CALIXTO REYES

There was a communication issue because of language. He did good work, however. He does have to redo a few things that were missed.

Calixto had to find a replacement for the missing brick which he did in a couple of weeks. I have not been able to find someone to do that for a couple of years so I am very grateful to Calixto for his following through. I am very pleased with the job.

I had used him in the past for tile work in my master bath, so called him when I needed my home painted after a move out. We were renting the house, so we wanted to make rooms neutral. The did a nice job, but broke a handle on a door and tried to "fix" it and then told me it was like that. They painted a room that I didn't want painted so they had to repaint it back to the original color. They did so without any issues. I also turned around and asked them to paint the trim on the outside. All in all, it was pretty good work. Not the worst and not the best. I may or may not use them again. Calixto was a very nice man to deal with.

Calixto came highly recommended by several friends for whom he's done landscaping and painting. We just needed a couple of loose slates in an outdoor walkway fixed back into the walk, with new grout added. He came by and looked at the walkway the next day, and quoted a price of $225.00. That seemed high, but given the great word-of-mouth we hired him. He set a date just a few days away, showed up right on time and set to work. (He didn't announce his arrival, but I saw him through a window). He did the work quickly and effectively, and then rang the doorbell and presented a bill for $50 more than agreed, as he'd added a small amount of grout in another location. His English was limited, and my Spanish is non-existent, so I just paid the additional cost. The work has held up fine for several weeks, including through strong rains, but I'm not a judge of the quality. The price seemed high (he spent less than an hour on the job, and I'm pretty sure the only materials he used were the grout and the bucket in which he mixed it with water from our garden hose), and I was surprised to get additional costs added to the bill. I would definitely use Calixto again since he gets rave reviews from friends, but would be more aggressive in negotiating the price and scope of the job.

It went very well. They had to make two trips because I asked them to try to fix the old attic fan first. Then it became obvious that a new one was needed. I called back and Calixto bought a new one and installed it no problem. When I was charged for the second job, he took into account the first charge.

When telephoning Calixo, he was very courteous. He came by the house exactly at the time he promised, and gave an estimate for repairs. He was very patient with my questions to him. He created a full estimate in writing in person. His price estimate of $2015 was slightly lower than the insurance listed replacement cost of $2431. We have not made our final decision for this project, but I would definitely consider him for other jobs in the future.