DENK PLASTERING

For $500, repair work for a small water leak that damaged a corner of a bedroom ceiling was to be repaired using plaster as the entire house has plaster. This is the main reason why I originally had Denk Plastering do the work as he advertises plaster is his specialty.  Also while there, stress cracks were to be corrected with plaster as well as to blend into the rest of the textured surface. This was stressed as I intended to paint and I did not want to address these issues again for a long time. There was no ambiguity on my part as to what I wanted to achieve and what he had to offer.

Much to my surprise, all work was completed in just under 2 hours. I was originally told it would be the better part of a half a day which to me sounded reasonable with two men working. Mr. Denk, the owner, told me it would be ready to paint over in 2-3 days. Once dried, I discovered many of the cracks that were fixed were still visible as well as cracks never touched. Concerned, I called Mr. Denk and asked if he would stop over to address the issues as I was not happy with the quality. After all, his advertising says his work is guaranteed. This would have included the general sloppiness left behind as well, which to was to me, a minor issue in comparison to getting the job done properly. He did return my phone call and acted surprised but did say he stood behind his work. He also said he would come out but put me off twice as to scheduling a mutually acceptable time to meet. He never called  again like he said he was going to. He seemed to not want to go too out of his way after all he had already been paid in full for the quick job. It also became apparent he was hoping I would just go away out of frustration which is exactly what happened. (One more interesting point, when making out the check for payment, he had me fill it out in his personal name, not the company's name on his truck and business cards.) Very shady!  One could assume that this job would not be claimed on paper and that the $500 was quick cash to make before 10 a.m. in the morning....

After two attempts on my part and none on his, I called another company in to clean up and finish the job the right way. I was shown that indeed a hard compound was used on the water leak area but every where else joint compound was haphazardly smeared over some cracks. It was not textured into the walls to blend in and chunks were left here and there including all over a ladder I let them use as well as the kitchen sink. The second company also told me that new plaster has a curing time before painting, far exceeding 3 days. Mr. Denk never mentioned this. Very sloppily done but given the time put into the job, not surprising. Heck, I could have done as well or better with a $5 bucket of joint compound....

Check cashed. Mr. Denk and his plastering company has fallen off the face of the Earth. Very disappointed with how this was handled. Obviously will never use again and would warn others to steer clear.  Find a more reputable, reliable, quality oriented company.

I had a leaking main stack that needed to be replaced. The plumbers opened a hole in the wall from floor to ceiling about two feet wide to execute the replacement. That left me needing some plasterwork. I called Ray Denk, who answered the first call. He scheduled to come over two days from the time I called. The night before, he called to see if it was alright if we reschedule for one day later than planned. I agreed. Also, on the day he did come over (a Sunday), he called thirty minutes ahead of time to let me know he was on his way. Ray and his assistant worked quickly. One set out ground cloths while the other brought in tools. One of them did have to run out because they did not bring enough board to use as a base for the plaster. That made it take longer than expected. However, Ray answered his calls promptly, called ahead of time, rescheduled as needed, and showed up at agreed upon times. The plasterwork looked great. He did an area about 2 feet wide by 9.5 feet high, including areas where the opening butted up against the casing of a built-in bookcase and a window. My only gripe was that they didn't bring a shop-vac or broom with them. They did go to the trouble of finding a neighbor who would loan a broom and dustpan to get some clean-up done. There was some mess left, but not bad. When the plumber who replaced the stack was called back in for a different issue, he noticed the plaster and remarked how good it looked.

DENK PLASTERING DOES NOT RETURN PHONE CALLS, NEVER SHOWS UP FOR WORK ON TIME AND ALWAYS HAS 15 EXCUSES FOR EVERYTHING. DENK PLASTERING IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL COMPANY. DO NOT HIRE FOR LARGE PROJECTS. I FIRST HIRED DENK PLASTERING ON JUNE 21, 2005. THE WORK IS STILL UNFINISHED TODAY AUGUST 11, 2005. STILL IN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO GET MONEY BACK.

I WAS IMPRESSED WITH THE FACT THAT THEY CALLED ME BACK WITHIN 24 HOURS AND CAME READY TO WORK. THEY CLEANED UP WELL AND SHOWED UP ON TIME, HOWEVER WORK QUALITY WAS SLOPPY. SMOOTH WALLS WERE NOT REALLY SMOOTH, TEXTURED SURFACES WERE WELL MATCHED.

MR. DENK DID A VERY NEAT JOB ON OUR WALL. HE ARRIVED EARLY IN THE MORNING AND WAS FINISHED BY NOON. HE LEFT EVERYTHING VERY NEAT AND WAS NICE TO DEAL WITH.