Breyer Construction & Landscape LLC

We worked with Breyer Construction for a few months on the design of our dream deck. They very patiently worked with us till all of our detailed concerns were addressed in the design of the deck and covered porch. The complexity of the project and the major changes to the existing building's roof made us very concerned with the caliber of contractor we choose for our project. The ability to visualize the project via the 3-D tools helped considerably in allowing us to bring our dream deck to reality. I have waited over a year to write this review to make sure everything had a chance to settle. The good news is I like the job they did even better now than when they first did it. If you're in the market for a high quality job done by a talented team of people then you should consider Breyer and team.

Work was excellent. From the moment I set up appointment for an estimate to the end of the project everything went smoothly. They are extremely efficient and professional. I would highly recommend this company

Overall not too bad. Hardscape and landscape services are outsourced and this results is less than optimal results and hassle. The outsourced contractor quality varies and you often find yourself having to check and double-check their work for accuracy and completeness. Although Breyer employs a manager to oversee these outsourced projects, you can tell that he is busy with their primary commitments and your project is of lesser importance.

From the very first phone call to the very last email, this company was attentive and very easy to work with. I called 4 other construction companies to bid this job and Breyer Construction were the only ones who answered the phone and scheduled with me immediately. They were friendly and and very helpful. The bid went smoothly and they had a quote to us the next day. They were not the low bidder, but they were only $10 higher the the low bidder. They seemed more knowledgeable and we felt more comfortable with this company. The work was completed timely. I did have to call them back out because they did not back fill the edge with top soil as discussed in the quote, but they were back out the next day to remedy this and they also put down grass seed. Overall I was very pleased with the work they did!

Not good. I asked for the deck and footers to be removed. Work scope was "deconstruct existing deck, including the framing and footers". After they finished I found a footer that wasn't removed. they came right out and removed that footer. The next day I found four more footers that weren't removed. One was like the one that they had removed the previous day. The other three were of a different type. They said they didn't remove those three footers since they weren't attached to the deck. All the footers were put in to support the deck. If you decide to use Breyers, make sure the work scope is detailed enough to ensure the work you want done is included. Also, when the work is over, give the finished,work a thorough inspection to ensure that nothing was missed.

Very responsive and professional. Stayed in touch almost daily.

Breyers company was outstanding in professionalism, quality of work, and support for me as a client.  They provided initial estimates and adjusted the proposals to meet my specific needs.  This included an onsite review and evaluation of the proposal.  My local borough's permit process is not efficient and can be a hindrance in obtaining and closing permits.  Breyers stood with me every step of the way, even months after the work was completed.  They obtained at their own initiative a structural engineer to help demonstrate to the borough the quality and structure of the deck to construction code.  They joined me for onsite meeting with the borough management where a successful resolution was obtained.  During this entire time, Breyers worked with our schedules and around our personal conflicts.  At a time when we were coping with terminal cancer in our family, they performed the work flawlessly and minimized headaches for us as clients.  I would highly recommend this company for quality of work, and for the excellent service.

Matt Breyer was personable, professional and gave us an honest assessment and estimate.  He was willing to work with us on when to do the job.  I was thrilled when I got home and saw the great job they had done.  My husband was here and said they were hard workers and were polite and considerate.  They cleaned up the area beautifully.  We would definitely use them again for other jobs.  I can't rate them highly enough.

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Matt and his team did a great job from design to installation.

Very complicated job on time within budget.

They worked with us to refine the quote to ultimately give us exactly what we needed.

Company owner came out himself late on a Friday to do the estimate - highly knowledgeable and very professional. Was able to give us a discount since we could wait until November to get work done. Work was done well except that workers seemed to be in a rush to get done that final Friday and missed a number of detail items that I found unacceptable. Nothing big but when you do a really nice job you don't leave behind small glaring errors. I called the office and it was easy to work out a reduction in cost since I was willing to do the punchlist items myself.

We interviewed and obtained proposals from 3 contractors before contacting Breyer Construction, and none of the others were able to meet our needs within the budget we were trying to maintain (approx. $20,000).  A co-worker who had work performed by Breyer recommended them, so we made the contact and met with Matt Breyer within a few days.

Matt was very helpful and willing to work with us to both satisfy our needs and find a way to work within our budget.  The basics of what we needed had to do with size, materials (composite and other low maintenance), covered by a roof and screened-in.  We were willing to do a few things ourselves to help reduce costs, such as ordering stone to cover the ground under the deck, purchasing our own lights and ceiling fan, and deferring on painting the ceiling and placing a skirt around the deck until we can do them ourselves when warmer weather arrives.  Matt worked with us to help identify those items and adjusting the price until we arrived at a plan that achieved our target.

Work began within a week of the projected start date and was completed on time by the agreed completion date even though work was interrupted by several days of rain and a major holiday. Ryan was the project coordinator and was readily available by cell phone whenever needed.  We were kept informed of the planned work to be performed each day and what had been completed.  The work site was kept neat and safe.  Importantly, all workers were polite and professional, and there were no issues such as loud music, inappropriate language or encroachment on neighboring properties.

We are very pleased by the appearance of the finished product.  Even though the project was completed on New Year's Eve Day, the guys stayed with it into the late afternoon to make sure that all work was properly finished and cleaned (to the extent cleaning was possible in sub-freezing temperatures).  I later asked Ryan to have someone return when the weather is warmer to complete the final cleaning, and he readily agreed to do so.

The materials provided were consistent with what was offered and look very good.  Everything has a professional finished look.  When there were a couple items that had been part of the planning and discussion but had been inadvertently omitted from the written contract, they were readily provided without any debate or lengthy discussion. 

We would readily recommend Breyer Construction for deck construction, from the most basic to more complex designs and features.

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After the installation, it struck me as odd that the installer did not go below the ground level for the foundation stucco, even by just an inch or two.  Instead, a sloppy shelf of concrete was left along the side and part of the front of the townhouse, including where the foundation met the paved driveway.  The color pigment was not mixed into the mortar properly, leaving some areas of stucco that were much lighter than others.

Four months after the installation, numerous cracks appeared in the front, the side, and the back of the townhome where the patio meets the foundation.  About a year later after several emails and phone calls, the person who installed the stucco made an attempt at a repair.  I came home after work and saw that the cracks were chiseled away and filled in with a large amount of rubber caulk.  No one had told me the repair was going to take place.  I emailed the company owner and sent pictures.  The company owner told me that the installer was having troubles with his business and that he would talk to him about it.  It turns out, the rubber caulk was just an initial step in the repair process.  After the second step was completed, I notified the contractor (company owner) that the repair was sloppy and unacceptable.  The stucco had a splattered pattern, and the color of the mortar used for the crack repair did not even match the existing stucco.  The owner said he would come out personally to take a look at it. 

After sending him three emails in the span of three weeks, he stopped by to look at it.  I pointed out the issues, and told him it wasn't done installed properly to begin with and that I was concerned about future cracks.  The attempt to clean up the sloppy repair occurred on August 7, 2014.  Some of my concerns were not even addressed, and the work that was done did nothing to improve the appearance of the repair.  The rubber caulking from underneath the mortar repair was now exposed, and the driveway now has permanent bleached-out stains from the muriatic acid solution that they used to try to clean off the sloppy mortar. 

In his last email response to me, the owner accused me of having "unrealistic expectations," that the repair was done properly, and that he was pleased with how the work turned out.  He also said that he couldn't refund any money because they were $2,000 over budget on my $4,800 project.  I just don't see where $2,000 was spent on the repairs, especially since cracks have already appeared in the repaired areas.

Everyone (and I mean everyone) who has seen the stucco and the repair agree that it looks terrible and was not installed properly.  I wish there was a way for me to post pictures of the stucco.

This contractor made many promises about quality and satisfaction in his initial sales pitch.  Although he was professional and pleasant during some of the process, the end result is that I am the one who is stuck with an extremely inferior product.  I need to find another contractor to remove the stucco and install it properly, an added expense that I am not prepared to deal with.  

My experience with this contractor has been disappointing to say the least.  I had originally planned to use this contractor for a deck project after the completion of the patio and stucco, but those plans have been cancelled.

They did an excellent job in design and build. The owner, Matt, was extremely professional, listening and responding carefully to our needs. The workers did a great job configuring the deck to roof line, and their clean-up was perfect.

all went according to plan in a timely manner...the finished product was excellent.

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Initially, we were very torn between hiring Breyer's Construction and another reputable deck company because of cost. Both presentations were comparable and both were able to provide the deck that we requested. We were drawn to Breyer's Construction because Matt had some very innovative ideas for the deck that the other company didn't suggest. His ideas were creative and smart and he also made some product suggestions that addressed safety concerns we hadn't even thought of; our deck is large and very high. Even though the other company included everything we requested in the deck plans, it was very generic and boring. Matt was very approachable about discussing our budget and negotiating a price. Thanks to suggestions from Matt, we were able to change out some materials without sacrificing safety or appearance and scale back the size slightly without losing useable space and bring the plans within our budget.
The installation took just slightly longer than anticipated but that was attributable mostly to the Township over an error in the permitting process.
Breyer's Construction was excellent with their communication and status updates throughout the entire build.
The look and style of our deck is exactly what we wanted and more. We have no plans to build any more decks on our property but we are definitely considering using Breyer's Construction for interior work and landscaping.

It was a very good job. They're very timely and it was a very good experience.

We had a wonderful experience and would definitely recommend them!

It went very well from start to finish.

The project went well overall.  From the date of the first contact on May 27, 2011, to the first meeting with Matt Breyer on June 8, 2011, to the receipt of the first proposal on June 22, I found that the communication with the company was positive.  When I had questions that needed clarification, Matt and the crew were always able to answer my questions and explain the options.  An amended proposal was prepared on July 28, 2011, and I confirmed then for an October 2011 build.  The project was scheduled for 10/5-6, but had to be pushed back to start October 10th.  Demolition of the porch and the foundation began on Monday, October 10, 2011.  That afternoon  John and the crew dug and prepped the footer for the new foundation.  At 9 pm John returned with cement block solids.  On Tuesday, Sam the mason arrived early to lay the blocks and completed three walls by the afternoon.  On Wednesday, October 12, the mason and assistant returned to apply a parge coat of stucco to the exterior walls. On Thursday, I received a call from the secretary Stacy, saying that they wanted to let the masonry cure a few days before doing the new porch floor.  There was some confusion about their receiving my check payment which I had mailed.  Subsequent checks were either delivered by hand to the office, or given to the crew at the time requested and stated in the proposal.  The week of October 17 was the most stressful for me, because I had to be out of town on a business trip.  I had hoped that the project would be completed before I left on the trip, but that did not work out.  While I was away, the Breyer crew did framing and joists on the porch, removed temporary supports, reinstalled the roof support posts, framed the cement walk and steps, and put the porch deck in place.  They poured cement for the walk and new steps down to the garage.  They put the existing railings in place.  The week of October 24 I discussed with Jason and Jeremiah the railings, the things I noticed that needed attention or remedy, and discussed paint colors with Matt.  He was prompt about replying to my calls or email questions.  I provided lunch for the crew on that Monday, and noted that they did a good job of rebuilding the railings, painting, preparing the steps and grading the ground and spreading the remaining stones.  On October 31, final painting and finishing details to the porch railings, balusters, smoothing out rough scrapes to the railings, and checking the door clearance for access to the storage room under the porch.  There were some delays during the week of November 7th, due to schedule conflicts and rain. On Wednesday Jason and Matt added an additional coat of paint, and then dropped off an extension cord on Friday morning in preparation for finishing the carpentry adjustments on Saturday.  On Tuesday, November 15, Matt was finishing the project and told me to make a list of the areas of concern, the "completion list" which I sent to him via email on November 19.  On November 23 I observed evidence of attention to the areas I had identified, however the underside of the lower railing was still unpainted.  Matt addressed the issue of erosion of loosened dirt and rain water spilling into the drain area near the garage door.  On Friday, November 25, 2011, Matt came to do finishing touch-ups and covering nail holes with silicone.  I gave Matt the final payment for the completion of the project.

Deck designed with input by homeowners; work completed in timely manner though post-construction clean-up could have been better. Construction manager, Matt was very responsive.  Did not know that painting/sealing was not included until project was completed.  Recently noticed several post construction issues  that are being addressed presently. Project budget was exceeded, but overall, we were satisfied with the experience.

Everyone at Breyer was very professional. From showing up on time in our initial meeting to starting the project on the date projected to cleaning up when the job was completed. Every step of the way their was communication on their part letting me know where we stood. I will use them again and definitily recommend their services.