Masterworks In Wood, LLC

Was looking to get an older, weathered standard wooden entry door refurbished/refinished. There are not many options in our metro area of approx. 600-800k residents. Engaged John via e-mail and phone in early Oct. of 19’. After many fits and starts he gave me a quote late in that month and finally scheduled to do the finishing on it just before Thanksgiving. I was wary all along, and hindsight being 20/20, I should have taken my hesitancy based on my interactions with him and not proceeded. In short, he is quite brusk, off putting and a bit condescending in his general interpersonal manner. Additionally, if you check out his website, the profile photo he has shows him when he was at least, at a minimum, 10-20 years younger if not more which is another red flag-I was wondering who was this guy who came to assess the work effort-turns out it was him. [*** Link removed ***] The work was done and initially it appeared fine. He GREATLY encouraged me to give him a positive review on Yelp asap but I demurred. Of course, having dealt with a multitude of contractors over the decades at various homes I owned here and elsewhere I was in a complete wait and see mode-and within a matter of 3-4 weeks, my concerns were justified. I had taken before the work pics. I took immediate pics the day the work was completed pics. Then I took pics of the work that was holding only at about 60-70% of the initial work-clearly unacceptable. Again, in hindsight, I found it odd he did not take credit cards AND he had no sort of guarantee-again, limited options for this type of contractor in our market. When contacted via call, text and e-mail about getting his to do de rigeur rework that many contractors have to do ex post facto and is typically built in their hourly rate as a standard insurance cost for this very need, again, I found him to not be receptive. When I pressed him on this after a couple calls/texts starting around the holidays a week later, he became hostile in response, stating verbatim, “Leave the scheduling to me”. Well, talk about the customer always being wrong! Pressed further another week later based on the increasing temperatures in mid Jan. that MATCHED the exact same temperatures as logged in the history of Weatherunderground.com in late Nov. when he did the work over a weekend (52F), he actually sent me a text stating “Are you out of your mind?”. At this point, I patiently employed some mindfulness and waited 10 days. Nada. When I finally laid down the gauntlet and asked what was his endgame so I could proceed with my endgame as necessary, he had the gall to insult me further and chastised me for even thinking he had an obligation to perform any sort of rework. Thus, the camel came in contact with the straw that broke his back. Oh, and BTW, he further stated that if I wrote anything that would be critical of his work, he would sic his attorney on me-clearly he is not familiar with the First Amendment and our beloved concept of the freedom of speech. Have at it, John. My attorney would be more than happy to disembowel your internal Leprechaun.

John was a pleasure to work with. He listened to what we wanted and created an excellent door for us. Communication was excellent throughout the process. John takes the time to ensure that you are truly happy with his work. I would highly reccomend John if you are looking for a superior product and excellent customer service.

I HIGHLY recommend John Brannon/Masterworks in Wood LLC for any custom woodworking needs! John Brannon is an excellent crafstman and artist and he is a true professional, efficient, and kind! I hired John for several different projects for my home. John first helped refurbish all of my exterior and interior doors of my home (all 20 years old) and they look and operate like new! Next, I asked John to design/build/install a custom gate for the side of my house - the gate is absolutely exquisite and a gorgeous addition to my home!

John came out to our home on the weekend. He brought books containing examples of his past work and helped us design a beautiful, functional, and very solid door. We settled on the terms of the service that afternoon, complete with written agreement. He then returned at a second visit and created a template to fashion our door from. The door was created and installed with custom frame a few weeks later. John then returned a fourth time to sand and apply a second coat of the custom wash he made to match the other doors in the house. We were very impressed with the service John provided and the product he delivered. Our door is beautiful and fits like a glove.

See before and after pictures.

Decided to to go with bookcase first. Last April we wrote him a check for $2,500.00 and agreed he would start in September. he called and stated it would be better for him to build it on site with no argument from us. After putting two sheets of plywood on the wall, he asked for more money. Gave him a check for $1,430.00. Didn't show back up until the last week in October. Got a few more boards on the wall and started asking for more money. My wife was reluctant but me being in a hurry wanted too, we held off for a week. By this time more wood was on the wall but made a note of him never staying more than 3 hours. And more than once shown up, took a measurement and left. This is note able due to, it's a 45 min drive one way. More progress being made I gave him a check for half of what he's asking $5,267.50. He calls and states his costs have increased ( of course they have ). At this point the bookcase is 70% complete or less ( due to poor craftsmanship additional work will be required ). So called trim package was 20% or less. He offered to refund $2,000.00 by paying 200.00 a month. Really? We have nothing good to say about this company or man.

I paid $5500 for an unfinished cabinet that was supposed to be a master work. Because of the good reviews from Angie's list and a personal visit to this man's place of business, I thought I had hired a professional cabinet maker. Instead I found constant delays and was delivered unfinished work. I signed a contract in which I paid up front for work. My naive mistake. Though he was polite and always thanked me for understanding his problems, he was never prepared and always had an excuse, tired, sickness, a wedding, etc. He tried to add on extra costs such as drawing up a design and time spent in meetings. He could not meet a completion date because he worked other jobs. On three occasions I drove 100 miles round trip to check on progress. He wrote and told me never to come to his place of business and later threatened me with a lawsuit if I complained. I ended up having to pay for the delivery of the cabinet, my daughter paid additional money to get him off my back. I have had to hire someone else to put on the doors, finish the wood work and complete the project. I was so stupid. I can hear you laughing. If my husband were alive, this would never have happened. Doubly stupid of me.

If only the rest of the house looked as good as our front door!!! The process was so easy. All the work was done on site and our door has been brought back to what I'm sure it originally look like before many years of neglect by the previous owners. He's now working up an estimate to completely redo (from scratch) out back entry and I have no doubt it will be just as nice and even more of a challenge than just refinish work.

John's silver bullet cabinet refinishing process rocks! We highly recommend him! John worked with us on the stain color to get it just right. He consistently started his work day when he said he would and he worked the hours he said he would. He ensured we were happy with the work as he asked us if we were liking the finish at the completion of each area and at the end of every work day. He was organized and he left our house clean. His materials (stain and resin) didn't smell of chemicals and we were able to live in the house during the job. Call him!

Masterworks was always on time. They got the job done in a timely manner and cleaned up work space each day before they left.

John is a meticulous craftsman who takes pride in his work. He showed up each day and set up a neat work area, clearly told me the steps involved each day and hung the door (which was built off site) - using the original hardware. He worked with me to determine a good color choice and had patience with me as I changed my mind. He cleaned up after himself and kept me informed the whole way through the process. The door looks beautiful, works like the old one and has added a new refreshing look to the front of the house.

He always is a gentleman and does fine work

unknown

The gate is beautiful; many people have admired the uniqueness, and the gate makes the house. I was able to select the wood and assist in design. John was flexible, yet his professionalism, experience, and passion complemented the process. I highly recommend his services.

unknown

He is really an artisan and not just a woodworker. He provides custom work and will come in and design based on my needs. He is a great guy and I like him so much that I had him put his sign in my yard so that maybe he could get some more work overtime.

John has been doing exterior woodworking for my home for the last two years. The projects are numerous and varied. Every project was completed to my satisfaction.