Best Austin Handyman & Remodeling

After swearing I would no longer write reviews for Angies List (I am in total disagreement with the fact that it takes 8 no shows and complete wasting of customer time and effort to equal 1 good review, thereby skewing the scoring of a contractor that screws people around), I had to write about this company. These guys came out early to access the job, then came back on time and ready to work. I had been told by a pest removal company that I had to have the wooden framework which is attached to the brickwork on the exterior of our home removed to have the screen replaced as it was not able to be accessed from the crawl space. The gentleman from Best Austin Handyman asked if he could have a look, got to it almost immediately and said it was no problem to get to, all he needed was screen. Since I had anticipated that this would be a two step job, I didn't have the screen on hand, but had several small odd jobs that they got to work on immediately while I headed to the store. Upon my return, they had finished all the jobs, and put away the ladders since they no longer needed them. They took the screen and installed it so securely that not only will squirrels not be able to get in my attic anymore, I feel fairly certain it might be the only thing still attached to my house after a tornado. These guys were professional, extremely courteous, skilled and eager to please. I would use them again in a heartbeat.

My experience went fine. They were good to worth with. The design was good and it was everything we had asked for. They put a lot of work into the design.

Our entire experience from start to finish has been exceptional with Best Austin Handyman. I was able to book an appointment about 2 weeks after my initial call. The Best Austin Handyman, Ed, came out and did the repairs with his partner James. They were able to finish all the jobs within the allotted time. They were very professional and very clean (don't see that often with handyman services). Would not hesitate to call them back for future jobs.

George was fantastic. I used to work as a house painter and I was very impressed with the coverage (one coat) on my porch. When he was done, he mentioned he wasn't a very good painter, but he was selling himself short! He went over and above as he tried to help fix something that was not fixable. He told me exactly what was wrong, and made a quick repair to keep the plumbing tight until a plumber could get in there for a full repair. He worked in the hot sun all day, and then crawled under the sink to fix something after the time of the contract had expired. Great guy, excellent painter and sharp enough to temporarily fix a plumbing issue... I'd hire him again in a heartbeat. I have no doubt that if I gave him a full day on more complicated tasks than painting he would have been up to the task.

It may have worked for others but not for me.

It took me awhile to get a hold of them; I had to leave a couple of messages. Once I got in touch with them they were very helpful. I ended up not needing the deal.

George gave me good suggestions about building a durable structure. I was interested in building something that would be quicker and cheaper, since I am not sure how long I will be using it. George listened to what I told him and built exactly what I wanted. He used left-over materials that he had, and did not charge me for them. He built and delivered the structure the same afternoon. I was very pleased.

James Edmondson handles the installation of the screen door. James was on time and most professional. he handled this job in the most efficient way, approaching each step of the job very methodically and considering all details of the job as he went along. He completed the job in approximately 2 hours, which I thought was amazing. I would hire James again for other jobs in a heart beat. Thanks James. Great Job!

As far as giving us the design, that was lovely but when we took it into the next step and asked for a quote to take down the walls that are load-bearing, things kind of ground to a halt. The owner and the designer came out, asked good questions, and took measurements. They looked at the rest of the house to see what style we like. The designer sent us an email and we sent back an answer saying that we like it. The carpenter came out with another guy and asked some more questions and we talked about load-bearing walls. After that, I waited about a month and I had to email the company to see if they had the quote ready. The owner called and told me that when they have the quote ready from the electrician, they'd give it to us. Everything isn't finished and I'm kind of left hanging. My husband would want to get the information first before going to the bank for a loan.

It went very well. I'm impressed with Best Austin Handyman. They have not been a perfect vendor for us but they had done a perfect job. They always correct any errors and mistakes they have made. They rarely make them.

I have called the company several times and left message to have my pre-paid service performed. A couple of times it was "tag," But since then, I have left 2-3 additional messages with ZERO response. Not good.

The repairman that was sent out was great. He called and let me know when he would be out, he was very punctual and resolved our repair issues in a reasonable time period. He was very professional (I contracted these services as I was afraid I would mess up the door casings). He also gave some suggestions about a barn door I have which was appreciated. Highly recommend this company.

Ed the repairman was very responsive to our specific request for tile repair and adjustment of our shower door. Both my wife and I were fully satisfied with the repairs and I will definitely use them again in the future.

Responded to e-mail from provider for list of service dates and left voice mail. None were responded to.

Great. Did everything we had planned plus adjusting our front door.

George arrived on time and assessed what he needed to complete the jobs on my list quickly, went to Home Depot and pu chased what he needed. He organized his work in way that made things go very smoothly. I was able to add to my original list and he made another trip to Home Depot to finish the work within the 7 hour period I had schuled using my Angie's List Big Deal.I will definately use this provider in the future when I have some "handy man" jobs to do.

I ordered a previous Angie's List deal with this vendor that they have failed to honor -- I've filed a refund request for that one, too -- so I do not want to continue with this one. The previous deal was for three hours of masonry work. On the day of the first appointment someone from the vendor called a few minutes before the appointment time and said he'd be late, but wouldn't commit to another time. They cancelled the appointment later that day. On the first rescheduled day -- June 12, I believe -- someone showed up on time. I thought he was going to start the work, but he said he was only there to provide an estimate. At first he said my masonry walls were somehow special and would cost more, but later said he could probably complete the project for the deal price. Today was the second rescheduled day, and no one called or showed up, and no message was left. No work has been performed. Since they've been so unreliable and shady on the first project, I'd like to cancel this one.

I've been really pleased with the work they've done.

It went fine. My only issue was that the gentleman did not offer to complete the job (purchased Groupon for "Wood Rot"). When the 3 or 4(?) hours were up, it was 4PM and he said "you don't want me to stay do you? I can but it will cost more." to me that said he did not want to stay. It's still not done. I thought I could do it, but not.

While we were gone the workman (not team) came out and refinished our garage doors and some of the furniture. We returned on a Tuesday night and he had called to say he'd be at the home at 9 AM the next morning as he was coming from S. Austin. He arrived just before noon. He power washed the back and did some more of the furniture, checked the inside painting but decided that we would need a complete re-paint rather than a touch up. He asked for a check and we asked about the repair of the back door and he hadn't seen that on the list. We had paid roughly 1/2 up front and he subtracted the back door work and the painting and took a check. We went to the back (it was dusk) and found that he had left much of the back porch furniture in the yard as well as our edible plants (deer) and we moved everything back up. We spoke with our plant lady (Bette's Greenery) to learn that he had spent much time in the backyard on his phone while we were gone. I spoke with the company and Tyler came out and redid the power washing using our washer and did a very nice job. So, I'm in a bit of a quandary as to how to rate this company. Tyler was great. Whoever did our garage doors did a great job. The furniture, not so much. The power washing, well, it had to be redone. We will do the rest ourselves. I worked as a handyman before college and usually do it myself anyway and do it right. Had a little company going during high school... Next time I'll do it myself. Addendum after the company responded: We paid $249 for a day's work. The quote was for much more and the company did apply the $249 to the over $4000 charge, however not for a day. They mention a LOT of wood, but do not recall that they came out and evaluated the repairs and knew that there was a LOT of wood. The worker we met did not even know the list of items to be done, as I previously mentioned. Just for your interest, we tend to rate everyone very high if they do a good job. They did a great job on the garage door staining, but the rest as I described. A rating of #1 has to be earned each time.

They replaced a ceiling fan, checked an electrical line and put a recycling center in the cabinet. I was disappointed with the service. I thought they were overpriced. They sent 2 electricians instead of one, which raised the cost. One of the technicians kept running out to home depot, but the other technician was very professional. Scheduling was not an issue and they did do a nice job.

They weren’t as good as the last one. They left a lot of stuff sitting around. They were very clean the first time. My interaction was fine. The work turned out fine. It was a big deal purchase. I did spend more because it was more than 8 hours. I had a lot of electrical work.

The painter was right on time, very polite and explained what he would do. He carefully taped area to prevent paint from getting on hardware or glass. He used his time effectively and I was very pleased with the result.

Ed showed up on time, worked hard to get things done quickly. He was very cautious not to ding or nick things as he took down things and moved things. That is rare today, from my experience. He was friendly, likeable, knowledgeable, and professional. It was a very good experience, as he was able to get done many things that I could not do. Thanks again, to Ed for the help!

My initial experience was terrible, but that's not the end of the story and Best Austin Handyman came through with flying colors in the end. Read the whole review before making your own judgements. The first contractor that was sent out did a very lazy job, stuffed the wood full of linseed oil putty instead of hard wood filler, sloppily applied a layer of Bondo on top, and called it a day. He bought materials, took the excess with him when he left even though I was charged for all the materials. You can bet I was .. a bit upset. I sent a firm and polite email to Best Handyman along with photos of the terrible job that was done. This is where the story gets better, and the integrity of Best Handyman shines through. Instead of paraphrasing, I'll include their reply to me verbatim from the email of Dan Villasana -- their project coordinator and office manager: "Mr. Bogomolni, I saw you[r] photos. Please do not pay this invoice. We stand behind our work and this work doesn’t reflect the level of quality we expect from our company. We will contact you on Monday to schedule warranty service and to discuss issues you had with materials costs. I apologize for any inconvenience. Dan" True to his word, they came back and did a great job. The new contractor carefully removed all the wood putty and used a proper hardening wood putty. After waiting for the job to harden, he used auto body filler sparingly to fill the remaining crevices and then sanded and shaped the area until the beam looked whole again. I have no doubt that this repair will last for years. So, in all honesty I can only rate the company a 'B' overall .. but I have to say that Best Austin Handyman earns an 'A' for integrity.