"It went well. The crew (which included the owner) worked hard to contain and remove as much debris as they could. Their craftsmanship was remarkable; the new chimney looks clean and sleek. Further, Kaied and office staff were professional, very responsive and friendly."
"Lucas was outstanding - quoting, price, service, quality work, etc. The entire experience was tremendous. Truly cannot recommend this person enough! You will not regret it."
"Great job cleaning out my chimney but piled the ivy they removed in my neighbor's yard on top of his leaves instead of putting them in my yard at the curb and he called me mad and I had to go out and remove them to my yard or the village wouldn't collect his leaves."
"We've used Romeo for several projects and have always been very satisfied with his work. His latest project was extending the concrete pad around our pool. Excellent work, as always. He's professional, prompt, polite and an exceptional worker. Without question we will be calling him for our next project."
"Outstanding. On time, professional, friendly, knowledgeable. We have worked with many different contractors/companies over many years, this has to be the very best overall. Highly recommend"
"Sean & his son & crew did a great job with the landscaping in our backyard after we had a hot tub installed. He came up with suggestions on putting in pavers next to the hot tub and concrete pads in the back. He went above and beyond as we added things to the project and he came through with economical ways to complete the additions that we asked for. He even suggested using the extra pavers to make an area for the garbage can. They were professional, courteous and took care to clean up after themselves. I would recommend using him for your landscaping project. Thanks Sean!"
"I wanted a raised garden that wrapped the front of my house but didnt have the 10-12 grand to pay to have it all done. They were flexible with me and I took on the task of building the wall myself. They dug out the original mess of garden there before, set a strong base for my wall, and delt with the drainage that would later be directed through my wall. I built the wall and they came back and filled it in for me to finish it up. The flexibility and communication back and forth was phenomenal and just talking back and forth and learning new things was awesome. Finaly product came out great!!! (Unfortunately Won't let me upload photos)"
About 6 men did the work. They were very organized. They covered the path from the door to the basement where the inside work was done. They were polite, professional. The foreman kept us abreast of progress. He did took seriously questions that my wife and I had. He did not talk down to my wife. They moved and covered up everything in the basement with plastic. I had moved a lot of stuff out ahead of time. They dug about a one foot wide trench along the inside perimeter of the basement, installed drain pipe and re-cemented with several vents. The pipe runs to the new sump pump. They did repairs and drainage on the outside perimeter as well. Everything was hooked up to pre-existing storm drains. The work took three days.
My only mild complaint is that the utility sink in the basement pitches slightly forward, and so it does not drain as completely as it should. I did not ask them to fix it.
We had this done in response to water in the basement. We did not have a sump pump prior to this and had 9 inches of water in the basement last February. We have not had much rain, and so I cannot verify that all is OK, but it seems to be at this point.
"Workers showed up on time. Big job installing tiles to waterproof our 110 year old house. We are very happy with the results. It was an expensive project but well worth the money"
The best color to paint a brick fireplace comes down to personal taste. However, neutral colors—like white or gray—will open the space and create a bright modern look, making them popular options. However, choosing a bold color can turn your fireplace into a feature piece that will be the talk of all family gatherings.
You should generally drill into the mortar joints when installing shutters on brick. Mortar is softer, which makes drilling easier and puts less strain on your tools. It also lowers the risk of cracking a brick—something that’s a lot harder to fix. Mortar holds fasteners well enough for standard shutters, and if you ever need to patch the holes later, it’s a much simpler job than dealing with damaged brick. Just keep in mind that if your mortar joints are too thin or the hardware calls for brick anchoring, you'll need to check the manufacturer’s recommendations and adjust accordingly.
The best tool for drilling into brick or mortar is a rotary hammer drill which is a large hammer drill with low rotation speed and high torque. Regular drills with a hammer function are also excellent tools for drilling into brick when the diameter of the hole is 1/2 inch or less. It might be possible to drill into brick with a standard drill if you’re only drilling a very small hole, but note that masonry work will put a lot of wear on a standard drill, and the tool may not be strong enough to get through brick.
It is possible, albeit a lot slower, to break up a rock using water. You would do this by freezing and thawing the water. You could create some initial holes or cracks in the rock, then pour water into the cracks or holes and allow them to freeze (so it's best to do this in winter or in colder climates). Since water expands when it freezes, this puts pressure on the inside of the rock and causes it to crack. You could continue to pour more water in and let it freeze to continue to break up the rock.
Yes, an outdoor fireplace should use fire bricks. Fire bricks are specially designed to withstand high levels of heat and thus won’t crack as easily as regular bricks when exposed to the intense heat inside a fireplace.
The Amherst, NY homeowners’ guide to masonry services
From average costs to expert advice, get all the answers you need to get your job done.
Door or window lintel replacement costs $400 on average, but there are ways you can save. On the other hand, complicated work will increase costs considerably.
This guide features information on the costs to repair a brick wall, whether or not you need a brick mason to complete spalling, tuckpointing, or a full restoration.
Need to repoint brick in your home to make your home look fresh and new? Use this guide to repointing brick cost to price out your project before starting.
Discover the wide variety of masonry materials for your next home upgrade project. Our guide covers the different types of materials to choose from and more.
When it comes to masonry versus concrete, it can be easy to confuse the two. Use this guide to learn about the differences in appearance, strength, and more.