Dennis M. Ielapi

Excellent. A real professional. He was responsive to calls. Detailed in his presentation of what the project would entail. Kept me informed all along the process. Was always on time and kept the work site neat. I would definitely hire him again.

After "completion" of the rebuild of my front steps, the header board is visible on the front of my home. Mr. Ielapi's major errors are now the cause of my having to hire siding contractors to replace siding to cover the header board. There is an opening on both sides of the new steps between the foundation and the steps so termites, ants, mice, any small animal/insect can enter behind the siding as well as moisture/weather elements. Mortar was missing between one of the bricks of the step and Mr. Ielapi's remedy was to caulk it rather than put mortar in the opening and the life expectancy of the caulk is far less than that of mortar. He did not notice the missing mortar so there is a lack of attention to detail. City building inspectors have noted they can see light in the basement rafters because not only did Mr.Ielapi use spray foam rather than caulk to fill the visble gaps(an inspector said he could see daylight in my basement rafters at the front porch), but also because he did not caulk the ENTIRE surface of the basement rafters. Because of his errors in the basement rafters and the sealing/installation of the header board a dehumidifier fills twice a day due to outside moisture entering the basement. No dehumidifer should be necessary if the job was done correctly. Mr Ielapi told me it would be best to replace the concrete top step with sandstone which I did (VERY espensive)and within a day it was stained by birds and berries and decaying leaves so it is totally marked with stains as it was not sealed. He did not tell me how to clean it or if it can be cleaned. The front step is deplorable in appearance. anda total disgrace at the front entrance to the house. Mr. Ielapi is taking no ownership of the errors whatsoever, but points his finger back at me. The job was more than he estimated so an added expense because of the cost of the header, but also the subsequent outlay of money for other contractors to remedy his mistakes. I only now have learned from another contractor that the back steps he built several years ago are constructed INCORRECTLY and are the cause of water entering my crawl space. His workmanship is deplorable and Mr. Ielapi takes no ownership/responsibility for his lack of workmanship, but rather points the blame at others.Two Ielapi jobs, several years apart and both causing major issues, although the first job(back steps) was not evident to be his problem until a patio was replaced for $4000 and the issue causing its replacemenbt turned out to be faulty step construction by Ielapi, not a patio issue.

He was late arriving for the estimate. He made some measurements and gave me a professional account of what the work involved. I decided not to get the work done at this time because it was a much bigger job than I anticipated.

Denny did a marvelous job. He and his assistant hand-excavated our old porch and new foundation, sparing our landscaping. He tidied up to the degree possible at the end of each day, and kept to his time lines that were specified in his contract. The work itself is beautiful - we get so many complements. He searched the city to find bricks that would closely match those on our old house, located a beautiful sandstone slab, matched the mortar, and overall greatly improved the appearance of our house.