Straka Contracting LLC

The repair was for a rental house in Pikesville, MD. I live near Atlanta, so I had to set up the entire repair by email. I own several rental houses and work with a lot of contractors. It's always risky and somewhat nerve-wracking to work with an unknown contractor in a distant city, especially for a job of this size and cost, but I relied on Angie's List reviews to select Mr. Straka. Karel Straka was very professional and a delight to work with. We worked out all the details by email, and he kept me updated by email while the job was in progress. Near the end of the work, I came up from Atlanta to look over the work and settle up. He and his staff did an outstanding job. They kept their promises and did the work quickly and well. His price was reasonable considering the scope of the work. I talked with some other contractors and either their price was higher, or they were so squirrelly on the details that I didn't trust them. Mr. Straka understood what I needed, provided an exact quote, and did the work he promised to do for the amount he estimated. In particular, I noticed that he kept the promise that he makes in his company's description in that he monitors the progress of his employees' work personally and stands behind the quality of the work personally. He is exactly the kind of conscientious and responsible person that you can trust to take care of things as they should be done. I'm so glad I found him, and plan to work with him again as future projects arise.

Karel was very punctual, and he was very interesting to talk to. The estimate went very well.

And the estimate went well.

Bath 1 - Removed old tub and other fixtures, demo'd walls and replaced with shower stall. toilet, vanity, mirror, cabinet . exhaust fan/light, vinyl floor and moisture resistant drywall.. Old stud walls were poorly constructed and had to be replaced. Some plumbing was redone and electrical wiring and switches moved. At end of each day debris was cleaned up and removed. Work was done carefully and precisely. Result looks great. Bath 2. Similar to 1 except tub/shower enclosure. Problems posed by irregular shape as bath was previously made from combining original bath w/o tub and adjacent 1/2 bath so that bath tub is in space of original 1/2 bath. Much rerouting of plumbing and wiring was done. heating/ventilating ducts had to be moved. Final product looks great. Ax with all remodeling projects plan it to take twice as long as estimated. Started end of Jan and continued through cold and snowy weather till mid March. Estimated cost slightly exceeded due to unplanned work. Overage was less than 2 per cent.

He came out to do a sight visit. The big deal was for doing deck repair, and things, and that is what I wanted to have done. He came and looked at it, and things went down hill from there. Why would you put deck repair in the advertisement if you don't do it. I also found some crown molding and trim work to be done inside the house. He said he could out on a Saturday, so that I didn't have to take time off from work. I spent the evening before, cleaning out my garage, because I wanted work done in the garage. They showed up 2 hours late on that morning, and his workmen just started pulling things out. Then he told me, that they can't do the crown molding on that day, because Saturday was the day he spent talking with his new clients. I was standing there, and I wanted to say a number of things, but he saw what what was in my garage, and knew I would have to clear it. He is the one who insisted on a Saturday, for the 8 hours, and then he said he couldn't be there. He had said it was a 2 man job, but he wasn't going to be there, and his workman would be there alone, and therefore they couldn't complete the job. They wanted me to pay an extra $299 for the extra hours. I told him that I wanted them to do the work that we had agreed to. He and his workman show up the next day, they do the crown molding, and his workman was there for a while, and he said he had to pack up and leave, which surprised me, because he had not finished the work. The owner came the next day, and worked for 2 and half hours, and they had the work done in the garage. There were still hours left of the 8 hours, and there was still things left to be done. I thought everything would be done that day, but he had to go somewhere else, and his workman stayed a little longer. Then his workman had to go someplace else. The third day goes around. I looked around and saw my trim work was missing. I called the owner, and said that I didn't give permission for my trim to leave the house, and they claimed that he may have thrown it away. I had to go and buy some more trim work, to replace what he had taken. He came back a 3rd day, and still doesn't do what has to be done. I look up, and he is packing his bags. I have a couple of areas in the house where the work was started, and not finished. I had to get someone else to come out and finish what they started, and what they were paid for. He had volunteered to pick up somethings that needed to be done. He brought the things in, and I asked for the bill, and the cost was twice for how much I would have paid for. I asked for the receipt, and I asked him why he would go to a place which charges almost as twice as much as it would cost at Home Depot or Lowe's, then he reduced his price. It is the worst thing that I have been through with any contractor. He agreed to do 8 hours at $299. I was pleased with the little work that was completed, it was the zipping in and zipping out, and not doing what they said they would do. I made the mistake of trusting the person up in my bedroom, and there somethings that I did not miss until after their visit. Nobody has been in my home since they did the work, it was only my husband and I. I was very upset. I paid for other people to come out, but they haven't come out yet, and I will have to follow them every step of the way, because of what happened. He seemed like a nice fellow when we talked to him, but what happened from the time he set foot in the house was disappointing. I don't pay for time people spend on the cell phone, and while they are out smoking. I feel they owe me money for the work I did taking all the things in and out. I don't want to see them anymore. I paid an additional amount for the stuff I purchased.

Did great job. Job was difficult because house and windows were significantly not square. End product looked great, despite the challenges. Attention to detail very good. Easy to get along with. Communicates issues and solutions well. Problem solves cooperatively with owner. No surprises. Clean, and courteous. Prices were fair. Looking forward to hiring him again in future. He is a member of my community, and has a personal, vested interest in maintaining his good reputation. Likewise, the community has a vested interest in his continued success. We want to see him do well in his small and personal business enterprise. Because the excellent quality of his hard work deserves the recognition and reward.

Did not get service as the work estimate was more than I was willing to spend. Contractor was professional and courteous.

went above and beyond matching the new siding to the original siding, as well as repairing ceiling drywall where a leak had been.

He was very nice and very professional. Unfortunately the decking our deck is made out of has been discontinued and we have had difficulty locating all the necessary materials needed to build the stairs. He checked around for us and was not able to locate the materials. He even brought over samples of other composite decking for us to look at, it is not close enough to what is already on the deck.

I was very pleased with Karel. He provides a high quality service at a reasonable price. There were some issues he found on the roof repair work by one of his subcontractors. He sent him back to redo the roof with a different material and I didn’t even know there was a problem. The work took a few days longer than I thought it would, but I was very satisfied. I would use him again and would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a top quality, dependable contractor.

I would rate my experience with Straka Contracting as the most positive I've ever had getting home repairs/maintenance done. I was very pleased with both the process and the results. Karel, Dan, and Lennie were all very easy and pleasant to work with and even more importantly they did good work. And, Dan did a great job of cleaning up each day before leaving. On 11/13/2013 Karel came to my house to review the work I needed done so that he could give me an estimate. Because of the number of small jobs involved, we agreed on using an hourly rate and on 11/17/2013 Karel sent me an estimate of hours. We then agreed that the work would start the first week in December. The work was originally scheduled for Fri, Sat, and Mon (12/6/2013, 12/07/2013, 12/09/2013). Dan and Lennie came on Fri and Sat and accomplished some of the outdoor jobs and all of the indoor jobs, except the bathroom floors. They were not able to work on Mon as planned because firstly I had ordered the bathroom tiles over the internet and they did not arrive in time and secondly, the weather did not cooperate for doing the porch screening. Bathroom tile was done on 12/12 and 12/13 and porch screening on 12/19. I was pleased that all the work got done in the time frame that it did, given the issue with the tile delivery and the fact that it was not a great time of year to get outdoor work done. I would definitely recommend Straka Contracting and I would not hesitate to call on them again.

The estimate was pretty easy. I contacted Karel midweek and he came on Saturday to look over the work that we needed done. He diagnosed the problem with our leaky skylight and proposed replacement with a Velux brand one instead of trying to repair it, since anything he'd do to repair it would be a band-aid over the real problem. We had originally had non-perforated soffit material under our addition and bumpouts, and after we added additional insulation ourselves we needed to have the undersides re-covered. I asked if there were other options and Karel mentioned PVC bead board, and I was sold. It sounded like a much better approach. I also went into the attic with him to show him where we'd like to have two roof caps installed to replace our existing bathroom exhaust vents. After about 15 minutes checking out the work to be done, he got my email address and said he would send me an estimate in a couple of days. The estimate came in and seemed reasonable, so we gave him the go-ahead to do the work. The bead board installation happened a couple of weeks after the estimate due to weather delays. We weren't in a big rush so we were fine getting the work done at his convenience. Two of his guys did the installation and it took most of the day. The result looked awesome. The next day Karel himself came with another of his guys and replaced the skylight, installed the roof caps, and caulked around the bead board. The skylight is awesome and the roof caps were installed where I expected them to be. I noticed that one of the roof caps wasn't installed exactly over the hole that had been cut for it, but I'll trim it a bit when I install the vent. This is our first ever skylight replacement and we now have a little bit of trim work to do on the inside because the new skylight is a little smaller than the previous one. I guess between brands the sizes vary somewhat. It's the best fitting size from the Velux line, though. Karel came out one more time to touch up some of the caulk that had shrunk after the initial job, and now he's officially done with this project. We'll definitely use Straka again. He's responsive via email or phone, really knows what he's doing, and produces a quality result.

Straka contracting scheduled and completed this job in the first week after acceptance of the proposal. All old pieces were taken away and the work area was kept very clean. A very neat and professional job. Would definitely use Straka contracting again.

Karel was great to work with. We were able to communicate almost exclusively through email, which was a big plus for me. He was very detail oriented and asked us questions when our instructions didn't make sense (ex. the way we wanted the door to open meant it would block the light switches, so he pointed that out and suggested either opening the door the other way or contacting his electrician, who was able to do the work within our limited time frame). We had a very limited time frame between purchasing our house and moving in, and Karel was able to do a great job with all the work and get out in time for us to move in smoothly. His cost was a bit higher than some people we spoke with, but he did an excellent job and we will definitely contact him again when we're ready to do more work on our home!

Contractors were on time, respectful and performed the job in two days. They removed and hauled away all debris. They did a good job.

From start to finish the experience was excellent. The projected time of completion was 3 days and that's exactly how long it took to complete. Need I say more.....I was totally satisfied with every step of the process.

I use Karel for all the work around my house. I trust him completely. In fact, I was away on vacation when he installed the deck. He did a great job as usual. He even did some added work that he saw was needed with no extra charge. I think he is honest and sincerely works hard to do the job the right way.

I hired Karel Straka of Straka Contracting to build the main deck off the back of my house earlier this year. He was extremely thorough and patient during the preliminary design and material selection phase of the job and answered all the questions I had about the construction and deciding what type of deck to build. This was important to me since there are now so many material choices, both natural wood or composite, not to mention the many architectural configurations available. The pros and cons of the different alternatives were thoroughly discussed and samples of practically every choice on the market were made available. Karel handled all interfacing with the county for permits and inspections such that I didn't have to concern myself with that aspect of the project whatsoever. Before I made the final decision to go with Straka Contracting Karel provided a professional estimate of cost and schedule. Once construction began Karel and his employees were never less than cordial and helpful. The work was completed in an efficient and expedient manner without interruption of my daily schedule. At one point I changed a major aspect of the design during the construction having to do with the configuration of the stairs. Karel was fully accommodating, even dismantling some of the original configuration to allow for the change I wanted. The deck was completed within the timeframe originally scheduled and there were no surprises in terms of price. The construction and design have proven robust and I am completely satisfied with the way things turned out. My overall experience was quite positive and I would recommend Karel without reservation.

The entire door had to be removed and reinstalled in order to replace the 1x 6 wood support. Mr. Straka was meticulous in his work and cleaned up as he worked, leaving no debris for me. He arrived shortly after 9:00 am and was done by 6 pm. Including trips to Home Depot to get wood support, trim pieces and siding. As the work went well he final charge was less than Mr. Straka's estimate for the combined door and shed repair. I had an earlier oral bid from another contractor for $1500 for just the sliding glass door repair so Straka Contracting was a great improvement for a quality job.

Communication was good from start to finish. All the jobs were completed to our satisfaction. We would definitely recommend them for handyman services.

Karel contacted me first, concerned that the coupon was nearing expiration and that the repair might be difficult to schedule. He came by my home to evaluate the damage and discuss an approach to the repair, concluding that it could be done within the parameters of the coupon. He worked with me to schedule a time convenient to me. On that day, he adjusted the repair strategies to the details of the damage being very careful to consult with me about any choice that might affect the finished quality. Overall I was quite pleased with his communication, thoughtfulness, and cooperation. I would certainly work with him again.

It went well. There was a little of paint on the brick siding and the handrail, but other than that it was fine.

EXCELLENT JOB. ALL TASKS COMPLETED TO MY TOTAL SATISFACTION>

Karel came out just as planned and started with the toughest work first, which was tearing up carpet and laying a new foundation to support a tile floor at the entryway. He also added structural supports in the basement to minimize settling. This involved the framework for a new wall in the basement by the stairs, and supports that ran along the ceiling, as the basement was unfinished. The second day he completed the tile floor, performed some minor electrical tasks, and capped the roof chimneys. When I had the wrong size chimney cover, he ran it over to Lowes or Home Depot and just exchanged them out. He also ran over and purchased the materials for the tasks and passed the costs along to me, as many contractors would mark up the prices of the materials for a little extra profit. His customer service was great, always polite, and thorough in describing what was to be done or should be done without putting pressure on to overdue some projects at a greater expense. The projects were completed efficiently and looked well. I would recommend him as a good quality contractor, to perform most any task for your home.

The contractor was professional, courteous and responsive to all my requests and needs. My scope of work continued to increase, and the contractor accommodated all at reasonable prices and very good turnaround times. The contractor worked particularly hard to find the correct match of roof shingles in repairing a roof leak. All of the work was very good quality and I have nothing bad to say about them.