Stonecraft Masonry, Inc

In retrospect, I shouldn’t have paid him before the job was done. The job was to remove the sod and level the yard, then cover three areas of it with sandstone set in concrete pads. (Later, I would put ground cover/gravel between the stones.) Darren had originally quoted me what sounded like a surprisingly reasonable price for labor (and only labor - I was to buy the stones myself). I hired him and work began. The job seemed to be going well, so I paid him the final check early. Once I handed him the final check (again, a clear mistake on my part to do before the job was finished) and left to go to a doctor’s appointment, he bounced. When I came back to find he was gone and his assistant was cleaning up, I asked where he’d gone. His assistant, Eddie, informed me that I would be putting the stones in myself now, and that he’d help me. I called Darren about this sudden change in plans and he told me that this work was really beneath him so I should be the one to do it. He said he’d taken a job working on my neighbor’s yard for a few days so he’d be close by if anything was needed. Despite my misgivings, I agreed to do the labor **I had already paid him to do.** So Eddie and I did the work of lifting/moving/placing heavy flagstones for the next day and a half. Once the check cleared, Darren came back, looked at the stones, pretended to be surprised at how many there were, and claimed that the job would take a lot more money because he had misunderstood what needed to be done and it would be more work than he’d thought - pouring more concrete, specifically. He claimed that he assumed there were only going to be a few stones in each area, not covering each area. Even though I and his assistant had done a good portion of the work he had been hired to do, his quote to finish the job was an additional 71% of the total I’d already paid him. I had obviously fallen for one of the oldest scams in the book. FTR, at our initial consultation, I had shown him files and sketches of what I wanted done: three areas of my yard covered with sandstone with ground cover/gravel between. Though he later claimed he had no memory of having seen the sketches and files of examples of what I wanted done, he had clearly understood what the job was at the time he took it. His instructions to take his measurements to the building supply company so they could sell me the number of pallets I needed to cover the areas were clearly understood by both myself and the company to mean that the square footage would be for coverage. While I enjoy hard work, I had paid *him* to do the labor. I am certain, however, that he had me and his assistant do the labor of lifting and placing each stone in order that he could pretend to be surprised when he came back the next day to find more stones than he supposedly thought were supposed to go in. It’s my firm belief that everything - the lowball quote, the missing a day of work, making me do his labor for him, etc - was a setup. It wouldn’t be the first time this has happened to a customer, but it’s definitely the last time I’ll ever hire this guy and I highly recommend anyone looking to have stone work done on their property avoid hiring Stonecraft Masonry for anything.

Made a call for an estimate talked to owners wife, she was very helpful. Darren came out listening to my ideas and giving me his suggestions which we went with! It turned out way beyond our original plan and is beautiful. We’re so lucky we called them to do our stone work. Darren was very professional, cleaned up as he went. Would definitely recommend him to my friends. Price and quality of work was excellent

From the first day to the last day Darren and the crew ALWAYS arrived on time, started work right away and work hard all day long. Darren added items at no increase in money to agreed upon project. 1. planter under front window 2. several PVC pipes under brickwork which allows me to add sprinkler pipes 3. drain pipe extensions 4. walkway lights (for safety) on stairway Andrea (Darren's wife ) prepares the contract (which explains all work to be preform), schedules start and end dates of project, payment schedule and all e-mail contacts with customer. They were very friendly and a real pleasure (Andrea, Darren and the crew) to deal with. When the work is done you'll find that you've gained a few friends, one of which can't sing (Darren).

Very good, they were professional and polite. Explained what they were doing and why. Asked our opinion on things before they did it. Very happy with the whole project!

Absolutely perfectly. Darren, with his very cool British manner, and his wonderful assistant who helped me in my attempts to speak Spanish, completed this work and the results have transformed the front of our house. The walkways and the porch consisted of cracked concrete and now are beautiful flagstone. My husband and I went through a lot of considerations and decisions trying to decide what color and type we wanted. Finally, Darren and Alberto transported the tons of flagstone and laid out a gorgeous pattern, grouted and later sealed. So besides meeting Darren's lovely wife who schedules and coordinates, and their talented gymnast daughter, we now have a beautiful walkway and porch. Thank you all so much!

Showed up as scheduled and on time. Work was finished correctly and with no mess to clean up, great contractor

Very well, the price was competitive, the service was courteous and prompt, the office manager is a delight and the work is perfect. This mason excels with natural stone finishes. Quick and tidy.

They were absolutely fantastic. They were outstanding and are great people who did great work. They were absolutely unbelievable. They came out and gave me a fair bid. The workers were punctual and they did excellent work. When they left they kept the front lawn immaculate and I would highly recommend them with four stars to anybody. They were supposed to complete the job in three days, but they ended up staying three-and-one-half days to complete the job. They did an outstanding job and I can't explain the difference between them and everybody else. The others gave me bids that we so ridiculous. This company did what it said and they did it masterfully. They are absolutely 100-percent professional, honest and they keep their word. They were friendly, good people and it was a pleasurable experience. They are the exception rather than the norm.

The job was fairly priced and completed timely, with excellent quality work.

Our concrete driveway and the concrete around our pool was broken and raised up from a serious root problem. They took out the old concrete, got rid of the roots, and poured new concrete which looks great. They also redid the decorative brickwork around the driveway. Our front porch had a broken corner and bad tilework. They fixed it (and also replaced a post they found had dryrot) and redid it with beautiful brickwork. When they fixed the concrete around the pool, the did so without breaking any of the pool tiles and this pool is quite old. They were always on time, very easy to deal with, and cleaned up their job site very nicely. They were happy to accomodate any extras we wanted, and they were quite responsive even on weekends and evenings to all our questions with both phone calls and emails. It was a good experience.

Darren did a fantastic job from start to finish. His bid was fair and competitive. He made great suggestions and worked very hard to help us design and construct. the fireplace of our dreams. He and his helper arrived on time on they day they started and every day after until the job was completed. They tented the area where they worked to minimize the fallout from dismantling our outdated floor to ceiling white rock fireplace and raised hearth. In addition, Darren drywalled the area above the new fireplace so the we could install our flat screen TV there. When the job was completed, they cleaned up and hauled away all of the debris left from the job including all of the material from the old fireplace. We would not hesitate to use Stonecradt again and would most certainly refer our friends and family to his company.

He agreed to bid on brick work with a concrete foundation on the phone but was insistant on using pavers and sand instead. He would have charged as much as I later paid for another contractor to do the brick over concrete foundation properly.

Very punctual and completed the work in estimated time

Darren is a good guy and his team was professional.

Everything went great and as promised...always on time...always friendly and courteous, everything cleaned up at end of job. Driveway looks great!

Darren has attempted to resolve a pooling issue with the new patio he built, with no success. The "pitch" was off so water pools instead of going into the drain he supplied. I spend more time sweeping water into drain. Let me say that although he is a nice guy (and his wife is VERY nice and patient), I recommend Darren communicate better with clients directly instead of thru his wife. He's not terribly detailed oriented for someone Type A like me. When I asked him the dimensions of the bbq he was building ( so I can order a protective cover), he replied: " I don't know". Wow! Really? I also suggest making sure he brings out samples so you know exactly what you are getting ahead of time. Again, it wasn't a horrible experience by any means, I liked his design and he's on the job himself which I like but he can get a little cranky at times when asked any questions. I've never had that experience before with other contractors. Perhaps this review will help him and others that hire him.

Oh my gosh....we must have the weirdest fireplace in the nation! Instead of being squared off (like most standard fireplaces), one side/corner opens into the living room. Darren not only didn't run away from the job but made several great suggestions about how to enhance the look while keeping that corner open. He answered all my crazy questions, too! And, he went out of the way to provide extra protection from the construction dust for our home AND protected the wood ceiling and beams above. He worked faithfully and meticulously and produced a stunning stack stone fireplace! He even cleaned off the old soot inside the firebox! Fantastic! Soon he?s going to help us with the mantle, too! Can?t wait! Now he?s starting to work on the tile floors for two bathrooms and put sealer on the backyard stamped/colored concrete that I never knew we needed? ...guess my contractor on that job forgot to tell me that it needed to be resealed now and then?or maybe I just didn?t hear him! If you have any masonry needs, Darren Searle, his helper(s), AND his lovely wife will certainly make your renovations easier and the end result will surely please! Andrea (Darren's lovely wife) is a great hand-holder and truly helped to reduce my stress before Darren started the job. We've owned our home for over 30 years and I've had such interesting experiences with various contractors! I only wish I?d had Stonecraft Masonry do the huge renovation in my backyard five years ago?.that was an interesting challenge! However, we?re using Darren now and expect to use him in the future. Oh ~ Did I mention that the front of the house has that 1960?s rock on it too??? It?s almost time to start drawing up the plans for that job?..Hey Darren!!!!! Thank you soooo much!

Stonecraft's GREAT customer service begins when Darren comes to your residence to find out what the homeowner wants to have done. Darren not only listened to all of our requirements, but also made suggestions along the way. I must mention that this was way more than just building block walls and pouring concrete. Our back yard made no sense, was overgrown with trees and shrubs, and had no working sprinklers. Darren not only made his suggestions, but he drew us a very detailed plan of what his recommendations would look like. We had one other quote besides Darren's, and his quote was by far the best price, and was the only one to draw us up what it would look like. We hired Darren to do our work. His company is very professional, very neat, cleans up his mess, and is VERY good at what he does. His job took a little more than 3 weeks to complete from start to finish. This even included a few minor modifications along the way. Darren and his crew are top notch professionals, and I would highly recommend him to anyone who is looking for a knowledgeable mason with imagination, passion for his work, and most important, top notch quality. You will not go wrong hiring Darren and his crew at Stonecraft masonry.

STONECRAFT MASONRY, DARREN AND ANDREA ARE THE BEST!!!!! We needed a new driveway. We were the only house on the street with the original asphalt driveway, which after 40 years, was cracking, crumbling, and dangerous. I've never used Angie's list before, so wasn't sure how it worked. Put in concrete, of course many came up.. after reading the first few, came across Stonecraft. They were local so I thought I'd give them a call. It was one of the best calls I ever made. Speaking with Andrea immediately put my mind at ease. She explained what would happen and would send Darren out for an estimate. He showed up on a Saturday, we showed him what we wanted, he took measurements and said he would get the estimate to us. It was emailed in a very timely manner. The price was good. Having never hired anyone for any type of work before, I wasn't sure of the exact process. Called and spoke with Andrea, who again put my mind at ease, even sending Darren out again to go over what would happen. He again explained what would happen, the time frame, everything. When the day came for work to start, they were on time, professional, and strong!! One guy did all the demolition, by hand... digging up the asphalt, digging up the surrounding dirt areas. The next day, they got it all ready for pouring. Last day, concrete! It was very interesting to watch them pour it, smooth it, get it all done. When I came home from work.... Beautiful!! It looks a million times better. I LOVE IT!!! They expanded from just the normal driveway to include the sides by the driveway, so now 3 cars can comfortably park there. This was the best experience. I will definately use Stonecraft again.. in fact, already am making plans for a patio in the back yard. Will be calling you soon, Andrea!

The whole process was easy. Very nice to work with.

Darren came and discussed with me how the job would go. Several details I had not thought of were that to make the job look really good, they would have to blend one side with the other (something they called cross-hatching) by cutting into the neighbor's median and laying the bricks in the space so that the "weave" would be uniform from one end of it to the other. Another thing that Darren spotted was the uneven level of the driveway. This would have to be sloped in order for any run off to go down into the street. After careful planning which took around ten or fifteen minutes, Darren took off in his truck. I got an email with the quote and the job described exactly as we had discussed it. I replied telling Darren to go ahead. A date was planned and Darren came early in the morning with his assistant Alberto, and had the job done by mid afternoon. One thing I should say was that Darren has lots of work and he fitted me in in the middle of all of this, and under quite unfavorable circumstances for him. He had a job in Moorpark that was having environmental issues (because of high winds) but he still came out and got my job done in short order! I challenge anyone to come and see for yourself what a great job he did. In fact, the neighbors across the street liked the work so much that they hired him for their job too!

Darren initially came out and drew up some beautiful plans for my backyard free of charge. I had to hold off on any projects for awhile afterwards but was inspired to call him back 6 mos later as I was impressed with his awesome reviews as well as his low key sales pitch. He replaced my brick patio recently and did a great job.........loved his creative design and the fact he himself worked on the job site daily! His fee was reasonable and they finished my medium size patio in 6 days! I've received many compliments on his great work! I will certainly call Stonecraft Masonry again for other projects..... Thank you, Darren. Oh! And his wife Andrea answers any questions in a timely matter and is very friendly and helpful. Revised review: problem with water pooling on the new patio (pitch is off a bit) so it doesn't drain as well as i like.

As it did during the first job in 2011 (I will write a review of that one soon), it went very, very well. He did a great job with the wood fence replacement, adding galvanized steel posts (where wooden ones had been used before) for additional strength and durability. As stated above, Darren and his helper were professional, courteous, and punctual. Based on his experience, Darren brings some strong opinions and advice (which I appreciate...he's the expert!), and in almost every instance, it made for a better result (we went with my opinion on a couple of aesthetic issues). I should note that the price above did not include the field tile for the deck (I had a very good source for it, and provided it myself), but all other materials (brick, wood, etc) were included. I would use Stonecraft again without hesitation for future work. They deserve every accolade they get here on Angie's List.

Darren and his assistant came early on a Saturday morning for a job that had been rescheduled due to rain. A couple hours later they were done and I couldn't have been happier with how our patio turned out. Would recommend their work and vision to anyone.

Darren and his assistant put in 2 and a half hard long days, and didn't let rain get in their way. They carefully tented the work area in plastic and set to work immediately. Darren is punctual, honest, good-humored, professional and highly skilled at what he does. They carefully cleaned up when the two and a half day job was done. It was the sort of very positive renovation/home improvement experience every homeowner wishes would occur each time there is a repair or a new project to do. I strongly recommend Stonecraft Masonry!