A O Handy

Great. We made an appt for the following day. During the evening I discovered I already had an appt the following morning, so I called and left a message on their answering machine. They called me first thing in the morning and sent a technician to my house on his way in to work!

I will NEVER hire this person again!

They're very, very professional and the quality of their work is great. The prices are competitive compared to other estimates we've gotten. We are definitely satisfied with their work and would not hesitate to use them again if we need to.

The four craftsmen arrived promptly each day. They clearly explained the work being done and asked for preferences when possible. They worked steadily, kept the work area clear and clean. They are experienced and clearly know how to repair chimneys. It was enjoyable to hear the father, son, uncle and 4th worker singing Yugoslavian folk songs from the rooftop! Sure beats an obnoxious loud radio station.

I had considerable difficulty finding someone to do this job and began to worry since winter was approaching and I was leaving town for several weeks. I hesitated to call this contractor because they were from Milwaukee and I was hoping to find someone more local but in the end I did. My call was returned promptly and an appointment scheduled for an estimate a few days later. I found Andy a little difficult to understand at first, but he seemed to grasp the problem and gave me a price on the spot. Since I had been unable to get other estimates I was a little reluctant to sign a contract but because of time pressure decided to trust the reviews on Angie's list and signed. The contract was very vague ("for necessary concrete work") and I paid half upfront - slightly worried! Andy and 2 others came the following day as promised with materials and began the work. I should not have worried! They did a great job, were very jolly workers and it was completed within the promised time. They also did some repairs that I had not noticed, and cleaned up well. They said they would come back and check on things in the spring. Overall I could not have been happier with how it went, especially in the light of my initial trepidation and I will contact them again when I need to have more work done.

I'm upset that I forgot to write a review back when the job was done. These guys were incredible. He visited and gave me an estimate 2 hours after I called, and came to do the work the following week. I had two window arches rebuilt that were pulling off of the house and a variety of tuck pointing spanning 2, 3-story exterior walls. I have a lot of tuck pointing to do, so I'm doing it incrementally. However, while they were up on the ladders, they did much more than I paid for. The second day they were up on ladders in 50 mph winds because he was afraid the wind could get behind loose bricks and pull them off. The work turned out amazing. Here's the best part: About two weeks after the job was done, they pulled up out front again, put a ladder up along side my house and started working. When I asked what they were doing (since they were done and work was paid for) he mentioned that he missed a small spot and had to leave before it was done two weeks ago. And he also noticed something that I didn't pay for, but needed to be fixed sooner rather than later. They tuckpointed for an additional 2 hours! I was blown away and highly recommend them

Company came close to matching the existing mortar in the newly tuckpointed areas. Quality of work was good. Fair price and punctuality of work was very satisfactory. Only negative was lack of clean up after the work was done. There were bits of mortar on the ground beneath the various tuckpointed areas.

The reviews are accurate from my point of view..Andriy and his son arrived exactly when they said..(Friday afternoon). How many contractors do you know that will start work on Friday at 2:00 pm? They worked until dark every day until the job was completed. I can only say good things about these guys, their work, work ethic, and professionalism. Their price was competitive and looks very well done.

The first appointment they cancelled at the last minute. The second appointment they were 2 hours late and never once apologized. It must be the owner's son or something. He was extremely short, and spent no time even asking us what we wanted done or talking about options. He was confrontational and rude during the entire meeting. His price estimate (which he spent 10 minutes coming up with) was several times higher than other estimates. This was easily the worst experience I have had with getting an estimate for work....

Did an excellent job. Detail oriented and fast. Clean up very good afterwards. Will use again.

Andrei's son Arthur came to make the estimate. He came the next day, was prompt, polite and professional. Andrei, son Denis, and another worker came on time, worked hard and steadily, cleaned up perfectly- they were excellent in every regard.

All work was performed as described. I was not home at the time of service...but my wife said they were very professional.

They were responsive to initial call, made appointment, said specific time they would arrive, and arrived at appointed time. Did overall check of the home, identified other problem areas, and gave a quote for entire work. Called the following day, and within an hour the owner was at my door to have the contract signed Then the crew showed up within two hours after that. By the end of the day the crew had finished the work. They were prompt, efficient, and they thoroughly cleaned the job site after project was complete.

8/13/2012 UPDATE: After I posted my bad experience (no show) on Angie's List, AO Handy contacted me to apologize. I gave them a second chance and I'm glad that I did. I'm even going to ask for additional proposals for other work that I need done on my home.

A representative from A.O. Handy, Inc met with me to discuss the tuck pointing and other needs of my house. He was very thorough and helped me understand exactly what needed to be done. One big issue was that white caulk had previously been used between the bricks. Timing was on my side and they were able to begin the next day. All workers were competent and very professional working diligently but keeping everything neat. As a result my brick house looks to me as good as new construction. Tuck pointing is complete from top to bottom, cracks are repaired and the points at which the wall meets the ground are repaired as well as the window well concrete areas. Everything matches nicely. The chimney which I once thought only needed tuck pointing turned out to be in need of a total rebuild. This was a big project. Andy, the owner crafted a great new chimney inside and out. Repairs were also made to ledges near the chimney. The concrete cap was poured rather than using a pre-built making it very solid. New bricks were combined with tuck pointing to complete the job. Who would have guessed a chimney could be beautiful. Mine is. I would highly recommend this company and would happily use them again. A great job and great value.

Andriy responded to my request for an estimate within a day, provided a detailed overview of the work to be done, and I had an estimate within 24 hours of my inquiry. We agreed to the work on a Thursday, and it was completed by the end of the day on Saturday. All the work was performed thoroughly, with attention to detail. He was a pleasure to work with, and I would recommend him to others and use him again myself. It may not be busiest time of year yet, but the fact that I could initiate the (albeit small) project and have it completed, with high quality, within a week is impressive.

We were extremely pleased with the project. They were very friendly and came within hours of the phone call for an estimate. They seemed quite knowledgeable, bringing up everything other contractors had discussed with us as well as making additional comments and suggestions no one else had mentioned. The price was very competitive. Although they actually seemed more knowledgeable and experienced than any other contractors we had talked to, their price was on the low end of the estimates we had received. In addition, they gave us a discount for being an Angie's List member. They worked efficiently and with the highest degree of craftsmanship, doing everything they said they would do. They included some extras we had not initially discussed such as putting in extra reinforcements. They cleaned up thoroughly at the end of each work day and left everything in good condition in the yard. We will definitely use them in the future.

He, his son and his crew started the same day. He brought the equipment and he put this carefully. They looked at the work on the side of my builder I thought that was absolutely fabulous. These guys were here every single day. It was pouring down rain one day and these guys were actually out there in the rain mixing the concrete. It was phenomenal. They actually landed up in a small problem. In the side of my house there is my neighbor’s yard and they needed to put it carefully from there about an hour on our neighbor’s side. They knocked on his door and explained to him what was going to be done and the neighbor said no and to come back the next day. They came back the next day and he didn’t answer the door, so I went over to the neighbor to talk but he didn’t answer the door at all. Three days later they honked some kind of thing from my roof and they were able to finish the work without even touching this neighbor’s part of the yard. The kind of sprang over and it was amazing. I can’t stop talking about them. They were really great. They figured out the way get the scouting and climbed over without even touching my neighbor’s property or asking him anything else at all. I would be using them in the spring again.

I called to set up an estimate to have tuckpointing done on my chimney and basement walls. My call was returned and date for estimate set up. I waited around all day but no one showed. I called and left a message which was returned the next day. At first he said that he thought the estimate was for the following Friday and then later apologized for forgetting about the appointment. I chalked it up as a misunderstanding and rescheduled for the following Friday. Friday came and went and again a no show. I left a second message for this company but never got a call back. I took off of work to have these estimates done so needless to say I am disappointed in this company.

Chicago and Evanston homeowners shouldn't be concerned that A.O. Handy is out of Milwaukee. They do lots of work here, and they do it very well. And prices are competitive with more local companies. I got three estimates, total, all from Angie's List top-rated companies. One was very high; A.O. Handy was about $200 more (on $12,000 job) than second bidder, but proposed to do quite a bit more work (including another set of new concrete steps and rebuilding chimney, instead of just tuckpointing it). This is a family-owned and operated business. The father, Andriy, does most of the work himself; his son, Arthur, does the estimating. They are absolutely awesome. The quality of their work is top notch--cannot be beat. They are prompt, courteous and professional. They did just a ton of work all around our home, and cleaned everything up beautifully. They came out and gave an estimate the day after I contacted them; started work just a few days later and completed everything in about 10 days. When they find other, small problems in the masonry, they fix it, without any extra charge. And they guarantee their work. They plan to stop by next year, just to make sure everything here is still okay. You can't go wrong with these guys. You have to get out your wallet, but it's not that much of a headache because you know they're going to do the job right.

Crew did an excellent job. Job completion was promised within one week following the initial estimate and work was done on the third day following.

They were an A rated company I found on Angie's List. They were very, very good. They knew exactly where all the problems were. The work was not easy because there was cracks from the gables down to the bottom on all sides. They also had to straighten and tuck point the chimney. They caulked all of the flashing. In addition, they caulked cracks they found on the cement entrance steps and cracks on the cement floor of the exterior screen porch. The work was very professional and thorough. They were timely in that they got much work done in as speedy a fashion as possible. They cleared up all the equipment and left the lot in the condition it was before they started.

The men who did the work were: on time, polite and respectful. They worked very cleanly and quickly. They hauled away all the old railings and awnings and old brick quickly. They answered any questions I had and made suggestions. They even moved some of my plants to a safer location and moved them back when done with the job. While the plants were in temporary locations they even watered them! All work was done well and it looks great. 4/5/2013- An update to this review would be that although a corner of the concrete landing on my front porch that was rebuilt during this work has since fallen apart again and we will be looking to have the porch fixed again this year. I am currently in the process of looking for concrete companies in order to have it repaired or completely replaced.

The entire team was friendly, courteous and very prompt. They first cleaned the site. Then removed all grout. Installed the bricks. Then regrouted the entire steps. Finally, they performed a detail clean up. A. O. Handy did a superb job. They are very gifted craftsman with a very positive attitude. The owner Andy is first rate and I would use certainly use again.

We replaced a large window with a smaller one so our brick home needed some patching. AO Handy found bricks that matched our exterior and completed the job less than a week from initial contact. They were scheduled to come out on a Friday, but got delayed until Monday due to searching for matching brick. All in all, quick turn-around. The two gentlemen that came out were friendly and diligent. They were very kind to repair a brick not associated with the original estimate in addition to filling in some missing grout in various areas. The work looks very good matching our existing exterior very well. They also get an A for clean-up after the job!