POINTING PLUS HISTORIC MASONRY RESTORATION

Danny and his team did great work on our 1933 rowhouse in Glover Park. They were prompt, reliable, and communicative throughout the whole process. They did a very thorough job and then went above and beyond to clean up the whole area afterwards. The price was very fair given how skilled and hard working Danny and his team are.

On January 9th, we suffered a ruptured water line that had frozen during this brutal winter. The line caused lots of damage to the front bay area of our basement rental unit. I called Mr. Palousek to ask for his assistance. He had done exceptional work for us a while back with some earthquake damage and was pretty frantic to get some help. His crew showed up the next day to open the walls allowing the plumber to access the damaged water line. They spent the day removing all the wet sheet rock, insulation and associated debris. During the demo, the crews noted damaged joists in the basement ceiling. Although unrelated to the water damage, the severely damaged joists (stress splits along finger joints in the joists and fractures at heavy weight points) brought all thoughts of a quick repair to a rude stop. Mr. Palousek quickly recognized the severity of the structural damage and called in an engineer to determine a solution. In the interim, his crews repaired the masonry damage from the water line rupture which included rebuilding some brick work that had collapsed causing a cavity that extended up to the first floor wall. The structural threat from that cavity alone, placed the entire turret at risk. His crews worked long hours and made the most of some challenges posed by an inhabited rental unit. He and his crews made every reasonable effort to enclose the work area, putting up thick plastic sheeting to create a barrier between the affected area and the rest of the unit. Once the engineer finished his drawings, Mr. Palousek expedited the permit process to get the much needed emergency repairs started. His crews worked tirelessly to address the needed support walls and to reinforce the weakened joists with LDL joists. Once the emergency repairs were completed, work was put on hold to allow the basement tenants to arrange to move out. Once the tenants were gone, the work picked up with vigor to help get the income space back on the market. Mr. Palousek realized that the new support features were going to challenge the open space which was a key feature of the basement unit design. To minimize the affect of the walls, he created openings with arches that were accentuated by some lighting. The final effect was so impressive that the structural walls and supports were now viewed as character features. Needless to say, his personal concern with the situation allowed us to make the most of the unexpected repairs and to find the silver lining to a nightmare. Although, Pointing Plus has always done quality work for me, what impressed me most was the attention to detail Mr. Palousek provided as he personally came in to help his crew finish the space. This is a man that prides himself on the quality of his work, and this is his company's strongest selling point. I realize that many folks have commented on the company's trouble with getting quotes out to them, but since Pointing Plus is made up of such a small, specialized group of tradesmen, I suspect they can only get to so many new clients. I can fully appreciate that Mr. Palousek focuses on a quality crew vice a quantity/large crew. If you're lucky enough to get them on your site for a quote on your project, hold on to them. Mr. Palousek is worth the patience and expense, and he places a higher priority on former clients. Needless to say, I consider myself luck to have made that list ;)

Extremely impressed and grateful for the diligence. When we requested an estimate, we knew we had to be patient. These folks are doing exceptional work and they are very much in demand. Given my extensive effort to review bids for masonry work for the front exterior of our row home, I was determined to compare the Pointing Plus proposal with 6 other bids I had reviewed over the year long process. I knew that our work would be extensive and I had to get the most value for limited resources. Dan Palousek, was prompt and professional for the day of the estimate. The initial proposal was comprehensive and provided a very fair price for the scope of work that initially only focused on the third floor walls. During the repairs, we discovered that issues with the fourth floor interior walls were contributing to water leakage and structural concerns. Mr. Palousek realized that I was significantly concerned with the additional scope of work and costs, and gave an extremely fair estimate to address the new work required. Part of the new work required some patches by a roofer. The roofer spoke very highly of Pointing Plus and the reputation that they were getting among their peers. The welding job by a subcontractor was a little less impressive, but Mr. Palousek took direct measures to address the needed corrections. The whole project was done with all the proper city permits and with newer equipment that captured most of the dust created by the masonry repairs. The work areas were always properly cleaned and sorted at the end of each work day. Those that entered the home to access the work site were conscientious and considerate. Over the last 16 years of renovation and repair work, I have learned that you get what you pay for. If you pick the low ball bid, then expect lower quality work. Pointing Plus's estimate fell in the middle of the range in cost for the proposals I had received, but their very comprehensive proposal gave great confidence in their grasp of the repairs required. Their sincere desire to do a quality job allowed for a lot of discussion and explanations making me feel better about the work to be done. I would turn to these folks again if I EVER need masonry work done again.

If I can't get an estimate, I can't request any work.

Daniel, the owner, came out immediately after we called to inspect the site and give us an estimate. His estimate was quite detailed, and he was very accommodating in terms of agreeing to perform work other than just masonry, such as insulating under the eaves and painting the trim in a variety of designer colors. We got a very good price because Daniel had some workers idle at that moment. He can be a bit cranky when push comes to shove and negotiations aren't going his way. But the job unfolded exactly as he promised and his workers did a great job from start to finish with an impeccable cleanup. They erected a large set of scaffolding and covered it with netting to keep any debris from falling onto the neighbors property. They left the site without any damage and with our house looking like a million bucks. I would hire them again in a heartbeat.

I scheduled multiple appointments with this company to come to our house to do an estimate and each time no one showed up. When I would call, they were nice, polite and apologized profusely as they explained that they were overextended. Out of exasperation I went to a community event on home repairs--where different providers would be providing information about their various services and this provider was listed as one of the participants at this event. Surprise--Representatives from this company were a no show. At this point, they have a serious credibility gap with me and it is quite unlikely that I will be calling them again.

I tried calling multiple times and didn't even get voicemail - just a message saying the mail box was full. I also sent a few emails that were never returned. I had received this company's name from a few people, so I was disappointed by the lack of response.

Awful. I was crazy to even contact the company as they are the greatest company to be founded. They do work on Capitol Hill and for the D.C. Government. This was only the start of the excuses given as to why their company couldn't have done a single thing wrong. The owner was very rude and dismissive on the phone. Reputable companies stand behind their work and are more than willing to inspect their work and answer questions. Reputable companies are not insulting and do not attempt to belittle the customer. Their quotes may be lower than others, but I encourage homeowners to look at projects in their totality. In this respect, it is my opinion that his company does not deserve your business.

see above

Unprofessional. If you do not have time/resources to return emails/follow up on phone calls, say so at initial contact.

Not pleasant. I give the guy kudos for trying- he seems ambitious but totally overwhelmed. It's really hard to get him on the phone. We agreed to a date to start. When it got close, I kept calling him to confirm and got no response. Then on the day before the work was to be performed, he called to confirm but at the point it was too late. We reshceduled for later in the week. His guys were pleasant and spoke English. I asked them to do a mock up which they did. I had them correct how I wanted the repointing done to my standards (I did not want a flush mortar edge). They complied with how I wanted the finish. They removed the old mortar but I noticed they were not applying the new mortar in stages as is how it should be done. I am an expert on brick, so I called Danny to gently ask him to get the guys to do it in stages but he didn't want to hear it and got defensive. What was most irksome was the situation with payment. Prior to having the work done, I left him a message asking if he wanted me to mail a check, drop one off, or to bring it to the jobsite. I never recieved a response. Two days after the work was completed I asked for him to mail me an invoice- he did two days later. The same day I recieevd the invoice I mailed a check. Two days later he left a ridiculous message stating that I owe hom money, he needs the money, he won't work for me again, etc. I tried calling him back to explain I sent a check the same day I recieved a bill, and that I had asked where he wanted me to give the deposit, but his voicemail was full. I sent him an email and received no repsonse. Guy needs to grow up and get a business manager, I will not use him again.

Can't really give a review since no one returned my call.

This is a first-class operation run by a hard-working, personable young guy building a business (Danny Palousek). I'd give them an A+ if that were available. I took three bids and Danny came in the lowest by a substantial margin, and finished the work right on time (3 5-day work weeks). He was eager for the work, focused on making us happy, and he answered every question we asked. (By contrast, one of the other contractors we took a bid from told me "your house is a pain in the neck." Not the way to get the job, sir!) Danny even agreed to take a credit card so we could get frequent flyer points! His crew is extremely hard-working and always cleaned up after themselves. He warned us that some plants in the front might be destroyed by the scaffolding, but everything survived. Our house is two stories, brick front and back, with a dog-leg that is only available via our neighbor's back porch. I never heard a complaint from neighbors on either side but did hear a lot of compliments from people who were home during the day watching the team work. And a neighbor's contractor, who is doing substantial renovations for our neighbor, commented on the high-quality finished product. Brick repointing is messy and time-consuming. It's also expensive. And your house sort of gets taken over by scaffolding and burlap (at one point our house looked like it was wearing a burqua). So if you are ready to go into it, you want to use a great company. Pointing Plus is great.

Danny was very nice to work with over the phone, and came to our home to do the estimate as scheduled. He sent a proposal and answered all follow-up questions promptly. We have a 2-story semi-detached townhome, and his recommendation (and that of another contractor, too) was to repoint the entire house at a total cost of $20,000. Based on other estimates we received, this is quite competitive, however we decided to ultimately go with another contractor recommending a partial re-pointing (only where cracks and/or loose/weak mortar exist) at a substantially lower cost ($6,000). We did our research and understand there are some potential drawbacks to the options we chose, but felt it was the best option for us based on our circumstances and budget. However if we had the means to do a full re-pointing, I wouldn't hesitate to work with Danny and his team. Their references checked out very well.

Excellent work! I'm very happy I hired Pointing Plus to complete the repair of my retaining wall. Scheduling was a bit of a challenge, but I am completely happy with the finished work and would hire the company again in the future.

I chose Pointing Plus as the lowest of three estimates to repoint my entire house, which is one unit of a two-story duplex with a partially submerged basement. The walls are roughly 30' tall, and the work also included rebuilding the chimney and re-pointing the area under the front porch. The workers also repaired damaged stone window sills and sealed up the gap between concrete pads along the side of the house where they met the bricks. Finally, they power washed and scrubbed the wall before they started to remove about a century of old grime. When I purchased my house a few years ago, the inspectors told me that I would need this job to be done sometime in the near future. Water had been leaking inside the house in the front and causing damage to the floor, which was sealed by the previous owner with silicone caulk. In addition, there were a few areas in the basement where I could see daylight through the bricks. Danny was extremely approachable and helpful. He provided me with a lot of information about his service by e-mail, and in addition he patiently answered my questions and concerns in person. Although he didn't usually show up to do the work, he had a crew of three workers who were very friendly and professional. They cleaned up the jobsite every day and were respectful of the neighbors. At the end of the day, what really mattered to me was the finished product, and I was suitably impressed: the quality of the work was top notch. I was worried before I started that the job would need to be done but would add nothing to the value of my house. I can see now that I was wrong. Quite literally, the exterior of my house looks brand new. Overall, I would not hesitate to work with these contractors again.

It went perfectly.

The man who owns the company is really nice, personable and knowledgeable. I think he did a good job but it's hard to tell immediately whether he's done a good job or not. He switched off my job for quite some time because he had some other job that came up which was essentially higher paying. He was working on one house and the neighbors wanted something done, so he worked on their houses instead of mine. That would be my only complaint otherwise he's a great guy. He specializes in old homes on the hill like mine. I trusted him but I was just a little annoyed with him pushing off my work.

Project went very well, was completed on time without issue. The quality of the work was very high.

Excellent! Prompt, responsive, and detailed. The wall looks great. I'd recommend them anytime.

Left area immaculate - on time, quality work. Incredibly dependable, pays & treats workers fairly - with benefits. I am more than willing to pay for service performed fairly for all.

We are very pleased with how the house turned out. The new foot of brick coursing matches the original brick; the window arches look original; and we were able to amend the contract once the formstone was removed and we discovered the foot of coursing badly needed replacement. The workers were on time each morning, and Danny (owner) was very good at answering our questions/explaining the work. My only complaint is we had some last minute touch up items that took about a week to resolve. Overall, very positive experience.

It was a little rocky at first. He decieded to match another bid....I think he had some second thoughts about that. We had to have a talk about if he really wanted to take the job. He said he really wanted it. His guys got onsite. They got it done fast and protected our plants in the process. Really good job. Gave him a bonus for finishing early.

The quality of work and knowledge of this young company was excellent. Our 100+ year-old home requires special lime mortar to avoid damaging the old bricks. Many of the contractors we spoke with were unfamiliar with the special needs of our old home. Mr. Palousek (owner of Pointing Plus) knew exactly what was needed. They worked quickly and did an excellent job of clean-up. The quote was the lowest of the 4 contractors we dealt with. At the time the work was done (July 2005), the company was brand new and the owner/operator, while very friendly & energetic, was a bit rough around the edges on the business-side of things. Many phone calls were required to get a official (written) quote and then contract. Nevertheless, we are very happy with the results.