E.B.SMITH CONSTRUCTION

We bought a 115 year old house that had box gutters and large overhanging eaves which we knew needed a lot of work. After getting several bids we chose to have E.B.Smith Construction do the work based in part on price (he was half of another bidder) and our assessment of his personal integrity. We are happy to say that we chose wisely. Eric and his crew did extremely fine work removing the old gutters and rebuilding nearly 400 feet of rafter tails and fascia. The underside of the eaves and the ceiling of the front porch were in terrible condition and had been the home for any number of squirrels for any number of years. They removed all the waste (wood and animal) and restored both to nearly new appearance. I cannot speak highly enough about the quality of Eric's workmanship. The house looks like it may last another 100 years now. He is not fast but his work shows how seriously he takes his job. His initial bid was $28,000.00 with the understanding that it would probably go up as they tore into the gutters and eaves. There was a lot more damage than any of us anticipated and the costs did exceed the initial estimate; but, having been here all the time and seen the extent of the damage, we feel the final price was a bargain, especially considering the quality of the finished product; and it was still less than his competition in the bidding.

Eric and his crew are very professional and easy to work with. Eric is very conscientious! He is always the first call we make!

Very well. Also, he returned the check when we overpaid him.

I would love the opportunity to post photos here; a picture is worth a thousand words! Two years ago we had a 10' x 10' deck built 13' off the ground. It is now VERY UNSTABLE!!! I am barely 100 lbs. and it moves noticeably when I walk on it. It turns out that any deck over 12' high should have cross-bracing; we have none. The rails should be able to support 200 lbs. lateral force, but one side of the railing can be moved back and forth about 6and quot; with very little effort. Other problems include shoddily attached ballisters (barely stapled in, some of them have come loose and just wave back and forth in the breeze!), the fact that the footings barely poke out from the soil, splitting boards (because they screwed them too close to the edge without pilot holes) and general BAD workmanship (like screws AND nails just where-the-h***-ever on the decking). I can't believe I PAID somebody to do this to my home. AND he came back with a bill that was 40% more than he originally quoted. He felt that was our fault, even though we asked for updates to make sure we were on budget THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROJECT!!!! Now I have to hire somebody to come out and fix this huge hunk of garbage. Wish I could afford to just replace it with something of decent structural quality and workmanship, but since I wasted money paying this guy, I can't. I don't feel that he meant to do a terrible job, but that doesn't fix the safety problem here. Frankly, I wish I could sue for my money back to offset the cost of the needed repair and structural support. Anybody who looked at this deck would be shocked that we paid a and quot;professionaland quot; because it looks and feels like we grabbed some guys standing outside the Home Depot one Saturday. I don't feel good about leaving such a bad review, but this is simply the way it is. Anybody considering hiring this guy for this type of work deserves to be made aware...

Overall, the experience went very well. The crew was professional, considerate (I had to live there during all of this work), and they really cared about quality, which showed in their work. They cared about perfection and didn't finish until the work was done correctly. I'm happy with their services.

First discovered Eric while purchasing my existing home Aug 2004. While inquiring about contractors, the Realtor recommended I investigate the two homes that Eric was rehabbing in the Hyde Park area. The Realtor stated that the majority of Eric’s clients are other area Realtors because he is cost effective, does quality work, and finishes in a timely manner. When I visited those two large Hyde Park projects, I must say that I was stunned with the high level of quality, attention to detail, and broad scope of skill-sets Eric brings to the table. After purchasing my home, Eric was contacted numerous times for consultation and bidding on my many projects both large and small. Generally, I get several bids before beginning a job. Eric has successfully bid approx. 90% of my projects. The finish quality of his work is always exceptional. He and his crew arrive as scheduled; complete the tasks within time constraints, and at the costs as stated in those competitive bids. Because of Eric’s efforts, the value of my home has increased substantially as exemplified by independent appraisal reports. E.B. Smith Construction is highly recommended.

Eric came onto the jobsite after we let another contractor go. We were very unhappy and he had a mess of a jobsite. Nothing had been done properly by the last guy and Eric had to fix the mess. He worked with us very dilegently and paid attention to our problem while keeping in mind our checkbook. He was very knowledgeable and honest. The work performed was top notch. I've seen other jobs that Eric has done and it is always first class.

I was extremely happy with the entire process. Eric was involved the entire time; if I didn't see him every 1-2 days, he would phone me to let me know where in the process we were, and what was next to come. As the project was on-going, I changed my mind on several aspects of the job, and Eric was very flexible with that. He also kept me informed as to how the bill would change as we changed the details. And there were a few items that his crew found that needed immediate attention, and I felt like each time they had my over-all best interest in mind. For example, after tuck-pointing the chimney, it was obvious that I needed a new roof also. Eric did the leg-work and got 3 roofing bids for me, and help me decide which roofer to go with, pointing out to me which of the 3 was the most knowledgeable and responsible. I would highly recommend Eric as a general contractor, especially if you have an older home as I do.