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"Installation went well and very happy with the new door."

"This was one of the most awful, traumatic experiences working with any contractor I’ve ever had. Patrick was extremely difficult to work with and a terrible communicator. He hardly answered emails or when he would, he’d ignoring the content. When communicating verbally, it was in one ear and out the other. It took me a year and a half to get the gate installed. From April 2019 to May 22, 2020, I just had the gate posts there in my driveway, and no gate. When they finally brought over the gate and installed it, it was not made according to the agreed-upon specs, so they carted it off and re-did it. Even in the 2nd install, while now the gate is made according to the specs, there are still unresolved issues that I don’t even want to bother with fixing any more. In April 2019, after Patrick knew which of his gate styles I wanted, he came with his guys to install the posts in the cement and install the electrical wiring under the house, and we went over various positioning of the future gate. I needed the gate to open outwards but he said that wasn’t possible. A friend of mine said it would be, and made designs, which I both emailed him and hand-delivered in Nov 2019 when I went to his workshop in Tujunga, 30 min. from my house. I brought my friend to discuss it in person before they even started building the gate. The gate design I had wanted was based on a photo of a gate in his studio and one installed in Pasadena which I sometimes went to visit and take measurements from to provide him. I insisted on including a design of the gate with the contract. He provided me this design, which was missing the central thick post, which is one of the main features I liked about the actual gate- that it looked like two doors. Instead, this was one panel. I asked him to re-design it with the measurements but based on the photo of a gate he had done but he refused, saying he had to pay someone $100 to make the first drawing. So I did it myself using this photo he sent me as the basis, and I gave that to him with specs written on it. Also, because Patrick complained that there weren’t specifics on how the gate would open outwards, and just designs, I gave him those specs, too, which my friend carefully designed. In my Nov. 11, 2019 email to him, I tried to make it crystal clear: “Hi Patrick Ready to move forward again on the gate. Todd even made a 2-D model to make sure that my car will fit though and i’d have about 10” on each side of my sideview mirrors. I’m attaching his diagrams and measurements here in the PDF and I asked him to write down in text form what he wants to say about the 3rd page. 1. Weld a second 4” by 4” steel post to the existing one so that the gate can swing open to the backyard with its hinge pin centers located 5” away from the house’s wall (requires custom block or bracket to weld hinge pin bodies to post). 2. Weld the hinge pin bodies to the BACKSIDE of the gate on 1/4” steel reinforcement plates which are welded onto the gate’s 1.5” by 1.5” vertical posts. 3. Mount the Liftmaster LA400 on a custom-made bracket so it’s pivot center is 2” left and 8” back from the hinge pin center axis (left means towards the house wall and back means towards the backyard). The Liftmaster LA400 should be installed low and out of view behind the bottom panels on the gate. 4. Attach the actuator arm of the Liftmaster LA400 to the BACKSIDE of the gate 45” away from the gate’s hinge pin center axis (will require a 1/4” steel reinforcement plate welded across the gate’s 1” by 1.5” horizontal members at the attachment point).” On Nov. 12, he wrote back: “We can not work with this. It has no guidance at all . Plus I think we can do it without the second post. So I think we need to meet again. We have an other option for the gate which would allow us not to use the second post” It then took 9 more emails to figure out from him WHEN would be good to meet. Finally, on Dec. 5 , 2019 after 2 days of unanswered emails, I called. I thought he needed to come back on site to go over the design but he refused to come back because he claimed I made him stand in the sun for two hours and because of his illness it’s not good for him, to which I said I was not familiar with that illness or its dangers, to which he said “you’re a teacher, you should look it up.” At his initial measuring meeting in April 2019, he never at one point suggested going inside because of his illness. We met again on Dec. 6, but this time I went out to his studio. I handed him hard copies of the designs and dimensions of the gate, (apparently he didn’t have the specs anymore), which included details like the distance from the wall in both open and closed position, where the actuator should be installed, the length and height of the gate, the width of the pickets. I even provided a picture of a gate he had done in Pasadena that I took in situ, and pointed arrows to the elements that should be recreated and what elements (just the flowers) should go. It was essentially the same gate. We were very specific so that there wouldn’t be any mistakes. I wanted it in writing, as a written record for both of us. On Jan. 26, 2020 I got an email they were moving ahead with building the gate, but I then heard nothing back for a month, so on Feb.20, 2020 I asked for an update. I figured they were still constructing and he’d call when ready to install. On April 15, 2020 I called to find out what’s going on, but Patrick had broken his ribs and said he’d said someone to my place to take another set of measurements on my driveway of the post distance again and he gave me Kearney’s number to make arrangements. April 20, I called Kearny, but the phone number didn’t work. I had to call Patrick back to get the right number. April 25, Kearny came. Finally, on May 22, 2020, over a year of back and forth, they finally came with the actual gate and installed it. Except the gate dimensions were off. The pickets were too thick (3/4”) and therefore there were fewer pickets. I wanted the same thin (1/2”) pickets as the gate in Pasadena for it to look more delicate. Also, the central spire was way too high in this gate - not the same 86” height as the Pasadena gate or what was written in the spec I handed him. All of this was unbelievable to me, esp. since in his April 8, 2019 invoice estimate he wrote that gate design items would be placed to customers measurements. I was explicit that I wanted my designs to accompany the contract, but it seemed he no longer had them. A few days later, they came back to take back the gate. On July 17, 2020 my friend and I went back to the workshop to look at faulty gate and drop off yet another set of hard-copy designs, and I took careful notes about what we and Kearney agreed on. Patrick was not there, but that was actually better because it never was clear that he actually understood or would carry out the agreed actions. Eventually, they came back with the revised gate, installed it but the computer box wasn’t working and Patrick had to order another panel. So I had to keep the gate open for three weeks or so. In early Fall 2020, they got the gate to open and close, but there are still issues with it, like when they touched up the black paint on the gate, they also sprayed my house in several places; they added a ball cap instead of the flat cap on a post that we had discussed; the electrical wires they installed on the front of the post make the whole thing look cheap and he refused to put them behind the post; and the original small chain link fence up the driveway is still there even though at one of the visits to his workshop, his employee Kiernan agreed to me they would remove it."

"Never heard from them."

"Job well done. A few minor issues arose but Joe was good to his word, stood by his work and quickly corrected any concerns. 5 Star Wrought Iron gets 5 Stars from me."

"They installed a hand railing at my front door that had to match the railing already installed ay my side door and they mailed it. Arrive on time, worked quickly and kept the work area neat. Swept up the after after they were done. Very happy with the job. 5 Stars. "

"They are very trustful at reasonable pruces"

"Great!...reasonable price, the work was completed on time in a professional manner, I would definitely recommend GT Steel to friends and family."