Showecker Masonry

They were very professional and timely. I had them also add some brick around the windows to make the look more modern. They were very reasonably priced.

Showecker was selected from six contractors who submitted bids/estimates for the repair work on a 25ft tall, 23 year old, brick chimney. Bob promptly inspected and submitted a quote that evening. When Bob was selected he arrived early the days planned for the work and erected scaffolding on the pitched ground around the chimney, removed damaged bricks and mortar, installed new bricks and mortar, tuck-pointing the stepped top of the brick chimney, applied penetrating sealer to the entire surface of the fireplace, applied rust inhibitor paint to the large metal cap and support structure, and removed the scaffolding without doing ANY damage to the multitude of plants around the area. No nonsense professional, gentleman with whom we were very satisfied. Great price for great service. .

The first order of business was to remove the fireplace insert and the direct connect stainless steel pipe connected to it. This work was performed in about a 2 hour time period. The next work to be completed was the removal of the old fireplace damper in the fireplace. To do this they had to remove some fire brick to get it out. This work was completed successfully. The next task to be completed was removing the mortar at the top of the chimney an replace it with concrete. Showecker Masonry said the concrete was more water tight and stronger than mortar. Then they performed some tuck pointing on the chimney. This completes all of the work for day 1. The following day they used to install the damper and replace several fire brick. I was concerned that the fireplace would be put back together as it was when when bought the house 25 years ago. Showecker Masonry completed the work and the fireplace looks like it a normal masonry fireplace. I have used the fireplace yet so I do not know if it will draft properly yet or not. I was reading the instructions that came with the damper and noticed that the instructions said to leave a 1/2 inch space between the damper and the concrete/motor for expansion. At the widest opening of the damper there is not a 1/2 space. Matter of fact the damper hits the mortar at the widest setting which by the way is 1 notch from being open all the way. So technically the damper does not open all the way but does open to the second to last notch which I hope will be OK. I am disappointed that it does not open all the way but it may not be a concern worth worrying about. However at this setting the damper is hitting the mortar so that does concern me that there will not be enough gap for expansion. Showecker Masonry did say to call them if I had any troubles with it at all.

I had called the Showeckers on a Friday and they were very eager to come out the following Sunday to give me an estimate. While they were at my home I had inquired about a Certificate of Insurance and Linda assured me that they had insurance. I asked for her to send me a copy. I accepted the bid the following Tuesday under the assumption that they had insurance. They started the following Friday but still no proof of insurance. There was a lack of communication during the job of when they would be out or not to finish the job. Because the weather was uncertain and my chimney was demo-ed, I had some concerns about rain getting in before Bob could finish the job. I had to call him and ask him to come back in the evening to cover the exposed chimney in case it rained. Although the job was completed in the four days that they said it would take, they left a mess of the area. I had emailed them about coming back out to clean up the area and I was told that they would come back out the following week to clean up the area. At the time of writing this report, it has been four weeks and they still haven't come back out to clean up the area. And I still haven't seen any proof of insurance. I also had some bricks stacked up in my yard that they had used to replace some of the spalling bricks on my chimney. They never asked if they could use the bricks nor did I give them permission to use the bricks. They had given me an estimate based on them using new bricks that they would supply and that I paid for in the cost of the job.

I paid half project price upfront. It took a lot longer for Bob to finish the project, but I do not want to complain too much. The appearance of the work is reasonable. So I paid the full price shortly after they finished the project. The bad part is: Bob would not guarantee his work at all. he told me because I have a tree there he did concrete around it and Indiana weather, my concrete will go cracking soon. he said something if I asked him, he would have told me from the onset. This is the part I am very disappointed. Additionally, I believe Bob did not apply sealer as he was supposed to do because the concrete he did has poor stain-resistance. Overall, I think Bob and Linda are nice people, but they take very short views for their jobs. I think whoever choose them maybe OK, but exercise great caution and Bob can be very unpleasant to deal with.

The job took longer than they planned, but I am very happy. The curves in the walkway are just as I had sketch for them . The arch on the porch compliments my house. The pavers/brick (I call them bricks, they call them pavers) are an unbelievable match to the brick on our 25 year old house.

The contract was signed on July 17, 2012 with work beginning July 18th. The project was estimated to take 3 days but it was finished 12 days later. The weather was very hot (90 - 100 degrees). Mr. Showecker and his assistant worked a few hours a day and worked hard when there were here. After the first 2 days Mr. Showecker communicated on a daily basis about progress and plans for the next day. The removal of the front porch cement took long than anticipated due to the thickness of the cement. This caused the project duration to increase and the Showecker's had to work our job in with other jobs previously scheduled. When the time came to pour the concrete, it rained and hailed. Pouring concrete was scheduled for the next day. The Showeckers did communicate this to me. Overall a good experience and a good price for the work completed.

Fireplace insert in my living began to tilt backwards and pull away from the brick front of the fireplace. Mr. Showecker dismantled the insert and was able to determine that since water was leaking into the chimney, the rear legs of the insert had rusted and collapsed causing the insert to tilt. The insert itself could not be removed without removing the brick front. We decided that he would regrout around the insert and correct the root cause which was a leaking chimney cap. The old mortar chimney cap was removed and a five inch thick concrete cap was installed. The work was done quickly and he and his assistant did a good job of cleaning up after they were done.

I have used them previously and was very happy. I again was very happy this time with the quality of the work and the price point. Linda and Bob are quality people that can be trusted which is sometimes hard to find now a days. I would use them again and hope to to stucco some brick next year.

We contacted the Showeckers after our previous mason botched the replacement of our cracked porch, no less than three times. Bob and Linda were on time for our initial appointment and were very willing to spend time discussing the pros and cons of various options. These are things you don?t always appreciate until you find how lacking they are in many of their competitors. We sought estimates from a number of other companies, and would frequently find they would miss appointments or not get back to us. Because of this, it is somewhat difficult to compare the price of the services we had done, but needless to say it was roughly half of what our original mason charged. This may be due in part because Bob and Linda did not try to ?upsell? us on various features. Rather than going with the stamped concrete with integral color that the original mason attempted but was unable to adequately perform, Bob recommended staining normal concrete as it would be more durable. After agreeing to perform the work, Bob and Linda maintained excellent communication throughout the process by both phone and email. Bob rapidly performed the removal and pouring of our porch, despite it being the coldest week of the winter. We also wanted railings installed, and once we had them built, Bob was out to install them within two days. Finally, when the nice weather hit and we had chosen a color, Bob and Linda were again out within two days to stain the porch. In contrast to the multiple weeks we lived without a porch with our first mason, the Showeckers? efficiency was outstanding. And of course, what?s most important of all is that we are thrilled with the final product. I would highly recommend Bob and Linda Showecker, and will not hesitate to use them for future projects.

Linda and Bob are a great team. They arrived on time to give me my initial quote and were very timely in scheduling the actual project as well. They were the best priced of all the quotes I received (4). My home is over a hundred years old and Bob was well aware of the unique characteristics and demands of restoring mason work in an older home. Linda even helped do the wire brush work at the end. They left the basement in excellent order when they were done. I would definitely hire them again and hope you will as well.

Bob and Linda were very easy to work with. We had multiple projects around the exterior of the house and Bob worked for several days around the Thanksgiving holiday to complete everything. He was very knowledgeable and detail-oriented and everything looks great!

Bob and Linda were both responsive and friendly. Bob seemed to have plenty of masonry knowledge and skill. The work was completed quickly and as outlined in the bid. We were pleased with Bob's work and they were both very easy to work with.

The start to finish of my masonry project in June, 2011 is described in the section above.

Bob and his helper were courteous and worked hard. The process took place over a few days as the tear down, build up, and finish were slowed due to some rain, but Bob did not in any way delay this process. It was a good experience for me.

I contacted 3 companies. Mr. Showicker was thorough and adament about making sure I had a good understanding of the job, which really impressed me. He and his wife came out 3 times, and they will begin the work in the next few weeks. Work is complete and it is just great! I also had them to do another project while they were here and they did a wonderful job on that as well. I strongly recommend this contractor for the quality of work that is delivered. Very thorough, easy to work with and is very knowledgeable

they were very professional when reviewing for quote and in doing the work. they added color to the cement so that it would match the older foundation block and blend in so as not to give a "just fixed" look. Very much appreciated this little extra effort as I would never have thought about it and none of the other companies I received an estimate from even mentioned anything about doing this. I really appreciated the thing he pointed out and went over all that would be done and why. Would definately recommend them and use them in the future.

Overall, the job was completed in 5 days and we are very, very pleased with the outcome. We originally had quotes from $250 for replacement of the flashing only to a complete rebuild of almost $4000. And when we received quotes to have 41 bricks replaced for $1800 or a complete rebuild for $2160... well, you can see what we chose. We will definitely not hesitate to use Showecker's again for any masonry or chimney work we may need done.

His name was Bob Showecker. What stood out to me was that he was the only one who actually crawled underneath our porch which had partially collapsed at the time and looked at how the structure was. He was the only one of the people who came to give us bids who was actually talking about the challenges of the structure and what kinds of things we had to overcome to get it fixed so that it wouldn't damage the house further. He talked a lot about the underneath side of things. He was also the cheapest bid. He did beautiful work.

Bob and Linda have completed several jobs for us and we have always had a wonderful experience with their services. When I initially called him about our ceiling leaking they came out within an hour and removed the ice from our roof with a follow-up ice removal service a couple of days later. The repair of our celing was completed over two days and looks fabulous! I recommend them without reservation and will be having more work completed by them in the near future.

Our house was built in 1920 and the chimney was in needed of repairs. Bob and Linda came out to our house to give us a quote on Sunday, which is unheard of with most companies! The chimney had to be completely tore down to the flashing of the roof and rebuilt. Bob and his crew completed the work over two days. He is extremely knowledgeable, professional, and a quick on the job! I have already recommended them to several people at work, without reservation!

Bob matched the replacement bricks for our 1941 chimney very well. At no additional charge, Bob sealed a leak between the chimney and the roof and installed chimney caps that I had purchased. Bob performed the work quickly and worked several hours on Sunday to get the job done, leaving the areas clean. He does excellent work at a reasonable price.

Bob was great! I would highly recommend - I just moved to town and joined angie's list on a tip from local relatives. All the reviews of Bob and his assistant are right on - his prices are right and best of all you get...him (not a crew of goons). He went above and beyond the call of duty - he is a real professional who works well AND communicates what he is doing well in layman's terms (a real plus in my book)

Mr. Showecker did a very thorough inspection of the house. He clearly explained the necessary repairs and offered a very competitive bid based on his many years of experience in the construction business. I appreciated his candor and assurance that the job would be done to my satisfaction. The completed job was so much better than I had hoped. It was almost unnoticeable - the new mortar was a very close match to the old. My husband looked at the work and said, "I don't see anything." That was exactly what I was looking for. The concrete step repair was entirely satisfactory. Mr. Showecker suggested an improvement to be incorporated in the repair, which made the steps much safer.

We found Mr & Mrs Showecker to be honest hardworking people. Maybe not all slick with fancy vans but the price reflected his honesty. Couldn't find identical bricks, he made a great suggestion on how to transition from the original bricks and tinted the mortar to match the original. Looks great! He cleaned up each day before he left. We'd use him again.