The House Surgeon

I related the job from start to finish in the deatils above.

Mr. Williams is an overall professional individual. He enjoys answering questions and addressing concerns about your home improvement and repair needs. This is important because it is extremely hard to find professionals who are willing to go into such explanation about their craft. After looking over the repair area which was post basement flooding, he took pictures and shared that he would be getting back with me in a few days with an estimate. The area of repair was fairly small and mostly with the exception of the small area of drywall (which had a tear and a small hole) just needed the baseboard put on. No more than about 8-10 ft of baseboard would be needed. When I was given a follow up call and quoted the price he stated it would be 850.00. Even if materials were 200. I was looking at 650.00 of labor of which he said he could complete the job in a day. He did share that his company is not the cheapest out there but I would suggest he think about being a little more fair with pricing.

This is my third time working with Jamie. As always, he was great. It took me a little while to get on his schedule, but I was willing to wait because I know that Jamie is an honest professional who does excellent work. So far, every time I've worked with Jamie I've been impressed by his attention to detail and his commitment to doing the job right. For this job, I had told Jamie that I'd like to eventually replace all of my interior doors myself (about 8 more), and I asked if I could sort of watch him, ask questions, and take notes while he did this door. Jamie said he'd be more than happy to explain what he was doing during the job, what tools he was using, things to watch out for, etc. Jamie told me that the install was a basic job, but because my home is older, it would take him a while to take out the existing door because he had to follow EPA guidelines. He took great care to do the EPA containment even though he explained that removing the door was a relatively low-risk job. During the installation, Jamie told me what he was doing and why, gave me pointers for when I was on my own, and answered my questions. After he was finished, I was pretty confident that I could tackle the other doors myself. Jamie did a great job with the door and was meticulous about cleaning up after he was finished. I won't hesitate to call him again the next time I need something done around my house.

I am really impresses with this contractor.

I knew Jamie when he handled smaller, handymen jobs. He still remains a professional. He always calls to confirm our meetings, give updates and let me know if he is in the house when I am not home. We started this project in late October and had an agressive deadline to meet with the holidays and winter quickly approaching BUT Jamie pulled it off!!! When he finished the side porch (which was buckled and covered with gross peeling polyurethane), I told him he undersold himself- it looks fabulous. He used all the appropriate EPA measures. He was completely hidden in plastic wrapped around the entire porch (my neighbors were very curious about what was happening:) Then he moved on to the kitchen-what a nightmare!! The house is almost 100 years old and the kitchen is a small, galley style with load-bearing walls on either side. Opening the walls up would prove to be a very expensive project. Therefore, Jamie took every cabinet door off, sanded 100 years worth of paint off, re-painted, changed hardware, installed a new counter top and a new stainless steel sink. It looks amazing!! I may even decide to stay in the house because the kitchen is such a HUGE improvement. Thank you again, Jamie.

The experience was excellent! The owner as very cordial and conscientious with his work. I found that he gave a really good estimate. He followed through with the time he expected it to take. The work he did was better than the work the original contractor did. His joints looked better than the rest of the house. The work he did was much better than expected. He went out of his way to help us out. We were in a bad situation because we had a death in the family and a son graduating. He was pretty much booked, but he worked it out to fit us in. We would definitely use him again.

Jamie Williams was outstanding in all respects; he promptly responded, reviewing each project with us and making useful suggestions. We received a detailed estimate of costs, work dates and completion time. He personally performed repairs, working over a weekend to ensure completion on schedule, as promised. Cleanup was impeccable. His attention to craftsmanship and detail shows the care and pride he takes in his work. He even took photos of the roof cleaning and gutter work to show us, sparing me a climb up a ladder. We are totally satisfied and impressed with the quality of his work. We expect to call him again later this year for additional work, and and we can recommend him enthusiastically.

A great experience. Jamie overcame many obstacles and got each door leveled and smoothly operating, ready for me to paint.

jamie did a fantastic job for us--we had very specific and unusual jobs for him (sealing off cracks in the garage door, covering random holes in our basement) that were not straightforward and took some creativity and time. Not only did he do a beautiful job, he was punctual, efficient, and done sooner than expected. He came and did the estimate within a day of our call and did the entire job within that week--personally. He was very thorough, not only in his work, but also in his explanations and discussion about what he planned to do--he was great about making sure we got exaxtly what we asked for. A big plus for him is that we had originally asked him to do a bigger job, but after talking it through with us, he pointed out that it would be a lot more expensive and likely not achieve the ultimate goal (to keep mice from coming into the basement). Instead he proposed a different and more creative solution that ended up being cheaper for us--I was very impressed that he turned down an expensive job and directed us in a better direction--even if it meant less money for him. We will definitely use him again; we highly recommend him.

When he came to give me an estimate, he gave me a lot of good advice. This included advising me not to do some things I had in mind. This is notable, because he could have made more money if he had done those unnecessary jobs and, potentially, one might have caused a problem for me in the long run. This did a lot to build trust. His work was efficient and his demeanor very helpful and professional. I am planning to have him return to do more work when the weather cools.

Jamie responded immediately and came out right away to look at the ceiling. It took about a week for him to give me an estimate on the job, but I was away on vacation so that did not bother me. Jamie is very thorough and makes sure that you totally understand what needs to be done to complete the job the right way. I decided not to hire him for other reasons, but I would certainly recommend him to others and contact him for future projects.

I called the House Surgeon because I am in need of help renovating my bathroom. I explained a bit about what I needed over the phone. Jamie indicated that they are super busy and couldn't help me at the moment, but that he would come by and help me brainstorm some ideas. He saw a number of issues the other contractors completely missed. Jamie stayed for an hour and we talked about different ways to address the structural issues etc. He took some pictures to show to other people so they could brainstorm solutions. Knowing full well that he wouldn't be available to help me, he still took a great deal of time out of his busy schedule to give me some ideas. If I had the money, I would DEFINITELY hire this company. I have met with 10 contractors over the past 2 weeks and Jamie is the most honest and most professional of the entire bunch. Save yourself time and money and call House Surgeon first!

First rate service. Basics were excellent -- showing up on time, very professional behavior, detailed explanation of problem, detailed diagrams as to proposed solution, good execution of proposal, and thorough clean up. What was extra impressive was the creative solution to a vexing problem. Without this creativity, we would have had to have an entire new custom-size screen door built, so this was a serious money-saver. Will definitely hire the House Surgeon again.

This is the second time we have used Jaime. He is great. He is concerned not only about the quality of the job, but also making sure his customer is 110% satisfied. He goes the extra mile. When faced with a choice of how to handle something that crept up in the middle of the job, I suggested taking the easier route, Jaime insisted on doing what would make me happy!

Jamie is V.E.R.Y. slow with getting estimates out. A whole week is just way too long to respond to your potential customers. I worry if a person can't get an estimate out within 24-48 hours, then how long will it take him to actually complete a job??? Further, when I told him I needed to stay within budget and to not give me a price per ceiling tile but rather give me a price for the total cost to replace those tiles... I still ended up with an estimate for the price per tile... FRUSTRATING!!! On the other hand, he is very professional when addressing potential customers...he insisted on calling me Ms. E even when I asked him to just call me E.

Jamie is outstanding! This is the second time I've worked with him, and I'll continue to work with Jamie because of his attention to detail, professionalism, and superior craftsmanship. For each project Jamie has done for me, he's gone out of his way to explain what needed to be done and why, and I've always felt like he's being upfront and honest with me. It's nice to know that guys like Jamie are out there to help you get things done around the house that you might not have the time, tools, or expertise to do yourself. I'm already thinking about what I can have him do next! For this project, I needed to replace the water supply shutoff valve for the toilet in my first floor bathroom. The threads on the connection to the toilet supply line were worn to the point that there was a slight leak around the supply line, so I had to shut off the water, effectively meaning I was minus one bathroom. I called Jamie and he came by to give me an estimate on a Saturday morning. When I got his estimate, it was a little more expensive than I had anticipated - I thought all that needed to be done was to remove the existing shutoff valve and replace it with a new one. I called Jamie and asked him why it cost so much to do the work, and he explained that he would actually need to go into the wall and replace part of the supply line itself, since the existing shutoff valve was soldered on and fairly close to the wall. Jamie's explanation was thorough and seemed perfectly reasonable to me, so I ended up scheduling a time for Jamie to do the work. Jamie came out on a Saturday to do the work. He arrived promptly in the morning when he said he would. I filled out some paperwork and Jamie went over with me what he was going to do, and then he got to work quickly. After he had done the pipe replacement, he had me come in and inspect his work and make sure I didn't feel any leaks anywhere. It took Jamie the entire day to finish the job, which is really a testament to his craftsmanship - Jamie is a perfectionist and it shows. Overall, I've had nothing but great experiences with Jamie, and he's the first person I call if I have a job I don't want to try myself. I'm pretty sure I'll end up working with him for a long time to come.

He gave a very thorough estimate. Overall, it was a good experience. He also brought up issues to address that I had not realized. I would use him again if I could afford his services.

A large pine tree clipped our roof about a year ago which damaged the guttering. A few weeks after, we noticed a small crack in a two story wall. During the recent major snow storms, we noticed the crack became a bit wider and now bulged and also bulged beyond the visible crack. The cathedral ceiling also bulged a bit on the side hit by the tree. Mr. Williams questioned us and discussed these problems at length by phone and scheduled an appointment. My adult son and I were extremely impressed with his manner, knowledge, analysis and professionalism. He examined the crack from all possible angles - facing it, from the second floor steps leaning out from the rails, from the second floor indoor window which overlooks the room, and he went into the next room to see the other side of the wall. He also advised regarding patio doors which have dropped at least 1/2 " at the opening after much examining,including getting on the floor to see if the doors are plumb with the floor. He knew that he could not take on the job upon seeing the crack because one would not know how long the job would take until after opening the wall. He was here for a good hour . I have never seen any contractor like Mr. Williams. We are sorry he could not do the work but will definitely call him should we have any other problems. He also traveled a distance to get here.

After having to kick down the door to get into my home one day (I had forgotten my keys), I had Jamie and one other handyman stop by to give me estimates on installing a new door. The other handyman measured the existing door and assured me that all I needed was a standard pre-hung steel door, and that the installation would be easy. He spent no more than about 10 minutes on the estimate. Jamie, on the other hand, was much more careful, taking repeated measurements of the rough opening, and going so far as to go down to the basement to see what the flooring support underneath the door frame looked like. Whereas the first handyman simply recommended a standard pre-hung door, Jamie noted that the height of the rough opening was slightly less than the clearance needed to install the door, and he recommended getting a custom door. I decided to work with Jamie because of his obvious attention to detail, and the fact that he came across as genuinely concerned with making sure the job was done right. He was honest with me about my options for replacing the door, and I trusted his judgment. It took me a while to ultimately schedule the installation, both due to delays on my part and Jamie having a busy schedule. On installation day, Jamie told me to expect him around 8:00 or 8:30. He ended up running a little late because of traffic, but called me ahead of time to let me know. When he arrived, we went over the contract and I paid Jamie 1/3 of the cost upfront in cash. We went over the details a little bit, and then he got to work. Several times during the installation Jamie brought me over to show me what was going on and to explain what he was doing. Jamie went out of his way to make sure that the quality of the finished installation was superb, including recessing the exterior trim so that it was flush and plumb, and adding additional support under the door threshold. When he was finished, he made sure that I was satisfied with everything (which I was) and also reminded me that the door and trim needed to be painted (which I didn't know). Overall, Jamie did an outstanding job and was courteous, honest, and professional throughout. In the future, Jamie will be the first person I call for any home improvement projects that I don't want to tackle myself.

He is absolutely wonderful. I thought that I needed a project done but he explained to me what I was looking at and told me that I didn’t need to do anything at the time. He was extremely honest and forthright. I have an old house and he was extremely knowledgeable about the structure of old houses which I appreciate. He was very up-to-date and honest. There are a lot of contractors that would have given me anything if I asked for it but he saved me a lot of money but telling me what was normal for a house of this age.

He was very punctual and professional. He got work done in a timely manner. While uncovering drywall, he found a major problem with my house. He let me know all the bad news. He didn't just cover it up. We had some wood rot coming in. He told me how to proceed from there, including who to call. I'm planning to have some major work done in the future, and I'll call him back.

Jamie was very profession. Made an appointment to come over on a weekend (since that worked with our schedule) and spent THREE HOURS compiling a very detailed understanding of exactly what we wanted. I've never had anyone spend that much time, or be that meticulous, during the estimate phase. Unfortunately, we ran into some problems that prevented us from hiring Jamie (the sewer pipe outside our house broke - and the replacement cost is no into the five figure range - so we had to reprioritize where we spent our money). If we are in a position where we need a high-end handyman, Jamie's attention to detail and professionalism will be bringing us back to him.

The house surgeon exceeded my expectations. At every step of the way, the contractor kept me informed and suggested altertations to our original plan that would assured the end product was of the highest quality.

The reviews on Angie's List for this company were a major reason why I selected The House Surgeon for this job. It was a good choice. Jamie, the owner of the company, did the work for me. He cut out the bulging drywall area and installed a new piece of drywall. Then he applied six thin coats of plaster and feathered each layer to make the damaged area blend in with the rest of the wall. It took almost the whole day to complete the job. He had me look at his work several times to make sure I was satisfied. The job took expertise and a lot of patience.

Unfortunately, when he did the estimate he found he was not able to take the job given his other work. I appreciated the time he took to give the me the estimate and recommend how the construction should be done.