J Sitko Construction

Did a good job

They got the job done right!

J. Sitko Construction did an excellent job on my desk. After having three other Angie's List deck company's tell me no I can't have the deck I want, J. Sitko Construction build me a dream deck.

Overall, the experience was excellent. Michael was very professional in giving us a quick and fair estimate. The workers came and efficiently rebuilt the entire porch in a day. It looks great now.

They did a very good detailed job on my deck. When I had a problem with the paint peeling off, they came back and fixed it for free. The crew that came out was really great at doing their job in a timely matter, too.

The deck is fabulous. However pressure treated wood still needs to be sealed. Be sure to pay J. Sitko Construction or J. Sitko.

I was so excited to find Angie's List because it is so hard to find someone trustworthy. So after reading all the reports from others I thought I would call J Sitko even though they had a few F's I thought I would give them a chance. So I called and they responded right away and confirmed an appointment for Aug. 13 @ 4:00 pm. Which they kept and where right on time. When they came out they acted like they did not want to do the work, they were hard to understand. I said to them it sounds like you do not want to build the porch and they said the did. They said they would call me with an estimate I emailed them Sept. 6th to see what happened. Mike emailed me back to say I am sorry we have accepted other offers and are not interested at this time. Why not just be upfront instead of wasting my time and others. I have also contacted a few others off of Angie's List and they have been more than professional. I would not recommend J Sitko.

WE COULDN'T BE MORE HAPPY WITH THE OUTCOME! Spoke with Michael Fredman to set up the project with Jack. Jack quoted a really reasonable price, so combined with the recommendations from this site, we felt comfortable with the go-ahead. Work was a bit slow at spots when it started, but we realize there were a couple of complications that they had to work though (one being that a lot of the old brick busted apart when they tore down the old columns, so they had to order new limestone to make up for the deficiency). The porch, columns and overhang turned out beautifully though, and Jack and the team were very accommodating with including some architectural details included in the custom design. DEFINITELY RECOMMEND!

My story is very similar to the report on June 11, 2007 for this contractor. I had a pleasant initial call with Mike Friedman, who arranged for Jack Sitko to come out and look at the project. He arrived promptly, looked over everything, even offered some suggestions, then I waited for the bid. And waited. And waited. After 2 weeks, I contacted Mike to see what the deal was. He was very apologetic and said Jack Sitko was busy, but would send someone else out to look at my project. (A different contractor?) After that, I heard nothing. I even told Mike that I was confused since they seemed to have a good reputation on Angie's List. I guess that's when they actually do the work. Having never seen what they can do, I can't give them an F. But I am very disappointed.

Jack came out and did a wonderful job! He said it would take 3 days and it took only 2! His 2 man crew went the extra yard to make some really nice details. I wanted a specific look and Jack said no problem, and he didn't charge me extra. Great job overall!

Generally, it went well. The interactions with Michael and Jacek were friendly and accommodating, which is what lead to me offering them the contract. They were willing to negotiate around doing partial work (framing) and remained flexible through the pricing. There were a little less professional around scheduling and appointments, but they finished fairly quickly. The deck frame was generally done well, but some small things like flashing, notching the post and bolt size were disappointing. I am finishing the deck and there are some things, I wish they had done. This was enhanced, because the people doing the work and I did not speak the same language, very well.

Mike sent a person out to give us an estimate on a porch. We were told we would get the estimate in 5 days. Still have not received the estimate. When we emailed them about this they said they would call us to schedule an appointment to have the estimate done. Still no word-- almost 2 weeks in dealing with this.

HIS MEN ALWAYS ARRIVED IN A PROMPT MANNER AND WERE ALWAYS ON TIME. THEY DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB. ANY MODIFICATIONS THAT I NEEDED THEY WERE AWARE OF AND WORKED WITH ME ON THE MODIFICATIONS.

From the initial phone call, this company was a pleasure to deal with. Mike setup an appointment with me right away (I called on a Saturday and they were able to come out as early as Monday afternoon) and sent an email confirmation within minutes containing a list of references and cell phone numbers where both he and Jack Sitko could be reached, which I very much appreciated. After taking a look at our porch, Jack stated that our concerns were just normal wear and tear and nothing to be concerned about. He mentioned that a few things could be replaced if we really wanted it, but didn't think it was necessary. I appreciated his honesty because they didn't get any work out of the project. I have some other projects coming up (they also do interior remodeling and other contractor work), and I will definitely be giving them a call and recommending them to others!

Bad weather led to some early delays, but all in we couldn't be happier. We engaged a structural engineer for a report and drawings and let Michael/Jack deal with city permitting and the work. We took a tremendous amount of comfort in the fact that a substantial portion of the payment would NOT be made until the city reexamined the deck AFTER the work and provided a clean evaluation (consistent with code). Workers were thoughtful and diligent. As an added bonus, we were thrilled with the thoroughness of the cleanup (wood, nails/screws, and general debris) given that we have kids who play in the back yard. Notably, we got quotes all over the place (included one group who told us the existing deck needed to be scrapped & we should start over, total cost $32,000 & another who quoted $16,000 for same scope of work that was done. Deck looks good and is now safe/within code. Highly recommend.

It started a little slow, but they were responsive to our inquiries and performed the concrete repair. The first attempt was not adequate for long-term durability and not what we had originally agreed upon. After we discussed the work further, they corrected the work in the correct manner. While the concrete cured, we picked out the posts. Once selected, it took a number of weeks for the materials to arrive. Once the posts and railings came in, the installation and completion of the work went well. We are happy with the work that they performed.

We were cited by the city of Chicago for violations regarding our back stairs/porch. What we originally thought would be a few quick fixes turned into a bureaucratic nightmare! J. Sitko has an architect that they work with who took care of the architectural drawings required by the city, communicated project status via letter to our alderman and surrounding neighbors, they obtained a building permit in a timely manner, and completed the demo/construction of the new porch/stair system in about two weeks. They even arranged for a new city inspection upon completion of the work. Not only did we receive full compliance with all city regulations, but the inspector commented on the great workmanship. This team was professional, timely, considerate. We will definitely use them again for future projects. Highly recommend.

I had used J. Sitko (Jack) on a previous job at my current home. Though I was frustrated with communications w/ Mike F, I was elated at the work Jack did and contacted him for quotes for another renovation project. I contacted Mike who seemed eager to bid on several aspects of work. After repeated requests for deck quotes, I was returned a quote for $34K for treated lumber and $90K for TimberTech. Knowing the price was too high, my GC contacted him to find out he gave me a ridiculous price b/c he said he didn't want to do business w/ me b/c I was too difficult. He had me communicating between he and Jack for 3 weeks and to date have no idea what justified his comments. I paid them on time for their previous work and offered them bidding on hundreds of thousands of dollars of work. The unprofessionalism displayed is inexcusable. The sad part is that Mike is the face of the company. I really enjoyed working with Jack, and his work in impeccable (though difficult to reach at times).

Although they seemed decent, their price was simply prohibitive.

They do high quality work at a reasonable price. The issues with them are that they can't always give you a firm time on when things can get done. To try to get them back after they finish a project is difficult. Very easy to deal with, fair and trustworthy company.

I was impressed by the fact that they were willing to set up an appointment immediately, and that they emailed me a confirmation. I shouldn't have been. They called 1/2 an hour after they were supposed to be there to say they were having car trouble and asked to reschedule. It happens, so I said no problem. They never showed up for the rescheduled appointment and never responded to multiple phone calls asking what was going on.

Jack and his crew did an outstanding job on this small but critical project. These guys are very detailed oriented and paid attention to a lot of specifics. I will use them again for other projects as they come up. Jack and his team showed up when they said they would and finished very promptly. This company has also done many other projects on my block (Farragut street) and the neighbors are all pleased with their service. Thanks Jack!

THEIR ESTIMATE CAME IN WITHIN THE RANGE OF SEVERAL OTHER CONTRACTORS I RECEIVED ESTIMATES FROM. A DELAY WITH MY GRANITE SUPPLIER PUSHED THINGS BACK A BIT, BUT THEY BEGAN WORK QUICKLY AND FINISHED THE JOB WITHIN A COUPLE WEEKS. I FELT COMFORTABLE GIVING THEM KEYS TO MY PLACE SO THEY COULD ENTER AS NEEDED. THE QUALITY OF THEIR WORK WAS QUITE GOOD. JACEK, THE OWNER, DIDN'T PERFORM ANY WORK, BUT HE CAME BY FREQUENTLY TO CHECK PROGRESS. HIS OFFICE MANAGER WAS EXTREMELY RESPONSIVE WITH ESTIMATES, REFERENCES, PROOF-OF-INSURANCE REQUESTS, ETC. THE ONLY PROBLEM I HAD WAS THAT JACEK TACKED ON AN ADDITIONAL $300 AT THE END OF THE PROJECT FOR ADDITIONAL COSTS HE SUPPOSEDLY INCURRED. HE NEVER SUPPLIED RECEIPTS FOR THOSE COSTS, SO I DIDN'T PAY HIM THE EXTRA AMOUNT. THEY DID GOOD WORK AND I HAD A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE OVERALL, BUT I WOULDN'T USE THEM AGAIN. I WAS TURNED OFF BY THE LAST-MINUTE ADD-ON.

THE OWNER CAME OVER, BUT NEVER PROVIDED AN ESTIMATE. I CALLED AGAIN TO INQUIRE ABOUT THE ESTIMATE AND HE SAID HE WOULD PROVIDE IT IN THE NEXT WEEK. THAT WAS 3 WEEKS AGO.

WE'VE BEEN REALLY PLEASED WITH THIS COMPANY. THERE IS SOME REMAINING CLEAN-UP TO DO, BUT THIS COULD BE DUE IN PART TO THE COLD WEATHER. THIS GROUP SHOWED UP TO ACTUALLY WORK ON SATURDAYS JUST TO KEEP OUR PROJECT MOVING. WE'RE GREATLY APPRECIATIVE. HAPPY WITH THEIR WORK, WE, THE CONDO ASSOCIATION, ASKED THEM FOR A BID ON ALL WINDOWS IN OUR UNITS AND THEY CAME BACK WITH A VERY REASONABLE PRICE SO WE ARE NOW MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT. ADDITIONALLY, SOME MEMBERS OF THIS ASSOCIATION ARE GOING TO ASK THIS COMPANY TO DO SOME INTERIOR RENOVATIONS AS WELL SINCE THEY SET THEIR PRICES VERY REASONABLY.