Jack Means, Jr.

I was happy that Jack was willing to take the job at all, because it was a monster of a job.  He also gave me what I considered to be a great price.  The porch had to be completely removed down to the foundation--we're talking about a 7' x 20' roofed porch above the basement, part of which was supporting the corner of the 2nd floor of the house.  Part of the foundation block had to be removed as well to accommodate modern construction methods.  Jack and his crew worked quickly and efficiently.  One quibble--if you plan on using pre-fabricated columns or other items that are available at big-box stores, be sure that Jack and his crew understand how they are supposed to be installed.  Some of these types of items have instructions and warranties tied to specific installation specs, and the crew seemed unaware of them.  Other than that, there were just a few very minor issues I noticed after the work was done, and these were things that were perhaps inevitable when dealing with an old house.

I had originally researched landscape companies on Angie's List, but most of them seemed focused on decorative retaining walls. It didn't matter how this one looked, because no one can see it unless they climb down a cliff. I just needed something to keep my yard from collapsing, at the most reasonable price possible. When I saw that some people had paid more than $20,000 for what appeared to have been smaller projects, I panicked. Then I remembered Jack Means.  He has his own construction business and had built our church. I knew him to be honest, frugal and willing to take on relatively small projects. (He doesn't have his own earth moving equipment. A big chunk of the cost was rental of a Bobcat to move earth and stone). It took a little while for him to find time to come out to my house, but he called me on the day he could come an scoped it out. Then he got back to me with a written estimate.  Considering the enormity of the project I was hugely relieved that it was $3,284. And he stuck to that even when he encountered some extra problems.  He had to wait for good weather. The actual work took several days. I think he only had one man working with him. I paid for 48 man hours of labor. What really pleased and surprised me was how great it looked when it was done. I was just looking for some practical support that would be out of sight. But by the time he terraced the yard it looked better than it ever had.  I was so glad I thought of him when I was looking for a contractor.