Celtic Masonry

They cleaned the steps and matched the new one with the old and it looks wonderful!

Performed extensive masonry work on our 100 year old colonial revival house. Displayed superior technical knowledge. They know their materials. Hard working and professional. Rebuilt 7 brick steps of lower front entryway staircase adding bluestone treads and salvaged antique balusters as posts for handrails. Completely rebuilt a brick portico landing, 5 circular (radius) steps and side wall at front door. Included a footing which had never existed before. Lack of footing had caused constant problems in the past. Laid porcelain tile on landing and attached salvaged wrought iron handrails. At back of house rebuilt 2 small brick stairways adding bluestone treads and salvaged antique balusters as posts for handrails. We the customer purposely and gladly chose expensive brick that had "old brick" look to blend with brick structures not being worked on. Extensively pointed an 88 foot long, 4 foot high fieldstone retaining wall, rebuilt one crumbling driveway corner and repaired 4 wall caps. Power washed chimney.

I was looking to install a ledgestone veneer on my fireplace, and quickly realized this project was a bit out of my DIY skillset. Searching Angie's, Home Advisor, and a few other sites, I interviewed a number of potential contractors. I went with Jim both due to his fantastic Angie's List reviews, his responsiveness to my inquiries, his competitive pricing, and his patience explaining the process. I could not be happier that I did. Jim was very helpful in the selection of stone (both veneer and hearthstone), his suggestions for layout, grout, and style, and he was very transparent regarding the timeframe for the completion of the work. He was prompt to arrive each day, courteous, and seemingly happy to deal with my wife's curious cats. He was also surprisingly clean - masonry is a dirty job, and most masons I've had experience with aren't the most conscientious about keeping things clean. I'm pretty sure Jim left the living room and surrounding areas cleaner than he found them. I'm a VP of customer relations in a service industry, so I think I'm especially critical of service providers. Without hesitation, I would absolutely recommend Jim and Celtic Masonry to all my family, friends, and clients - they do a fantastic job at a great price, and Jim was a pleasure to deal with. I hope I have the opportunity to work with them in the future.

Last May, I posted an “A” review on this company, even though my husband and I had a hard time with this contractor. The granite landing of the front steps had a big visible slope (right to left). James Bresnaham claimed that our door threshold was not leveled. After another contractor had confirmed that the granite landing made by Celtic Masonry was not leveled (while the door threshold was fine), James Bresnaham admitted his mistake and fixed the landing, and I posted a good review. Now, 10 month later, the front steps look ugly, with white powdery scum covering bricks everywhere, on the front and both sides of the steps (shown on the pictures). I emailed James the pictures of the steps, and he advised (over email) to clean the bricks with water. After cleaning with water and stiff brush, the white scum reappeared, even stronger than initially. When I emailed James Bresnahan about this unfortunate result, he repeatedly insulted me in his email. According to several other masonry companies who saw the steps this month, the white scum on the bricks is “efflorescence” that is a result of moisture inside the structure. We were told that the cement foundation made by James Bresnaham might be still wet when he put the granite and bricks around it. We were told that even if we pay now $1000 for removal of the white scum with acid and sealing the steps, the scum will reappear. The only way to get rid of it is to rebuild the steps made by Celtic Masonry. __________________________________________________________________ PS (Update of 3/25/207). The response of Celtic Masonry to my review is a typical response of James Bresnahan. Instead of addressing the issue of the masonry job, James Bresnahan attacks us personally, gives false statements or mixes up facts related to different customers (as mentioned in other reviews). In his response, James Bresnaham does not even talks about efflorescence, but wishes us “to find a peace”. “Finding a peace” will cost us thousands of dollars to rebuild the steps made by Celtic Masonry last year. My husband and I have hired many contractors over the last 15 years and posted many good reviews on Angie’s List. James Bresnahan has been the only contractor we've ever met who insults clients and does not stand behind his job.

I didn't hire them because they weren't available for 6-7 months. I spoke with the owner & he gave me some very good advice about hiring another company. If I need any masonry work in the future I would consider hiring this company.

Jim Bresnahan and his crew provided estimates, pictures and answered questions on the work many times before the project. I had two other contractors bid, but Celtic had superior ratings from Angie's list, and the three references from him all gave glowing reviews. They were right on with the starting date they gave me, and came promptly each day. The quality of the work, friendliness, and willingness to make some last minute changes to accommodate my wife's decision on a granite step, was very flexible. Many neighbors walking by have noted their contact information and have give us excellent comments on how the end product looks. Thank you Jim and staff

This is completely rude and unprofessional, and I would not select such a contractor to perform work at my house.

Celtic Masonry was amazing! They came out on the day and time agreed upon and kept me abreast of the status of my new slab. From the day they ordered the slab to install was just 2 weeks! Very professional and would HIGHLY recommend their services!

We are thrilled with the way project turned out. Jim was very responsive during the planning process and the workmanship is top quality.

When I forgot to call James to cancel (I doublebooked) he was understanding, even generous. I can see why he wins awards for excellent service. I am certainly getting his estimate on all our masonry jobs in the future.

Jim Bresnahan and his Celtic Masonry team did?excellent repair work to our side porch steps in November 2015 (see my?earlier review). When the bitter cold (sub-zero)?weather arrived in late January 2016, we?noticed that the outside door on our side porch was getting stuck on the?granite step when we tried to open it. Thinking that this could be related to?the repairs that Jim made in November, I called Jim to ask if he could take a?look. He came over a short time later and was able to check to see that it?wasn?t the new granite step that was causing the problem (it was still?perfectly level), but rather movement (warpage) of the door frame due to the?very cold weather. Jim contacted Tom Campolini, a member of his team who?specializes in carpentry and home repairs, to come over to take a look and make?the needed repairs. Tom came over shortly after that, and determined that by?adding and replacing some shims in the right places to make the frame of the?side porch door square with the step, the bottom of the door had plenty of?clearance to ensure the door opened cleanly and without any possibility of?sticking. He suggested that I add a brush-type door sweep to the bottom of the?door to keep snow and wind from blowing into the porch. I bought and installed?this inexpensive item from Home Depot, and my side porch door problem is now a?thing of the past. I thank both Jim, for his quick response to my call, and to?his contacting his team member Tom Campolini, who quickly brought a great?resolution to my problem. As with his earlier work in November, Jim and his?team were able to quickly bring a permanent resolution to my problem. I highly?recommend Jim Bresnahan and his Celtic Masonry team for their excellent work?and quick response.

We could not reach an agreement on what needed to be done to the patio. I just wanted a quick fix and he wanted to re-do the whole thing for around $5K. That was not what I had in mind.

I initially contacted Jim in the latter half of September, and he came by to see the work to be done, and sent me a quote for the labor and materials, including the granite threshold. He indicated that with his then current workload, he should be able to complete the job by about the end of October or early November. There was no real rush on my part, except for concern that the job be completed before a hard freeze had set in. He was able to do the job on November 18th. He performed the work exactly as he had specified, including replacing the existing bluestone threshold step with granite, The problem I've had in winter was that the threshold would expand with freezing weather causing the porch storm door to bind and prevent it from being able to be opened. Jim explained that bluestone is porous and can expand with freezing temperatures, whereas granite will not do so. The other two bluestone steps were fine, as they are simply exposed with nothing to bind against. The work was completed in an afternoon and was done completely and professionally. I had contacted Jim based on Angie's List reviews and I was very pleased with the completed work. I would certainly contact him again should a masonry need arise.

Started and completed in timely fashion. Excellent craftsmanship - the new brick wall looks like it would last 100 years! Easy to work with and responsive to our questions. Would definitely use Celtic Masonry again.

Contractor missed the Saturday appointment. I called the contractor that morning, after the scheduled time to see if he was running late, to give him the benefit of the doubt, and left a message. Contractor did not catch up to me until 9/14 and apologized for missing the appointment and asked to schedule another appointment, which I declined.

Jim was very professional and pleasant. He was responsive to all of my emails before the job started and was dependable. His portion of the job went well and was completed within a single week, as he stated. When I emailed him about a couple of minor issues, a few weeks after the work was completed, he responded quickly and showed up to address them within the time-frame he promised. I'm happy with the end result since my steps look great and I paid less than other masons quoted. My only complaint is I also needed some carpentry work because of some wood rot on the house. Jim brought in a carpenter to perform the work who was less dependable. He deceived me at the end of his first day, by stating the work was finished in order to get paid in full, when that wasn't the case. Then he actually cancelled on me six times before completing the job. I let Jim know about this when he returned recently to make him aware. Note: My A ratings are only for Jim and the cost of service includes the carpentry work.

IDishonest and shady. I contacted provider in August and provided details. I offered to send pictures. He did not get back to me as promised but did call several days late and made an appointment to see the job. He was over an hour late, making mulitple excuses including that he spelled the address wrong ( I had offered directions). He finally arrived and viewed the job, taking lots of time talking about himself. He promised a written estimate within a week. He had me write down my email so he would not make a mistake. He took up the entire morning and because I thought he was honest I stopped calling other masons. The estimate never came. I waited three days more and then contacted him. He said that he would provide the estimate the next day. The estimate never came. I contacted him again. He did not reply. I contacted him again. He said he was 'over whelmed' and could not remember the job and asked for a picture of my house to jog him memory. I promptly sent him a link to google maps which has a picture. (I don't know why he didn't try this himself). he didn't respond. I again contacted him asking about his behavior and asking him to send the estimate he promised especially given that he had taken up my time and delayed my contacting others masons. He never responded. I am new to Angie's List and the Provider's behavior was off putting.. I became aware that I was dealing with strangers. Luckily the other masons I called after Celtic behaved in a normal professional manner..

They are very good and professional. I would highly recommend them. They do excellent work.

Jim did an excellent job of setting the ledge and did addition work above and beyond expectations to ensure the job was done right. Highly Recommend!

Consummate professional who I will be sure to keep on my short list going forward.

They came out and gave me a complete detail of what I needed to fix with pictures included. He is very professional. I plan to have him back to do another job for me.

He came and looked at the job and informed us that it was a much bigger job than the deal covers. We have decided not to use the deal.

James was a professional, punctual, communicated by phone and e-mail. Job went great. We are actually requesting Jim to repair remainder of sidewalks and resurface foundation this year and replace front stairs, landing and stairs to the street.

We contacted James again for our new house. The front steps were not a total rebuild like the last ones, but they were not looking great. He came out and told me exactly what needed to happen to keep them up. A total rebuild was not an option, so I gave him my budget and he worked it out. It took the course of the day, but at the end the steps looked great. I will work with James anytime I have a masonry job because he is a straight shooter and also very trustworthy.

Jim is a great guy and very likable. There were a few things that stood out about him as a contractor. Firstly, he will stay in contact and let you know what is going on (a rarity) . He is not available hourly, as some people would probably want, but he will get back to you daily. In my case, he let me know with plenty of notice that the job before mine was running late. He kept me in the loop often to let me know when his actual start date would be, and after the 1 adjustment, he was spot on. Another thing that stands out about Jim is that he wants the job done right and really seems knowledgeable about his trade. There are a lot of contractors out there with the "well, you can't see it from my house" attitude, but not Jim. He takes pride in his work, and works just as hard as you would to get the job done right thereby keeping your reputation. He will also tell you a few amusing stories along the way. All in all I was very happy with Jim's work and his responsiveness. I would certainly use him in the future.