Black Forest Home Improvements LLC

Overall I was very pleased. Workmanship was great. Can’t even tell there was any work done. The workers were extremely professional and kept the work area very clean which made me very happy. Prices were a little on high side. 200-300 dollars more expensive than next closest competitor, but as I mentioned, I got what I paid for. They were a little challenging to schedule. I like to plan out ahead as far as possible, but that wasn’t possible. Overall I would use them again for sure.

I received the quote and there were never any hidden fees.... They were on time when they said they would be here and finished on schedule as they stated.... Nothing was too small to be completed and the price was very reasonable... I would highly recommend this company

I can not give enough complements to the workers. Excellent workmanship. All jobs completed on time and on budget. We have been using Joe and his company for years and will continue to do so.

Replaced rotten wood with trex. They did an excellent job.

I had an excellent experience with this company from the first phone call to completion. Communication was great throughout the process. Work was beautifully done in a timely and efficient manner. Will definitely be using this company on our future projects moving forward.

Joe and his team were professional and hard working. Joe is down to earth and easygoing.Best of all, emails and phone calls were sent and returned on time and as promised. Price point was average. I’d definitely hire again!

I couldn't have asked for better service and quality. Joe and the guys did an excellent job, the two rooms they worked on are now the nicest rooms in my house. I will definitely be calling them again in the future for more home improvements. Thanks Joe, Mark, Pat and Eduardo for your attention to detail and making this a pleasant experience. Great Job Guys!!!!

everything went well and I am so grateful for the carport no more shoveling snow off my car

This is not an actual review of work as I did not hire them. I am guessing from reviews and pictures that the quality of work is probably quite good. Joe was quite personable and came to the house to do the estimate. Unlike 2 other companies who estimated, he took no measurements, just looked around, looked at/felt the wallpaper and surmised "It's going to be a lot of work." (Which is true due to the age and type of paper to be removed). He then told me that nobody wallpapers anymore to which I responded that I'm sure it will come back in style at some time. He said doesn't even know where you could get wallpaper. I found that odd from someone in the business. Go to Sherwin-Williams; they have big books of it...also, you can see on the Internet many new easily removable wallpaper type items. Joe provided a clear and professional written estimate. Unfortunately, it was more than I could afford. I went with another company who completed the job for a total of $1500; and my walls look like new. It's always important to get the best quality you can for your money and it helps to start with getting more than 1 estimate.

Joe was terrific and very detail oriented. We’ve used his services in the past and will continue to do so for future home remodeling projects. Highly recommended.

It all turned out great. Highly satisfied.

The guys did a great job- cleaned up workspaces at the end of the day

Excellent. I can always depend on Joe to do a great job. This is not the first time I have used him. Anytime I need something done I call him.

Joe and his team arrived promptly every day and worked diligently throughout the project. His initial time frame estimate was spot on, and we could see progress each day. He was very flexible with last minute requests and preferences, and he even worked around us painting the basement (we've painted before and wanted to save a couple bucks). Even though we were painting, he was able to use already painted trim, which greatly cut down our time as well. Every person that worked on his team was respectful and friendly. Joe was always prompt with responses and updates. When finished, our basement is more than we could have imagined. He was able to match our wooden stair overlays exactly to the Pergo flooring that we chose. We've received numerous compliments on the craftsmanship and couldn't be happier with the end result.

I was very pleased with him. I had to have them come back and patch up a few things. We communicated very well over email.

Joe and his team did a wonderful job. Quality work! The guys always cleaned up at the end of each day. And all were very friendly and took time to converse with mom and dad. I can see they really care about getting the job done right and on time. My parents loved the bathroom!

Very explanatory, very diligent both workmen were very professional, he corrected the previous contractors mistake in not insulating around the window and the cavity below. Before, cold air leakage, energy waste resulting in higher energy bills. Aftermath, of the workmen's job no drafts or biting cold air in the kitchen area. If there was a grading for an A+ I would have checked it. This business is a perfectionist, and he is honest. Thank You, Your Handyman & Construction Co. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BUSINESS.

Very easy to work with from start to finish few surprises, hard & skilled workers. Showed up when they said they would. Very professional. A pleasure to work with.

Well - as we continue on the process of remodeling and moving forward with the work we will update our review.

Alberto was on time and completed the work as requested. We will hire him again!

Did not have job done. Checking out other companies.

EXCELLENT! The head contractor (Joe Schmidt) and his team were always punctual and pleasant, explaining anything that we had trouble understanding. We especially appreciated the fact that Joe went out of his way to accommodate our preferences, while saving us money. Everything was cleaned up at the end of the day, and any choices were always ours. We have and will continue to recommend their services to anyone seeking a professional, reliable handyman/contractor.

Joe and his assistant handled 1-7 in a few hours one day. Since the rust stain was stubborn, he returned on another day with another product to handle that and took on 8-9 which I requested after the initial estimate. I appreciated that Joe suggested a way that I could use Simple Green to restore the vinyl shutters instead of him doing this to save me money, as I indicated that I would have no problem doing that.

I got Joe's business card from my neighbor of many years. The card looked familiar. Joe said on the phone that he remembered doing one or two estimates for me a long time ago. I couldn't remember why I had not used him, and made an apt to get an estimate. Initially I wanted Joe to do some electrical work for me, but he wasn't sure how much it would cost until he started the work. Over $500 but probably less than $3000. I immediately changed the project to my lattice work and some other handyman jobs I needed to have done. While discussing the electrical work, Joe said he charged $60 an hour for his handyman work. He left with all the details and a week or so later I got a bill for $535. ...labor, materials, and applicable sales tax. I thought it was a bit high. After much discussion about my schedule and his; we finally agreed on June 16 at 9AM. He showed up at 8:45AM and agreed he was a bit early. They went to work and I gave some input about where I wanted my flag hung and also that I had changed my mind about "cutting and arch in the middle of the two pieces of lattice". Certainly that would save time and I knew I would like it better. I made myself available for any questions and watched as the work went very quickly. It didn't take Joe more than half an hour to change the door sweep AND adjust the latch on the garage. They were done with everything by 10:45AM except for painting the area where the old flag had hung; and installing a cap over the two existing pieces of wood at the bottom of the lattice and one new piece that job suggested at the time. When he said $50 - $75 ; I said OK. Both Joe and his partner, Pat left with Joe saying "Pat would be back to finish the job." Sitting on my couch, I all of a sudden heard a hand saw running on my porch. Pat, without telling when he arrived, had come back. I didn't like that. I wanted to keep track of the time, too. I asked Pat who long it took him to finish and he said about an hour. Now I have a total of 2 hours this morning and let's say 1.5 hours to finish. At $60 an hour at comes out to $210. If I add $70 for materials; I get an approximate bottom line total of $371. A bit less than the $535 estimate I received in the mail. Joe even agreed before leaving that my final bill could be less than his original estimate. Because my lattice damage was part of the Hail Storm in June 2015, the next day I asked Joe if he would separate the lattice work from the other work he had done for my insurance purposes. He said he would. About a week later I got a bill for just the lattice work of $446.53. It was 5 hours worth of work at, not $60 an hour, but $75 an hour along with the $71 in materials. I got a second bill for the flag, door sweep, and garage latch for 2.5 hours at the same $75 .an hour. I couldn't believe it. 7.5 hours, all day, at $75 an hour??!! Before even calling Joe about the bill, I called "The Watch Dog" at the Morning Call, the Better Business Bureau of Allentown, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General. It goes without saying that EVERYONE deserves a fair and honest deal but I would like to mention at this time that I'm a 66 year women on Social Security Disability who works part-time. After calling the necessary agencies to see how, and if, I am protected; I called Joe. I stated that the hours were no where near what I calculated and I was being billed for $75 instead of $60 an hour he quoted me. Joe's response was that "even though you wrote it down, I just didn't remember it correctly." I also told him I wrote down the hours and asked Pat, upon his return, how long he had been there. Before I could even offer a compromise, Joe's response was "I knew this was going to happen:, I didn't even want to do this job because I knew it was going to turn out to be some kind of mess. Just pay the original estimate of $535, and you'll never hear from me again." I asked for our "agreement" to be put in writing and a corrected bill, but Joe refused. After off the phone, I realized that this had been a real lesson for me. One, I should have listened to my gut telling me this was a bad idea. Why didn't I hire him before? Two, I should have NEVER accepted an estimate without the estimated number of hours, the dollar per hour agreed upon, how many men would be working and a dollar figure on the materials. Just exactly what am I agreeing to. I wish Joe Schmidt no harm and I will pay the $535 to settle this matter. However, I will never hire him again because I don't trust him. I don't think he is as forthcoming in all the necessary information a homeowner needs as he should be.

Pretty was completely honest about the cost. Very rare