Utmost Renovations

The walls in my basement were in badly need of repair. The old coat of masonry was coming off and leaving huge gaps in the walls. My house is over a hundred years old and I wanted someone who was experienced in older homes and knew what they were doing. Most of the walls are made of stone and the interior ones are brick. Based on a neighbors referral and research on Angie's List, I gave Mark a call. He was professional and straight forward on pricing on how much work was needed. His team was very courteous and professional. They took great care to work around all my junk in the basement. The only thing I wish I knew before hand was how much dust would get through the home. However, once I told them, they quickly put tarp around the basement door and covered up all my stuff in the basement to prevent further dust from spreading around. They were able to complete all three rooms in the basement in about in 5 days and put everything back where it was. There was some miscommunication on the cost of tuck pointing the brick wall however Mark agreed to the work at no extra cost. In the end, they did quality work and the walls look great! I would definitely hire them again and refer them to others.

Last year I had my chimney fixed. The stucco was falling off in areas and the crown was cracked. I went on Angie?s list to get the name of some companies that did this type of repair. I had several come out, and they all said the chimney needed to be torn down at least half way. The estimates were ridiculous. I had Mark from Utmost Renovations come out, and his quote was reasonable and the reviews from Angie?s list were impressive. Chuck and crew did a great job, and my chimney looks brand new. I was pleased with the service and the quote. Last month, I decided to fix the brick hearth inside the house. Because they had done such a nice job with my chimney, I called Utmost Renovations again (I didn?t call anyone else). The previous owner of my house had used excessive amounts of mortar to keep the bricks in place, so there was no way to clean it up and put it back together. Chuck came out and removed the old bricks, and then rebuilt the hearth with new bricks. It was a difficult job, because the bricks were from the 1970?s, and no longer available. Chuck did find something close, and he did a great job. I don?t think I will need any more chimney work, but if I did, I would definitely call Mark Huffer at Utmost Renovations. Great job!

The work was done well, the bricklayers even rebuilt the chimney to match the brickwork in the house which is 50 years old. They removed all the brick on the front of the house under the bay windows, which were crumbling to pieces , and replaced the area with all new bricks.

They did an excellent job. We've had no problems with it.

We had chimney bricks that had either cracked or were spalling (kind of crumbling), and moisture was also seeping through to inside. Mark's team fixed the bricks in question, redid the shoulders for better drainage, re-caulked edges abutting the house, and applied a weather-repellent sealer. The chimney looks great and the team he sent out did a fabulous job - they were very courteous and easily explained what they were doing. Thanks!

. Mark contacted me day after my call to the office requesting an estimate. He came to the house the next day , reviewed the work to be done, and sent me an estimate the next day. His stucco team started the job a week later, and the painters followed in a few days. the stucco was repaired perfectly with an exact color match in a few days, and the painters took 4 or 5 days more to finish. The painters did a great job. No paint splashed on to adjacent surfaces, and the house looks brand new again. The house has 3 stories on one side, so painting was a challenge with the extra heights. Mark and his workers were easy to work with, answer questions, and make a few minor adjustments to the job that came up. Wish all jobs went this smoothly.

Mark was amazing. He called me back inside of two hours and spoke with me about my issues at length.I sent him pictures and he quickly returned the estimate with 'exactly' what would be done and the pricing. The entire experience was excellent and I would highly recommend Utmost Renovations!!

Here's the backstory: I live on a street in Upper Arlington where a neighbor's house exploded from a gas leak. Every house in the neighborhood had extensive damage, including mine. I had 130 cracked bricks on my all brick ranch that needed to be repaired or replaced. Since my house is from 1958, bricks that match are non existent! I only found 3 companies even willing to quote the restoration. Everyone at Utmost renovations is amazing. They happily quoted one of the most difficult jobs and waited patiently for 2 months while my insurance company got their act together and gave us the funds for the repairs. Their quote ended up being the best, but also gave us options for repair vs replacement of the brick, which scored points with the insurance adjuster for a complete and well rounded quote. The employees are phenomenal. Kind, patient, and willing to explain all our options in detail and give me and my husband the time to figure out what the best course of action is for our situation. In our minds, it was key that any repairs not devalue our home. We opted to get the majority of the bricks hammer drilled out of the house and replaced with bricks from our front wall which were a perfect age match. They had to remove and clean existing bricks from the wall, and then go about the tedious job of sawcutting out each individual cracked brick on my house, replacing it and matching the mortar. I was sure that after all the replacement, I would be able to see where every repair was made. I was completely shocked at how well they were able to get the new mortar to match the old mortar, which had a heavily sanded appearance. It looks flawless now! The employees also were able to work without me being home, which was great. All they required was a water hookup and electrical plug and they got to work. These men wasted no time. When they were here, they were always busy. I never looked out of my house thinking, "Boy I wish they'd get to work!" If they had any problem or ran into something troubling, they immediately approached me to explain what the situation was, and let me make my own decisions regarding when it was better to replace or reface a brick. They ordered limestone caps to replace the top row of bricks they ended up using from my landscaping wall. It looks better than I could have imagined and they even finished up on Labor Day! I would highly recommend them to anyone needing a real mason for any brick work. The quality of their work is excellent, and the attitude and work ethic of the employees is one of the best we've worked with so far on the extensive repairs our house required.

Excellent, all project was completed as estimated and contracted. In fact, Utmost completed work repairing somr . The quality of work and the professionalism of the workers was well above average. Utmost's employees should be thought more of as utmost artists than those associated with those associated of a general contracted.

The workers who came out where polite,knowledgeable and paid extra attention to the detail. Each night they left the area clean and safe. When they rebuilt the wall they reinforced it so we don't have the same issue. The brick they recommended couldn't have matched better. Mark Huffer and his team are amazing and each of our members has really noticed the quality workmanship.

We contacted them in July and in August, they were ready to work. Two men came out and inspected the work area and remarked that they had just done a similar job in our neighborhood. They started the week of August 10 (I think on Monday, but i'm not sure) and took down the hand rail and removed the blocks. The next day they came and cleaned up the area and started installation of the new blocks. They finished the block installation two days later and then came back on 24 August to reinstall the handrail, after the mortar had set well. These guys worked hard in hot weather. They were very polite and kind, especially to our dogs. I made a special effort to get the dogs in and out in the morning to facilitate their work, but one of our dogs was "skunked"" one morning and after bathing, we could not put the dog inside the house wet and still smelling of skunk. The workers arrived while I was trying to figure out what to do before I left for work and they offered to let the dog stay in the yard(very friendly dog) while they worked. They were exceptionally kind to the dog and put her into the garage before they left and before I got home. This is, along with the great job on the steps, is what I call going the extra mile. I would gladly use them again!

The team was efficient and professional. Showed up on time and performed the work quickly and cleaned up when they were done.

Mark's team repaired our chimney which had a number of deteriorating bricks that were flaking/peeling, and a retaining wall in the same condition having flaking and broken bricks. The wall was in the worst condition by far, but they were able to save the wall and replace all questionable bricks. The chimney and the wall both look new again, and we cannot see any difference where the new brick meets the old brick - excellent job done! Mark's team also did an excellent job in cleaning up afterward. I would definitely use their services again without hesitation!

Although the work did take multiple weeks, due to heavy rain this summer, it was finished as soon as weather permitted. The owner was courteous and professional. The crew left the job site clean and tidy at the end of each day. The job was expensive but it represents a good value. The repairs should last for many years to come.

It was pretty good. Everything was fine. They got good people.

Great! Mark was a pleasure to work with. We had an estimate within a day or two of initial contact. The quote was very thorough and provided us options. We ended doing about half of the recommendations (all we could spend at the moment). We were placed on their schedule and were contacted the day before they started. Throughout the process we were updated and they finished today. It was a great experience.

It went wonderfully. Mark Huffert was extremely helpful and stayed in contact during the week long repairs. His crew was courteous and hard working.

Although there was some miscommunication with the scheduling, they actually got the job done earlier than anticipated. The work was great, the clean-up thorough. The color match was exact, and it's hard to tell that there was any work done, except everything looks 100% better than it did before.

Utmost is excellent!!!! Our stone walls were built in 1956 and were showing very serious signs of wear. They were crumbling and falling apart. They now look like they are brand new and are quite sturdy. Mark is VERY professional. He promptly provided a quote and amended the quote when we asked. He kept us informed of his anticipated service date and then arrived when promised. His crew were great. They took extra time to repair the walls. They even took care of a couple of small items not in the original quote. I wish all service providers were as good. The whole experience was perfect. Thank you Mark -- we will use you again.

I was most impressed with Mark's professionalism & attention to detail. The tuck pointing grout is near a perfect match to the original. The work was done in a highly efficient manner & the job site was very clean when they were finished. I highly recommend Mark & his company & would use them again.

When we bought our house in Eastmoor in 2013, we noticed that the edges of a large brick patio were sinking due to the rotted wooden perimeter. I was skeptical that the patio could be salvaged, but my husband insisted on saving it, and Utmost Renovations came to the rescue (again!). They removed all the old rotted wood and dug a good foundation around the perimeter, and then put in a block wall to keep the brick in place, while also applying a "parch coat" to the block to make it look good. They also built new brick steps from our sunroom to the patio, and new brick steps from the patio to the yard. Everything looks great, even better than I thought it would! And it looks sturdy enough to never need another major repair in my lifetime. Mark and his company have done work for us before--last year they did chimney repair and tuck pointing and did a great job on that. Mark has really talented masons who also care about the quality of their work. I would not hesitate to recommend this company to anyone needing masonry repair. Thanks, Mark and company!

Very professional and completed in a timely manner

We were very pleased to work with Utmost Rennovations. Mark Huffner responded on the same day we requested an estimate and scheduled his visit for the next day - arriving on time. He inspected carefully and on the following day we received a written (emailed) estimate that included a detailed work description including specification of products to be used for this masonary project. The crew was scheduled soon after we accepted the proposal and we were very happy with their diligence and daily cleanup (spring rains and winds and competing construction projects on our street required flexibility on their part and the crew was very professional in dealing with these obstacles ? and keeping us informed on their progress and next steps). On completion we had a few remaining questions and Mark quickly arranged for he and the crew to arrive for a checkout. The questions were addressed promptly and the crew stayed on to follow through. Overall we felt we got a very professional job at a good price done with no surprises and with competency and follow-through. Communications were easy and excellent. We?ve recommended Utmost to neighbors and when we need masonary work done again we?ll readily contact Utmost.

The owner, Mark, was extremely responsive. He gave us options and didn't try to pressure for the higher cost option or the job in general. The crew was polite, professional and neat. Mark and the crew kept us informed of progress and the steps. Finished job looks great! I would definitely hire Utmost again!

Couldn't have gone better. Easy to work with, did a great job, no complaints at all.