TOM RADU CONSTRUCTION

Are you looking for an authentic woodworking craftsman?someone who appreciates the vision you want to realize, who cares deeply about the quality of his work, and who embodies the highest customer service standards? Look no further: you have found him in Tom Radu Construction. From our first telephone conversation, during which Tom listened carefully and asked pertinent clarifying questions about the nature of our project, through to the final clean up?Tom was a delight to work with. He showed up promptly each day and communicated regularly and clearly (in advance as well as in the moment) about all aspects of the project, including how the surrounding interior spaces of our home would be protected during the work, any possible changes to the schedule (they were few and slight), and our options regarding various details of the project. And being a craftsman with a love for and much experience working on older homes, Tom was prepared with thoughtful, practical and excellent solutions to the inevitable quirks in design and dimension, common in these older structures. So how did it all turn out? Even better than we could have hoped! Our built-in drawers (new 'boxes' but with the original, full-of-character front panels and pulls that we love) are now insulated and on gliders. And because we use them many times a day, enjoying the ease with which we can pull them all the way out?because of the quality of Tom's work (and his very fair and reasonable pricing), this project is among the most practical and thus most valued we have completed to date. In brief and at the risk of sounding presumptuous, we felt having Tom around was rather like having a family member in our home: someone with whom you are completely comfortable; someone you can trust. So when we are ready for other work, we will skip the long, frustrating search and go right back to Tom Radu. We think you should, too!

Moving into a new home with an ugly fireplace surrounded by a dark-stained plywood frame and white mantel, I knew only that I wanted that out, and something with stone and real wood put in. The stone veneer got installed when the new floor went in, but then I got hung up on the mantel. What would look good? What would cover the unfinished edges of the stone fireplace? What would fit with where the gas key was awkwardly located? What would match our eclectic style with craftsman chairs and oriental rugs and our limited budget? Enter Tom Radu. He is a fine craftsman, has a good eye, and listened well to all my concerns. During our first meeting he looked at the fireplace and the room, looked at some of my photos, and listened to me. He made models (that fit on the corner of the fireplace)--not once, but twice--to show me how what he envisioned would look like and to see how he could solve the various design problems. When we agreed on the final form, he gave me a very reasonable estimate, took final measurements, and then put in a gorgeous mantel that exceeded my expectations. I can't speak to Tom's punctuality as I had no deadline for the project and let him fit it in when he could, but I can speak to the excellence of this work.

Since our house was built in 1928, we wanted the changes we were making to fit with the time period and Tudor style of the house. Tom is sensitive to preserving the flavor of old houses. He came up with suggestions and ideas that we had never thought about which were highly appreciated. Tom is easy to work with, reasonably priced, reliable and honest.

Tom did a great job, didn't rush the job and got it done neatly and cleanly. He's a nice guy and works hard to deliver quality work. He told me about how long he needed (2 days), I left and by the time he was done, he just texted me. I wouldn't have known anyone modified the cabinet if I hadn't known and his work didn't need any revisions (which is rare for contractors). I will continue using him.

He must be really good and not have a big crew. Called for his services and he called back in a few days. He said he was busy until February of 2014 and had no one in the area he could recommend.

The work was done well and his men were hard working and a pleasure to have around the house. It was done on a timely basis and they are very experienced. I highly recommend Tom.

Tom put my fears to rest and would hire him the next time I should schedule some carpentry work. In fact, I'm recommending him to my contractor.

I called him for a quote. I initially had to leave a message which he returned within a few hours. He's working so sometimes his hands are full and he's busy, so I understand. The reviewer that left an F because he didn't return a call didn't give him a fair shot. Sometimes voicemails don't come through because of the network or technical issues (I have personal experience with this). Tom's pretty good about returning calls. When he did arrive, he was honest about when he could actually do the work because he was pretty backed up with some projects. I appreciated that because most contractors would have agreed to the job to show up half the time trying to squeeze in any job possible. He also gave me an estimate of about 3 hours to do the job. He arrived on time and began his work immediately, putting up some plastic to shield some of the kitchen items from too much dust. Dust is unavoidable in this situation no matter how much plastic you use. There wasn't a good way to shave the cabinet to allow the refrigerator to fit so Tom offered an alternative which I accepted. He finished both cabinets in about 2 hours, ahead of the scheduled time. The whole time, he was courteous, polite, professional, and really took care in the work. I was really pleased and in the future when I need any wood work would definitely use him.

Absolutely top-notch, professional to work with. I can't say enough good things about Tom, his great personality, attention to detail and quality work.

We first obtained 3-4 quotes from different carpenters in the LA area. After meeting them and getting their prices, we selected Tom Radu because he not only was the cheapest, but he seemed like he'd be a good worker and knew what he was doing. We gave him a picture of a bookshelf that we'd found on the internet and asked him basically to replicate it in our home. As I stated (above), he then consulted with us throughout the project to make sure he was doing what we'd want. The bookcase is beautiful! (We asked him to save us money and let us paint it...no prob, no pressure.)

Contractor did not return Angies List E-mail or phone call.

Tom gave us a bid on Monday, was hired to do the work that day, and returned on Wednesday to complete the job. He was courteous, professional, prompt, and a joy to work with. I would certainly recommend him to any Angie's List member who need fine carpentry completed.

Excellent experience. Price quoted came in budget and Tom said it would take a week and that was also right on target. Tom also helped with tweaking our design for the arbor which I appreciated. Project came out perfect and will definitely use Tom again.

We weren't 100% certain of our design and Tom was unbelievably patient and helpful as we debated options. He took great care to make certain that we were always pleased with the design and his progress. He recommended other tradesmen we needed and all were absolutely great. Tom is certainly a craftsman, and while our project was more rough carpentry, he used the care he would if building a cabinet. He also jumped in to fix some unrelated issues found during the simultaneous house painting. He's truly one of the most honest and reliable tradesperson I have ever dealt with. His work was part of preparing our house for sale, and without doubt, the quality and beauty of his construction was remarked on by everyone "walking through". Besides being a great carpenter, Tom plays a mean guitar. And our dogs miss him.

Spoke with Tom over the phone about 2-3 weeks prior to scheduled date to come out for an estimate. We discussed what we were looking for ( large garage storage and workbench, fireplace mantel incorporated with large built ins, and possibly some other smaller woodworking projects) He mentioned that he was fairly busy at the moment which is why he wouldn't be able to come out for an estimate for awhile. We scheduled the estimate and waited. Tom called the day of, 5 hours before he was supposed to be here to tell me that he wouldn't be coming out and wouldn't be taking the job. This is without seeing any details of what we wanted, knowing how much we were willing to spend, etc. His reason? Gas prices were too high, that he didn't think it was worth his while to drive out here. (we are about 35 minutes away- which in southern california is nothing- unless he plans to only work in a 10 mile radius of his business) While I understand gas prices are ridiculous right now, I don't see why he couldn't figure that it into his cost like most other businesses, - plus is it not a tax right off? And given the amount of work we wanted to do, doesn't that offset some of the cost? To call the day of, after 2 weeks of waiting and just saying gas prices are too high for me to even bother coming out there is just super unprofessional. I had wanted to get the garage and workbench done for my husbands birthday present (which he knew) and was left with nothing. While I will say the fact that he even called is better than some contractors who just don't show up, I expected more from someone who had a good rating with Angies List. We ended up going with Closet World for the gargage and downstairs stair closet built ins (at least I know that someone will show up and there is a large corporation they are accountable to at the end of the day) and should have it installed in a few days. We are still trying to find someone for our fireplace mantel and built ins and other projects. Overall, just really disappointed in his unprofessionalism and his lame excuse to not take the job.

We could not be happier with Tom and his work. Going in, we had an idea of what we wanted but "didn't know what we didn't know" about how to make it happen. Tom met with us and we showed him the room, a hand-drawn design and some photos online and he helped us design a wonderful end-product. He made several suggestions that we followed and are thrilled with the outcome. Tom was informative, professional and was amazingly patient when our timelines went awry due to other work being done in the home. As he puts it, it's his job to "make solutions" and that's exactly what he did - he was flexible in his timing and the other work being done and found a way to integrate the "structural" problems that are so common in older houses (mixed use of plaster and drywall, less that square rooms, etc.). We have already spoken to Tom about doing some additional cabinetry work for our kitchen.

Tom was great. We made an appointment to meet and review the project. He provided me with his expertise on how he would go about building a reliable sturdy porch railing. We discussed the design. I have a craftsman bungalow home so I wanted to stay with that era to keep true to the original design of the house. We came up with some ideas and Tom build some samples for me to see the construction and design. Tom had provided me with a quote that was reasonable. I ended up updated the design slightly so the quote ended up increasing due to additional materials. The job took about 3 weeks. It look a little longer because we had some exterior painting going on at the same time and we also had Tom do some additional work that came up while we were painting the exterior of the house. Tom's work and craftsmanship is excellent. My house looks amazing. We get so many compliments on the design. I would recommend Tom for sure.

I intentionally joined Angie's list to hire a professional to build two mantels for me. I decided to contact Tom Radu based on previous reviews from Angie's list from March 2011 on mantels. Tom was very prompt and came out to give me an estimate for two mantels for a two-sided fireplace. I knew the style that I wanted from looking at Lowe's pamphlets but I couldn't find the pamphlet to show Tom. Tom quickly mailed me a pamphlet within a few days. We communicated via e-mail and phone and Tom was always very prompt in replying back within the same day and no more than 2 days later. I had a number of questions for Tom and he was always prompt in replying back. I e-mailed Tom the styles that I liked and within a week or so, he mailed me the estimate. Once I hired him, Tom built two samples of the top part of the mantel and brought them over for me to choose. While Tom built the samples, I had fireplace glass doors and tile on the floor by the fireplace installed by a different contractor. Tom felt he should come out again and re-measure to make sure the mantels would fit properly. He did need to make minor adjustments and clearly didn't mind coming out a second time. It took Tom about four visits to my home to complete the project from start to finish. He built most of the mantels at his place of business. He also painted the mantels for me by applying the primer coat and two coats of paint, he did this at his place of business as well. When he was ready to install, he brought the almost finish product and took about 6-7 hours to install them. He secured the mantels so well on the brick wall and it's obvious they will last a long time. Tom was very flexible to work with in terms of my budget. He selected the necessary supplies himself and I made arrangments to charge on my personal credit card so that I can have the extra money to pay the other contractor for installing the doors and tile. Tom charged me $2250 for both mantels and I charged about $250 for supplies. His estimate on supplies was pretty close and was actually was a little lower than estimated, which I was pleased with. I am very pleased with Tom's work. He is highly professional person to work with and would definitely hire him again. Thank you Tom, it was a pleasure having you do this project for me!!

The entire process went very smoothly. Tom Radu is a professional that produces high quality cabinetry.

After reading Tom's profile on Angie's List, we called him to make an appointment. He promptly met with us and discussed building a custom fireplace mantle for our 1940 Pasadena home. He took the time to listen to our ideas and offered his expert advice regarding styles and wood options. Within two weeks he returned with a custom design which we absolutely love! The new fireplace mantle is such a beautiful addition to the living room and is certainly the center of focus. We loved his work so much, he is now building custom cabinets for us. We highly recommend Tom for his professional and friendly service.

A consumate professional masquerading as a regular guy. He even petted our underfoot dogs and cats and taught my husband some guitar chords. I'm looking forward to the next project we have with Tom.

Tom is very professional on most accounts and did not put any pressure on us to make any type of decision when we went through a couple of estimates. It did take my contacting him back instead of vice versa for the estimate, but he explained that he had been under the weather. When I asked him that we were just going to ask him to do the mantel, he did not treat us with any less care and did a prompt, high-quality job with the mantel. He thanked us for our business and did not begrudge us for going with someone else. That spoke the most to me about his professionalism and encourages me to consider him again for any future woodwork. Tom knows what he is talking about and does a very good job.

His work looks great. He was 45 minutes late once, but called to let me know. It was not a big deal. He's very thorough, honest, and professional. I will use him again for cabinets.

We were extremely pleased with Mr. Radu's services all the way through. He promptly responded to e-mails, came when he said he would, placed vents into the doors in just the right places and framed the new vents with wood--matching the color of the stain exactly, charged a reasonable price, and finished the job quickly. We're glad Tom Radu came up on top of our Angie's List search!

Great experience - he was punctual, professional, fairly priced, and overall a pleasure to work with. Highly recommended.