Keystone Design

To talk with the contractor required leaving a voice mail message and waiting for a return phone call. After our appointment took place, the contractor did not provide an estimate when promised and I had to call him. He subsequently advised that his price would be so high that he contacted one of the brick masons he uses who could do it on his own and save me a considerable amount of money. Sounded great. The brick mason looked at my job and gave me a price. The price far exceeded any of the prices I obtained from other concrete contractors and brick masons. I wondered if the mason added Keystone's profit to his estimate? He reduced his price by $300 or so when I discussed it with him, which made me wonder why he had not given me his best price in the first place. I contracted with another brick mason, who did an OK job. It looks OK, with some minor exceptions. I just hope it holds up. I get compliments from company when they see it. I don't know if it looks that good, or just so much better than what was there. At any rate, the mason failed to cut expansion joints like he should have done, and I could not get him to come back and do it after I paid him. I contacted Keystone first and asked if they could cut the expansion joints, for a fee of course. The owner said they could not help me. I don't know if my job did not live up to his standards, or he was tired of fooling with me. After all, I did not use the contractor he recommended. The concrete had not over-cured, so my landscaping professional cut the joints with no difficulty. I contacted several contractors and at least two others said they would cut the joints for me, even though they had not done the work. Based on what I have heard from other people, Keystone does high-end, quality work. They are reasonably pleasant, but I believe it is obvious from the experience described above that you should not bother contacting them unless you fit into that high-end category and have deep pockets. I have a small home in the Arbor Hills Subdivision; however, I do take a lot of pride in maintaining it. While I desire quality work at a reasonable price, I often find it difficult to find people who want to do quality work for a reasonable price. I don't know if it is because the house is in Arbor Hills or not. I always desire to improve the quality of the original construction when I do something, but often find that craftsmen think the quality of the original construction is acceptable. Mr. Sanguiliano, the owner, is legally blind I believe. However, according to company information, he comes from a family of Italian craftsmen and has returned to this type of work later in life. The company has received various small business awards based on the quality of their work, etc. I have no doubt their work is excellent and should be reserved for those who have fine homes with plenty of money to spend. I cannot attest to whether the considerable difference in cost is worth it or not.

Exellent craftsmen. Honest and worked with us to totally design the project from begiining to end and incorporated our ideas and needs as they arose within the project. Did what they said they would do...except I had a lot of product left over which I did not expect. Anyone need pavers?

Fred and Nancy came by the house to discuss the project. They provided references on similar projects. We were able to see several examples of their work prior to starting the project. Fred and Nancy spent a lot of time with us (selecting the perfect stone and colors). Once the project began, it took a little over one week to complete. The patio is absolutely amazing. I already have several other projects I am planning, and I wouldn't use anyone but Keystone Design.

We never hired them. They quoted us $16000 for the job. They were very professional and their work looks really good. They were really nice, but we couldn?t afford it. We wouldn?t use their services again.

The only negative experience was the weather. We had a great deal of rain in the timeframe they were planning to work. Consequently the project suffered about a week's extension. This actually is a strong positive for me -- they elected on their own to delay work rather than try to do a less-than-high-quality installation. This was professionally communicate to me along the way. They are very knowledgable regarding the proper conditions required to ensure a solid foundation is in place so that the pavers remain solidly in place for many years. As a result I doubt I will ever have to take advantage of their waranty -- but if I have to, I trust they will be there. Keystone uses an employee crew (not day laborers). This ensures their team is skilled in the process and led by someone trained to perform the work. This also drives up their costs a little and in my mind justifies their slightly higher prices than you might see elsewhere. My desire is for quality over price and I can recommend them if that's your same mindset.

I called Keystone mid-week, described that I was collecting quotes for deck remodeling and that they had been recommended by the local nursery. He and his wife came to the house that night, measured the existing deck, asked many questions to assist with their design, went over a complete portfolio of their work, and provided an extensive list of previous clients for reference calls. The next day, they came back with a preliminary design and a written quote - the design was excellent and clearly thoughtful and creative - the quote a little more than I wanted to spend, but it was clear that their attention to detail and quality installation would be worth it. We made a few changes, they came back the next day with a revised quote which I accepted. I picked out the pavers the next day - they brought samples to the house so I could see my choice in the installation environment - I loved it. I signed the contract and they purchased the materials, scheduled their crew and scheduled the delivery of the materials for 10 days later. 8 days later they called to see if they could come over with their project manager to prep the site and review their demolition and installation plan. The owners and project manager were on site at 7am the next morning beginning their work. Full demolition and installation started on time and the owners were present frequently. Installation was scheduled to take 4 days, which it did but for a few rain-days. The project manager called a few times to ensure that I had an opportunity to make choices (sand color, removal of landscaping, etc). They finished on time and exactly on budget. The owners have followed up personally several times to ensure my satisfaction. They were a pleasure to work with and I'll only make one call in the future if I ever need work of this nature performed again. I enthusiastically recommend Keystone Design.