Michael Gaines Designs

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Did a nice job.

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restored table and two chairs

See above

It went well.

See above

I just wanted a piece of wood to stick out to hold my plants but what he put in is gorgeous. It has a molding underneath and it is about 7 feet long. He not only made this thing for me but he brought it up to where I moved, which is not all that accessible, and installed it. He came up once to look at the job, the second time to take more measurements, and the third time he and his assistant put it in and custom fitted it to the window sill area. It was a labor of love. He is a very nice guy and he takes pride in his work. About 50 years ago, I made these teak wood radiator covers and when I moved I did not want to part with them. He made bookcases out of them for me. They are gorgeous! He put in the backs and sides and shelves and blended everything in. They look like the finest shaker furniture. You couldn't buy these things anywhere.

Working with Michael was a very, very good experience. The day I called he came to my apartment to give me an estimate and it was immediately apparent that he is incredibly knowledgeable and competent. Because he explained so clearly the problem with the chairs I immediately felt I could trust him. He worked carefully and was thorough about the job. He was juggling a number of jobs at the same time which meant that the work spread out over more days than I might have wished, but in Michael's defense I gave him the impression that there was no rush - and there wasn't. When I did need the job finished he brought in another worker whom he is teaching the trade and they finished in plenty of time. Michael also has many contacts and was able to refer me to people who are skilled at other kinds of jobs. Not only was he concerned that I was satisfied with his work but he wanted to be sure I was happy with the work of the upholsterer to whom he referred me. In addition, Michael is an excellent craftsman and an intelligent, knowledgeable and fascinating person. You will want to find more work for him to do for you!

He did a great job. He did a beautiful job and he did it quickly. It was a few days before Thanksgiving and he delivered it on short notice. He was very pleasant to deal with. He stored it for me briefly while I was having other work done to my apartment. He was done very soon after he took it, but he held on to it at my request. Originally he was just going to cut it down for me, but we decided to cut the leaf and do the hardware and runners. I think he gave me a deal and he did a nice job. He came the same day that I called him and he seemed very knowledgeable. He knew right away what period piece the table was. It is a reproduction and he knew all about it. The next time he came he brought me a picture of a similar table built by another company. I have already recommended him to other people.

Mr. Gaines was very responsive when I called for an estimate and came up right away. I delivered the chest to his studio in Brooklyn to avoid freight charges. He spent quite a lot of time working on it -- more than I think he or I believed would be necessary. All along the way he checked with me to make sure the end product would be to my liking. It certainly was! He is a cautious, painstaking and very competent artisan with excellent attention to detail -- just give him time to do his work and don't rush him.

This was a case of "bait and switch" in terms of giving an estimate. When he saw the problem with our table, he started by saying he had a minimum of $300. My husband and I took this to mean that the job was too small to make the minimum. So we pointed out some other problems to take care of so that we could make the minimum. He then decided that the repair to the table alone would be at least $300. You know, I come form a very small town. People there watch their reputations like hawks. I would think that someone who is on Angie's list, and who knows that we found him through Angie's list might not want to pull something like this. Other than this category, our experience with referrals from Angie's list has been very positive.

After moving several thousand miles from Europe, the four inexpensive but irreplaceable doors for the modular closet that I depend on for storing everything from papers to plates ended up scratched, grated and dinged by a (supposedly professional) four-block move in Manhattan. Michael visited multiple times over a period of weeks, mostly when I was out of the house, in order to restore the doors to nearly-new condition. This involved sanding, filling and color matching in multiple, painstaking stages. He proved totally trustworthy, and was a total perfectionist, paying as much attention to my mass-produced furniture as he would have paid to any antique. Despite the fact that the work ended up being more complicated than he had originally thought, he honored his original estimate.

I called his phone about 3:30 pm and he returned my call within minutes. Because I was leaving town in a couple of days, I was expecting to schedule service the following week. To my great surprise and delight, he offered to come that evening about 6:30. He arrived on time and completed the work by 7:45. Because I had given erroneous information on what kind of screws would be required, he didn't have the right supplies. We agreed that he would use what he had, and I would replace the screws after a trip to the hardware store. He gave me the exact details of what to buy, and followed up by phone the next day to remind me to buy washers to support the screws where the wood was damaged.

Good.

I had to bring the chair to his shop in Brooklyn to save his pick-up and delivery charges, which worked out well because we just picked up a new CRV. The job was completed BEFORE the estimated time of delivery and the chair looked like a brand new showroom piece.

Mr. Gaines came to my home to do the work, bringing his equipment with him. He was thorough and fastidious about cleaning up after the day's work. He gave me an amazing price for the amount of work he did. Since I am partially retired, I was very grateful.

This was a great experience. Michael was one of the few people I spoke with who would come for a free estimate and was very experienced and friendly. He had the desk for a bit over a month as planned and did even more than discussed due to the state of the desk. He did call to check on a few items to ensure that he restored the desk in the desired style. He dropped it off today and it looks fantastic. He fixed the shelves, provided a few new ones, soaked the whole desk in a cocktail to get rid of some infestation, stained the desk several times, added hinges to top and fixed the door hinge.

Great experience! Excellent service, prompt and friendly.

HE HAS LOTS OF GREAT IDEAS, AND ANYONE WHO COMES TO HIM WOULD BE VERY PLEASED ABOUT ALL OF HIS VAST KNOWLEDGE. OUR BENCH LOOKS BEAUTIFUL, AND WE ARE VERY HAPPY WITH IT.