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>

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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.

He came when scheduled to do the estimate and emailed a proposal in a couple of days. It took a long time to schedule and then he postponed a couple of times before work was completed. From estimate to completion took 4 weeks.
Karel did good work, used high quality materials, had a competent assistant, and cleaned up debris. The railing looks great! If he had completed the job more quickly, I'd give him an A rating.

Karel Straka showed up within the expected window of time to meet with us and go over the project details, and provided a detailed estimate to us very fast (within 24 hours or less).
We asked him if he would want to take notes with all the details and he said that he could remember it all in his head (wow!!!) Surprisingly, not only did the estimate include more details (regarding the materials etc) than some of the other contractors, but there were even a couple of things included that we didn't ask for  (such as replacing some kitchen ceramic tile that was just installed a couple of years ago and were pretty happy with).  In the end, the estimate for the parts of the job we wanted was significantly higher than some of the other bidders even though it didn't include all the services we wanted. It may be that his work is good enough to merit a higher price, but it appeared that using Straka Contracting we would probably not be able to come in at the budget we wanted, so we decided to go with someone else. 
All in all he was very professional throughout, and had some innovative ideas that I hadn't heard from the other contractors we spoke with. He seemed to be a bit of a perfectionist and I can tell that he takes a lot of pride in the quality of his work.  Also, it was a plus that he seemed to know a lot about the local building codes in Columbia, where the house is located.

Came one day to review the work that needed to be done.
Scheduled day for work.
Came on time, did the work.

My experience with them was excellent!  They were wonderful people.  They knew what they were doing.  They were polite, and they were on time.  They took very conscious care.  The quality of their work was what I am looking for.  In addition, their pricing was fair.  I would absolutely use them again in the future.  I guess I am going to recommend them to our neighbors.  These guys are good!

The contractor was polite, professional and competent.  The final outcome was good and I would use this company again.

On a 20-year old townhouse, the existing second-level rear deck had settled and was quite unlevel. Some of the siding had water damage and was deteriorating. The project went smoothly. Straka was very good to work with. I had very specific design drawings, and Karl was open to working with me on details such as a custom bench. The new upper and lower decks Straka built are solid and still look good almost five years later. They also did a partial siding replacement and full paint job on the three-story townhouse. I thought they did a great job with thorough prep and caulking prior to painting. I appreciated the attention to detail throughout the whole project.

Karel returned my call the same day I left a message. He came over the next day which was a Saturday to look at the scope of the work. He came the day he promised to start the work but 2 hours later than promised saying he got hung up on another job. He had to come back to finish the painting. We set up a day and time. He came that day but 5 hours later than promised. This didn't matter too much to me because all of the work was outside. However, if you have to take off work to have him do inside work for you I would be adamite about being there on time. He takes great pride in his work and even added some finishing touches that we didn't ask for. Also, his coupon says, so much for a contactor for a day. I f the scope of your work requires 2 contractors (as did ours) that will be 2 times however much the coupon says. Overall, we are very pleased with the quality of his work. Everything looks brand new.

Overall, everything went extremely well.  There were hiccups here and there but Karel quickly overcame the difficulties.  Several times, Karel went with me to select products and transported them in his truck for me.  Karel's thoroughness and good planning ceertainly paid off.  Some of the projects took a little longer than he originally anticipated mostly due to unexpected surprises that could not have been known until encountered.  Karel did not rush the job just to finish it. Instead, he maintained a high quality of skilled craftsmanship and care.  There were summer days that he and his crew worked ten hours as well as the weekend. Karel always inspected the work as it progressed and would keep me apprised of the results.  Though most of the big things have been done in the house, I will continue to employ Karel for the smaller jobs and the on-going maintenance.  Most of all, I truly appreciate Karel's integrity and skills and abilities. His pricing is very fair and he is worth every penny and then some. I have trusted him for years to do the job correctly and to keep the house safe when we went away for a week while the siding was being put up. I am available to anyone who wishes to communicate with me directly regarding Straka Contacting LLC.

I moved into a new place a few years back that was only 3 miles form the townhouse I had been living in.  I saw Karel - the owner and operator of Straka Contracting - working on another townhouse in the community and we struck up a conversation as  I was in need of someone to spruce up current my townhome so that I could place it on the market.  
Karel was able to make time to finish a significant amount of work in a timely manner so that I could put the residence on the market.  Initially since I was still living in the home he started on the outside siding, shutters, window frames and doors.  The siding was completely replaced, while the shutters, doors and window frames were repaired and repainted.  The windows and frames in this particular house were actually constructed from wood in keeping with the stringent requirements of Ellicott City's historic preservation committee, so there was a lot of detailed painting and maintenance required for the windows and frames. All the exterior work was completed in well under two weeks, just about how he had predicted.
Although the deck was in reasonable shape structurally, it had spent a significant amount of time in the shade and was consequently in need of a refinish.  Karel power washed the entire structure, coated the decking surface with a waterproofer and painted the railings.  Like the windows, the railings were all wood with a somewhat detailed pattern in them which required a patient and fastidious effort to properly clean and repaint.  
Once I vacated the residence he began a thorough refinishing of the entire interior.  There were myriad different colors in the different rooms as well as as a need for significant drywall repairs because the house had settled quite a bit since the original build and there was water damage on the middle floor from an upstairs plumbing leak.  Straka contracting performed all the drywall repair necessary and then a complete repaint from top to bottom including closet interiors using a uniform neutral color.
The house still had original builder's grade vinyl floors in the kitchen, foyer and powder rooms.  Karel was able to wrangle an excellent deal on a laminate wood-look product which he used to redo these areas, which ended up being a vast improvement over the vinyl.   I was also interested in replacing all the carpet and Karel was able to give me an excellent reference which I used for this task.  
I'd like to mention that Karel's company is a small enterprise with a few reliable employees and he is directly involved in performing and overseeing each and every task he undertakes.  I appreciated this one-on-one interaction on a daily basis which ensured things were completed expediently.  Any specific concerns or questions I had were promptly addressed and he was never hard to contact.  He always answered his phone when I called him or immediately returned any voicemails.  I have recommended Straka Contracting to many friends, family and acquaintances in recent years and have never regretted it.   Karel seems to have a genuine interest in providing a positive experience.  I know it seems trite, but he really does show an interest in doing things in the proper manner and considering whatever options and concerns may come up.  

Karel is very professional, capable and knowledgable.  He gave us a very competitive quote and was willing to help us with whatever was needed on our house.  I would highly recommend him.

We contacted Karel and he was very responsive and came out with an estimate which we agreed on. He set up date to work and delivered as promised.