Hourihane Carpentry

Lenny came by but never followed through with an estimate.

So I have these two beautiful new porches on my first and second floors, built by Hourihane Carpentry. I chose this contractor because their website includes porches they constructed in neighborhoods that look like mine. Lenny Hourihane?s communication with me was always clear and helpful from the beginning of the project to the end. I have trouble visualizing things, and during the planning stage, he forwarded photographs of porches he had built in order to give me ideas. Among other things, he suggested using vertical slats rather than a criss-cross pattern for the lower area of the porch, which led to a classy result. Lenny and his assistant, John Driscoll, were professional, affable and polite at all times. They showed up reliably when Lenny said they would, and he was conscientious about telling me if they would not be coming. I have to give 24 hours? notice to tenants before a contractor enters their apartment, and Lenny planned his work so I would be able to do this. Hourihane Carpenty?s workmanship was high-quality and they paid attention to details. They were good at adapting when needed. For example, it turned out that the railings we expected to use did not come tall enough to meet the building code for the second floor, and Lenny quickly found an attractive alternative. The only delays in construction were caused by my own indecision about materials or by the weather ? these guys worked all day in the cold in December and January, so it took a lot of snow or rain to keep them from working. The two porches are great-looking and a giant improvement over the ones I used to have. Lenny was cost-conscious when he prepared the estimate, and the final price matched the estimate exactly. Lenny told me that Hourihane Carpentry builds kitchens, bathrooms, and basements as well as porches, and does all kinds of remodeling. I enthusiastically would hire them again to do other such projects.

I called his phone and he called back within 2 days. He was over to my house 2 days later and quoted a price. The price was less than another estimate, so we made a deal. He was very outgoing and friendly and we hit it off immediately. We set a date for the following week and he was punctual and very professional. He and his helper wouldn't even breaktil the job was complete. All in all, it was a very pleasant experience and we have already discussed work to be done when we return from Fl. in April. He even referred me to another contractor for work he did not cover.

Was prompt, efficient and the stairway looks great. Very honest and professional.

From the first correspondence, Lenny was the consummate professional. Answered phone calls and emails promptly. Began the job and worked with his crew until the job was done. He did not try to juggle multiple jobs. I appreciated his manner, his work and the pride he took in a job well done.

We got an estimate from Lenny in April and sought some competing estimates as well. His initial estimate was to re-side and repaint 3 sides of the garage, and replace one window. In midsummer (we dragged our feet a bit on choosing a contractor), we asked for a revised estimate as we wanted 4 windows, not just 1, and we wanted some additional structural improvements done (vertical support, new concrete for foundation on one side). With that addition to the work order, we agreed on a price with Lenny and gave him the go-ahead (and a $400 deposit). He was pretty busy at that point, so the work itself waited until September. We were not in a hurry, so that was fine. As we were reviewing the particulars prior to starting the job, some disagreement arose regarding the extent of the foundation work that needed to be done. Lenny thought we had asked for some minimal patching of the concrete, but we really needed the foundation replaced entirely along one side of the garage. Lenny increased his estimate substantially as a result. Meanwhile, Lenny had begun work on installing the boards and Tyvek that would underly the siding. Before we could discuss the matter of the foundation further (we had been corresponding by email, mostly), the foundation work was done. We stood firm on the initially agreed amount and provided documentation that we had requested that work prior to the mid-summer re-estimate. Lenny was upset. We were firm, however, and paid the amount agreed upon in the mid-summer estimate. I don't think there was any attempt to gouge us by changing the price after the fact; I think it was a case of mis-communication. I was disappointed that it came to that because I know being a small business owner is not easy. The moral of the story is to communicate early and often (that goes for homeowners and contractors). All of this being said, the work was pretty much what we asked for and we're happy with it. The one detail I was not happy with was the fact that the siding was attached with nails that seemed too long for the job. As a result, the interior of the garage is now lined with spikes! It's not a huge deal, but I know I'll get scraped one of these days.

Lenny's the Man. The experience was great from beginning to end. He is a true HONEST professional, which is hard to come by these days. I would recommend him over and over. I have actually recommened him to my father for a basement project.

I called 3 contractors with high ratings on your list. Lenny was the only one to reply and came out promptly to provide a quote. He arrived on time each morning to work and cleaned up his work area at the end of each day. I added several tasks to my list which he efficiently took care of. Lenny even offered a less expensive alternative to a job I asked him to perform. He was a pleasure to work with.

I received the estimate in a timely fashion, with both the regular composite price, and the more expensive/better quality composite price, as I had requested. The lattice was removed from the side of the stair case and from the rear of the house. He hand-made the vertical pine, which was so much better looking than I could have imagined. Each day, before he left, he cleaned up the work area and let me know when he would be there the next day. He was self-sufficient, reliable and entertaining on top of that! I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND him and his work without hesitation. I have additional carpentry that needs to be done in my home and he is at the top of my list!

Job was done competently and efficiently.

I got a few prices from contractors to install pressure treated deck over existing 30' by 15' hideous concrete slab just outside my back door. Lenny Hourihane came out quickly and on time to look at project and provided a very fair estimate that was a few hundred lower than the other 2. He was able to start the job within a week on the day I asked for. Lenny showed up on time, he and his crew were professional start to finish and did a great job. The job went very smoothly and quicker than Lenny and even I had thought. Without me asking, suggesting, or even hinting at, Lenny approached me toward the end of the job and told me since it went so smoothly and quicker than expected he is reducing the price he originally quoted by $300, I think that speaks for itself!!!! I plan on using Hourihane Carpentry again in the future.

He came over and looked at it, but he just didn’t seem interested. He came out the next day.

I arranged a time for Lenny Hourihane to come by to give me an estimate for some work. Just two days later, at the time he was supposed to arrive I received a call from him, telling me that he would not be able to make it because he had too much work and would be unable to take another job. I had rearranged my schedule, and when I asked why he hadn't simply told me that in the first place and saved me the trouble of rescheduling my day, he told me, "I forgot". I never had a chance to meet him, but this interaction did not inspire confidence in his professionalism.

It went well, give or take weather interruptions.

Lenny came and gave a fair estimate compared to the other contractors and unlike the others, immediately seemed to understand what I was looking for in the job, instead of trying to "upsell" me on a total rebuild. I have never experienced this with a contractor: he was always there when he said he would be. Or even earlier. If he was going to be late, he called to say so. It was refreshing! The work was on time and when they found more wood that needed to be replaced, he explained in-depth why the work was needed, why there would be extra cost for it, and they just took care of it. When they had some time at the end of the project, I even had them do a couple of other projects around the building that they did well, quickly, and for a fair price. I don't even have much to say because the job went so smoothly. Lenny and John were great - they worked hard while they were at the house and were also fun to have around - they got along very well with the neighbors who became curious about all the work going on. In my experience, Lenny was conscientious, fair, no-nonsense, and generally just an honorable guy. If I have another project in the future, I would call him first.

Unfortunately, he did not have time to work on my project. His response was both timely and professional. I would contact him again for future projects.

Mr.Hourihan is extremely punctual, respectful, trustworthy, and the work is of excellent quality.He CLEANS up after himself, which many other contractors don't do. His costs are very reasonable--not the lowest, but he doesn't cut corners, and he is very honest. He hires reliable sub-contractors who are equally responsible. He does what he says he will do ,and goes out of his way to do the job well. He takes pride in his work and has a solid work ethic. He also looked out for us--for example, with so many subcontractors going through the house, he (and we) were concerned about leaving doors unlocked, so he coordinated all the subcontracting work so that he would be the one opening the doors to let people in.. H We've already signed him up for some projects in the spring. He's been the best find we've had in years!

I am extremely satisfied with the work done by Hourihane Carpentry. They were friendly, efficient, professional and competent. The work was done in half a day and they cleaned up the work area also.

The old deck was torn down in May, but the original contractor was unable to complete the job. I called Lenny for an estimate. He showed up when he said he would, sent me the estimate within two days and was able to begin work sooner than he originally thought. The job was completed within a week. I couldn't be happier. The deck looks great. Lenny was prompt, reliable and very professional. He not only cleaned up everything when the job was done, but he also carted away a lot of wood and debris that was stacked behind my garage. I would hire Lenny again without hesitation.

it went very well he took the whole thing apart put up a new support used a jack to level the 2nd floor porch and rebuilt the first floor porch.

The project went great. Took about two weeks and it was all incredibly smooth. They were intially concerend about the parking and tight space to work but they quickly realized it was workable. He did a great job from start to finish with very little instruction on my requriements needed. I would use definetly use them again.

The work evolved because the painters continued to discover rotten wood. Mr. Hourihane stuck with it and got the work done, despite circumstances that were occasionally challenging. He also repaired our deck and wooden fence in the process. It wasn't possible to know exactly how much work there would be at the beginning, but Mr. Hourihane was very good about sending invoices for work done and estimates for work remaining and new work required. He's a nice guy who takes his work seriously but can still laugh at life.

This guy is a truly wonderful person.

Everything went great. He was very friendly and professional. He did such a great job I kept using him for all of my projects. He is very clean and neat. I never had a problem working with him. I would recommend this company to anyone.

I was very happy with the job, Lenny kept in touch and was there everyday first thing in the morning. He did a great job and looks very nice. We would definately recommend him . I would use him again.