The results of an insurance inspection of my home in 2011 noted that a deteriorating brick porch column and numerous water damaged bricks and tuck pointing issues would have to be addressed in order to maintain my coverage.
I immediately contacted Anthony Devlin (Tony) through Homestars and he promptly provided a very fair estimate compared to the two others I obtained. It was comprehensive, organized and professionally presented; all good signs. The contract was signed and a small deposit sent just prior to the start of the job.
An estimated commencement date was given but due to inclement weather, had to be changed which is understandable as Tony, as excellent as he is, cannot control the weather. He did keep me informed of any delay, throughout, so there were no surprises. In fact, I believe it to be a good sign when a contractor has to schedule your job as it means that they've got a number of jobs already lined up i.e. a good contractor is a busy contractor.
Tony was able to show up a couple of days before the rescheduled date and we reviewed the scope of work in detail and to weigh the various options. He took the time to carefully explain the process and order in which the work would be carried out. Brick samples were provided and matched as closely as possible for a century home. The brick match turned out to be very close and the brick selected is far more durable than the original.
Tony arrived early the next morning with his assistant Dom ready to work. The deteriorated porch column was removed after shoring up the porch roof and by mid afternoon a perfect new brick column stood in its place. The existing porch and handrail were built to accommodate the out of plumb existing brick column so Tony had to spend some extra time cutting the rail and decking to ensure that the new column was level and plumb. He even went the extra step and raised the sagging porch to bring it back to level. I was truly impressed and knew that I had selected the right contractor.
Pass through scaffolding was then erected between my house and my neighbours so our ground floor tenants wouldn't be inconvenienced. Spalled bricks and powdered mortar were removed in sections over the next few days and replaced with new bricks and mortar. I didn't realize how bad the condition of the affected bricks and mortar were until I saw it up close. What an incredible difference once it was fixed.
Tony noticed some additional bricks and tuck pointing that needed to be replaced that were not covered under the original contract and we agreed on an incremental price increase even though the amount of work was significantly more than what would've been covered by the price difference. Basically he only charged for the materials, and not the labour.
Even so, there was no compromise in the quality of work. They worked quickly and efficiently for long hours, rarely stopping for breaks. Another reviewer made the comment that Tony completed a tuck pointing job in a day even though it could've been a two day job so he thought price for the job was a "little high." That's like complaining that someone is working too hard or too efficiently. In my experience it's obvious that Tony prices the job based on the scope of work and not the time it should take. Not a good business model, for sure, but one that benefits the client as he takes however long it takes to make sure the job is perfect. He does not sacrifice on quality for the sake of quantity or speed.
Upon completion of the job, Tony and Dom spent the better part of a day removing the debris, dismantling the three storey’s of scaffold, and giving the whole property a thorough clean up. I was most impressed as many contractors that I've used in the past tend to skip this important step. Even my tenants mentioned how nice the house looks now.
I am so impressed that my next project for them will be a chimney rebuild as another fly-by-night contractor that I hired to tuck-point didn't know the difference between tuck pointing and parging. They skim-coated the chimney with mortar which now looks absolutely terrible.
To summarize, my experience with Straight Up Masonry was exceptional. Tony and Dom were knowledgeable, friendly, reliable, professional, ethical, honest and a complete pleasure to deal with. Tony honoured the quoted price (despite performing some extra work that I noticed but he didn’t mention) and his workmanship is excellent. Without hesitation, I give Straight Up Masonry my highest recommendation.
