Get matched with top brick or stone siding: installers or completely replacers in Chicago, IL

"Bricks along one side of our attached garage fell from an outside wall after a car struck a corner of the house next to the garage. Not only brick, but also the wood underlay, needed replacement. I requested some estimates on my own, but estimates from those recommended by Robert seemed most reasonable, and I chose them. Once those steps had been completed, Robert's Masonry completed the last step of replacing the outside layer of brick next to the garage door and also extending partway along the outside wall. I definitely would select Robert's Masonry and Repair for any masonry project. Not only was he professional and knowledgeable, but he also kept us informed every step of the way."

"Chimney work was outstanding. The new chimney matches the house brick in color and variations! The house is 60 years old. The mortar work replaced all of the holes and made the walls look new. I would use them for any future masonry or chimney work I need."

"Robert took on a very difficult project. Our home is a Chicago landmark, and thus we needed to handle our old clay tiles with care; individually removing them and cleaning them so that the roof could be replaced. The roofers then reinstalled the entire clay system after removing an old obsolete chimney and tuckpointing another one. They also sanded down or repaired many aging soffits and fascia, replaced that which had been destroyed or rotted. We had a number of changes along the way, so we had to negotiate as we went and Robert was reasonable in those discussions. As a final note, we quoted out five contractors. Two said our project was too difficult. Two others didn't return my requests for the proposed work; and I wasn't surprised given how pessimistic they were about their ability to accomplish our project. Thanks Robert and team for doing this work."

"Good. It took some back and forth to get the contract language the way I wanted it, but after that all went well. Alex is very responsive and professional. The masons did good work. They were not shy about replacing spalled common bricks. They grinded the old mortar to the depth as stated in contract. No shortcuts were taken. It was obvious these masons took pride in their work. Something that is getting rarer these days. I pointed out some smeared mortar on bricks and they cleaned it up right away. New bricks and mortar match the old well. They cleaned up after themselves. This is not a bargain handyman cash job. You see lots of shoddy tuckpointing in my neighborhood and it's sad. The fast cash guys don't grind the mortar down enough and the new mortar falls off after a few years. You'll pay more at AAA-1 but you get what you pay for. Masonry is an art and AAA-1 demonstrates that."

"Repeat customer here--After George and his team installed a couple of doors on our house, we hired them again to renovate our sunroom. They did a terrific job! They installed insulation, drywall, floor and window trim, and a tile floor. George and his team are thorough and show great attention to detail. Very communicative and always a pleasure to work with. He and his team can do just about anything--highly recommend them for any remodeling needs."

"I am glad they alerted me to needing an new cap and replace a storm collar. They also resurfaced chase pan. $485.00 seemed a bit excessive to just spray paint on chase pan without even scrapping rust off. They did not even scrap rust ring on chimney pipe or spray paint with high temp rust-o-leum. The stainless steel cap was listed at $464.71 and discounted to $395 for Angie's List member. Subsequent Angie list deals show replacement cap from Jimmy Chiminy at $249.00 before Angie discount to $129.00 Our chimney cap was installed crooked until my wife requested that it be straightened. Very overpriced. ...and, yes, I scrapped the rust ring on the pipe and spray painted the pipe with high temp rust-o-leum myself!"

"I've used Fortune Restoration in the past when I managed condominium buildings. After seeing the cedar siding work they did on a friend's house I decided to call Tom Fortune for my own residence. Tom took the time to listen and called his lead carpenter to discuss the various siding and trim options. He was able to write the estimate on the spot. They started quickly and there were no delays once they began. Their crews were communicative and professional. Tom also stopped by regularly to inspect the workmanship and make sure I was satisfied. Fortune removed the existing metal siding on the house, replaced the soffit and fascia with PVC which was quite labor intensive, sided the gable ends and small front dormer with cedar, stained the new cedar, and painted all the new trim and exterior windows. They left the area in very good condition. I'm very pleased with their responsiveness and quality of the work and recommend them without reservation."

"Rivera arrived on time, with an excellent crew. Completed the job within a few hours. We are very happy with our driveway. Also, very professional"

"We hired Edmar to rebuild our parapet on our brick multi-family house during the summer of 2020, and they did an outstanding job! The brickwork looks exceptional and I can tell they really pay attention to detail. Their proposal for the project was the most professional and detailed one we received, and if I had any questions they were very quick to respond. If we have any masonry needs in the future, we will definitely be giving Edmar a call. We also hired them to install new windows, and they did a great job with those as well - they installed them quickly and professionally."

"Actual roof replacement, main house & garage was completed on the first day. 6+ person crew started reasonably early, after 8-8:30 but worked "late" until 5 or 6pm to finish up. It's been almost 60 days, and several rains and we've not had any leakage issues around 3 skylights. The shingles appear to be very well attached despite a couple of heavy wind storms that we've had this spring.
The full crew came & worked hard the first day. On the second day a 2-man (person) crew came to finish off the last couple of items.We initially used 2nd City to install heat tape in our south east downspout last fall. But this crew did not seem to know how to install it and did not have proper tools (e.g. drill bits, snake) for the job. I was way too involved in the installation, especially given the high quality of the original heat tape installation the previous fall from the same company, albeit a different work crew.
The other "gripe" is that wood was replaced on the garage behind gutters that needed to be painted, but the gutters were re-installed without any notification. Given that they were going to be back a second day, it would have been nice to know so that the painting could have been been done before hand. This created additional work, taking the gutters down and re-installing them after-the-fact. Painting was beyond the scope of the work order, and I did not expect 2nd City to do painting, but a little effort on the crew's part would have saved a great deal of work.
When I called 2nd City about it, they were quite responsive. They sent out another (2-man) crew the following day to check on the viability of the new installation. As was, the tape did not work when plugged in. After some adjustment, they demonstrated it working to me -- it was warm in hand.
The gutter-paint fiasco and the heat tape installation are the sole reasons for not giving As across the board. The primary roofing effort seems like it is 1st class. But the primary roof did not need any repair or work. Responsiveness and punctuality are highly regarded.
The final consideration is would I use them again (I shouldn't have to on this building for more than a decade), and the answer is "yes" -- but I would supervise more carefully than I did.

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