ROBERT DELL'AQUILA PLASTERING

Bob was very responsive to our needs of doing the job quickly before our new shower was to be installed. Gary came and worked for 3 straight days in the bathroom to complete the job. He was very quick and professional. Although the overall job was excellent, we did notice some imperfections in the skim coat while painting the walls. We did have to do some sanding/patching of the areas. Gary cleaned up after himself when he was finished to our expectations. Gary then returned later to complete the job of fixing the water damaged ceiling. He did this in one day and did an excellent job. You cant even tell the difference. Again he cleaned up.

I contacted Bob for an estimate to repair a small area in my kitchen ceiling due to water damage from a second floor commode leak. He called me the same day I left the message and was out the following day to give me an estimate. He came to do the repairs within a week. He and his partner completed the job in an 1-1/2 hrs. leaving my kitchen as immaculate as before the work was done.

Bob and his assistant arrived on the date/time agreed upon and his estimate turned out to be correct. They arrived with everything needed to complete the job and went right to work on it. They had the ceiling looking perfect in every way in about 1.5 hours. They cleaned everything up and moved the furniture back to where it was. I would recommend Bob to anyone needing plaster repair work!

Robert and team of two helpers repaired the plaster around a busted out wall that was a restored doorway to basement. It was a weird job that some other contractors didn't know how to approach. They did a great job with creative solutions. The finished product was neat and clean looking. They also scraped and replastered a nearby section of wall going to the basement. They went the extra step to patch a couple other things nearby, like replacing a couple missing tiles.

He is doing a good job. I like the end protect. I have a poorly built house and he is making it look very nice. In my family he installed wall boards over paneling and plastered it. The whole family room is plastered now. He is a third generation plasterer. He has been working in plastering since he was a child. He has an assistant that works with him and he is good at what he does.

Started a renovation project on a new home that I could not finish on my own. I was putting a duplex back together to a single family home, took out a few walls, and added one more. I needed someone to come in and finish plaster work quickly. I have a home that is over 100 years old with various types of plaster material and texture. I was looking for someone to get in and do the job quickly and someone who could fix my cut up walls. Robert responded quickly to my calls. We spoke on a Monday afternoon. The next morning he arrived promptly at my house at the agreed upon time. We walked through the project and discussed in detail what we could do to make the job work. Robert stated that he and his guys could knock the job out on Saturday. We agreed upon a price for labor and materials. He and his guys arrived right on time Saturday morning. They came in and went right to work. They were intentional about putting down paper to protect the floors and new stairs. The crew is very polite and professional. They worked hard for 10 hours to complete the job as they agreed. They also cleaned up well after themselves. I would recommend this company in the future.

Robert repaired the ceiling plaster in my family room after a water leak from the bathroom above. He was very responsive in his call back to me to arrange an appt for estimate. He showed up on time, charged a reasonable price and did very professional work. I had him return another day after the work was done to touch it up on a spot we both missed. He willingly did this no charge. I also hired Robert separately to repair my front concrete stoop that had cracked over the years. I was very please with Robert's courtesy and work.

Overall, the repair was as expected and they were able to properly seal off around the drainage pipes. They also matched the textured ceiling so that once the ceiling is repainted, there will not be a noticeable repair.

Mr. Dell'Aquilla and his team repaired several holes in my ceiling. The guy that built my home did a lousy job, but Mr D and his crew came to the rescue. He was prompt, professional and all for a VERY reasonable price. I highly recommend him.

The owner came himself and did the work promptly. Very professional, friendly service. Finished in about an hour. More expensive than I thought it would be, but it was done quickly.

I called Robert on 12/17 and described the issue. He offered to stop by that evening to give an estimate of the work that would be necessary to complete the repair as well as an estimate on the cost. He said he would be able to come by on 12/19 to complete the work. Based on the description I gave him on the phone, he estimated the work would take a couple hours and cost around $250 or so. Since I wanted to get the work done and the price seemed reasonable, we talked about it and simply agreed to have him perform the work without him making a separate trip for the estimate. As he was performing the work, I asked him what it might cost for a separate project in the kitchen. He looked it over and said it would be easier for both of us if he were to complete the work while he was here rather than make a separate trip. I agreed. While he was getting supplies from his van, he noticed an area in the hallway that needed to be repaired. He asked if I wanted him to do it, and I said OK. He had that section repaired in no time at all. He took the time to cover the surrounding areas in plastic and put a padded blanket on the floor to protect the hardwood floors from damage. When he finished the work, he used a vacuum to clean up any debris. Robert was punctual, polite, conversational, and took the time to discuss the various aspects of each project he completed for me. There was no contract or paperwork to complete. Just a simple handshake. Great to know people still work like that. While he was working, he noticed I was moving some furniture items. He offered to help me move the furniture. I declined, but will remember that when I'm moving my large entertainment center. :) At the end, I showed him some other areas of the house that I would like to have repaired and he provided me with a favorable response.

I called and left a message for him to call me back. I heard back from him that evening. We setup a time to meet for an estimate on a Sunday afternoon/evening, which worked very well with our schedule. He showed up with an another gentleman (his son, I believe), on schedule. He wrote a few notes as we walked around and at the end pondered a few minutes before giving us a price. This was our second estimate and the two varied by a wide margin, so we decided to get a third estimate before hiring anyone. Which is the biggest reason we did not go with Mr. Dell'Aquila.

I needed a wall created with a door in the store of my new business Laser Body Shaping on Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside of Pittsburgh. I had never hired any professional plasterer or any kind of construction professional before having never been a home owner. I needed the wall created immediately to be able to open the doors of the business on our proposed launch date. I called about 10 people, left messages. Robert Dell'Aquila was by far the most responsive. I believed I contacted them on a Tuesday. They were able to fit me in on that following Sunday. It was a two man job. Within 8 hours they had completed everything. They were both great guys, professional, knowledgable, helpful and good at what they did. What else could you ask for?

Everything went just as he said it would. We set up times and dates and he Robert followed through.

The work was good, he came when he said he would, and he cleaned up the work area thoroughly.

He did excellent work. It was the first time I had used him. His son worked with him as well. He was very diligent and responded quickly. He also gave good advice.

I called Robert to see if he could do my drywall work when my original drywall guy flaked. While he was not able to do the work himself, he called around and found an available drywall guy, Mark Collichie, who did the work and did a fantastic job.

Robert responded within 24 hours to my inquiry. He was available within five days. Showed up at the arranged time. Called ahead to let me know when he was coming. He finished the job with amazing efficiency! Polite, professional, friendly. Cleaned up carefully. Overall I was very impressed

I called Robert early in the business week to see if he could give me an estimate on a small plaster job on one of my bathroom ceilings. Robert said he could come out in a couple days and possibly do the job on the spot. He came right on time, and completed the job the same day. His price war fair and the he did an excellent job. He and his partner were also very friendly and courteous. I would definitely call Robert for any plaster job in the future, and would recommend his services to anyone in need of a good repair for a fair price. Thanks guys.

Initially, when Robert estimated the job, he only provided me a quote for repair work on the damaged section. However, on the day of the job, other members of his crew recommended a full ceiling replacement, since the extent of the repair work would affect essentially half to 3/4 of the ceiling already. For the new quoted price, I was agreeable. Once they got into the work, Robert and his crew were incredibly hard-working and professional. I want to give especially high praise for Tony and Herbert (a.k.a. Rhio but don't call him that) who truly busted their butts up on the stilts doing the brunt of the plastering. Tony identified the ceiling fan was not secured to a joist, and he essentially repaired the job for the cost of the material (i.e., mounting bracket). This involved removing the fan, installing the bracket, re-wiring the circuit, and then re installing the fan. Truly great customer service and quality. At the conclusion of the job, Robert cleaned up and was incredibly gracious. I would definitely hire these guys again.

They are very reliable. They are willing to work with you on price. They don't expect payment until they are completely done with the work. They are really just a nice bunch of guys. They are very personable. They are easy to get a hold of, they call you back right away.

I called Robert to schedule a time for him to come to my place to give me an estimate. I called three other plaster contractors and Robert Dell'Aquilla answered my call (no voicemail) and came to my home the same day to give me an estimate (he happened to be in the Southside area at the time which is pretty close to my condo). His price seemed fair and he was able to start the job within a couple of days, which was what I was looking for. Robert and his crew came out on time and performed the job thoroughly and quickly. In a nutshell, they did a great job. I was impressed by their craftsmanship. The bedroom and bathroom look fantastic! They were friendly and professional and cleaned up after themselves. I was surprised at how clean my place was considering they were plastering the walls and ceilings, which is inherently a messy job. I highly recommend Robert Dell'Aquilla and his crew.

Mr. Dell'Aquila came out to the condo that my wife and I own and rent out. He gave us an estimate of $600 to repair the bathroom walls and skim coat the kitchen ceiling. I explained that as part of the condo association rules, a second estimate would be required since the association had agreed to pay for the repairs. The second estimate came in at $600, too (I did not inform the other contractor of Mr. Dell'Aquila's bid), and we decided to go with Mr. Dell'Aquila due to a friend's recommendation who had previously used his services. In the time between the initial bid and actual work, another water damage spot appeared after a heavy rain. Mr. Dell'Aquila worked with our schedule, since we were working with a roofing contractor to get the roof leaks fixed prior to getting the plaster work performed. On the day of the job, Mr. Dell'Aquila showed up with two assistants to do the work. They did all of the originally planned work, and they also fixed the new damage in the kitchen. The work to repair the bathroom wall around the shower rail took more effort than originally planned, but they were still done in less time than originally estimated. The total cost of the job was $650, a little more than the original estimate, but quite reasonable considering the scope growth. They cleaned up their mess and left everything just the way it should be. They were a little late, but not by much, and they still finished about an hour earlier than planned, which was good. At the end of the job, one of Mr. Dell'Aquila's crew agreed to perform additional repair work (re-roping a bathroom window) at a later date, which was also done on time, at a fair price, and performed satisfactorily. Overall, it was a good experience, and I would recommend Mr. Dell'Aquila to anyone needing plaster repair.

Bob came to my house with a friend labout 6 weeks before starting the job to give me an estimate. He did not bring a tape measure or a pen but did bring a plain notepad. I had to supply those necessary tools for him to do the estimate which he called ?rough? . He based it by counting the number of boards necessary the ceilings in each room. He measured and counted both the kitchen and pantry areas in his estimate/ So it was apparent then on the first day that I asked to have all ceilings on the first floor boarded and skim coated. I also had two small areas (approximately 3 x 3 on each one) of wall in the kitchen and pantry for patching. There was was green wallboard and lath in the entrance hall walls and ceilings which was to be removed by them, replaced with wall board and skim coated to meet the existing walls and ceilings. Very plain....board it all and plaster it all....no exceptions....no buts. I told him I was selling the house in the near future and wanted it perfect. That is what I told all bidders. The second ?bid? by Bob was a piece of my 2 x 3 ? notepad, Bob did not bring paper, which is scanned and attached to this letter. It plainly states in two places that whole ceiling were to be done not patches or skim coating existing ceilings. Bob did not keep a copy of the original bid and had to ask me what price he had quoted! Both other bidders came in at the same relative price as Bob for the same job....boarding ALL ceilings in LR, DR,kitchen and pantry, patching, and skimming. I chose Bob because of your site recommendations. Work started on 5-20-12 when Bob arrived around 10:30 with Gary Sanfillipo, who I would later find out owns his own plastering company. He was not working and agreed to ?help? Bob. What that transfers to in real life is that Gary did 95% of the boarding himself and probably 90% of the rough and finish plastering. Gary said he would have been there sooner but he had to wait daily for Bob. Bob did small ( 1 foot by 1 foot) patches in 2 upstairs bedrooms, mixed plaster and carried board for Gary. The progression of work was thus: Monday....hall boarding and rough coating Bob does small bedroom patch; Tues...hall final skim coating; Wednesday.....Bob does small wall in kitchen ,dining room boarding; Thursday....skim dining room and move furniture from living room to dining room, Bob does other BR patch;Friday Gary boards and skims living room and Bob patches wall in Pantry. I removed the green board and lath from the entry hallway before they came, which was actually in the contracted price for them to do, saving them at least 2 + hrs worth of time and permitting them to go directly to work upon arrival. I moved furniture from room to room at night although they did move the living room contents into the dining room I fed them lunch every day and provided coffee, donuts, bagels, and any drinks needed. Bob never offered to take anything off the bill for the lunches nor did he thank me at the end. Bob talked incessantly and found small menial ways to say he was ?doing? something. He laid down the paper on the floor for the next day, when Bob did do something, he made a big deal of calling attention to it. He would say things like, ?Look how good I cleaned up for you.?. Bob was basically a highly paid laborer doing all the small things. Bob never did hang one ceiling board, it was all done by Gary mostly with no or little help from Bob. Gary did the hallway ceilings and walls and the living room totally by himself! My work schedule allowed me to be home all day Tuesday and none of Thursday. I worked partial days on Mon, Wed and Friday. I travel 27 miles to work, roughly an hour. Tuesday I cut the grass and did errands while they worked. On Friday AM Gary shows up at 7:30 alone and immediately tears into boarding the living room ceiling. It is only then that I learn that he is leaving early because of a wedding. I am working 9 am to 3 pm so I leave . Bob arrives later. Gary leaves early. No mention was made of Gary leaving early previously. Gary is unavailable for work next week as he has his own job to do (which Bob lied about and said was ?their? job) At no time did Bob ask me if it was okay NOT to board the kitchen ceiling nor the pantry. At no time did he ask me if I wanted the final finish level of plastering on walls in hall to match the existing levels of the existing door frame woodwork. There was a ¼ inch gap which had to be filled in around front door and the entrance from the hall to the living room When Bob came to collect he brought his father and Gary, knowing full well that his father would start talking about Italy with me as I had recently made a trip there and my attention would be diverted from his incomplete work. At no time did he say he would reduce the price because he did not use any board in the kitchen or pantry. In fact he asked me for more money for the materials for one extra 1 foot by 1 foot patch in a 2nd floor bedroom that I added later! The envelope Bob handed me on Saturday did not even have his return address printed on it. It had the word plastering scratched out on the title of the invoice. The invoice was obviously written by another party as it was readable and organized. Buried in the middle of it is the statement ?blue-board installed on ceilings and walls in hallway, dining room and living room?. I knew then that Bob had not done what he promised and bid upon but I could not embarrass or confront him in front of his Father by discussing it then and I was foolishly anticipating that he would stand up and make good on his promises. I was exceedingly exhausted on Saturday morning from my 3 days of work; from months of packing; and daily moving furniture as needed all week for them to work the following days not to mention keeping the fridge full for everyone. My life is full of stressing factors including the recent death of my wife, my work and travel to it, providing all food and taking care of my mentally challenged Brother who lives with me. When I called Bob the following Monday (30th) to ask about boarding the kitchen, he said he thought we were ?on the same page? about it. I said how could we be, when we never discussed it. It was not till the following day that I noticed plaster smears on the light fixture in the pantry indicating it had never been removed to be boarded. I did hang up on Bob but he could have called me back at any time and offered me some moneyback. Better yet had he been a ?real? business person, he would have admitted that he did not do the work or use the agreed upon amount of materials and discounted the bill as I paid it. He could have offered to return and do the work or send someone to do it. He did not ?man-up? to any of this. Bob is a shadow business. Bob is the front man, and recruits others to actually do the work. Bob has long since passed being a productive plasterer himself, and must depend on others for large or even medium jobs. Had Bob been a fully productive business man, he would have had the material delivered in one shipment instead of daily picking them up. Had he arrived ready to work at 8 am and stayed till 4 pm, he would have had more than 8 extra hours of time to do work. I have had the work done that Bob did not do and the bill is $900.00, which is what I figured based on the size of the rooms. $700 for the kitchen, $100 for pantry and $100 for door trim leveling. I expect that money to be paid to me by Bob. Any amount that Angies List should throw in would be welcome as it was their site that I relied upon to find Bob. They immediately refunded my subscription money upon hearing of my pending complaint. I have shown this letter to friends who said ?Good Luck getting anything from a website!? Bob bragged that he personally spoke with the real Angie personally, so she is interested in the one side of the scale. We will see how far the interest goes for consumers and end-users of the site. Should you seek a plasterer in the Pittsburgh, just go directly to Gary Sanfilippo Plastering and skip Bob. Gary is reliable, honest, hard working and is who did 95% of the work anyways. Gary is not listed on the top of the plasterers list for some reason but fully deserves to be at the top of it.

Robert is flexible and responsive, I had the estimate in my hand i think within 4-5 days of calling. The job was done about ten days after that. His crew was careful and this job I dreaded and others told me would take longer and be more expensive was done in a day and they wiped up and left things so that i did not have to kill myself to put the house back in order. The plaster finish was better than the original!