Showecker Masonry

I sent a message on 6/2/14, Linda responded by telephone and we scheduled an appointment for 6pm on Wednesday 6/4/14. On Wednesday at approximately 5:15pm I called Linda and left a message asking if we were meeting Wednesday or Thursday (even though I was 95% certain it was Wednesday), I still have not received a call back. I was at the house until 6:45pm Wednesday and Thursday until 6:15pm, I received no call and no one showed up. Whatever the reason, a call would have been nice, my time is just as valuable as yours!

They had a reasonable bid. They were timely, efficient and I will be using them again.

I called twice and instead of hearing a person respond I ended up listening to recorded music. I had no idea what was going on. Did I reach these people? Who knows. Very unprofessional not to hear some kind of message. Won't call again.

Bob & crew carefully removed the existing heavy Bedford Stone from the exterior porch walls and disassembled the wrap around stone planters from the porch. They framed up the porch, then cut back the porch deck so that the stone could be re-integrated back into the existing structure. All so that it looked like the porch was never there and allowed for a new larger front door & porch. They cleared away all rubble from the area and hauled it away - leaving the area ready for landscaping. The Before-During-After picture barely does justice to the quality of work that was done. I would highly recommend Showecker Masonry for projects of this nature - where you don't want the finished job to look like an "add on" - but like it was originally built like that.

Work started on day originally planned. Bob and his worker worked several hours in rainy conditions - were not afraid to get a little wet to get work done. Work would stop if weather became too volatile. Reason brick faces were "blowing off", it was discovered bricks were placed too far below grade. Bob was not afraid to tackle job by tearing out all brick below grade and replacing with conmcrete brick or block. Extra work added only minimal $ 425.00 to original cost. All worked performed was time based on track, planned / methodical and executed with utmost professionalism.

It was great. I would highly recommend them.

I had heard of Showecker Masonry from a friend who had work done by them and he was incredibly pleased with the service, attention to detail, and price. The area above my garage door had developed unsightly cracks in the bricks and mortar that were progressively becoming larger. I called Showecker Masonry and Mrs. Showecker was prompt in answering my call and responding to the job I was requesting. Both Bob and Linda Showecker stopped by my house to see the issue I was having and provided me with a recommendation on the spot to repair the cracks and reinforce the area to insure they didn't happen again. I very much appreciated Bob's years of experience and honesty and the fact that his price was far more favorable than others as well as Linda responding quickly to our email communications. The process took a total of two days..one to repair and reinforce the brick and the second to acid wash and clean up. The resultant work was excellent, everything matched as new, and Bob cleaned up the area spotlessly. Mr. Showecker's work is top-notch in my book, his prices more than fair and better than the competition, and I would not hesitate to use him again should the need arise.

They did a good job on the chimney. It looks great and works very well now. It was not built right in the first place in 1974 so they had a big job but did a good job redoing it. They were good to contact the renter when they were doing the work and got delayed on the outside part a bit due to weather. The only thing that I would say that was a negative was that when they initially took out the insert and began redoing the firebox, the chimney was open to the outside and cold air was blowing into the house. I know they had trouble insulating the chimney from the cold while they were in the middle of the job. The renter had complained that she was very cold the night in between them starting and finishing the firebox (inside part). Also, they had left a part in the inside that the renter wasn't sure what it was for or how to use it. I did not feel that either was too big of deal and felt that the communication otherwise was sufficient. We had a recommendation from a neighbor who was happy with their work and they had the best price of the quotes we gathered also. They did a good job.

This project was started May 1, 2013 and completed on May 30, 2013. Throughout this process they harassed me to pay them prior to work being accomplished and even once had me pay the concrete company directly to have them deliver to my house. This is the biggest red flag I should have noted in retrospect. I should have never paid them up front. On June 10 I noticed water draining toward our basement door. Following that, I took pictures using a four foot level and shims to establish the amount of slope on the concrete patio. In some cases I found up to one half inch (½??) of slope over a four foot (4?) span running toward the basement exposing it to potential water damage. In addition, there was no expansion joint between the concrete patio and the basement foundation. The patio is required to be free floating and separate from the house. The surface of the patio was not finished with a trowel, leaving it incredibly rough. There was also embedded animal tracks present in the surface of the patio. It is clear that they quickly poured and left while it was still wet without finishing it. Upon inspecting the driveway I noticed the following: The pre-existing driveway has trowelled-in preferential crack joints, whereas three preferential crack joints on one portion he poured were created with a masonry saw. It looks ridiculous to alter the joint type from the existing pattern. One of the aforementioned crack joints was mis-cut in that the saw got off line and he backed up and re-cut it. This has already resulted in broken concrete. There is no expansion joint between the curb and the driveway. This has already resulted in chipping and cracking. The contractor didn't make any reasonable effort to finish the second pour. There is pitting from water drops, and none of the edges are finished. Three independent contractors confirmed the work was shoddy and encouraged seeking compensation. I took them to small claims court in September 2013 as they refused to interact with me on this subject following a face to face visit in July where they indicated a willingness to resolve the issue. They admitted in court they owed the full amount I requested. I had to file for a second court appearance in October as they did not pay anything. I did not hear anything from them until the day of our hearing in January. They did not appear in court in January claiming issues with weather. At the end of January I received $400 from them. As of March 24, I have received no more payments even though they have texted me promising to pay. I have held off writing a review until now in hopes they would do the right thing but there just is no sign this will ever happen.

They did an excellent job! In addition, I had them repair the cap on the chimney. I would definitely use them again.

A delivery truck accidentally backed into our building. Several concrete blocks were damaged and there were some large cracks about 6' long vertically from the point of impact. To further compound the issue the outside temperature had been below zero for several days with no end in sight. I called Showecker Masonry which I found on Angie's List and they came out the next day and gave me an estimate. I submitted the estimate to the trucking company that caused the damage and they approved it. On February 7th Bob Showecker and a helper came out to do the work. It was still freezing cold but they built a plastic tent around the outside damage and also put one up on the inside so we wouldn't lose any heat and it kept the mess isolated to that area. Several of the concrete blocks had to be completely replaced. They also put a kerosene heater in the outside tent so the mortar would set up properly. It took Bob 5 or 6 hours and the job was completed. It's been about 10 days now and everything looks great. I would certainly recommend Showecker Masonry to anybody looking for that type of service.

Work is still in progress due to weather.

Mr. Showecker and his assistant first removed all the bricks and hauled them away. Then, they dug trenches along each side of the long concrete walk/stairs from the porch all the way down to the sidewalk. Because we have a long walkway, and our street is dark, we have Malibu lights all along the lawns up near the concrete walkway/steps. Mr. Showecker carefully removed all the Malibu lights and wiring and then properly had them put back in, all wires concealed. After the trenches were dug on each side of the concrete walkway, they poured the concrete. They then brought in all newer but used pavers, dark red which looked identical to the ones we had in there. We both agreed that totally new brick would be inappropriate to the Dutch colonial style of our 1920's two-story house and because we already did have some properly set older red brick at each side at the top of the steps below the white bannisters going up to our large front porch, which bricks had initially been set in concrete; all the ones down to the sidewalk, had been the problem and as stated, had deteriorated over a decade. After digging the trenches, the two men laid the new pavers into the concrete. Later In the day the cleaned the entire area and wire-brushed all the new bricks. The next day they returned and acid-washed the bricks which of course is the professional and correct way to deal with such masonry. The job is terrific and our front area down to the sidewalk looks superb. We are very very happy with the work this Company did and Mr. Showecker is a friendly, outgoing and personable man to deal with. I want to add, most significantly, that Showeckers did NOT ask me for a dime until the job was completed. Some contractors want a down payment or a third down when the job commences; well and good, I've dealt with contractors under those terms. I had been prepared to place a deposit after I signed the contract, but they asked for no money. I expected some when they commenced the job, but again, not a word! THAT impressed me. Of course I had the check with the full amount all ready to go when we signed off on the project. I am very pleased that I found this mason through Angie's List and would highly recommend him.

I initially called Showecker Masonry on September 30, 2013 and was told they would call me back in 20 minutes. They called me back 2 hours and 50 minutes later, I know life happens. I told them I thought I needed some foundation repairs and the bricks in my basement needed to be repointed. The appointment for an estimate was scheduled for 7:00 pm on October 3, 2013. At 7:30 pm they still hadn't arrived so I called them and got their voice mail. I left a message asking them to call me. I understand things happen. It is now October 7, 2013 and I still haven't heard from them. It's a shame because I read the reviews of their work and was hopeful it would work out. I am a very tolerant person but how can I trust someone with repair work in my home when they can't extend the simple courtesy of a phone call?

Bob and Linda were very friendly. They put in extra effort to match the brick of the new wall to the existing brick. The cost for the work was very fair. Since Bob does all of his own work you don't have to pay for additional workers or supervisors or a fancy new 4x4 truck. His price was less than half of that of others. I would recommend him and will have him back in the future. I gave him a B on punctuality because I did not always know exactly which days he would be working. I should have asked more directly.

Our home had a few courses of brick that were poorly applied. Also, the bricks were formed around joists from a deck that we had removed leaving "joist-sized holes" in the brickwork. We requested a quote from Mr. Showecker to repair the area and he came out the next day to take a look. He quickly understood the problem and listened to our concerns. A quote was promptly emailed to us. After approving the job, a brick sample was dropped off for our approval. The sample bricks are a very close match to the twenty year old bricks on the house. Next, the job was completed in two stages in order to prevent damage to the bricks positioned above the problem area. The results are outstanding. If my home has any other masonry issues, my first call will be to the Showeckers.

They did a great job.

I received over 7 estimates to have my chimney tore down and rebuilt and painted white to match the rest of the home. The estimates i received were pretty outrageous except for Showeckers. They beat everyones price by far, so I hired them for the job. They did a fantastic job and it looks great. I would hire them again in the future. I highly recommend this company if you need some masonry work done to your home.

The guys were nice and worked hard. The problem is that I had to call them back twice because the first time they did not hit all of the missing spots on my chimney, and the second they didn't spray paint one of the four sides of the cap. Even though they came out without argument to fix what was missed there I still bricks with missing mortar that should have been resolved, and they only put one coat of spray paint on the side that was missing it. It does not match the other three sides as it's much lighter and not as black. I liked the guys, and the tuck jointing they did appears to have been a good job; I just felt there was a lack of attention to detail and although I could call them out again, I just won't.

First let me say that this is an outstanding company. Linda and Bob are great communicators and did exactly what they said they would do. Quality work at a fair price performed with great skill. They were flexible and showed up when they said they would. If there needed to be a schedule change, they called and kept the customer informed. What a company!!!!!!!!!!!!! I plan to use Bob for more jobs that I need to be done as they have skills in many different areas.

Everything was done as quickly as humanly possible. For the foundation work, Bob and his son were very careful with all of my foundation plantings, and as a result, all my plants survived. The garage floor was a real challenge because of the nasty ash cinders that had been laid beneath the original floor, but Bob and his son were unfazed, and did a great job. The driveway was a huge project that took the most time; but the result is beautiful. We still get many compliments on our driveway thanks to Bob and his son.

Linda was always very responsive and easy to work with. The work was done in basically one day. We needed this work done quickly to sell our house, and they were accommodating. The finished product looks great. Very happy with our experience.

We live in Texas and Bob had replaced 3 rental roofs for me in the past few years. I googled his name and found his online reviews on Angie's LIst. I was not surprised at all that he had so many "A" ratings. After showing Angie's List to my new husband, he wanted to ask Bob questions. After asking his questions, my new husband was very certain that Bob should tear down our 10x20 shed that was leaning and ready to fall. Bob always promptly responds when asked to give an estimate. He does the job when he says he will do the job, and he cleans up everything. He emailed me a picture when he was done and left a voicemail. I am very satisfied and would not hesitate to ask Bob to do other work even though I live 1100 miles away.

I called Showecker Masonry in regard to two masonry projects that I have: one a new patio install and the second new brick construction on an existing commercial building. I sent the plans and asked to be contacted to set up a time to meet to discuss; they said they'd be in touch the next day. I never received a call back.

Linda Showecker called right away after I e-mailed her to get a quote. She and Bob came to our house a couple of days later and were prompt and polite. Bob seemed very knowledgeable about masonry and immediately knew why our chimney was in such a state. He took the time to explain everything in great detail so we understood the process. After obtaining 1 other quote , with a no show for a third quote(friend of a friend), we chose Showeckers, who got us on their schedule about a week later. While Bob was here for the quote, he gave us the names of some places he recommended for bricks and we went to one and picked out the brick we wanted. The job itself was to take about 4 full work days. Demolition took place first. Bob and his assistant Brian arrived with his truck and scaffolding the first day. They placed a lot of tarps and large boards over the glass doors and windows of the abutting sunroom, which made me very happy as I was worried about these areas with the dropping brick pieces, etc. Once demolition was complete, Bob, Linda, and Brian made repeated trips to dispose of it all. Then the bricks were delivered and the process of building began. So did the rain , so it took longer than we thought (no fault of theirs). We were able to see all the parts before they were installed. Also, when we did have questions, Linda always got back to us right away. Each day before he left, Bob placed a tarp over the newer section of masonry until project was complete. Must say that the finished product looks BEAUTIFUL and finished product is so much nicer than old chimney. Bob and Brian are both very nice and easy to have around working at one's home. Part of the reason we chose them is that you know exactly who is coming and working on your home. Showecker Masonry is a hard working company and they take great pride in quality. We were happy enough that we gave them a nice tip at the end.