deGruchy Masonry Restoration

TLDR: They're the best. Save yourself some hassle and hire them now. I'm a tough customer. I like to work on my house myself and when I have to hire pros I tend to always think I could have done the work better myself, sometimes rightly sometimes wrongly. Anyway, i'm not that easy to please. Degruchy did a fantastic job on a not that straightforeward project for my house. Some cosmetic stuff, some structural stuff, in a few different areas, just about a year ago. Andy, the owner, clearly knows and understands the business, so when you get a quote, it is probably well judged and you can bet it's fair. Dave, who was the lead guy on site, was there every day and is like the ideal employee for a contracting company: decades of experience, personable, responsible, responsive, helpful, flexible, conscientious, and dedicated to the craft. Harrison, the more junior guy, still has a good amount of experience in the field and is well on his way to becoming a master himself. An ideal #2. Having a master and apprentice take on the job was like something out of another age. If you quote your next masonry job, Andy may not be the cheapest, and if your job doesn't particularly require skill or a practiced hand and eye, maybe you can afford to go with someone else. But I'd pay a premium for Degruchy just to have the certainty that I was getting the best and to not have to worry about a thing. This is the best review I've ever written and it's well deserved. Hire Degruchy.

Great job by the DeGruchy team. Our home was built in 1883 and the DeGruchy team has helped us to maintain the historical serpentine stone that graces our windows and other parts of our home. Without their help we could not take proper care of our home

Andy, Rob, Jeremiah and Dave were pleasant to work with and did excellent work. They give great attention to detail and take pride in their work. They matched the color of the mortar to the original on our historic home. Damaged bricks were repaired to perfection. Previous flaws are imperceptible. And, after cleaning, the 100 year old brick looks like new.

They investigated, analyzed, and created a procedure. We reviewed suggestions on what needed to be done and created a plan. This was no different than what is done in any fortune 500 company’s Research and Develop department. I am a repeat customer. They repointed our 1850s federal style brick home. They are the leader in historical masonry. Do not trust anyone else to your historic building.

DeGruchy performed the work in a timely manner. The workers were courtious. They worked clean. The workmanship was superb. I recommend DeGruchy highly & without reservation.

Their crew showed up on time everyday as promised. They worked well with several other trades onsite at the same time. Work was completed on time and on budget.

They did everything. They promised from owner to each employee-quality workmanship and great respectful attitude.

This was a big project that got bigger as it went along.  The brick on the house had been neglected for years before we purchased the house and there was a lot of brick work that was needed.  After talking with a number of people, including my neighbors and other people that were familiar with brick pointing, I quickly learned that this is something that needs to be done right.  There is no doubt that Andy is an expert on repointing and on the use of lime mortars.
One of the surprises that was encountered during the job was that the reason for the tilted slates along the side of the house was there was an enormous tree root that went along the side of the house.  Certainly a surprise and the crew removed the root and kept moving forward.  We also didn't expect that all of the slates would have been in poor condition which is why we had to replace them with brick.  Andy and his team were very good at thinking on their feet and making good decisions when problems would arise.  
The brick pointing went very well and the guys were careful.  It is a messy job but they really tried to keep the mess to a minimum.  I wiped down the window sills and we had professional window cleaners come in after the job and virtually all of the residues are gone.  Also, the group of workers is very solid and trustworthy.  A pleasure to have working on the house.
One issue did happen and that was I thought that all of the necessary brick work was quoted at the start of the job but Andy later found that there was a large problem spot that he did not see when quoting the job.  We worked this out but was not something that I had expected.  
Andy closely inspected the job near the end and found some areas that needed improvement which they took care of and went above and beyond what was originally expected.  A lot of this had to do with minimizing efflorescence and matching the mortar between the old and the new.  Andy is a perfectionist which is great asset when doing historic renovations.  I know that Andy has already demonstrated his standing behind his work (needed a minor touch up at a missed spot on the chimney and was quickly corrected) which is reassuring.  
Andy and his crew are definitely my go to guys for any project involving masonry.   

Went fine. They went above and beyond expectations.

These folks do 1st class work with a full understanding of historic structures and the needs of an active congregation. They are all courteous, skilled, helpful and respectful of our property and special needs.

I had worked with deGruchy many years ago on another house and it was a pleasure working with them again. They understand historic preservation and provide guidance on doing only necessary repairs. While their hourly rates are higher than most, their overall cost is no higher because of their approach. I had expected that my entire front facade would need re-pointing. Andy felt that only spot repairs were needed and that full re-pointing was not only unnecessary, but could do more harm than good. The work they did looks great - I would gladly use deGruchy again.

This company cares about the quality and craftsmanship involved in their work.

I INTERVIEWED NUMEROUS COMPANIES OVER THE COURSE OF SEVERAL YEARS IN AN EFFORT TO FIND SOMEONE THAT COULD CLEAN THE EXTERIOR OF MY HISTORIC STONE HOUSE WHICH HAD GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL DIRT, AS WELL AS NUMEROUS PAINT DRIPPINGS ACCUMULATED DURING YEARS WORTH OF SLOPPY PAINTING OF THE WOOD TRIM. ALL OTHER COMPANIES SUGGESTED POWER WASHING (DIDN'T WORK) OR SAND BLASTING (I HAD DONE ENOUGH RESEARCH TO KNOW THAT THIS WOULD HAVE DAMAGED MY POROUS STONE AND COMPROMISED THE INTEGRITY OF THIS HISTORIC PROPERTY). ONLY DEGRUCHY MASONARY AND RESTORATION HAD A SOLUTION THAT WOULD EFFECTIVELY CLEAN THE STONE WITHOUT ANY DAMAGE. I ALSO NEEDED MORTAR WORK AND THEY WERE THE ONLY COMPANY THAT UTILIZED THE QUALITY TYPE OF MORTAR AS WAS ORIGINALLY USED IN BUILDING THE HOUSE. I WAS IMPRESSED WITH THEIR KNOWLEDGE, AND THEIR COMMITMENT TO QUALITY HISTORIC PRESERVATION. THE HOUSE WAS BROUGHT BACK TO ITS ORIGINAL GLORY WITH THEIR WORK.

They did outstanding work for us.

Exceptional knowledge, experience, and service. I had met with many companies prior to hiring deGruchy Masonry. They were the only company to understand how to work accurately with historical masonry. Highly recommend!