Artistic Masonry Co

It went very well. The job included lifting the roof over the porch, putting in new posts and surrounding the patio with brick. These guys worked harder than anyone else I've ever seen, and in very bad weather at times. It took them 2 weeks to do it. The finished job was excellent and met all of our reqirements. Carl had very good ideas that improved the overall design of the project. We are very pleased. Our only concern was that it took him longer to get to the project than he had originally told us, but he kept us up to date on what was happening and when he would be here.

The reviews for Artistic Masonry on Angie's List convinced us that this was the company to hire. We had to wait a long time for Carl Yockey and his crew to fit us into their very busy schedule, but it was well worth the wait! Our fireplace was quite unattractive. It looked as though someone decided to paint the gray stone white, started the job, decided he/she didn't like it, and stopped. It was pointed with a white, flat ribbon over gray cement and mortar. The hearth was a mess, with cracked and stained tiles, and the mantel was a temporary one created by my husband to replace the antique one the previous owners wanted to keep with them. I wanted to cover the whole fireplace, starting over in effect, but the first consultation with Carl Yockey convinced me that this (much more expensive) route was not the one to take. Carl explained that the type of fireplace we have is popular with many people, and the stone itself was in good shape and would undoubtedly be much improved in appearance once the whitewash or paint was removed. He counseled us on hearth and mantel choices that would be consistent with both our budget and the age of our home, and we settled on bluestone. My husband removed the whitewash/paint, and Carl, Joey, and Jonathan arrived, always punctually, on December 6 and 9 to do the work. I had yielded on keeping the stone, but I really wanted to replace the ribbon pointing with recessed pointing, and Carl, who makes sure to give the client every bit of necessary information and to describe in detail all the options available, agreed to accommodate me. The results are simply beautiful. I am enclosing before and after photos, but I must caution you that the before photos do not look as bad as that fireplace did, and the afters are not as beautiful as the fireplace actually is. As you see it in the after pictures, we have not yet cleaned remaining dust from the stones, nor have we cleaned and sealed the mantel and hearth. I should assure you that Carl and his crew cleaned everything before they left each day, and the work we have yet to do had to wait for the mortar to "cure." The arrival of a new baby granddaughter and preparations for Christmas have prevented us from finishing up. Artistic Masonry is a 100% professional, skilled, and personable group who explain everything carefully, listen equally as carefully, arrive on time, clean up before they leave, and inspire one's respect and confidence. We highly recommend this company. Be sure to call well in advance of when you need work to be done!

Carl and his staff are excellent. They did a fantastic job on rebuilding our chimney. They were on time every day and even worked over time to make sure the job was completed on time I would definitely use him again.

Unfortunately for me and fortunately for them, they are a victim of their own success. I was told they are booked for the next two months at least.

The team worked as a team. Very important! They arrived on time, began their work and continued until the job was completed. This was a two day job. They cleaned up each day. Carl was there for a portion of each day. He made sure the glass block window was installed properly and made certain his team knew what the remaining job required. Carl was nice enough to do a few extra things for me which were not part of the contract. I compensated him for this. The men were respectful, pleasant, good natured, smart and knew what to do to complete the job satisfactorily. Quite a combination. Spectacular job well done.

It went well. He did good work and I would recommend.

Carl was a pleasure to work with from beginning to end - from the time he came out to give an estimate until we ultimately chose him to do the work and scheduled the job and through completion of the project. He and his team were extremely professional, punctual, provided quality work for a very fair price, gave daily status updates as the work was being performed and cleaned up at the end of each day. We will be using Carl again to have some concrete work done on our porch. Highly recommend Artistic Masonry.

This was a fine experience in every way. When I contacted the company, I had wondered about the name "Artistic Masonry." I have no such question now. Their work represented the very highest level of craftsmanship and professionalism.. Mr. Yockey, who heads the company, walked with me around the house making notes about each area in need of re-pointing, and whether some more extensive work would be required in that area. At the end of that review, he gave me an estimate, and offered time to decide whether to go forward. The offer was fair and I accepted. Due to his schedule it was some time until it this job was next. Mr. Y. came out, reviewed with me his notes taken earlier, and we confirmed the specifics of the job, and the price, and scheduled a start time. The work began at that scheduled time. Mr. Y's crew were excellent in every way, as well. Much of the time he worked with them. However, they worked smoothly with the same fine effort and result when he was not present. It is clear he is training them to do the work in with same excellent "old world" technique that he has perfected. The crew was very pleasant and friendly, an extra that spoke to their professionalism. The preparation in digging out the areas for re-pointing was carefully done. Mr. Y offered a choice of a color to the cement mix to match the older pointing. The work is beautiful. The pointing looks like a "raised ribbon." It perfectly connected with older pointing in that same style, but is actually better than the former work. I am entirely pleased and satisfied with this work. I will need some additional pointing and some rebuilding work on one chimney, and have already arranged for it to me done by Artistic Masonry. Another fine craftsman whom I know asked me who had done this excellent pointing on the house, and I told him, Artistic Masonry. I feel very fortunate to have found a company that offers such a high level of workmanship and such a professional execution..

They did a good job. They did a good job in getting the work done in the timeframe. They showed up on time. They cleaned up after themselves and so forth and so on.

Mr. Yockey contacted me in a timely manner. He scheduled an appointment and arrived on time. He was professional, friendly and courteous. After inspecting the property, he provided a written assessment. He informed me of work he recommended be done. After a few days he provided estimates for work he could do. We agreed that I will contact him in a few months (when my travel schedule permits) to schedule any work I'd like him to perform.

Fantastic. Chris and his team do great work and are great to work with.

I could not have been happier with Carl and his team. I was apprehensive going into the process, but when Carl came out to give me an estimate I knew it would be a painless process. He truthfully told me what he could and could not (given the circumstances that my odd-sized basement presented) and what made the most sense given my budget. He explained everything he was going to be doing and why. When work started, Carl would check in with me everyday after his crew was finished to explain the progress they had made that day. Even though the work site was in the basement with very minimal foot traffic, the crew was extremely clean and always cleaned up their work at the end of the day. Whenever a question arose during the process, Carl would check with me to ensure I was getting exactly what I wanted. At the end of the project, when the crew was installing flooring, he had people at my house both Saturday and Sunday to get the job done. Overall, I got exactly what I asked for at a very reasonable price. Carl and his crew were very friendly and easy to work with. Their work ethic and attention to detail are unmatched. I highly recommend working with Artistic Masonry.

Terrific. One year later and the steps have held up great so far. Carl was good to work with. He had a good team of guys who were respectful and professional. The step design was a bit complicated due to building codes and size restrictions (stairs protrude into driveway). He figured it out and executed nicely. I'm a hard person to please, as I like to do my home improvements myself, but would hire Carl again to tackle any masonry work.

The first job involved repointing the front of a brick townhouse in Center City, Phila. It's not easy to get tradesman to worrk downtown, with the traffic, parking, etc. Carl outlined different options at different levels of effort and expense. We decided on the work and his crew did a great job, and were very sensitive to minimizing inconvenience to our neighbors. When a storm door glass panel was broken during the work, they ordered and reinstalled it without being reminded. All in all, a hassle free, high quality job done on time. The second job that we had Carl do was at a suburban home where the chimney needed repointing. Carl gave us a few estimates from minor repointing to rebuilding and tried to do the most cost effective job. Unfortunately, the damage was more extensive than at first thought, so a more extensive rebuild was required- we really wanted the chimney to look nice when the job was completed. Carl walked us though our choices of brick, pros and cons, a did a redesign that was elegant but that looked original to the house. He even went to the brick yard with us to pick out the correct brick for the job. Again the job was done right, on time, and on budget. We ended up with a really nice outcome, and Carl's knowledge, experience and cost effective approach got us there with a minimum of drama.

I just got an estimate from them and they were fine, they were punctual but I didn't end up using them. I didn't feel that they really knew exactly what the problem was that I needed back then. They were punctual but they weren't able to diagnose the problem.

They did a beautiful job, which looks great. I would definitely call them again for any masonry work that I need.

Contacted them for an estimate. Carl Yockey came on time, was totally professional, offered suggestions for various ways the job could be done. His estimate arrived on time, as promised and with just enough detail. This job is so expensive we are obtaining several estimates and reviewing options.

Came out and gave a quote promptly. When awarded thejob they arrived as scheduled, were extremely neat, and were very couteous.

Turns out the problem I'm having is due to neighbor negligence, so it's not fixed, but Carl's work and professionalism was top-notch.

One of the things was most impresses by was the fact that everyday they were here at exactly 8am don't ever stop doing that it is hard to find contractors who can.

Work was not done, since the contractor does not work in my area.

Artistic Masonry on December 17th 2011 did a variety of different masonry projects all of which were completed in an excellent manner. (Refer to my report of December 18, 2011) In 2012 additional masonry work was needed and without hesitation we contacted Artistic Masonry -- reason: their work is excellent, material first rate, and they make you feel your particular project is very important to them and they want to get it right. They suggest and we listen because Carl is always right and knows exactly the best way to tackle a project. Upon phoning Carl, a time and date was agreed upon and kept at which time Carl explained in detail what needed to be done, the type materials to be used, the approximate cost of the completed work, and the general time period he could take on the job. As promised, he phoned and an agreeable time for the work was set. Carl and his team of three men showed up at the appointed time (8:00-8:30 am) and date (Jan 2 & 3, 2013) and left late in the day.They worked diligently, steadily and never slacked off for the two full days. These men are the best -- all six projects were completed with excellent results. They worked with professionalism, were courteous, took great care of my property, explained what was being done and left the place clean. I highly recommend Artistic Masonry and are most thankful to Carl and his team for the wonderful work they have done on my property. It has been a great pleasure working with them.

In addition to the primary job of wall and step replacement I asked Carl to look at a drain that had been installed by a famous basement water-proofing company that did not work properly. He investigated the various PVC piping and drains on my property to try to determine why I still got water in my basement. Carl then provided me with an estimate for the work and incorporated it into the scope of the original job. Carl also repaired an existing PVC pipe from my sump-pump. All work was performed as discussed with the owner, Carl Yockey, who also does the work himself with a crew of professional and courteous men. Carl and his crew showed up on time each day and kept me informed of the progress of the job. There were no "surprises" that cost extra. The job took 3 days, which is what Carl estimated it would. All old material (railroad ties, etc.) and incidental trash were removed from my property promptly. Overall we are very pleased with the work done.

My key for any contractor is that they do what they agree to for the price they quote. Artistic Masonry performed well and I would hire them again. Thanks.

Artistic Masonry was GREAT! Carl Yockey and his crew were very professional and Carl explained everything he was doing every day. It took a while to get scheduled but was definitely worth the wait. Will be calling Carl back for cement work next spring.