Affordable Solutions by Brian

Brian is a true professional. He was always on time, finished a head of schedule, and was great to work with. I, without question will use this company again in the future.

I felt Brian was very professional. He came over himself and estimated the work I wanted done. He gave me a date and a price, and as the date approached he actually called to say he could do the job sooner! I was surprised & pleased that he showed up exactly at 8am as promised, he & his crew got right to work & did the whole job in 1 day. The job came in at just $100 over the estimate, as at the last minute I asked him to do some additional wiring. I have more work to be done in the spring, and am planning to hire Brian again. I felt he was completely trustworthy, and his price is very reasonable. I would recommend him to anyone.

Called Mr. Corsette, set up date and time, he arrived as scheduled, gave me an estimate and got to work, gutters on one house were loaded with pine needles and leaves[had not been cleaned in a long time]. He put all the debris in plastic bags so he wouldn't make a mess, much appreciated! He handled the job alone and was fast and efficient. Will be calling him back for some other work I need done.

In an old (1860) house, Brian figured out how to replace a fan/light combo in my kitchen with a chandelier from my previous house. The fan worked with a pull-chain, but my chandelier did not. Brian crawled through a tiny door in an upstairs hallway into the attic (filled with loose blown-in insulation) and rewired things so the chandelier now works perfectly with a wall switch. Brian looked like Frosty the Snowman when he crawled out of the attic, and tiptoed carefully outside before he brushed himself off. He also replaced some really strange bulbs in a bathroom light that had a written warning in them not to fool with them unless you knew what you were doing. Again, a perfect job. His two associates, Leo and Jeremy, did a beautiful job installing the blinds and work really h****** a difficult floor repair in the living room. They were equally careful, and even seemed to enjoy working on an old house. Brian's estimate on the cost of the work to be done was within pennies of the actual amount. In all cases, what was so impressive about all three men was their professionalism, friendly manner and ability to problem solve on the spot. Nothing in a house built in 1860 is standard, but it didn't seem to faze them at all. I found it really helpful that three different kinds of work were done in one call on one day. They will remain my go-to handymen. I am compiling a list!

did. He and his men where on time, professional, polite and the work was great. The crew are friendly, funny, and get the job done. They completed the whole job in one day, and it was done well. The crew were nice to talk to about the work and knew what they were doing. They insulated the whole attic, and repaired two doors in my house, and all in one day. They cleaned up any mess and left the place clean. Yes, I would hire them again, and happily. Thank you Brian and crew for a job well done.

A small bedroom in the house had some significant water rot in one corner to the extent that a foot would go through the floor. Unable to claim on insurance, I wanted to be smart on who fixed it and how it was done. I found Brian/Affordable on Angie's list and based on the overall high ratings, I made the call for an estimate. I was also in a time crunch, needing the work done by the last week of October and I called him the first couple days of October. Brian came to take a look and give me an estimate. He took notes during the visit as well as spoke to his suggested repair approach and then also pointed out where additional issues could surface once the job was started. This is always appreciated as surprises can be tough to manage when your repair has a budget. He provided the estimate and after a couple simple questions, I agreed to have him do the work. He gave me an approximate timeframe when he could fit me in and I did follow up with him on the schedule right around that time period. He gave me a set date, confirmed the appointment the day before, but then had to bump it by a day. This was not a problem for me only that I was anxious to have the work done. The crew came on that rescheduled date, in the house by 8:20am out of the house by 3:00pm. I received a call an hour or so into their work to let me know that a few incidentals needed to be done, these were the "extras" that he said could happen after tearing out the rug and opening the wall. The room was left empty/clean, they put down runners from the front door to the bedroom so as not to track in the outside. The room looks fantastic. I bought my own flooring as he said it was not an issue with him and I got a great deal from a bargain store. He seems flexible willing to work with whatever needs you have. I will definitely call on Affordable again for future jobs.

Brian never showed. He never called to cancel. When, at the end of the 3-hour window, I left a message, he returned my call and told me that I was not on his schedule. NOT, "I'm sorry. I remember our conversation on Sunday, but somehow I messed up." Instead, an accusatory, "You're not on my schedule." Annoyance turned to anger when he repeatedly interrupted me and offered opinions regarding the "rudeness" of the message that I had left for him (terse, yes; rude, no) and proceeded to tell me that I was the "type of person" who cannot accept when others make mistakes. Not wishing to engage in such a conversation, I hung up. Brian seems to forget his role. I am the customer. Brian has apparently not learned that when one misses a scheduled appointment, an apology is in order. He appears to be very forgiving of his own mistakes and intolerant of any annoyance on the part of the customer who, in my case, wasted an absolutely glorious fall day waiting for him. I am sure that Brian will respond to my complaint the way he did to another customer with whom he missed a scheduled appointment. Brian wrote, "I have found that many people out there feel that there is no need for them to pick up a phone and see what happened. Contractors are human also, we make mistakes, take down the wrong phone numbers, even forget from time to time.We even have families that get ill and need us!!! I receive numerous calls a week and try my best to respond to all of them but occasionally it takes you the customer to call back a second time. I hope everyone reads this and understands and appreciates this. Thank you and once again I apologize that I was not able to schedule around you." Apparently, when Brian messes up it is the customer's fault. The customer should "pick up the phone and see what happened."In his response to a previous customer (above), and when speaking with him, he seemed not to appreciate that an appointment had been made and missed. He segues, above, into a discussion about unreturned phone calls and failure to find a mutually agreeable time to meet. In both my case and the previous reviewer's case the problem was that he FAILED TO SHOW for a scheduled meeting and failed to cancel. Brian needs to learn that the customer comes first. He needs to learn that when a customer agrees to set aside three hours to accommodate Brian's schedule, he or she will have cancelled some other activity, perhaps taken time off from work, and will be annoyed to find that his or her time has been wasted. Brian needs to learn what "taking responsibility" means. It means saying, "I screwed up. What can I do to make it better."

We had to replace a broken bedroom door that had been kicked open when it was locked inadvertently. Brian's crew did an excellent job installing a replacement door. Due to a miscommunication, the two stom doors were not done to my satisfaction. One was installed improperly, but that was because his crew leader and I did not communicate effectively, partly my fault and partly theirs. Brian sent his crew back and it was promptly fixed. Also, the replacement storm doors did not close tightly to the door frames, leaving narrow gaps along the top, bottom and sides. I contacted Brian about it, and he acknowledged that his crew should have advised me that the bad fit was because of the age of the house and the misalignment of the door frames, they would have to add wood strips at additional cost to insure proper closure. I told Brian that had his men simply told me the problem, I would have readily agreed to the extra cost. Brian agreed that his men should have explained this to me, and a couple of days later he sent his crew back out to re-do the storn doors so they closed tightly. To my pleasant surprise, he told me there would be no charge for the additional work. I highly recommend Brian for his work and professionalism, especially the fact that he acknowledged that his crew should have communicated to me about the problem with the storm doors before leaving the job, and the fact that he did not charge for the extra work and material involved to make them fit.

Contacted Brian to have some electrical work done and water line to fridge connected. He explained he had some personal issues and would call me back in a couple of days and he did call back. It took me about 4 days to receive his message and finally call him back. I left him a voicemail and he never returned the call.

at the time the weather did not co-operate with us, so that was a hold up.I had the job done previously by a different person,that was not done correctly. So Brian and his crew had to fix someone else cobbled up mess. I also had him come over to a different property, to give me an estimate on another job. That was 3 months ago and I have not heard from him.

Getting the estimate was a breeze, and due to illnesses on both sides worked was pushed out a month. Called Brian last Friday, we scheduled for 7am today (Monday) and he arrived promptly at 7! He performed the work I asked for plus additions I had since original estimate. He was able to complete the job in a timely manner and my husband & I are very pleased with the results. We plan on having more work done in the future and we've asked Brian back to help with those projects as well. We'd recommend Brian and his company Affordable Solutions to any one looking to have work done.

He was very personable ..and really like him as a person, but felt his estimate was higher than all the others and less quality options offered. We were confused by the Affordable solutions advertisement as we found many other options that were less money, and better quality.

I met with Brian as well as with several other electrical contractors to get an estimate for the electrical work I had envisioned. A couple of the other contractors had not responded to my telephone contacts and a couple had come over to do estimates. Brian was different from those who had spoken to me before. He was very methodical in his evaluation of my current situation and frank in his evaluation of the existing wiring ("it's a mess; too many circuits on the same lines" and service. He asked many more questions than others had asked and was able to establish that I did not need to increase the potential of my service (I was thinking of going from 100 Amp to 150 or 200 Amps) although that would have generated more income (and work, of course) for him. Rather, he suggested staying with the current level of service but noted that I should separate certain high demand appliances (the microwave and refrigerator being the main power hogs) and put them on their own service. He sent a written estimate within 48 hours (via email, at my request). His oral and written estimates were approximately equal ($1566). His estimates were less than I had received from other contractors for the same work (several had insisted that I needed the more expensive service upgrade on top of the estimate for staying with the original 100 AMP service). I choose to go with Brian. Brian and his crew arrived in the morning promptly as promised and began work on the electrical service. I live in an old house with some knob-and-tube wiring but the focus was on the replacement of the fusebox, separating several circuits, and the rewiring associated with the installation of the new breaker box. Brian worked efficiently and diligently and ended up spending more time on the installation than he had anticipated in his estimate (at no additional charge). While he was working in the basement, a couple of men from a crew who had completed some carpentry work at another job arrived and I asked Brian to give me an estimate on the fascia repair. The estimate (including materials and labor to replace the fascia across the entire back of my house was $250 . I accepted the estimate and the guys got to work. Like Brian, every member of his crew was friendly, efficient, and extremely competent. One of the reasons that the electrical work took longer than expected (although everything was completed in one day) was a particularly troubling circuit. After Brian had left for the day, the circuit shorted several times and I delayed calling Brian in until the next day (nothing critical was on the circuit and I felt he'd done quite enough already for one day). When I called, Brian showed up the following day and did the repair work necessary to fix the troubled circuit. Although he said that he thought the problem was a short in the pre-existing line (which he had not altered), he fixed the service at no additional charge. The service has worked flawlessly over the past month (including the now-fixed troublesome circuit). I was extremely pleased with Brian's Affordable Solutions. Brian and his workers were friendly, efficient, clearly focused on completing a job that they could be proud of and with which I would be satisfied, and competent. They were diligent about cleaning up the areas (the basement and the back of the house) in which they had worked and left the site in perfect condition. I recommend Brian and his crew wholeheartedly. They are among the best contractors with whom I have worked in my 30 years in the Syracuse area. And, as advertized, Brian was affordable. I would recommend Brian's Affordable Solutions for similar work and will use his services when next I need general contracting work done. Thanks Brian!

I'd been looking for a handyman and spoke with Brian about it. Nice guy and he's not shy. He seems fair. But we played phone tag a bit and just lost touch, so I never had a chance to work with him. But I would still work with him.

Affordable Solutions did not perform the work. I could not justify paying 4x more for the same job.

Due to a death in the family, I inherited a very decrepit, dirty and outdated home in a working-class neighborhood. After paying it off, the plan was to fix it up as inexpensively as possible and sell it. Brian was very knowledgeable, professional appeared to be a perfectionist, which are all good things. His price was fair, but it was still more than I could justify paying and he would not budge a nickel in negotiation. We needed someone who had experience "flipping" property with low-cost remodeling. We ultimately chose another contractor based on his lower estimate and ability to meet our specific needs. If higher-quality work is your priority, give Brian a call.

Great experience start to finish. Brian offered many ideas for the layout that we hadn't thought of which helped maximize space and keep cost down. Project took less than 2 weeks. He and/or his team showed up on time, worked all day and cleaned up each day before they left. At the end of the remodel we had only one small issue which Brian came back the same day and corrected. Couldn't be happier with our new basement

They gave me a great estimate. The price was reasonable. They are very professional, courteous, prompt and conscientious.

Very professional, quick, and fair. Would definitely recommend.

I had a storage shed with a crack window. Brian was in Cortland, NY when I contacted him. Since I was at a loss as to how to get the window section out of its frame and repaired, he offered to stop by and take a look on his return trip . When he left Cortland, he contacted me to let me know he was on his way. He arrived promptly and was able to get the broken window section out. To help me save time and money in getting the glass repaired, he place a call to a hardware store where I could take the window and have it fixed while I waited. However, when I arrived at the hardware store, the guy that Brian talked to was not familiar with the window I showed him. So, not wanting to break it, the man at the hardware store sent me elsewhere. I ended up getting the window repaired at Suburban Hardware and was able to pop it back in. Thanks to Brian, a problem was solved. I would definitely consider him for any future job.

Brian's estimate detailed all requested work to be completed; I guess I was unrealistic as to how much time was required for the requested work. Brian's estimate was professionally completed & accurately reflected what work was requested. Estimate was received timely. Based on my conversations with Brian, I would use him.

He did an excellent job. His prices were great. I believe I spent between $20,000-$30,000. I was very happy with him and I would use him again. He is top shelf. He was a good guy. He was responsive. I used him again for some minor things. He happily did them even though they were minor things.

Tried to install a stairs and balcony and his bunch of idiot installers are exactly that IDIOTS. I received threatening phone calls and text messages from this guys wife! They did not finish the job and wanted paid more than they quoted; Tried taking me to court failed his wife either is a drunk or a idiot who continually texts me with threats. I would not use or recommend this company to my worst enemy.

This is one review I wish I did not have to make, but feel members should have both the good and the "not so good" reports. Really hoped I had found someone in Brian who could help my daughter and me with the many jobs around our large home. And it's not like they were all small jobs; wanted quotes on replacing an ell shaped porch ceiling, new foundation for porch column, relocating two flat roof vents and putting in two new ones, and other future jobs of remodeling bath, and cabinet work in kitchen etc. Most of the reviews were glowing, so had high hopes. Called and left message at office #. Two days later, no response, so called cell and left message. Did receive an apology for not responding first time and I accepted and said we can start over, no problem. We made appt. for him to come and give estimate for work.....suggested Thurs. 2-4 or Fri. 2-5 that my daughter would be home to show him around. We agreed on Thurs. At 4:05 Brian called and said he knows it was after 4 but thought it was worth calling to see if there was still time to run out. Agreed it was worth a call but unfortunately my daughter had left, so we arranged he would come next day and would call before coming. He has never shown up or called. With all his positive reviews I am puzzled by this. Common courtesy seems to be lacking among contractors as this was the 2nd time in a month that a contractor failed to call. The first time other guy came out and then said to be by the phone with pencil and paper...he would call with estimate that night. Never called. Is there so much work out there that a business can afford to flip people off like that and it not affect their reputation????

Nothing bad to say about this contractor except if you have a disagreement with him you end up with a law suit.