Dayco General

Looks even better than I expected. I figured this would go well after meeting Dave. Knowledgeable, patient, friendly. Then a 14pp proposal with many large drone photos, clear explanations of what to do, and a price for each element. They rebuilt the top 3 layers of chimney brick and the concrete cap, repaired the cracked brick wingwall, and tuckpointed the lot. Replacement bricks matched. Tuckpoint mortar matched. These guy are not just brick masons - they're artists. Crew was courteous and the foreman helpful in guiding me through a couple of minor on-site decisions I needed to make. The final price was just as quoted. Highly recommended!

05/31/2018 Ralph Dvorak came out and understood our needs, took excellent photo's and gave us a very reasonable bid with various alternatives for us to consider. Once we agreed on a plan, the Dayco General crew arrived within a week and spent 3 days doing the work. Both the foreman at the job site and Ralph were available for questions. The work was completed in a timely manner and the site cleaned well. Ralph gave us a senior discount. We are very pleased with the results and highly recommend this experienced concrete firm. I have seen them working across our community.

exactly as promised, obviously a professional repair. Repair blends in perfectly with the existing chimney, also fixed the flue cable. Bid was the same as another I received from another established company, but I believe they used better materials. Also cleaned up when the job was finished.

The crew was on time and and finished ahead of schedule. It was a large crew of about 8-9 people, mostly younger men, but supervised by older experienced concrete workers. One group excavated the old steps, while other groups came behind them, mixing the concrete, installing the molds, pouring and fine finishing the surface. The two sets of steps are connected by an S-curve walkway, which they also installed, and which needed a little more finessing to make the curves symmetrical on either side of the walk. They executed it perfectly. Ralph Dvorak, the manager, was very helpful and offered suggestions. He came by at the start of the job, and again at the end to do a final quality check at the end. We had one hairline crack in a lower step about one year later, but Ralph stopped by with special caulk to color-match and patch it. It's invisible now. Were were very pleased with the quality of the work and the crew's professionalism.

Dayco's estimate was the lowest of three that we requested, but their description of the scope and quality of the work was the most comprehensive. As soon as we accepted their proposal they scheduled the work to start within a week. They removed the original crumbling front steps, stoop and walkway and replaced them all, along with subcontracted railings for the stoop. The crew was on time and well-organized and supervised. The entire crew seemed to be very knowledgeable and experienced. The work was interrupted several times due to rain, but was completed within 10 days of the start, so we were happy. The finished steps are beautifully installed and finished.

I received 4 competitive bids from A+ level contractors off Angie's List. Not being experienced in the field of chimney work I really didn't know what a fair price was and assumed the competitive bidding process would work that issue out. My concern was getting good value for the price paid and hoped the bids would contain some additional information needed to allay my concerns. And to my delight they did. In the end I selected Dayco General, not because they were the lowest bid ( they were not) but because: a) their bid included all aspects of the work, i.e., not a low base price with add-on costs for basic items, and b) their website did a good job of addressing: who they are as a company and how they do their work. (The website had 50+ pictures of chimneys they have built - which served as a sort of catalog of styles for picking the look I wanted. Plus videos that are basically a time lapse account of a day-on-the-job; one building a chimney and another doing a pour for a large driveway / front walks. For my needs their website did the trick ? I felt comfortable that I would get value for the money spent.) And I was not disappointed. They got started on the job within days of winning the bid. The crew arrived at 7:30 am immediately got to work assessing the situation (house is over 100 years old, 3 stories tall, with a very steep roof), and deciding on the best approach for putting up the scaffold tower among the mature trees that sit close to the house. Once the tower was up and secured safely to the house, the old chimney was dismantled and the bricks removed in a sort of bucket line down the scaffold tower to the ground. Then, the bucket flow reversed up the tower to build the new chimney. ( ..and it was a nasty day for working on a roof - hot sun / wet air / no wind) By the end of the day all was done save the limestone cap stone and flue, which were finished the next morning. I had picked an ?Old Chicago?chimney style ( based on their website pictures) that called for reclaimed bricks with white/black/blue highlights. The Dayco project manager, Dave Dvorak, scoured around the local brick suppliers to find what was needed and the crew put it together just right. The pictures below tell the before / after story. In summary, I am very pleased with the work performed by the Dayco General crew and would use them again for any masonry job - without question.

Tear down crumbling chimney below roof and instal stainless liner. New drip ledges. New crown and rain hood.There was internal concrete filling the entire chimney. They had to cut into the chimney almost to the ground to cut out all the concrete. , and They put all the removed bricks back in place, looking like they never were cut out. The new brick matched the old so well on the top half , it looks original. Great ,skilled, people that were very professional. They went above and beyond our expectations. fair price, couldn't ask for nicer folks to deal with.

They were extremely professional and completed the work in two days. Chimney looks fantastic!

Took 1.5 days. Was very efficient, clean, courteous. They did a great job.

The stoop and brick buttresses were pulling away from my house. I'm pretty sure chipmunks were living under the stoop, and trying to claw their way into the house. The sidewalk from the stoop to the public sidewalk was an accident waiting to happen. Something had to be done, and Dayco General came to the rescue. Ralph Dvorak provided a detailed estimate with several options. I decided to have the chimney tuckpointed as part of the project. The project took about a week, and the crew was courteous and professional and did a good job cleaning up. There was an unexpected hiccup - there were no footings under the old stoop. (That explains why things were pulling away from the house.) So Ralph had to call the city inspector and change the plans. It all worked out and everything looks great. Ralph did a good job in selecting a brick color for the buttresses that came very close to matching the chimney brick color.

Very professional all the way through; from the very detailed proposal provided by Chris, so we knew exactly what was to be done, to their accommodating our schedule due to travel, and the work was completed and looks great. Would not hesitate to recommended their services

Rarely does a contractor exceed expectations in every way. These guys are truly exceptions to the rule of mediocrity. The price was more than fair, and the workmanship was absolutely superb. Stucco repair is as much art as craft, and the work was done flawlessly and beautifully to match the 70 year old stucco. The brick work repair was not just done well, but also included little hash marks on the brick repair areas to simulate the brick face that had crumbled away over the years. And the sidewalk is perfectly pitched. They didn't rush through anything. You could tell they take quality seriously. All this would have been enough to rate these guys an "A," but I also asked Andrew last minute if he could do another small concrete repair that was not on the original bid. He gladly did so without charge, refusing to take extra money for the work. I would re-hire these guys in a heartbeat, and I'll let me best friends and neighbors know they've got the right company for concrete and masonry work. Top notch all around.

I contacted the company after finding them on Angie's List. They were very reasonably priced. They were busy and it did take about two weeks for them to come out. They were very courteous and professional. They completed the work in about three hours and cleaned up well. They did a great job with the work.

We had a damaged step on our front walk. Chris came out and bid a repair for the step. It was much lower than the other bid we received and he was pleasant and personable so we went with Dayco. I should've known that a bid so much cheaper would come with problems. They came when promised and did the majority of the work. I was told they would come the next day and acid wash the mortar to make it look better - they didn't come back until I contacted Dayco and asked why it hadn't been done. At the time we were a bit dismayed that they did not clean up very well and it looked somewhat sloppy, but it was basically fine. The following spring the work was falling apart and would obviously need to be completely redone. (We didn't abuse the step or anything.) When I contacted Chris he took some time to come out and look at it. He then refused to do anything about it, claiming the hard winter and a drainage issue was to blame for the failure. I refused to let the matter drop (we live in MN and if there was a drainage issue it should have been noted at the time the work was done.) Shortly after the president of the company refunded our money, stating that "more major repairs should've been quoted from the start" and that he wanted us to be satisfied. I am pleased that they refunded the money but I would not recommend them. It will cost more money for me to have the repair torn out and replaced than it would have if I had never hired them.

This job had multiple tasks (i) reinforcing the garage slab with steel beams (ii) new retaining wall next to garage and (iii) new concrete driveway. Dayco was not only most economical but also got the job done in timely fashion. We were told all tasks would be done in two weeks and were pleasantly surprised when the tasks were completed within the aggressive deadlines. Reinforcing the garage slab with steel beams was a challenging task that only dayco and one other contractor offered to complete. I would highly recommend them for their price, quality and on-time commitment.

Ralph was very friendly and professional. We wanted to get everything working in order to sell our house. Ralph scheduled the job around times our house was not being shown.

Dayco was completely professional and courteous.

Dayco was professional and prompt replying to my request, although their price was significantly higher than the alternative we went with. On the other hand, having this bid in hand may have helped get my insurance to pay higher than they would have otherwise.

I had Dayco General build a new chimney for me a few years ago. I' have two chimney's on my roof, they have replaced both of them. A few months ago i was experiencing some leaking, but was just hoping it would just "go away". The leaking got worse after these two last storms. I figured it was an error in the construction of the chimney, so I called Dayco to have them take a look. Both Ralph Dvorak and Dave Dvorak came out. They spent at least a few hours on the roof, testing with the hose to find the leak. But first they evaluated where the leak might have been. They caulked up a few areas, one of which was a screw that fastened in the flashing that a separate company had installed after the chimney was built. The other things they caulked were very minor, but said that the leaking looked as if it might have made it into that loose screw into the flashing. Well, after 2 hours of water testing, there are no more leaks, and I am so so so happy. I asked him to send me an invoice for the time they both spent on the roof, fixing a problem that wasn't even theirs. He said he just can't send me a bill. That is crazy to me, since he pretty much wasted half his day helping me fix a leak that wasn't his fault. I guess you can attribute that to his passion of the business, and wants to make sure his customers are completely satisfied. I HIGHLY recommend that if you need your chimney replaced, to call these guys. They are honest, ethical, have the passion for the business, and are simply there for you if anything goes wrong. I wish there were more companies like Dayco in this world. it seems most people don't really care about a happy client, no matter what. Dayco does.

Excellent response to request for estimate. Estimate provided included pictures and diagrams of what would be included. Different options were discussed for budget . I had the work completed about six months later (when I could afford it). They responded quickly - scheduled the date - completed the work within a few days. The crew arrived early, worked fast, were respectful and cleaned up after they were done. The work was completed in a few hours and looks fantastic. They provided clear instructions for post -work handling.

Great service. Dayco previously rebuilt the top of our chimney and we were again happy with their work and the entire experience. They even took the time to suggest steps we could take to prevent small stucco cracks from becoming large ones.

They did the job when promised and upon inspection, looks great.

I dealt with Chris Dvorak. We were the last job they had done for the year. I would use them again. They were excellent for being a smaller company.

Showed up on time, completed work, good quality. My only negative comment is they never sent me a receipt which I need for my taxes!

We knew we had to do something with the chimney soon as it was literally starting to fall apart due to age & some shoddy work done by another company some years ago. Of course we went to Angie's List, & found some highly rated places to get estimates from. The very day I called Dayco General they came out to do an estimate. Chris Dvorak showed up on time, took pic's of chimney, inspected fireplaces, & gave me a very detailed explanation as to what needed to be done. He also pointed out some options we could incorporate for a better finish & look. True to his word, Chris emailed me a clearly stated estimate including pictures of our chimney & others pointing out each step of what was to be done. The price of $5,525 may sound awfully high to re build a chimney, but keep in mind folks, this chimney is 2 1/2 feet wide & a little over 11 feet long!! We're talking HUGE! Other estimates were close, but this was the most personal, detailed estimate we got. We didn't hesitate to go with Dayco. Of course, work had to done according to our beautiful, cold, wet, snowy spring. On the 1st decent day, a crew showed up to put a scaffold & start tear down. It was discovered right away that the old chimney wasn't hollow, but had been filled in with concrete block & fire brick. The supervisor, Andy immediately let me know, & told me there could be a small charge to get rid of extra rubble, but I was never charged for that or the extra work to tear down that beast! Andy also jumped right in to help his crew & it was gone in hours. As rain was expected over the next couple of days, they sealed up the entire area tight as a drum. My wife & I had a weekend away planned & went anyway, trusting Dayco to do the job while we were gone. When we returned & saw our new chimney, we were absolutely blown away!! The brick was identical in style. Our house was built in '52 so we knew going in that it would be next to impossible to match the color, but the color they used is so close that unless you knew it was rebuilt you can't tell. The dolomite crown we chose matches stone we have in a couple other places to a tee. Color coordinated flues were put in that pulls it all together. I had told Chris that we preferred to have a new flashing done as the old one was poorly installed. That was done a couple days later by Randy & Robert. Randy went out of his way to get material cut long enough to go down the side of the chimney without a seam-it's usually cut 10 ft., not 12. It too looks great. Chris had to return once more to reconnect the chim-a-lators & found one wire too short due to the chimney now being back to proper height. He replaced both wires free of charge. I can't describe how my wife & I feel about the whole thing. It's a weight off our minds to finally have this done. Dayco was always on time, protected our newer roof, covered ground area, cleaned up like it was their own home, came in to the penny on estimate, & put up a chimney that looks much better than even the original. Our sincere thanks to Chris, Andy, Randy, Robert & all the members of Dayco's crew whose names I don't have. You did a wonderful job!!! You deserve any special recognition that Angie's list gives. We hope to have some steps & sidewalk replaced next year-don't think we need to look any further to know who we'll go with.