Jim Brouse Home Improvement

Jim was doing several other little projects around the house when I had scheduling conflicts with another plumber. He investigated the reason for the leak, which was not only a leaky drain in the shower pan, but a leak was found at the faucet. He repaired, replaced both. Retiled the shower and fixed the drywall ceiling below the bathroom.

Excellent. Actual work by an employee. No problems.

Not great. I think Jim was trying out this guy on me and we both found him wanting. Wasn't the worst experience, but I felt like I wasn't getting my money's worth by constantly having the masonry person return to fix the items he didn't get right the first time.

He didn't even come to look at my deck but gave me an estimate over the phone. I understand that they could do a good job but the price was so high and they didn't even come look.

His skills are pretty darn good. His workers skills are also good. He was kind of unreliable, and had his own amusing way of working with a client. He wouldn't give us notice when he was going to show up, but I frankly didn't care that much because his service was good. He didn't come through on a number of things on the list, he just sort of disappeared. He doesn't like providing written estimates or invoices.

Very professional. We live a long distance away and he did not charge for mileage. Punctual and the work was done neatly and cleanly.

Weeks of work, and many mistakes along the way. I had to re-hire somebody to do it right.

Overall, it was okay. The problem I had was that he had two people come out that spoke absolutely no English. We couldn't communicate with each other. Because of the lack of communication, there was a rain gutter that did not get fixed.

I called Jim on a Wednesday, and at first he seemed very responsive, and asked me to detail in an email all the projects I needed, and said he could actually start work on that Thursday, if I ok'd a quote he'd give. I submitted the email to him that same day- and he wrote that he would call Thursday and come Friday morning. He did not call. I followed up Friday morning when he didn't call or come over, and he said he'd be over around 1. At 1:00 I called him and said I was home, and he said he'd come over soon. It's 4:30 now, and I've spend the entire day calling and tracking him down, only to have him never show up, call or email. I do not plan on calling again, as I wouldn't use him at this point anyway. Very strange. I even had told him I found him on Angie's List! He seemed busy with work, so maybe he's not good at saying no? No clue, very disappointed after the glowing reviews I saw. Jim eventually called and left messages apologizing and attempting to reschedule. However, after being delayed for days, and eventually 'stood up', we decided to hire someone else.

For how much work he did his pricing was very reasonable. He was a very trustworthy and professional guy. All my experiences with him are very good, but it is very hard to get ahold of him and get him to show up.

He follows through with what he says, his estimates are precise and the quality of his work is excellent. He is very respectful, he is good at planning and helping plan projects and making everything look nice.

Jim Brouse and his expert carpenter, Luis, came by the same day I called, the Thursday before the long July 4th weekend, to look over our problem and give an estimate. Jim quoted me $1,300 as a "worst case scenario" for Luis and a partner to take the door off the frame, remove the frame, repair any areas of the frame and surrounding wall/brick that were rotted, replace the original molding back onto the repaired wall and frame, and then re-hang the original door in place. I agreed to this plan, and Luis and his partner came first thing Monday morning after the holiday. I left them with a key and went to work, and when I came home, the door was good as new, the area was clean, and my key was slipped back through the mail slot as I'd asked. Luis did an excellent job. Jim called later that evening and left a message informing me that the cost was $1,300, but he didn't explain why the "worst case scenario" cost was applicable. He asked me to leave a check in an envelope taped to the front door, but I was uncomfortable with that plan (for his sake, I wanted to make sure no one absconded with his payment), so he arranged to meet me at my office and pick up the check, which he then did. When he arrived to pick up the check, I explained that I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of carpentry/door work, and for my own information, just wanted a better idea of why the work cost what it did. Jim explained to me that only someone with a high level of skill could have repaired the door as Luis had, and that it was the skill level required that made the cost so high -- I'm inclined to believe that this is true, judging from the seemless look and feel of the work. Also, I did a little online research regarding the cost of buying a new door and frame of similar quality to the original, and it could easily have been $1,300 just to buy a new door, let alone have a new custom frame made, and have the door fitted properly. So I believe the price was fair.

I initially sent him an email with no replay, I sent a second email and he returned my email then called right at 8 am apologizing that he did not received the first email. He came right out the same day and was at my house by 11:30 this morning. He did a great job and made sure that everything was taken care of and properly installed as to prevent any further issue. He was very fairly priced and even fixed my front door on the spot. I was very satisfied with the entire experience and will use Jim Brouse again.

Took great pride in making sure the job was done professionally and the customers complete satisfaction.

Excellent! We closed on our new house Monday and were hosting a large party there the following Sunday. Our home inspection report warned us that there was a structural issue that was fairly simple to resolve but needed to be completed before we had a lot of people in the house. I got a quote from one company that was three times what the home inspector had estimated. Then Jim came over. He looked at the house the afternoon we closed on it, and promised me he would squeeze me in at 8am on Friday morning so that the job could be done before my party. He quoted a very reasonable price, right in line with what the home inspector estimated. Not only that, but he called the next day to say that one of his men had finished a job early and could come and fix it that afternoon! Talk about speedy service when in need, plus the price was absolutely reasonable. They were neat, cheerful and friendly. Thanks, Jim, you saved me!!

I called several window specialists to see if they could come out and fix our window, but all of them told me they would not attempt to fix the existing window and could only replace it with a new one. When I spoke with Jim Brouse, he immediately agreed to come inspect the problem and see if the existing antique window could be secured, rather than replaced. Jim stopped by right away as promised with one of his workers, Louis. They investigated the problem from the street below, as well as from inside our kitchen. Then Jim gave me a few different options in terms of how the work could be done. I chose to have him secure the window permanently in place, for a quoted price of $200. Louis returned the next morning to do the work and completed the job carefully and quickly and there was no mess left behind whatsoever when he was done. The screws are quite secure, but are barely noticeable and the original beauty of the window has been preserved. Jim is straight forward and based on my one experience of him and his work, dependable. He does exactly what he says he will, exactly when he says he will do it. Louis was polite and unobtrusive when he came to the house to do the job. Jim then sent me a receipt via e-mail.

Jim is very personable and made good suggestions regarding improvements I wanted to my home. He has an excellent worker in Luis, who is skillful at carpentry, electrical, dry walling and finishing. Luis quickly figured out the best way to handle each job and frequently worked alone or with a helper while Jim would stop by often to oversee the progress. Together they are quite amusing and seem to enjoy their work. They generally cleaned up the area well after each days work. I think Jim's prices are fair but I would prefer to have had a written estimate in advance detailing the work to be done. Some jobs are still not completely finished, requiring me to hire someone else to spackle, add trim, and paint. In addition I sustained the loss of my aluminum awning to heavy winds due to faulty installation of new posts, for which Jim reluctantly accepted minimal responsibility. I know now to be much more specific and demanding of future contractors.

It was good. He does a variety of carpentry type work. We are waiting on an estimate from him to do more work for us.

I had a flat balcony roof that was leaking into my garage ceiling. I hired Jim to fix the roof, gutters and water-damaged drywall in the garage, also to clean out all my gutters and downspouts. Jim's carpenter and crew were great - the new roof color matches the style of our 1940's era house. His crew was careful in removing and then replacing the iron railing, they also rebuilt a door onto the balcony and put in a new, nice-looking storm door. I needed to repaint the wood molding below the roof and they coordinated their schedule with mine so I could get that done. The job came in $500 higher than expected due to cost of copper gutters and other items encountered but I worked out an acceptable compromise with Jim on the costs, he was reasonable. It took his crew a while to get back and finish the gutters but they did so before the winter set in. I haven't had any problems with the roof since and it looks great!

Jim and his associate Lois were excellent, creative and really listened. They purchased supplies, even redesigned the stand based on my requests. They are master craftsman with a variety of skills and are willing to do both big things and small things that will drive you batty when not fixed. Their diversity of abilities is excellent since it is often cumbersome and sometimes impossible to bring in many contractors for small jobs. They are delightful and very accommodating. Key points- they cleaned up after each day, installed the sink quickly so that I was not without it too long, finished all jobs, and removed the debris.

He is very cooperative and did what he said he would. We were pleased to work with him.

Excellently. The railing was installed perfectly at the quoted cost and schedule.

I called to inquire about a pressure washing job. Jim answered the phone and explained he was out in the field at the time of the call. After asking if I was comfortable with email, he suggested that I email contact information, a description of my job along with photos to assist him in providing an estimate. He was not sure when he could stop by and expressed concerns that this was not power washing season given the temperature. (The weather is in the high 40s this week, 47 today and 56 tomorrow.) I told him that I would make an effort to get photos and pass the info along to him but, later decided that is too much effort on my part for a simple power washing job. So I called someone else who agreed to come out tomorrow morning on his way to another appointment.

When Jim Brouse circled our house on foot and started to speak about what he saw, we knew we were in trouble, but thankfully in good hands. A straight shooter who has a keen inspector's eye for detail, we heard all about what we needed to do to maintain our house, with detailed info about how it should be done, when, and that he could do it. He helped us to prioritize tasks, gave us a clear idea of our place on his schedule and sketched out probable costs per project, confirmed in email. Some costs remained fluid as the projects launched, but we were always in contact step-by-step and were able to chip away at the projects to move forward comfortably. The key successful element was communication + respect for our own personal scheduling. Excellent professional work, flexibility and contact, contact, contact. It was very useful for us that he is fluent with email: Very easy to check scheduling, revise jobs, ask questions, very nimble. Top notch quality work. Proactive style.

No trash or debris was left for me to deal with. Overall, very quick return calls and very speedy work done within a day or two of my call. Jim and the person he sent were very professional and I was impressed by their attention to detail.