Hourihane Carpentry

I have a 2 family house and the upstairs porch and my porch in the rear of the house needed replacing. I needed new footings and all new framing from the ground up. Lenny responded by phone within a few days of my leaving a voicemail inquiring about his services. He came out on the 4th of July (!) to take a look. We talked price and scope of the job,he got a quote to me within 24 hours, and started the job 3 business days later. Lucky for me someone had just backed out of an agreement and Lenny was ready to start almost right away. He recommended a simple pressure treated frame and composite decking. There was no hard sell to upgrade, he was only interested in understanding what I wanted, and how he could get it done for me. Composite decking was less than $1k more than PT decking, so that was a no brainer for me. He immediately got to work with his helper on demo and temporary supports for a bit of the roof that needed to remain in place while the porch as built underneath. He arrived promptly every day at 8am and got to work right away. Not much sitting around. The old porch was pretty much gone on the first day, and on the second day the framework of the new porch was taking shape. Within 2 weeks and some small delays with weather and inspection, the porch was done. At the end we talked about closing in the porch on one side, and taking care of a few minor details we discovered during the rebuild, flashing, stucco patching, etc. Everything is glued and screwed, not a single nail gun. I can't tell you how much this means from a time and quality perspective. It takes more time, but the result is quality workmanship. The railings are super strong, the whole porch looks amazing. New stairs have 4 stringers, there's not even a tiny bit of give in the porch. The porch is incredibly solid and I couldn't be more pleased. It is now safe for my 4 yr old daughter to go out there with me when I grill, and play in the back yard. I will be calling Lenny again for our front porch next year, and recommending him to everyone. A few things about Lenny: Irishman with a slight accent, takes a wee bit of listening to get all he's saying Lifelong builder, been in the trades for 20-30 years I believe Great attention to detail Great job with his helper, teaching and showing and directing. At one point Lenny stopped him from screwing a deck board, told him to back it out and do it again so that X/Y/Z did or did not happen. Incredibly polite, always asked to use the bathroom Trustworthy - everything he said he would do he did. We went away to vacation in New Hampshire for a week and left him keys in a lockbox on our property, no issues whatsoever. Doesn't drink, doesn't smoke. Brings his lunch and tea every day. He's not distracted and he stays on the job as much as possible. Easy to talk to and didn't mind my daily checkups and endless questions on how/why he was doing things a certain way. He has a full CSL license, even though it doesn't say so on his Angie's list profile.

This is a busy time for home repair/improvements. I contacted at least 8 providers, some from Angie's list and some outside before selecting Hourihane Carpentry. Lenny was very prompt in calling me back and scheduling a time to provide a quote. His quote was thorough and delivered on time (a rare find amidst many other requests for quotes). Lenny's price was fair and after viewing his work on his website, we decided to move forward with him. He was able to start when we were ready and was always on time to start the day. He was polite and professional as well as kind to my children who at times, just had to see what was going on. I was very pleased with the work Lenny did and will be having him back to continue down our home improvement list - new front door, new windows, etc. I was most impressed with Lenny's desire to please me and my husband. He bought supplies and then did additional research and returned them for a better product. He never changed his quote to me despite the change in material cost. He finished the job very quickly and was highly responsive any time I needed to reach him.

Informative, clear, prompt and competitively priced. Would definitely hire them; the 2-condo vote went for another contractor.

I asked general questions, provider was incredibly rude.

Lenny was very professional. Responded to our request in a very timely manner. He came out to do an estimate and we two ways to do the project. He was up front about cost and explained it could change depending on what he would find when the porch was demolished. There were no extra charges because his estimate was exactly what we were Lenny started the project when he said he would and completed the project when he said he would. Hourihane Carpentry and Construction is a very reliable company

Lenny is a true professional, trustworthy, highly skilled, honest and punctual. I am thrilled we used him for the deck and we will continue to use him in the future. I highly recommend Hourihane Carpentry for any construction needs. The quality of Lenny's work is incredible and we were more than pleased with the cost.

Lenny did an excellent job in both the basement and with the deck rebuild. We had some issues with an uneven floor in our kitchen that upon 2 inspections we were told we were just missing a support beam. Lenny was the only one who actually moved the installation in the basement ceiling to realize the former owner had cut right through the floor joist to run plumbing through it. This caused our kitchen floor above to dip down above it. Lenny was able to work with the engineer to come up with a way to secure the joist with a support beam and not cost us a ton of money to move the plumbing at this point. He even helped in tracking down the engineer who was unresponsive to make sure that we didn't waste time. We also had a very unsturdy deck on our house when we purchased it that Lenny tore down and replaced with a larger sturdier deck. He was very responsive throughout the process and checked in with us to make sure we were happy throughout the project. He was able to finish the tear down and rebuilding in about 3 and a half weeks which was impressive given the amount of work required with our deck being 30 feet off the ground. He encountered a few issues along the way and kept us informed of the added cost or options we had. We ended up adding a landing and stairs underneath the deck and needed an additional support beam to secure the deck to the house which is why the cost was a little higher. Overall we were still happy with the price for all of the work done and for the quality of the deck we ended up with. I would definitely recommend Hourihane carpentry to others as Lenny has your best interest at heart and does not try to cut corners to make the job easier for him. He makes sure to do things the best and safest way so that you have a quality product in the end.

Lenny made three separate appointments to come to our house to give an estimate on a porch repair. He did not show up to any of the appointments, he did not call to say he was going to miss the appointments, and he did not follow up after missing appointments until 3-14 days. Even if he significantly underbid other carpenters, I would now have significant concerns about engaging Lenny because of the lack of professional and punctuality he showed. I have no problem with someone missing an estimate, but I do expect them to call me so I don't waste time sitting at home waiting for someone who has no intention of showing up.

I was vary pleased with the work Lenny and his associate Matt did for me, They rebuilt my front porch and it looks awesome. They where here when they said they would be and kept me up date on what they were doing and when. They kept a clean and organized work area ( I really appreciated that) . He went out of his way in matching the architectural details . We worked really well together in picking the right materials and at the right cost. Lenny found some surprises that would be an extra cost and I felt it was a vary reasonable charge and didn't feel it was unfair . These guys work hard and are well worth a look.

After searching Angie's list for a reputable contractor I settled on Hourihane Carpentry. Lenny was very responsive and eager to perform the work. Since the work was done in the winter and it was an outdoor deck, I was not in a rush to have it completed. Lenny kept me informed along the way with any changes that needed to be made, such as when more rotting wood was found under the staircase. I found Lenny very eager to please and very committed to performing solid work.

There was a history here that started out nice initially and then went badly. Here is my story: In January 2014 I had Lenny install a sagging deck on my grandparents home. The job itself went well (permitting and contract via email went fine) and we were on task with work considering it was January (weather permitting). I was happy with the outcome except for a couple of issues that arose during the finish work. I asked Lenny to please relocate the overhead light on the lower porch to where it was originally located and he was not happy and argued he would have to remove overhead vinyl to relocate it but did so. I explained the reason the light needed to be where it was originally was for safety reasons as there needed to be light on the front steps at night. He never discussed a change of lighting location with me prior to doing so. Someone had also placed drill holes on the facial panel on the side of the upper deck which should have been replaced as it was a cosmetic issue but I told him to just fill with caulking despite this not being a professional way to resolve the matter. (It would have been nice to hear him say, no I will make this right but instead he took the easy way out). I asked him to fill a gap between where the deck boards and the house met but that was never addressed. Six months later the kick panel that leads to the deck from the brick steps (glued in place) was buckling out, he said he would address it when he did upcoming work for me, (I had planned to have him replace another double deck). Before starting the next deck I asked if they replace 6' sliding glass doors, he said they do, looked at the job, then quoted me a price. I agreed to the replacement. I was told it would be several weeks before they could start the job due to other work. I understood and waited patiently. Several weeks passed beyond his quoted time frame and I emailed to see when they would start the job. I was then told there was more work then he thought it would be (despite already having looked at the job and given me his quote) and it would cost a lot more to do the job, plus he would not pick up the sliders from Lowe's for me, I would have to have them delivered at a cost to me and he would not take away the old sliding glass doors, he would leave them in the back yard until he did the next job for me, the deck job. I was not happy about the delay, nor the change in price, nor the fact he was willing to leave construction scrap material in my backyard. I told him I would shop around for another price and he was okay with that. Prior to start up of the other deck job I had brick steps leading to it begin to disintegrate. I had my son clean up the area of brick and mortar and called Lenny to have him put in temporary wood stairs over the area so the tenants wouldn't fall and get hurt. Lenny quoted me $100 for the temporary repair and then I waited....and waited. I had to call him to remind him of how I needed this problem resolved asap due to potential tenant injury and he finally went out to take care of the problem. My son then emailed me with pictures of the steps stating, "He did a crap job mom and if I knew he was going to do this, I could have done them myself and done a better job." When my son got the bill is wasn't $100 but $150. It was obvious that they used old wood scraps from another job and the wood steps were loose and flimsy. My son had to shore them up on his own. I told Lenny the temp steps were loose and flimsy and all he said was that they were nailed in place and that the price quoted was $150. I didn't argue as I needed and wanted to get the double deck done. I asked if he would roll the $150 cost for the temp steps into the price of the $6,000 deck job I would be giving him next and he agreed. The deck work I wanted done in July 2014 but two heat systems took priority so I explained to Lenny I would likely have him begin the deck work in December like we had done the year before. Lenny said that would be fine but that he wouldn't do the work until he got that $150.00 (despite saying he would roll it into the price of the deck job) as he HAD to make a living. Right then I realized that it was time to find another carpenter who stands by his word. I have had arguments with him where I stay calm and true to my professionalism whereas Lenny will fly off the handle. In the beginning I explained to Lenny I have owned rental property and done a lot of this work myself in the past (tile work, plastering, painting, vinyl, plumbing repairs and carpentry). I have been doing this for 35 years and am proficient at doing handy work. I hired Lenny not only for quality carpentry work but expected professionalism as well. I was surprised at the level of frustration and upset in his voice when anything about the job was questioned. UPDATE: To add insult to injury I received this email from Lenny/ December 2014..... Cheryl, You probably think I have a nerve emailing you. I need a huge favor and I know we had a falling out. A woman I worked for about seven months ago wrote a really bad review about us on Angie's List recently and 99% of it is lies. Could you please write a positive report about the porch we built last year if you remember you said you would. It would mean a lot to me. This woman is crazy and there is noting I can do about the report it is very damaging. If your porch is not built already I am willing to give you a great deal like 10% off. Or if you give me all A grades I will mail you $100. I know you are a fair woman. Anyway have a great Christmas and thanks for your time reading this. Lenny THIS IN NOT WHAT I SIGNED UP TO ANGIE'S LIST FOR!!! IF THERE WAS PROFESSIONALISM PLACED FIRST AND FOREMOST HERE THERE WOULD BE NO NEED FOR HOURIHANE CARPENTRY TO BE DOING DAMAGE CONTROL!!!

Because of all the wonderful reviews on Angies List, my husband and I decided to go with Lenny to demolish our rear porch and install a new porch of composite. We also needed to have a new storm door installed. Lenny came by promptly, assessed the work needed,discussed the different types and colors of the composite that was the best for our rear porch, which is open to the elements. He urged me to go to Home Depot to see what I thought about the brand recommended and colors. Later that afternoon, he emailed us an estimate and a detailed contract that explained very clearly the work and cost of the project. Upon review, we called and arranged to have the work done by him. After demolition of the old porch,it became clear that more intensive repair needed to be made in the foundation beneath the porch. Lenny again promptly gave us an estimate and a new contract to cover the additional work. Lenny and Matt arrived early each day and when they left took all the debris along with them. They completed the job in a timely manner and I cannot recommend them highly enough. If reasonable pricing, great honest professional advice, and years of carpentry skills are what you are looking for, do yourself a favor and hire this company. You will not be disappointed. I will be using Lenny again.

We had Lenny take down an old deck and put up a new one many years ago. We were very satisfied with the quality of his work so called him when we needed more work done. We are more than halfway through the projects listed above. Lenny has been easy to work with. It's difficult to live through a renovation with dust, etc. He has gone out of his way to listen to and address our concerns. He cares about his work and is painstaking with the details. He communicates by text and email. He listens to our ideas and answers all of our questions. He has ideas of his own, which have been helpful. He really cares about the outcome of his projects. We can't understand the complaints in a previous review. This is the opposite of our two experiences with him. We find Lenny to not only do excellent work but to be very honest and easy to work with.

It did not go well. When he initially came to look at the job and what I needed, he said he would prefer not have a contract. That should have been a red flag. I was under a time constraint because the cement pad around the pool and under the deck was being replaced. I needed to have this finished before I could have the cement work done. At that initial meeting, I showed him how my deck had been damaged do to the land shifting when the State dug a tunnel near my home. That shifting caused the deck stairs to lean away from the house and the deck was not level anymore The side railing on the upper deck fell off and needed to be attached again. Replace the existing footings and put in two new additional footings in case I extended the deck in the future. I didn't want to have to dig up the new cement if I did decide to extend the deck. I also discussed how I wanted to have a raised pad poured under the deck and up around the the two new footings so I could enclose the area as a partial screened in sitting area and as a partial shed. The raised pad was essential because of the elevations, the water would end up under the deck without it. I showed him how the footing would have to be 4" above the pool coping. He asked if I wanted him to pull a permit and I said yes. He suggested that I increase the size of the vertical supports and I agreed. That's when he said he didn't like contracts and I said I wouldn't hire him without one. He sent me an email with the quote. It did not have the railing listed so I called him. He said he forgot but that it would be included for that same price. I did get two other quotes that were less expensive but those contractors were not available for several weeks and, as I mentioned, I was under a time constraint. Lenny had called to arrange to meet for a $300 deposit but I was rushing out to the emergency room with my husband and it turned out he had a heart attack. I had surgery the week before. So needless to say I was distracted. I emailed Lenny to say I would bring him a check on my way home from my surgical follow-up appointment a few days later. He said to bring it to his current job in Quincy and he could show me his work. I emailed him back and agreed and reminded him to bring the contract. When I got there, he did not have the contract. I gave him the deposit anyway but I told him I would not give him anything else without the contract. He said he really didn't like to work with one and that he was a man of his word. I insisted. The night before he was to start, I emailed him to remind him to bring the contract. On the day he started, he brought the contract and it was missing the railing but I didn't notice. I told him I had the cement tubes for footings already and he needed to deduct those. He said he would give me cash instead. I never got the cash or the credit. I assumed he had a permit and never asked. He didn't have a permit. I had to make some calls and then went outside to see how it was going and he was measuring the footings from the wrong part of the pool coping. He had his laser on the wood that the coping was attached to and not on the top of the actual white coping as I had showed him when he came to look at the job. He laughed and said it was a good thing I came out when I did. A few days later, he said they were almost done and he would need the final payment. The railing was still missing. I said what about the railing. He said, with a smirk on his face, it isn't in the contract. I reminded him that he told me it was included and why would I go through all this and not have the railing repaired when it wouldn't be up to code. I said I thought you said you were a man of your word. He reluctantly said he would do it. When he was done it looked good to me but what do I know. I paid him the balance. Although they did do some clean up, I found trash from meals and pieces of wood in the bushes and behind trees after they left. When the pool cement pad was poured, I was at the hospital again. The contractor called and said he could not pour the raised pad because all the footings were different heights and none of them was high enough to even get to the height we had discussed. He said one was so depressed that the cement may cover the base of the wood post. He said the 2 new additional footings would be completely covered by the concrete because they were so low. He actually measured where they were so I would be able to find them in the future. Because these footing were all wrong, the first step ended up being covered by cement half way up. Now my deck is not up to code. The railing was attached incorrectly. The first step is not up to code. There other issues as well. When I emailed Lenny to let him know there was a problem. He blamed the cement contractor and said he was not responsible for someone else s work. I said I hired him to put the footings in, he was hired to put them in at a certain height and he didn't do it even after I found him measuring from the wrong area and corrected him. I said if you are going to blame someone else, I am going to show this to my Lawyer to see what he thinks. Lenny's response was. See you in court. Since then I found out he didn't pull a permit. The work, according to three other contractors is not up to code and my Lawyer has informed me of other issues. So I will be seeing Lenny in court. If you do decide to hire him. Make sure you have a contract. Make sure you go over the contract and every single thing you discussed is included. Make sure he pulls the permit and ask to see it. If you provide any of the materials, make sure you get the deduction or the reimbursement.

Lenny said he would come out on June 12th to give us an estimate to repair our porch. He never showed up, and never called to cancel. He then said he would come do an estimated on June 20th. Again, he did not show up or call.

Lenny and his team were great! From the very beginning, Lenny was extremely punctual and responsive and got back to me almost immediately after my first phone call. He came out to preview the area within a couple of days of our first phone conversation and, in addition to having several great design ideas that had not occurred to us (namely a great way to incorporate our staircase into the deck so as to not eat too much into our yard space) got back to us with a quote within another couple of days that ended up being about $1,000 lower than the next lowest quote that we'd received from any other contractors. We hired Lenny to do the job and he started about three weeks later (much of this was due to the fact that we were traveling and were not going to be home to have him start sooner). Lenny claimed that he would have the whole job done within a week (which I thought was a bit generous simply due to the size of the project) but, sure enough, he was done with everything, including cleanup, in about six days and we now have an absolutely beautiful deck! Lenny was able to advise us throughout the process on the difference between building materials, designs, placements and all other aspects of construction and was an all around extremely helpful asset- we ended going up with pressure treated wood instead of the composite material because of our preference for the look. His payment plan is very reasonable and he could not be more flexible and easy to deal with. I will certainly be recommending Lenny to any friends that are in need of his types of services and will absolutely be calling him for any future projects that may arise. Thanks Lenny!

Job went really well. They were responsive and very, very neat. Came on time - did a great job and we were pleased. I would hire Lenny again.

It took 2 weeks to tell me that the contractor was too busy to do the work. I never even received an estimate.

I understand that sometimes companies are too busy for smaller jobs, however I believe it is common courtesy to return phone calls.

After finding Hourihane Carpentry on Angie's List and reading their reviews with confidence I contacted them to request a quote on replacing the two decker back porch on our three family condo. A week later on Saturday December 5 the owner Lenny came out to the house and assessed the porch and provided an estimate ($12,150) that he stated was good for three months until the cost of wood increases which he indicated was very minimal. After obtaining a few additional quotes I contacted Lenny to see if he could also replace our custom cut basement door and he provided me with a quote for $600 with all the hardware. Once the Condo Association was able to meet and choose a contractor we reached back out to Lenny on March 12 to confirm the quote was still accurate. He stated in writing that the best he could now do was $12,400 for both projects without having to dig new footings because there is no need to replace them. And if we moved quickly he could start in about 2-3 weeks. We agreed to the quoted price and sent Lenny his requested deposit of $400. On March 27, Lenny confirmed receipt of our $400 deposit and scheduled us to be the next project, hoping to start on Monday April 14. On March 30, Lenny reached out to confirm he could have access to the driveway to place a dumpster for a short time. I informed him that may be a challange as we share the driveway with neighbors, he responded "don't worry we will solve this problem". On April 9, Lenny contacted me via email to confirm the April 14th start date but then sent another email on April 11 stating that he now need to push the start date to April 15th and would arrive on that Tuesday morning at 8am. Unfortunately becuase of the rain I received a call from Lenny at 6:45am on that day stating that due to weather he would not be starting until the following day and also wanted to express his concerns about not having full access to the driveway. After hanging-up with Lenny I spent all day working to negotiate with our neighbors to get him exclusive rights to the driveway for the duration of the project and was successful! I was excited to give Lenny this news when he was due to arrive on Wednesday at 8am. However Lenny did not arrive! Instead I received a phone call from him at 7:56am in which he informed me that he was no longer taking on our porch project! When I asked him why he stated two reasons 1) Driveway access - which I then communicated, would not be an issue 2) Project quote - stating that the quote he gave us was too low and he was not willing to take on the project for that price. I asked Lenny to come to the house and explain this to the three other Condo Association Trustees. He unwillingly came to the house and met us in the backyard continually stating that the estimate he gave us was too low for the project and that he now had a lot of other jobs lined up and didnt need this one! Lenny is not a man of his word and in fact untrustworthy. His estimates even in writing, which ours was, as well as the negotiated rate were not honored. And instead of taking on a project that he committed to and took a $400 deposit for he canceled the day the work was due to begin (two days after the orginal schedule). As we all know choosing a contractor is a long and lengthy process. Nevermind the time that goes into corrdinating the logistics of a large home improvement project. And the hard earned money that is invested in such work. Lenny disrespects these facts and has no consideration for his customers.

We selected Hourihane Carpentry from Angie's list to build a deck. Hourihane Carpentry did an excellent job and completed building a very large deck within a very tight timeline of 8 days. They were professional and prompt with their expectations, budget, delivery and communication. I highly recommend using Hourihane Carpentry and look forward to using them again for future house update projects.

Lenny was a good communicator. He was on time and on budget with the work. He called when he was going to be late, which we appreciated, but generally was on time. He listened well to our needs, and more than met them. His work was excellent, and we are very pleased. We have received very positive comments from our neighbors, our family, and even our letter carrier!

We've never had such a wonderful experience with a contractor. Lenny came when promised, phoned when he got stuck in traffic one day to let us know he'd be 45 minutes late, and completed all work in the agreed upon time frame. Especially impressive was the way he consulted us at every step of the process, giving us a detailed analysis of the pros and cons of each choice so we could make informed decisions. At the end of their last day of work, Lenny thanked us at least four times for giving him the work. How different overall this was from the "you're lucky to get me to do the work" guys who just assume they know what's best without any concern during the process for what we might prefer, or for what we were willing to pay for. Lenny's at the very top of our list for any future work we need.

I never got to the point where any work was done; we just played phone tag.

The project went great and we're eager to have him and his team back next year to tackle our deck and remaining porch!