A&J Specialty Services, Inc. DKI

We have used A&J Restoration for a handful of years. We run a basketball tournament at our school and often have humidity issues when our gym is full the entire day. Thaddeus & Xavier were prompt on delivery and were flexible on the pick up date. They set up the dehumidifiers and we never needed to do a thing. They ran great the whole weekend. Thank you!

From my experience, I cannot recommend A&J Specialty Services to adequately do mold remediation. After three attempts and almost five months they finally did the cleaning called for under their contract costing $10,290. I do not think my job was a complicated cleanup. I give them a D or one star since they finally did accomplish the clean-up. (A&J Specialty Services is also known as A&J Restorations.) Much of the mold cleanup and contracted cleaning had not been completed by A&J. Many surfaces were not cleaned. Those that were cleaned were cleaned poorly - some were simply wiped with one swipe to the middle of the contaminated area. They offered to redo their work and under state law they had a right to correct their breach of contract. Months went by with little response from them for weeks at a time. Finally, after almost four months A&J came back into our house for another several days of cleaning. They still did not do the complete job and had to come back a third time. This time some work was still left undone. Under the onsite direction and help of my environmental consultant, they completed cleanup according to the contract. From my experience I learned that for mold remediation it is important to get a qualified and independent environmental consultant to do inspection. First they need to inspect and set-up a comprehensive and clearly written work plan. When the cleaning is completed by the mold remediation company, an environmental consultant needs to do a post remediation verification to check that it was done completely. For the remediation, search out mold remediation companies that have good recommendations and, if possible, get several quotes. Carefully inspect their contracts. Recommendations might be gotten by contacting several environmental consultants.

After discovering mold in my basement, I hired an environment health inspector to determine the scope of the problem.  The types and location of various molds and bacteria were determined so I could furnish this information to the mold remediation company.  I phoned my homeowner’s insurance agent for help finding a company, and she named several. I did not check Angie's list, unfortunately.  I obtained estimates from 3 vendors.  A&J Specialties DKI met with me in mid-January 2016. Kent, the firm’s president, was professional and helpful, explaining what had likely occurred in order for the mold to grow and what his company would do to remediate the problem. We discussed what work I would do myself and what work A&J would do.

My intention was to clear the basement of all personal property and clean each item myself.  Kent suggested that if I could not accomplish this, A&J workers could clean the items, and I would be charged for time and materials. After meeting with him I felt confident that his company would be the best of the 3 firms I researched, and his cost seemed the most reasonable.  I received a proposal.  I noted that the proposal precluded A&J from cleaning any of my personal items: “No remediation of the contents is included in this proposal”.  I made myself a note to ask Kent what to do if I did need help with cleaning as discussed.

I had stayed up late the night before to finish removing my remaining personal property, and did not have the energy to clean what was left. I should add that I am a retiree in my late 60’s and neither my stamina nor  memory are as good as they used to be, especially when I am fatigued. 

In the morning on February 10 the 2-man crew, L and G, arrived as scheduled at 8:30 am.  They asked me to tell them what they would be doing. They had no idea, and that surprised me.  I assumed they would have had been given some instruction and guidance from their supervisor since there was a written proposal with the work all spelled out.  I walked the two men through my basement, pointing out areas and what needed to be done to the best of my ability. 

The proposal spelled out containment of the area from the rest of the house and personal protective equipment to be worn by the workers. I didn't mention these to the men, assuming it was industry standard. When I asked a little while later, noting that containment wasn't done nor protective wear used, G said that they decided it wasn't needed because they didn’t consider my situation serious compared to others they had done.  I let it go, but it seems that should have been my decision at the very least since it was specified in the proposal.

I showed the workers the items I had not been able to clean and they offered to clean them.  I mentioned to them that the cleaning wasn’t on the contract and I needed to contact their supervisor.  It did occur to me  that I needed to call immediately to ok this work since I knew it was not in the proposal.  I certainly intended to call, but it slipped my mind.

The first morning the 2 men seemed to be working hard.  At several points I asked about removing 3/4 inch plywood under paneling on one area, because that was recommended and was specified in the proposal.  It took some arguing with G on my part in order to have the plywood removed. That was annoying.  Otherwise the work seemed to be going well.  The large room making up 1/2 of the basement was done the first day. On the second day, 2 men arrived again in the morning relatively on time.  L was off. G was there, and B was new.  I left it to G, who worked the first day to let B know what to do.  At around 11 am G informed me that he had spoken to the supervisor by phone, and they needed to finish up and return to the office by noon.  I asked about getting my work done in that time and he said he was confident it would be done.

G mentioned a little later that they had cleaned the floor in my laundry area and the floor would be slippery so I might not want to walk there until it was dry, implying concern for my safety.  A short while later, the 2 men asked me to inspect their work and sign off that I was satisfied.  I didn’t walk around the furnace to inspect the laundry area because I had been told the floor would be slippery, and I felt I had to hurry because it seemed their supervisor needed them to get back to the office.  From my viewpoint I signed off that I was satisfied. Before the men took off I noted some cobwebs on the subfloor in the area cleaned the second day which should have been vacuumed and treated with a sanitizing agent.  I pointed those out. G first blamed it on spiders, then said it was because that area of the sub-floor had been cleaned the previous day.  G said that their supervisor would be e-mailing me.

I did give each man a tip for what I thought was their good work before they left.  Shortly thereafter I went back into my basement to check it out thoroughly, realizing that they should have walked the entire space with me to show me the work.  

I checked the the laundry area.  None of it was done. Nothing.  From removing the rim joist insulation, to cleaning the sub-floor above, walls, floor, nothing was done.  The floor wasn’t slippery. The laundry area with perhaps the worst mold of all was untouched.  It is still obvious that the floor in that area was not cleaned.

I was lied to by G and I was gullible, which is perhaps the worst part of the experience.  I am not the only person this has happened to.  See a review of A&J from May 2013 where the workers had the homeowner sign off before reviewing the work area because the workers were in a hurry, only for the homeowner to discover later on that work hadn’t been done.

I wish I had consulted with A&J before having the workers clean my property contents. Of course that was clearly my error. Once I reviewed the work in the basement and saw the untouched laundry area, I went to my computer to e-mailed the Supervisor.  I found an e-mail from him concerning cleaning the contents not being on the proposal.  I let him know about the laundry area not being done.  At any rate, I think it could have been handled better on A&J’s side as well.  As it is, the experience I had with the company left a bad feeling. 

They were extremely prompt and easy to work with!  The technician was very friendly and professional. He walked through what they were doing, explained the daily pricing for the equipment and when they would check back.  This was our 2nd time using A&J and I would highly recommend them, particularly for commercial spaces. They are efficient and really know what they are doing.

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Prompt, friendly service personnel, very thorough. Excellent results. Highly recommend.

The initial team that came out did a very substandard job. There was no effort to tell us what they were doing or show us the work. Dried orange mold colonies that had protruded from the ceiling were merely wiped down and painted over with the antimicrobial sealant, instead of being sanded off as I'd been told they would be. This left bumps on the ceiling, some with the orange color showing through. The lead team member that day asked us to sign a document saying I was happy with the work without showing me the work. We only saw the problems after they left. Both they and we were in a hurry to leave, but asking for a signature without not showing the work is unacceptable.
When I contacted the job supervisor, he initially balked somewhat at my concerns, telling me that removal of the colonies would damage the drywall (it would not). However, I told him I'd been verbally told they would be removed and he agreed to come look at the work. On doing so, he agreed it was not up to standard. A week later, an excellent person (Kevin) came out, sanded the colonies down, treated the entire bathroom and sealed it for no extra charge. The job was very professional and neat -- exactly what I had expected in the first place. He also showed the work to me before leaving and asked if I wanted all the protective taping removed.
My grade for the initial work would be a C-, for Kevin's work an A.

The process is still ongoing but they've checked in on a daily basis (first thing in the morning), take a water reading (using some kind of thermal imaging sensor), and then they are out. We were told for this particular project it would take between 3-5 days (currently this is day 3). They provide detailed estimates and will reach out to your insurance in a pretty timely fashion, so as long as you give them your insurance claim number, they'll take care of the rest. So far so good.
 
The staff really works around the clock - usually 7am - 11pm on very busy days. They have all been professional, courteous, and respectful of personal property as they move large equipment around and do their thing. You can expect them to tarp all cabinetry and flooring, and they wll promptly clean up after themselves each day. About as professional as I can ask for.

I have been using A&J Specialty Services for years. They are a really good company to work with. They are professional, their prices are reasonable, and they do good work. I would highly recommend them. They specialize in fire and flood clean-up. I will continue using them.

They were professional and quite helpful. I felt they went out their way to provide helpful information about the project. We’re still mold-free!

The owner had given us the estimate, so he did a pretty good job of that. He gave very detailed explanations and didn’t necessarily seem to miss out on the services. He advised me in giving me what my options were, and what would be more affordable for me. The additional work beyond the original estimate was expensive and weren’t expected, so I didn’t like that part of it. They also left minor damages in my house while moving the equipment in and out. There were scratches on the hardwood floors. I might use them again for a quote. I might use their services again in the future.

We had some leaking around flashing on our roof that ran down inside the ceiling/wall of our sunroom, and eventually black mold came through the drywall. A&J was the only company who could deal with our situation promptly. The workers they sent out were all professional, courteous, and efficient. We signed an estimate for $600 (to remove drywall, treat and dry) and of course realized that once they opened up the wall the job could be bigger than estimated. The contract language said that any change order would be discussed and signed by both parties before proceeding. It turned out the framing was also rotten, not just the drywall, so the removal job was bigger than expected. A&J installed a large, noisy dehumidifier and 2 fans and left them here for days. They did not contact us again. We called the worker who had removed the framing a couple of times to ask for an update, and didn't hear back. We had a different contractor work on rebuilding the area (including removing rotten siding), since A&J doesn't do that work. That contractor cautioned us to call A&J about the fans. We called again and left an emphatic message saying we did not know what was going on, that we didn't know how much the machines were costing or how long they were expected to stay there -- A&J came out and removed them within the hour. 3 days later we got a bill from A&J for $900 OVER the original bill -- so the job was billed at 250% of the estimate, without a signed change order (and the bill did not include the extra demolition, but was $900 ONLY for the machine rental). We paid the original estimate and wrote a letter to dispute the rest, explaining the above. We got a past due notice. Then we heard nothing for weeks. Finally we spoke with a woman in the office who looked into it, was very apologetic, agreed that we should not have to pay $900 additional, and amended the amount to $300 additional (150% of the estimate, or $300 change order). We felt this was reasonable, as there had been additional demolition work. Our impression was that the workers were hard working and efficient, but the poor communication regarding the hugely expensive machine rental seemed suspect to us. I wonder how many people don't fight it and just feel they have to pay the amended amount. This left us with a bad feeling about the company's integrity. It's possible it was just a goof, and the company did make good on it in the end, but they lost our trust.

It turned out well. There were a few problem spots and he came back twice at no charge to resolve the problems. Overall, I am happy with them. I have used them in the past and I will use them again.

They were not particularly punctual. I had some problems getting them on the job site on time to work with the roofers. I made it work out eventually but I had to run around a lot for that. The work was good. The people who worked were professional. I had little problem in getting the person who was in charge of the project to come and work.

The work, which was done by one person, took longer than the one day which was anticipated (he had to come back for a couple of hours the next day), but the workman was incredibly neat and careful, keeping all mess confined to the closet where he was working. When I pointed out an ambiguity in the bid (I interpreted it to mean that removal of studs was included), I was not charged extra for this removal. Everyone I dealt with was very pleasant and reasonable.

I had used A&J before when they had done a water remediation project a year ago. They have been great to call and ask questions regarding the mold in our basement after this spring rain. When we had done all they had suggested on our own and there was still mold I asked them to come and clean the floor. It seemed expensive but I wanted to be done with the mold as it was making me sick. They came and cleaned the floor. There was a misunderstanding with the price. I thought $450 was the total but there was a service charge I was not expecting. I called and they were willing to not charge me the extra charge. They have great customer service. Also, the employee make a mistake and forgot to clean one wall. I called them that day and they had someone come out the following day to fix it.