American Exteriors and Masonry

This is an initial review on Mar 6, 2020. If the situation improves, I will revise my rating.The contract was signed Sept 10, 2019. The work is not yet done. As you read the below, keep in mind this is supposed to be a one month job. CEO/President is Mr. Carmen Pretopapa. Contract sign date: Sept 10, 2019. Estimated start date Oct 10, 2019, and completion within 30 days. The masonry crew has worked sporadically. The project is far from complete. I paid $11,000 on Sept 10, 2019, at contract signing. (Of note, the DPOR license # on the contract is off by one digit, assume this is unintentional). The goal: make my house look like the same model one block away. A week before starting work, the CEO and lead mason, Franklin, conducted a walk-around and final measurements. On that day, Franklin asserted TWiCE that the brick veneer project required a CEMENT FOOTER, but CEO dismissed this. I queried the CEO several times about this later, but he said this was not needed. On Oct 8, 2019, I wrote another check for $11,000, prior to start of work, per contract terms. Soon thereafter, four pallets of Cortez bricks, a dumpster and other items were delivered, taking up both sides of the driveway. On Oct 14, 2019, the crew cut and bolted an L beam to the front foundation, which was to support all brick in front. They also removed first floor vinyl siding, and put up Tyvek. Then, mysteriously, they did not return. I called repeatedly, but no one responded. Finally, in frustration, on Nov 1, 2019, I went to their office to ask why no one was working. CEO stated to protect me and him, he decided the project needed a building permit. Heâ d hired a structural engineer, who unfortunately died, and was waiting for a replacement. I reluctantly signed a blank Loudoun County building permit. After waiting for the replacement, CEO hired another firm. A structural engineer came to the house Nov 11, 2019 to collect data for the permit. The permit was approved Dec 12, 2019. CEO notified me the crew would resume work Jan 2, 2020. Meanwhile, I begged them to remove the dumpster blocking the driveway since the crew was not working. My car was trapped in the garage Oct 8th - Nov 18th. The masonry crew worked Jan 2 and 6, 2020, digging a trench ten feet deep down to the footer. On Jan 6, they also removed vinyl siding from the garage and the front door surround, What timing! The next day, a snowstorm that closed the Federal Govt arrived. The front door and wood sheathing had no protection, but the piles of clay were covered in tarps! Water seeped into the house interior around the front door. At that time, I was also concerned about the danger posed by the 10 foot deep trenches to children living behind me and across the street. I suggested a snow fence, which would be reusable. Instead, yellow caution tape was installed. The masons laid cinder blocks Jan 10 and Jan 12; this was approved by the County. On Jan 17, 2020, the masonry crew returned to fill in trenches to about two feet below ground level. They have not returned since. March 10 marks six months since the contract was signed. NOT ONE BRICK HAS BEEN LAID. Even accounting for bad weather, this is unacceptable. In the last few days, I had been sending photos of my house to CEO Pretopapa and General Manager Nate Hill so they would be reminded of what the neighbors and I are forced to look at every day. Today, I posted their business sign in front before taking the picture. Mysteriously, sometime today, that sign disappeared. I guess they are embarrassed, too. At this point, I am out $22,000, and not one brick has been laid. I would defer major home renovations until I would be retired so I could monitor the work. If I knew the crew would work ~1 day/mo, I would have postponed retirement.

American Exteriors and Masonry was great to work with! Carmen and Nina came through with every expectation and beyond as well as Ashley! They were all wonderful when you reached out to ask a question, make a request, or voice a concern, very quick to respond or came to the house to check it out same day! From the beginning their customer service is right on target being very responsive and taking quick action. The whole experience was very positive from negotiating price to work in progress to completion. They will work with you to get what you want reasonably. We had 3 projects: replacing a large 2 level deck, flagstone steps and walkway and installing a 2 section patio. Their crews specialize in decking or masonry so these guys know what they are doing. Any concerns or challenges, they consult with you making recommendations or coming up with alternative solutions so you can make the decision. Everyone including the crews were polite, cleaned up and finished work in a very reasonable amount of time. Most of all, we are very happy with how the deck, front steps and walkway, and the patios turned out, just beautiful! We highly recommend American Exteriors and Masonry for their quality work, wonderful customer service and great home improvements we are extremely happy with!!

When I called to have building details... I got ignored several times...! Poor customer service

American Exteriors and Masonry did an exceptional job of turning our falling apart brick stairs (on a steep slope) into beautiful stone stairs. There was some settling, no fault of the company's, and it stood behind its work sending in an expert, Hugo, to facilitate the repair and no charge to us. You cannot go wrong in hiring American Exteriors and Masonry.

This was really not a very organized project. They were to build a retaining wall to code based upon cinderblock and rebar filled with cement - with footers, and drainage from the roof and the run-off to fall down to a drain area - and it would be routed around the driveway to a drainage area. The wall is not small, 40 x 40 - and 4' high with a second wall behind the first - at 4' behind and 3' high - parallel to the front wall. They promised all the right things... even had it written that way in the contract. Three months later, when it came time to start building, they hemmed and hawed that the work was too much, there was too much dirt, so they found a sub-contractor that would do it with different (commercial size ) blocks instead of cinderblock and cement AND to keep it away from the inspectors - only 3.5' high - for each wall... and no drainage around the area. Well, this has led to serious drainage issues. They didn't have the wall high enough to hold any kind of top soil to use for landscaping. They put the same horrible mud back into the area that should have been scraped off and carted away, they tore up the yard on the other size of my driveway, completely away from the area. The planning was essentially non-existent or whatever there was of it was kept away from the customer, the one paying for and receiving the service. When the rains came all summer the area was a complete disaster with all the mud flowing off the hill as they never put up even silt fencing. I had to run out for straw and sod to hold onto the hillside. Overall the wall is up and finally looks nice, but I do not want to go through this experience again, but I'm glad that I have done this. I had to put another $10K into landscaping and removing the old soil and such, that finally it is now starting to hold its own.

Overall I was satisfied with the quality of the patio I had built, but American Exteriors and Masonry was very difficult to deal with. My biggest problem was the contractors building my patio used a different construction process than the one described to me by the salesmen and no one notify me of the change. The process was a big factor in my decision to use the company and I was upset they changed it without notifying me. I talked to the foremen about it and ended up continuing since I felt I had no choice given American Exteriors and Masonry already had most of my money and the patio was almost complete. There was a lack of communication from the company. The construction crews would just not show up half of the time and no one from the company would keep me up to date when they were going to show up. Also, the construction crew did a lot of damage to my lawn. The salesman led me to believe the damage would be as extensive.

Good quality work for the money invested!

Work was done on time and exceeded expectations Deck or Porch - Build or Replace Excellent quality of products and services Brick and Stone Patios, Walks, and Steps - Install The crew did an exceptional job with great attention to detail

It went great. Job was finished quickly and professionally. Carmen was very helpful and when it came to making minor changes, it was not a problem at all. The guys he used to do the work were professional and worked quick. Was not disappointed in anyway.

I signed a contract with American Exteriors and Masonry on 13 April, 2016. As of today, 14 October, 2017 they have not completed the work and I am filing a complaint with the BBB. I contracted this company to build a stone patio, deck, screened in porch, and under-deck shed. While the quality of the work performed by their sub-contractors is generally very good, this company has suffered significant turnover in personnel which resulted in numerous and lengthy delays. The customer service and response was initially quite good, but has declined to the point where they have not responded to my numerous inquiries over the past 2 months to complete the final items on the contract. Even prior to that, getting a crew out here to finish simple punch list items (caulking, broken stone replacement, buried drain pipes, etc.) was a very difficult and lengthy process. It took months of calls and texts to get a response. Nate is the primary salesman who sits down with clients to decide on the scope of the project and negotiate cost. He is very personable and knowledgeable, but I have found he makes promises the owner, Carmen, will deny or simply refuse to fulfill. For example, after leaving large amounts of debris in my backyard for a long time after the majority of deck and patio work were done, Nate promised they would grade and overseed to replace the extensive amount of backyard grass that had been destroyed. Carmen later declined to do so, saying it wasn't in the contract. So be it. Well, 2 things that ARE in the contract that this company hasn't completed are lighting for the stairs and an external hose bib on the deck. I cannot recommend a company that has such poor follow through to completion... especially on such a large (and expensive) project. UPDATE: Subsequent to me submitting this review, the company became much more responsive and completed some of the uncompleted items mentioned above and got them wrapped up in a short period of time.

Nate provided us an estimate based on our requirements on April 7th 2017 and collected 20% of the cost with an agreement to start the work by June 1st 2017. The contract was one page and he showed us several models to let us the finish of our deck. After providing them the PLAT on 05/25/2017, we were hoping the project would start by June 1st week. I was constantly in touch with them, as we want the deck and the patio to be completed in order to host our house warming party. I was told that the project schedule was on time. The trouble started with the beginning of the project. The footing failed several inspections and I was worried why would a renowned company unable to get it passed after several attempts. The answer was,lack of supervision or directions to the crew. Then came another shock, Fairfax county pulled the permit because the plan didn't meet the county requirements. Nate blamed it on the building, whereas he missed to provide proper planning based on the existing building. My neighbour who has a similar house started the deck project with another company and they were able to plan it properly. Their construction went forward without any hiccups. Their project took 15 days to complete, whereas our project sat there without any progress. To proceed further, I was asked to pay for the change in cost to meet the county requirement. I was provided an estimate and signed a contract but in the through the project I was asked to pay more for none of my mistake. My only mistake here was going with American Exteriors and Masonry. Now, the company had issues with the crew and again I took the hit for it. The project was halted until they could find another team to work on our project. The real problem started with the materials. I was shown a different model which had vinyl handrail and I was told my deck would be similar to it. They started putting wooden handrail, when I called Nate to discuss about it, I was asked to pay the difference in cost. When I insisted that we agreed on vinyl railing in the initial discussion, it fell in deaf ears. I was asked to pay more to get what was initially shown during the initial estimate. Finally, they finished the project on 07/21/2017 and my party was on 07/22/2017. All the materials and trash were all sitting in my drive way when I had my guest, it was not a pretty site. I thought we are done with this project and I was so wrong. The deck failed the final inspection. Despite the failed inspection, the company wanted me to pay for the deck. I insisted the payment will be made only when the deck passed inspection. I had to leave for 4 weeks vacation. Prior to leaving, I wrote an email to Nate and Carmen about the inspection and how I am not happy about the finishing of the deck. I didn't get any response. The deck and patio passed inspection in the last week of August. When I came from vacation they wanted the payment but didn't want to address my concern. Our Deck and Patio is completed after

Loved their masonry work. Would definitely consider them for other projects

We were incredibly pleased and impressed with American Exteriors and Masonry! They were professional and helpful right from the beginning when we were designing our new patio & steps and were in constant communication with us during all phases of the process. They offered a good price, started the project earlier than planned, and finished it very quickly (without sacrificing quality)! We would highly recommend them to anyone and have already given their contact information to two of our neighbors.

Very satisfied with the work that American Exteriors provided. The install teams were professional, clean, and courteous. Crews showed up at the appointed time, with all the materials and completed the entire project on schedule as described in the contract. Finished work resulted in outcomes that exceeded our expectations. Priced fairly, but this is not a contractor to be selected on lowest price “ this contractor provides professional quality workmanship and a steadfast warranty on materials and workmanship. I will use them again on other projects and have recommended them to others.

We had them install a 789 sq. ft. flagstone patio and walkway in our back yard and side of the house with a fire pit. I've dealt with many contractors before and these guys are serious business. If you have dealt with contractors going missing for days/weeks and projects shifting to the right by days/weeks. You share the same pain as I did. When we hired these guys to do the patio, I was afraid same thing will happen, so I was a lot more picky. I was surprised by the responsiveness, professionalism, and care for the project. I can't say enough about American Exteriors. They even notice flaws that I didn't see and fixed it after we were done with the final walk. Then we had a problem with a flagstone that was not American Exteriors fault, Lawn care guys broke pieces off of it and they took care of it with a smile. Pricing Note: They come in a bit higher, not by much, but in return you can ensure the job gets done and completed in a timely fashion, and worry free. You get what you pay for. Side note: PLEASE take care of these guys when they come to work at your home. It doesn't cost much to be nice and caring to these guys, they work hard and when you try to lift one of the pieces, it's not light.

The company was on top of everything and stayed in constant communication with us to make sure things were going as planned. Both Zach (project manager) and Kevin (site supervisor) were very easy to work with and helped come up with ideas for the couple issues we ran into. I felt very comfortable with them and they stayed involved during the entire install. The workers were always professional and courteous as well.

We had them install a 300 sq. ft. flagstone patio in our back yard for our fire pit. They also installed drain lines for the fire pit and down spout. Carmen and company were able to knock out the work in a short amount of time w/out sacrificing quality. We are extremely pleased with the outcome and would recommend them to our family and friends. Top notch work!!!

Excellent work and customer service!

We got several estimates to replace our front porch and front walk with flagstone. American Exterioirs was not the cheapest, but we're really glad we chose them! The workers were professional, on time and pleasant to have around. They're experts at what they do and we loved their work so much. So much, that we had them do more than we had originally planned. The gentleman who did the stone work was a true artist and we wished we had more places to have him 'work his magic'. After the driveway surface was finished and the area roped off, A DOG WALKED ACROSS IT BEFORE IT DRIED! No problem! I was able to contact Carmen and he sent Daniel back to correct it - so happy about that! Overall we wer extremely pleased with their work and would highly recommend them!

We started with the Deck and they were very flexible with the layout to fit the space and size that we wanted and offered other good ideas. They are experienced with building high quality products and shared several portfolios from previous jobs which helped us with our requirements. The pricing was not the best but the Value was. You get what you pay for but we feel we got more. The workmanship on the deck was top notch, detailed and clean. All of the cuts of the flooring were flush and precise. The crew was fast, pleasant and did great work. We had such a good experience with the deck that we used them for the patio and got the same quality and service. There were a couple of calls back for fixes and they were prompt and efficient. We have a few friends that had horror stories with their decks and patios, taking double the time and cost and having permit issues etc... I highly recommend American Exteriors & Masonry.

The team was responsive and did great work on repairing several cracks in our foundation. I was confident that the work was done properly, and the finished work looked very good.

A great company. They gave helpful advice and a different perspective on what I was originally considering. The work was done efficiently and thoroughly, and they put everything back after completing the work.

We had no problems with the work or the firm. It was only the sub contractor that we needed to use that caused delays. Also, the contractor for the railing did a poor job, but American Exteriors and Masonry responded and corrected all problems we had. We're very satisfied with the results and highly recommend them.

This company is top notch. They worked with me to fit the work I wanted done (replacing my front porch siding with brick) to my budget and then provided craftsmen of the highest caliber to do the actual masonry work. They were efficient and neat and did a brilliant job on the brickwork. Throughout the project the office was responsive whenever I called. I would recommend this company without reservation.