AMD Construction

Andrej & Dominica Ostrowsko, who are AMD Construction, were very direct and honest with us, AND their price was the lowest that we were quoted. (We had never heard of them before.) Mr. Ostrowsko did the both the demolition and the carpentry work himself along with his helpers, while all of the other firms that we interviewed would have subcontracted the work out. It was truly a pleasure doing business with them. Mr. and Ms. Ostrowsko (and their young son) came to our house beforehand to finalize the contract, and walked us through all of the options and their prices, ensuring that we were clear on what we were buying. We had been worried that the demolition might damage the beautiful garden that abuts two walls of the garage. Unlike the other firms that we interviewed, Mr. Ostrowsko told us up front that standard demolition using a Bobcat tractor would cost $400, and would probably damage the garden because the old walls would fall onto the garden; while manual demolition would cost $1,200 but protect the garden. We chose the $1,200 manual demolition, and he kept his word - he made sure that the old garage parts fell entirely onto the concrete and into the alley, preserving our garden and the neighbor's yard. We were so pleased that we tipped his helpers $100. (The sales representatives of the other firms that we interviewed simply assured us that their demolition subcontractors would protect the garden, for no extra price. They also had less understanding of the Chicago building code, neglecting to tell us about the fire-resistant wall requirement for the property line. In retrospect, we believe that we were right to be skeptical of the other firms' claims. Plus, those firms' price quotes were no cheaper.) The demolition was done in one day, and the erection in one more day. AMD came on the days that they had said that they would. The wiring was all done by AMD's subcontractor, correctly. (I once worked as a helper to electrical contractors, so I believe that I was competent to judge his work.) After everything else was done, Mr. Ostrowsko came back to install the two roof vents himself and to make sure that we were satisfied, which we were (and still are).