VRN Masonry Inc

I called VRN to request an estimate. He was busy at the time, so asked me to send him an email explaining the situation and providing the address. We have several things that need repair around the house, including the chimney stack, front and back porch needs mason repairs, and our stoop needs total replacement. He wrote back the same day to schedule an appointment. And I confirmed the time and date the same day. One the day of the appointment I arrived on time at the house and waited on the front steps for an hour. I called both numbers posted on Angies List and both went to voicemail. 3 days later and I still haven't heard a peep from them, no apology for wasting my time, no explanation for not showing up. I would not hire VRN or recommend them to anyone.

Excellent. Most responsive, best price, and completed the work on schedule. Highly reccomended.

I highly recommend VRN Masonry to anyone!

I called and left a message for an estimate. My home is close to where the company is located so the owner called and said he would stop by in the evening to take a look. He called me back and gave me a very reasonable estimate and asked him to perform the work. Because it was a small job, he said he would fit it in during the next couple of weeks which I thought was very reasonable. To my surprise, they did it just 2 days later. The job was very professional and looks great. As a result of doing that work, I hired the firm again a few weeks later to repair some flagstone in the back of my house and that work was also done very well.

Not good, I will never recommend this company!

We have a concrete pool deck around our inground pool. The section surrounding the steps had sunken about 3 inches, leaving an unsightly gap and uneven surface. One company we called came out and said they would just add concrete to the existing concrete. I was worried that would lead to cracking or separation in the future. I called VRN Masonry and got a fast reply and we scheduled a time for them to come out a few days later. We received the quote via email a couple of days after the initial appointment. We were given an estimated start date of 2 weeks and a few days before the 2 weeks were up, we got an email with the specific start date. They showed up early on the scheduled day, and had the whole job done by early afternoon. They did very good work and cleaned up well afterwards. I recommend this company.

Price was reasonable, and the firm was careful to keep me informed about its work schedule. Work done by father and sons who were a pleasure to work with.

The provider is a small, family run business. The main contact is a very nice guy, he uses email and text primarily to correspond and is very prompt and responsive to email, text, and cell phone. He is the estimator but also does the buying and assists in the work while his father and brother work with him or alone when he is out buying or estimating. He was very flexible on payment terms and agreed to my terms. I made a small deposit in mid-Feb and was told the job would start in mid-to-late March. But I received an email on Friday, Feb 24 saying the weather was turning nice so the job would begin on Monday, Feb 27. I thought this was great but we had not to that point reviewed his portfolio or concept for the project, and the quick start did not leave any time for concept review/alternatives. When he arrived, I stated my preferences and vision (stone pattern, size and colors) but I relied on the concept in his mind matching mine. The resulting design was different than I envisioned but the stone sizes and colors were perfect. We talked about this disconnect later and he thought he had texted a photo of the concept to me, which (it turned out) was sent to my landline phone. In his mind, the stones and grout lines followed the curve of the path; in my mind they were all perpendicular to the house. He explained that this required a 4' walk (mine is 3'). However, we agreed on some minor design tweaks (which required him to replace some set stones (before grouting) which really improved the look, and he showed great flexibility in making the adjustment without complaint. I felt my satisfaction was important to him at that point. Positives: The old path was 2" above ground (tripping hazard); new path is level with the ground. We put a PVC pipe under the walk to run power cords and hoses. He added a flare to the end of the walk. Size and color choices were great. Payment plan was flexible and he agreed to all of my terms. He showed flexibility in making some adjustments before grouting. I asked to save as many old flagstones as possible, and he stacked many excavated stones neatly at the end of my driveway. Final result/new walk looks very good overall. He left a nice gift for me at the end of the job :) Negatives: job start notice came without advance notice or design review. Job took two weeks and required some weekend work, estimated at one week (weather/cold affected schedule but the early start was a factor here). Very few progress reviews during project. During the job, new stones sat up on my my lawn for days. Stones were cut on the lawn, leaving gray debris/dust on the grass and shrubs for me to clean up. No final inspection; they finished up and left (although my wife was home). Afterward, we found some scrapes on one of the stones, and were not pleased with the caulking applied to the driveway/walk joint.

We had purchased a deal in which, for $150, we were to receive $500 in work from VRN Masonry. I had wanted about a dozen stones reset in small garden walls where the original cement had crumbled, and also a few bricks needed resealing in our front stoop. Then we had a termite issue so we also wanted some holes drilled through the front stoop to be resealed. We also had an issue with water freezing on the bricks at the edge of the stoop and if he could help with this that would be great. All of this was just applying some fresh cement with the possible exception of helping somehow with the freezing issue. Ruy Palmeiro was pleasant and easy to reach. He said he would do the cement repairs and powerwash the front stoop for an additional $290. I was away from home for most of this work and although I didn't understand what he intended to do that was frankly worth more than the original $500, I relied on his professionalism that it would look good. The final result looked woeful, as the new cement did not match the original cement. He did say it would take a couple of years to age it. We asked him to improve the overall look and he applied more cement in other places. Unfortunately, it doesn't look very good. Rui did come out three times to powerwash the front porch and try to freshen up the look. Rui suggested laying flagstone on my front porch to cover it and fix the freezing issue, so we asked for an estimate, but have yet to receive one.

I interviewed 4 companies before choosing VRN Masonry. The others wanted to merely put a layer of concrete on top of the existing sidewalk and lay pavers on top, which may be cheaper but is definitely not the right way to do the job. Rui was the only one who said, Yes, it needs to be jackhammered and start from scratch. He was prompt in returning phone calls and emails and the crew was professional and talented. We were concerned that we would not be able to use our front door for a day or two, but they timed everything so it was never a problem. We're very pleased with the quality of work they did and the sidewalk looks wonderful.

We purchased a deal from Angie's list. We contacted the company to repair the brick column. They were very responsive and professional. We are very pleased with the work done.

Rui responded immediately to my request for an estimate and to every email or phone call. The work was done on my elderly Mother's house and Rui treated her with patience, respect, and answered every question she had. They started the work on Halloween and they left enough of the porch and walkway in tact so that the trick-or-treaters could reach to front door. He even swept the area at my Mother's request. The work was done exactly as outlined in the estimate and was completed within the time frame and at the estimated price. We couldn't be happier and will not hesitate to use VRN in the future.

We felt that the price was very fair for the work that needed being done and they did as good a job in trying to match the color of the original masonry. They also cleaned up the work site, which sometimes I feel contractors forget to do. I would have rated them better, but they were not punctual. We had to push the start date of the job back because of weather delays, which I understood. However, they couldn't finish the job on the same day because they didn't have the right concrete and we scheduled for the upcoming Monday afternoon. I was at home all afternoon and they didn't show up, and I finally get a call at 3:30 PM that they will be there on Tuesday morning now because they were held up at another job. I then get a call again that day and they push it back to Tuesday afternoon because of another job change. This made scheduling work and shuffling schedules around very difficult.

VRN performed minor masonry work to repair some settlement problems we have had on our 35 year old house. The work was based on a report from a structural engineer. Rui also pressure washed our deck and front porch. The work had to be done over several days, and each time, he was prompt and stayed as long as necessary each day to complete the job. He was extremely responsive to calls or emails. He did a great job on both the masonry repair, and the pressure washing. The deck had not been done in several years,and he did a great job.

Vince and Nelson started and finished the project in a timely manner. They were friendly, courteous and professional in every way. They patiently listened to our concerns and questions throughout the project and answered and addressed everything to our satisfaction. They did a BEAUTIFUL!!!!! job. The pattern that they put down with the flagstone looks beautiful and is exactly what we wanted. The same can be said for the stone they used in the retaining wall. We could not be happier with the end results and would DEFINITELY hire them again. We would recommend them most highly to anyone looking to have this type of work done. I cannot say enough good things about them and their work

I found the process for identifying a contractor to perform this work more difficult than I imagined. For some, the scope of work was too small to merit their attention and it showed in their lack of interest in following up. VRN Masonry was responsive and friendly. When we met to go over the proposed work and to get an estimate of work cost, the estimator was willing to work with me to address some related issues (noting the subsidence of ground under the porch slab and stating that they would be able to use some of the broken concrete to fill under the porch and recommending additional actions that could be taken to close in that space. The receipt of a written estimate was delayed by a week or so, and the document received in the mail did not provide specific direction on next steps; however, information exchange by email was efficient and was a good means of keeping the communication moving forward. They were flexible in scheduling the work dates, which was very helpful for me. The representative met me at the townhouse and was very good at providing options and discussing specific concerns I had related to the settling of the concrete that had occurred. In addition, suggestions were made on how to avoid this from occurring again in the future and how they could also assist in closing up soil subsidance areas around base of porch. Cost was competitive with two other quotes that were gathered, and consistent with the use of higher grade concrete (i.e., not bagged mix in small mixer). Work was delayed due to weather, but I was given choice to proceed on schedule. The extreme temperatures would have caused concrete to set too rapidly and decrease quality of outcome, so I opted to allow the delay until the next cooler day (only a few days of delay). Work was performed efficiently and the finishing of the concrete is excellent. I could not be happier with the outcome and the service provided.

Rui, his brother and father were always on time, and always courteous. Their price was extremely competitive and they completed the job as discussed. I felt badly as they worked extremely hard in the sweltering heat… but they did it with a smile, and completed the work in a timely fashion (under the circumstances). I certainly would recommend them, and will to a neighbor who is looking to do pavers.

I contacted VRN and several other masons on Angie's list. VRN was the most responsive and offered the best price. The walkway was originally set in gravel. VRN put a 3" concrete and wire slab and then set the flags in mortar on top of that. Also they re-cut the flags into a random pattern that is much better than the original. The crew showed up on time, was polite, and did excellent work. We did have a misunderstanding over the original scope of work and VRN made it right. I would use them again tomorrow and will recommend them to everyone that I can.

I would not grade high on punctuality on the people who were involved in giving me the quote because it took them a week to get the quote. They did not give me a written estimate. They also said that the driveway needs to be replaced and they would give an estimate for that. I think their estimate was way under of what it was going to cost. I did not use them because it sounded out of line and I did not have much confidence in them as they didn't seem very professional.

I sent email to get an estimate and Rui quickly responded and answered all my questions. He came by to view the job on time (I actually got tied up at work and forgot, lucky for me it was outside work) and he emailed me the estimate. I accepted the contract and we scheduled the appointment. Bad weather caused a few reschedules, but Rui kept me updated in advance and I never lost any time sitting around waiting for him to show up Rui confirmed he was coming the day before the the date weather permitted the work to be done and he did a great job. He let me know the new concrete would look different from the old as it was hard to match (the house is almost 25 years old) so I was not suprised at all and was more interested in getting the repairs done. I am very pleased with the work Rui provided and intend to hire him again for a few other jobs that require concrete work.

Estimate waa given promptly, work started as scheduled and it was completed in a timely fashion. Rui was professional, accommodating and quality of work was excellent.

On time and very clean work. I would hire them again anytime

overall, I had a bad feeling the owner was not going to do a good job. he was unwilling to listen to my needs and had overall been late and pushy in the estimating process. i ended up using Strale bricklaying in Highland MD.

The crew did a fantastic job, carefully working around our flower beds and even replacing the stepping stones that were in the way of the work site. The results are solid and nicely square with plumb lines. Initial consultation was timely and the work was done within budget and within the quoted timeframe. When the work was done, all excess materials were removed and the driveway was swept clean. We were kept well informed of all work and every step was explained as we went along. Great job!

Rui came out to estimate the job on the weekend which was a big help to me. Started the job right on time. Was slowed down on original completion date because of bad weather. Was careful not to do any damage to my backyard or the existing drainage system i had just paid for. Back filled the area with fill dirt, and put down straw where his bobcat dug into the wet soil. Very easy going, really a great guy to work with.