Austin Historical

It has been five weeks and the company has not had the courtesy to respond to messages, email or phone. If they were not interested in the job or if it was not their specialty, they could have politely declined. It takes approximately three seconds to type: "Not our specialty. Try XYZ Inc." OR even "All booked up. Thanks for inquiry." OR "Not our type of job. Thanks for asking." Ignoring potential customers, especially when customers make repeated attempts at contact and/or send detailed messages regarding the scope of the job, is indicative of a lack of service mindset. It is a shame because I love custom cabinetry and built-ins, plus we need a lot of other services.

These guys are great. The owner of the company showed up with a helper and installed my window in no time. They took down the existing drapes and blinds and when they were done put everything back as it was. I would hire Austin Historical again if the need arises. Real professionals!

Never responded, therefore did not use. Unprofessional.

Fabulous!!

Overall I was very happy with the quality of work, cleanliness of the workers and efficiency-- the project was completed sooner than expected. I had previously met with a few other contractors to discuss putting up crown moldings and several of them had said it would be difficult to install them because my 1921 ceiling and walls are a little irregular/wavy. AHR was very comfortable dealing with the older features of my home. The moldings are perfectly straight with no gaps in the chalking. I was very pleased with this. I was also happy that the patched hardwood floor matches very well with my current hardwood, but I wish the planks of wood were a little closer together- the gaps are a little wider compared with the original planks throughout the rest of my house. I'm anticipating dust and debris will collect in the cracks over time and eventually it won't be noticeable... My only really gripe with the company was communication while trying get my estimate and setting up a time to do the work. Apparently they were having some trouble with their email system so I did not get the estimate the first time. When I was ready to schedule a time to start the work, I requested a week when I would be off from work-- I wanted to be at home in the event that any problems came up. They weren't able to accommodate this so I had to schedule them when it was a little less convenient for me. In spite of these issues, I would still use them again the future.

Austin Home Restoration was recommended to us by an interior designer. We were quoted a price with several options and reached an agreement on a certain portion of their proposal which included refinishing cabinets as well as adding new features to the cabinetry, decorative beams and some wall removal. Our biggest issue was with the cabinet refinishing. We were told that the cabinet doors would be completely removed and then repainted in the shop under controlled conditions. The doors seemed to turn out okay but they were just painted on our porch in an uncontrolled environment. Not sure if this will affect the life expectancy of the cablinet finish. They also were to do some tiling of the backsplash which did not turn out satisfactorily and had to be redone a couple of times Generally the work was okay and the owner was responsive to our needs and concerns and made things all okay in the end. A may be a high score but none of these remodelers are consistently excellent and I thought Austin did okay compared to the rest.

It went great! Scott and his entire team are professional and give excellent attention to detail--they're also really nice. The team traveled to Miami to restore the double hung windows that had been swollen and painted shut and rotted for god knows how many years. It was a huge and messy job and every single day they left our place spotless. Mark was leading this job, and I trusted him and his team completely. We left town and gave them a key---which I would absolutely never do. Too bad we can't have more companies like this in Miami. I highly recommend these guys.

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In June 2014, we kicked off a renovation project in our new-to-us older home. Working with an interior designer, we decided that the key feature in our den was going to be a pair of custom barn doors made out of reclaimed wood. The carpenter we had contracted to perform some cabinetry and refinishing work as part of the renovation signed up for the barn door project as well, but ended being a big disappointment in several of the other areas of the renovation. After these disappointments and several months of frustrating back-and-forth trying to get what we wanted on the barn doors, we released the carpenter from this portion of the contract. And so, we were stuck with a room that was completed with the exception of the barn doors, one of which was covering the opening to a bathroom. Having a bathroom without a door on it for almost a year is a pretty silly state of affairs. I had been referred to Scott from Austin Home Restorations (henceforth AHR) by the general contractor we'd used to handle the inspection items that had come up during the purchase of the home. Scott is just a great guy: passionate about his craft, and both he and his staff are punctual and professional in a way that I've found lacking in nearly every contractor we've worked with throughout our renovation experiences. We'd brought Scott in to oversee the repairing and refinishing of the floors in our den, which had worked out great. With our barn door portion of the project now stalled, I called Scott to see if he'd be able to take it on. To my delight, Scott was available to work on the project. We met to discuss the work, and within fifteen minutes it was clear that Scott was on precisely the same page as me with the vision and what was needed to make the project a success. This was such a breath of fresh air compared to the prior carpenter. I had Scott quote me for the work blind, and by coincidence his quote was the same (and we're talking to the dollar here) as the other carpenter we had fired. It was like it was meant to be. Scott assigned this project to Mark, a craftsman on his staff with extensive experience in many areas, one of which was building furniture out of reclaimed wood. I was thrilled to learn that AHR reclaimed their own wood from renovation projects in local Florida homes, which meant that they could source the raw materials at a very reasonable price, and that we'd be having our doors made out of wood sourced from a bit of local Florida. This detail added a wonderful "cool factor" and local flavor to the project vs. ordering reclaimed barn siding from Montana and having it show up on a flatbed truck. I met with Mark at AHR's workshop. As with Scott, it was clear that Mark knew exactly what we were going for. Mark took very detailed notes, and was somehow able to take the 1,000 or so requirements that our interior designer and I came up with during our hour-long meeting and boil it down to its essence. The work was scheduled for six weeks out with a build time of two weeks. After a year of frustration and disappointment with the other carpenter, we were finally going to get our doors. So, how did it go? I'm going to paste in the email I sent to Scott the day after the doors were installed. -------- Scott, When we were committing to contract, I told you that I had 200% confidence that your team would execute perfectly on this project. In retrospect, it would appear that I low-balled you guys a little. :) Seriously, I could not have asked for a better result. The doors are simply stunning, a testament to Mark's skill and craftsmanship. The care, diligence, and attention to detail that Mark, Cary, and Jordan took with what ended up being a very complicated and lengthy installation is unmatched by anything I've seen from the many contractors that have worked on our home in the last eighteen months. I truly felt that they approached the work as if it were being done in their own home, thinking carefully through each challenge they met before acting and cutting no corners whatsoever along the way, whether during the extensive detective work locating the studs to minimize drywall damage, the ad-hoc customization they performed on the hardware to ensure everything was a perfect fit, or any of the other many necessary details too numerous to list. It was precisely the polar opposite lack of attention to detail of our prior carpenter that led me to bring this project to you and your team, and you left nothing to be desired. We have plenty more work to do at this old place before we're done. I very much look forward to working with you and your team again soon. -------- I'd like to point out that the custom barn door track we ordered from Rustica Hardware was beautiful, but a total nightmare to install, especially considering how we needed the doors mounted and the construction of the room they were going into. The door hangers were a triangular shape, and the bi-parting configuration of the doors combined with the mismatched size of the door openings being covered left zero room for error in the mounting of either the door track or the hangers themselves. The walls of the room receiving the doors are sheathed with oriented strandboard behind the drywall, making stud location extremely difficult, especially when it turned out that the studs were seemingly mounted at random between 16" and 24" spacings. We also had a teardrop barn door lock and a pair of appliance-style door pulls that were no easy task to mount. All in all, the door installation took two very long days to complete. At no time were Mark or his team in any rush to get the work done: they tackled every challenge they ran into thoughtfully and thoroughly. Considering the complexity of the installation, I would have accepted a slightly imperfect mounting job, but in the end it wasn't necessary for me to do so: they totally nailed the installation to a level of perfection that I admire every time I lay eyes on the doors. Seriously, if you have a project that AHR can handle - just hire them already. I only wish every contractor that I worked with could be this good at what they do.

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I have an old 1920's Craftsman bungalow and another contractor that worked on the house in the past didn't pay attention to period details at all. Scott at Austin Home Restorations, however, was a breath of fresh air when I called him to talk about restoring and reglazing my old, original windows. I knew immediately that I wanted to work with him because he really cares about old house details and seemed very knowledgeable. He also listens well and follows through on what he says he'll do. His contract was a fair price and the work was absolutely worth it. His team is polite, easy to work with, and skilled. They act like a little family. The windows turned out amazing; they look custom. Bonus: they'll keep for a long time with proper maintenance. I liked what they did so much, I had them do a couple of other projects including plastering a ceiling and painting the exterior of our house. Pretty much anything we decide to do from here on out will be with Austin Home Restorations. If you have an old house, especially a Craftsman bungalow, this is the person who should work on your house. I highly recommend Scott and his team.

The consultation went very well. Scott was extremely professional and knowledgeable regarding the work necessary to restore parts of this historic home we were considering buying. He supplied us with referrals for other work that he's company does do...like a roofing contractor and building inspector. His advice was so valuable. I'd definitely use him again, even though we ended up not buying that Sanford house.

It went well, Scott showed up on time to do the estimate and his associate was punctual when he came to install the new door. There were some issues with the new door and Scott came out (again, when he said he would) and fixed everything up to our liking.

Scott was very prompt and responsive. When additional damage was noticed, he repaired it quickly for a reasonable price. All of his employees were very professional and skilled, cleaned up after themselves every day. Worked on the doors until they opened and closed perfectly. Paint work was very good, used 1st quality materials. Project was challenging and he rose to the challenge. Plan to use him for additional work.

Very professional, very good attention to detail. Showed up on time, all material and finishes were high quality. They were very particular to ensure that the french doors were identical to the original. We have had work like this done in the past, but unlike the prior contractor, they worked until the door fit perfectly with the quirks of the conditions of a house built in the 1920s.

The work was performed in a professional manner. The project was delayed somewhat but that may have been due to trying to install a floor at the same time. Scott was very responsive and took care of any concerns we had immediately.

He is a really nice guy. The work is beautiful. I have no problems with the work. When all was said and done and I was ready to write the final check, he said they added $700.00. This was after everything had been installed, everything had been quoted. The quote should not have been changed, nothing had been added. We argued over it, and I said I would do half. When they came out to do the quote for the doors, they knew they were going to have to refinish them. However, he said he didn't know anything about staining them. Anyway, I split the difference with him. Just yesterday, I got a bill in the mail for $500.00. It's been at least 6 months since he's been here. He doesn't quite get the bookkeeping. You have to be careful with him. Like I said, the work is perfect and I had no problem with anyone that did the works. I'm not arguing that he is not superb at what he does, however his billing preferences are horrific. He was so easy to work with, and just the nicest man.

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unknown

He showed up prepared with license and bond. He went over his company's work and mission. He took a very thorough look in and under the house in the crawl space. He went over exactly what was wrong and exactly how he would fix everything. During the restoration phase, he was super neat, put down protection on my hard wood floors, cleaned up every day and was prompt and informative of every move he made. His detail and quality for restoration was evident in all aspects of his work. I was delighted with the outcome. Now, I recommend him every chance I get.

I was very happy with Austin Home Restorations. Scott arrived on time and was friendly, clean, and professional. He had good knowledge of older home construction and easily added some wood to fit the new door in the old door space. He was efficient with his time and had no problem with leaving some of the easier things for me to do so that I could save some money. He even offered to give me a tube of caulk so I could finish up some of the work (caulking was one of the jobs I volunteered to do myself). In the end the new door works and looks great. I couldn't be happier with the work.