Stone Smyth

My home is over a hundred years old, we have a traditional Michigan basement that is made of field stone.  During the crash when no one was hiring stone masons Matt Salisbury stopped at my home.  He asked if I would hire him to repair the outside of the basement.  The grout was falling apart and the stuff behind the falling grout was sandy and obviously weak.  We agreed on 600.00 dollars for the whole round the house.  He was back the next day and began work.  He dug down 2 feet and with a small pick removed the old grout and replaced it with new.  He left the yard as if he had not been there.  The basement and the landscaping around it was returned to how it looked prior.  I was very happy with his work.  
I called him back to ask about the windows 
The basement windows were very old, loose  and to me were a safety hazard.  Matt came back and took out the old windows with wood frames and replaced the with stone frames and glass blocks.  They still let the light in and nothing is coming through those windows. 
While he was doing another repair for me he called me down to the basement and raked more sand from the inside of the field stones. He said that the lime from the masonry had leeched out of the mortal.  So he is back regrouting the entire interior of the basement.   We agreed on 2000.00 dollars for top to bottom fix.  It sounds like santas elves are down there with all the tinking, but I know that the work is being done right.  And that I will never need to worry about the basement again.
This young man has a strong work ethic and is extremely honest.  I have enough confidence in him that I leave my home with him alone working in the basement and I don't worry one bit about him.   He is prompt and very tidy.  He has been in my home 4 times.