The walls were structurally sound but had viewable deterioration. I had a hunch that water was the source of the problem. I am no masonry expert so I was really stressing over not knowing about how to address the problem in some way that would prevent further water damage and deterioration. So I contacted my HOA manager to find out if she knew about any contractors that would be able to help me. Restoration Specialists Inc. (RSI) was one of three that has worked in my neighborhood in the past.



I obtained an estimate from Ingrid Hummel on the morning of March 26, 2013. Ingrid made a good first impression. What made me feel comfortable was that she is the masonry specialist at RSI and knew exactly what the problem was. Ingrid knew her stuff and stated and quot;I really care about the work that is performed on the homes as if they were my ownand quot;. This made it very easy for me to choose RSI's bid. The other candidates were basically inferior but I will not get into the reasons here. Basically Ingrid explained that with several shrubs and three trees in that area, water has come into contact with the wall over the years. The problem is that this irrigation seeps through my block walls resulting in superficial deterioration and holes. It is a problem with all houses on my street that is on an incline. So all homeowners will eventually have to deal with the same problem at some point since they all have trees and plants that are too close to their block walls. Ingrid introduced me to the waterproofing material known as Bituthene. It comes in sheet form that is applied to the underground portion of the block walls to block irrigation moisture from seeping through the wall. Without applying any waterproofing like this and ignoring the problem, the condition of the base of the wall will just get worse and crumble.



Of course in order to apply Bituthene to the wall below the ground level, excavation work was necessary. To avoid having to pay an extra $250 excavation fee, Ingrid suggested getting someone to do it for less. But I felt ambitious and I did the excavation myself in about seven hours over two days. Basically, I excavated approximately 32 linear ft. in the backyard raised landscape corner of the yard, approximately 16 linear ft. on each side of the wall. Excavation dimensions needed to be 1 ft. wide and 1 1/2 - 2 ft. in depth. I set aside all rock landscape and backfill dirt for the crew to reinstall later.



When I was ready to agree to RSI's bid Ingrid stated she would contact me on Friday in about two weeks to schedule the work. But I never received a call. I was trying to figure out what was going on so I contacted her by email. She stated high winds had delayed many projects and I had to wait an additional week which was understandable. My problem was that she did not proactively call me about this first and instead left me hanging and wondering. It would have been better for her to provide a simple update call to inform any customers who would have delays so they are kept in the loop. Further communications with Ingrid became somewhat frustrating. I quickly started to realized that she is a fast talker and brusque in her responses to follow-up questions over the phone. I had the perception that my job really wasn't that substantial compared to what RSI normally does which seems to be high cost commercial repair projects from what I saw on their website. Maybe she spoke to me like this due to the fact that she was so busy dealing with clients that had much bigger projects. So in a way, I can understand where she is coming from. At any rate, my contacts with her (with the exception of the estimate) seemed like she was always in a rush which had an effect on her tone. However, none of this takes away from her abilities or the fact that RSI was best for the job. As I mentioned earlier, the other two contractor candidates were inferior. Sometimes you have to be willing to be a low priority customer of a big contractor if you want the best possible chance of a quality job.



Two techs arrived on 5/2/13 at about 9am. The project took about four hours. I was extremely happy with how they treated me and how hard they worked. I was so impressed with how they explained to me key parts of what they were doing. Their communication during the work period was outstanding. They took all of my questions and concerns seriously and responded with detailed answers. And they were very responsive to any instructions I had. They did a great job installing the Bituthene and were able to install it slightly higher than the ground level in order to cover the ugliest areas of deterioration repaired by the stucco. The three of us agreed this was the right thing to do not just for aesthetics but also for the sake of protecting those areas. All soil, gravel and rock was re-installed and they really expended a lot of energy in this final step. These two individuals are an asset to RSI and are the reason I give the entire experience an overall grade of A instead of a B. The end result looks beautiful. I am honestly glad its over and I have peace of mind that the area is waterproofed. I will recommend RSI to my neighbors that are also faced with this problem.

Superb job; very quick and professional. Had to use two colors to match house and trim.

Restoration Specialists did a good job of grinding out the bad spots on our pool deck. They made sure they sanded everything so it was even. They did the job in a timely manner and were efficient. If I ever needed this work done again, I would call them. I really liked that they supplied all the materials that they used. They also did a nice job of cleaning up after themselves.