Altruistic Home Repair/Remodel

Further update June 2013 -- we had someone else come and redo the wall. When they took it down we discovered there were only 3 pieces of flashing attaching the wall to the house (pieces attached to both the back of the wall and the front if the house that had a bit of flexibility). The 3 were clustered near the right side of the approx 15 ft wall, leaving about 10 feet unsupported, basically an expanse only supported by the dirt it stood on.

Al showed up first and was very professional and explained what would happen, etc. Then he walked his 2 workers through it and left. One worker did the bulk of the work. At one point, about an hour in, they also seemed unclear on the instructions Al had given them and debated amongst themselves instead of just calling him (which made me a bit nervous). I understand the inherent difficulty of matching tiles to old, existing ones and trying to level a surface with natural clay (ie not perfectly flat tiles). Also, the tiles had to be cut down about 1/2 an inch to match the dimensions of the existing ones. In other words, I understand that this was a challenging project and appreciate the extra work the guys put in. The finished product is adequate considering that it's covered up by a vanity. The surface isn't level (I expected some variation but not this much). My two main problems were: 1) The cost seemed high. I get that they had their work cut out for them and they encountered problems, like having to cut the tiles. But I was paying for 2 workers and it seemed like 1 guy was on his phone/going on lunch breaks most of the time. 2) They poured thinset down my bathtub drain. Not only was I left to scrape splatters off the side of the tub and drain, but my drain was clogged and required plumbing help after they left. There was also thinset all over my exterior doorknob. I get that our house was a total mess (in the middle of being renovated --it looked like a warzone) and I told them not to worry about meticulously wiping the haze off the tiles, as I was going to go back with a sealer. But there's a difference between clutter/construction detritus and permanent damage. Pouring cement-like materials down a bathtub drain is a no-brainer (don't). I would have gladly carried buckets and tools downstairs to the dumpster/hose and cleaned/disposed of them myself if it meant not having to take calf-deep showers until the drain was fixed. I'd give Al and the more experienced worker an A. Ratings are lower overall due to the cement problem. Otherwise, I understand this was a tricky project. I think that for simple projects these guys would be fine. For more complex projects, I'd recommend a) that the workers write down Al's instructions and b) he come back and inspect once the job is done so that there's some degree of quality control.

I chose Al the Handyman based on his recommendations, his coupons, and he had a lot going on with his link. He was good. He was very professional and got the job done quickly. I liked him. He did a good job. His prices were a little high.

Scheduling was a breeze. Al came out and provided an estimate within 24 hrs. Workers were on time, not too messy, courteous, and did good work. Closet install needed to be re-done. Al was out quickly and took care of it.

Everything went very well. Mark was a little early than the previous determined schedule, which allowed us to go over the work which needed to be done. He also performed several small projects for us, which were not in the original proposal, at no additional cost. All our projects, which were originally projected to take two days, were completed in a day and a half. They were very polite, respective of our privacy and very neat in terms of the work area.

We had some issues with scheduling however Al did a good job of working me in given how busy they seem to be. He installed 4 faucets and a toilet and even did an extra job in just 4 hours.

arrived on time and was very professional. Left work space cleaner than before repairs

We were happy with the final outcome.

They did a wonderful job! Al came to my house and gave me a price quote to install and re-frame my back door. The work was scheduled for the very next day. The door looks fantastic and the final bill was less than the original quote.

I called him for an estimate. He gave me one estimate over the phone but when he came out he gave another estimate for twice the price. I decided not to go with him because of this.

Went well. Professional and efficient. . Helpful in terms of communicating what he was doing and operating tips for the washer.

Al met me at this rental house promptly & professionally. He tackled all the required inspection items as needed. Excellent work & attitude.

He did a great job, and you can't tell that the wall had been repaired. He did a great job matching the paint and the texture on the wall.

With one exception, everything was done well, and Al and his workers were very professional and good at what they did. The only disappointment involved the ceiling sheetrock repairs, which was more a matter of over-promising. Al said they could fix the texture and match the paint, no problem. But the paint did not match and we ended up painting the entire ceiling for another $285. That was not really his fault, but we might have left the ceiling alone if we had known that it is difficult to match paint, and to perfectly match texturing - they did a good job of this, but not a perfect one - that may not be possible, but Al did not tell us that.

The overall experience was a good one. He arrived on 8/1 to give me a quote for the work. He said he would provide valves for the shower piping, valves for the vanity piping, extend the vanity piping, and adjust the shower piping to make it work for a shower panel. He ended up quoting a ballpark of $500 - $700 and the work was to be done a week later, early in the morning. Al called the night before to confirm the appointment and to let me know he'd be there between 9:30A and 10:00A which was very courteous. Come Wednesday, 8/8, he was late over an hour and a half, but did call to let me know he was going to be late. He showed up at 11:30A, set everything up, then his crew arrived at 12:30P and began. Al left at 2:00P and left his guys to do the work. He made mention to me that anything above what he quoted would be a wash and that I would only have to pay a max of $700; excellent business strategy. The crew finished up around 4:00P, the bill turned out to be 712.50, knocked down to 700 just as Al said. Here is why I rated Al at a B instead of an A for overall, price and punctuality:Punctuality: Although he called to let me know he would be late, he was late. Price & Overall: His coupon on the top of his page is attractive, $315 for 4 hours of handyman service, but also pay attention to the $55 service call, which means it's actually $370 for 4 hours of handyman service. Also, if you notice my time sheet, he showed up at 11:30A and left at 2:00P, 2.5 hours; he had charged me the full $315 for 4 hours. Also, I know that copper piping can be recycled for good money by me to reduce cost on parts, or by him to reduce cost on parts. He and/or his crew had taken the copper piping. Last but not least, although he had explained to me why putting on the valves for the vanity would be a bad idea considering the bathroom wasn't finished yet, his quote included that. Al was very nice and courteous. He and his crew do great work. Be sure your bill is accurate. Get his receipt from the hardware store to assure he spent what he said he did on parts. For plumbing or electrical, be sure to get back your copper piping / wiring and recycle it for close to $2.80 per pound of bare copper.

Initially emailed Al with our list of to do's, he responded later that evening setting a date and time to come to house to discuss work needing to be done. Arrived promptly and was very knowledgeable and offered several options on how he could do the work needed - very personable and professional. We set a date; he is obviously very busy, but was able to work us in the following week; one day prior to the appointment, we got a call from Al asking if ok to come one day later than the originally scheduled date since they were on a job finishing a deck which was taking longer to complete due to the rain. It was no problem for us and on the newly scheduled date, Al's crew arrived a little prior to 8AM and began work immediately. His crew was very efficient and did a fantastic job on the repairs and painting and cleanup - they checked in with us several times to point things out to be sure it was being done to our satisfaction. We requested one additional change which they were able to accomodate with no problem. They even carried away all the old arbor posts and beams and the cleanup was excellent . Al came by to finish the texture work and review the completed work with us. We are totally satisified with Al and his crew and will definitely use him again.

Al is very punctual and very clean. He did a very good job.

i called to have my electrical outlets fixed, but never got a call back. i've called al before to fix a number of things. he does good work, but the only problem i have is that he has been hard to get a hold of lately. i guess having a business become successful brings some new problems with it. anyways, i just wanted to post this review so that people are aware that while it's hard to get a hold of him, he does do good work.

It was pretty good. I recommended him to 2-3 friends but they have not been able to get into contact with him. He didn't return friends phone calls and one said the quote was higher than a lawyers would be. I am having to now redo all the work he has done for me. I was impressed at the beginning but over the the past 5-6 months I am now back to square one on all the repairs. Rather than fixing some items like the commode he just replaced all the working parts and now its doing it all over again. He also patched my ceiling in 4 places and now its falling off into my bed.

Arrived on time as promised. Had proper tools and material to complete job. Finished work looked fine and was completed in about 3.5 hours. Two workers completed the work and Al was there to help out as necessary and supervise. Al and his employees were pleasant, polite and professional. I was able to pay by credit card. I thought the price was a little on the high side however I was okay paying for workmen who know what they're doing.

He is personable and reasonable and also honest! Will use again!

No surprises. Did what they said they'd do. Will hire them again in the future.

Overall, the installation went well. There was a minor hiccup the first day, so Al had to come back the following day to finish the job. Only a slight markdown because one of the doors is very slightly tilted.

wanted a pergola for my backyard and left 3 messages over the period of a week and never received as much as a call back. Very unprofessional. Apparently Al doesn't need any new business.UPDATE: I really appreciate the honest response. I can accept that he is busy and business is going really well. The website should probably state something about the areas he doesn't server hough.

The work was excellent. The crew was very professional. One of the crew members inspected a stain glass light fixture and noticed a small crack in one of the pieces. He pointed it out to us to make sure we still wanted it installed. When my wife realized she had forgotten to tell them of one additional fixture to install after paying, they stayed an extra fifteen minutes to do the work and did not charge us. We will definitely use them again.