Get matched with top brick or stone siding: installers or completely replacers in Colgate, WI

"Art and his guys have done several jobs for me on my home. One of their tasks was to create an opening in the brick exterior of our house for a doorway out to our patio. Their quality of work and attention to detail is impeccable. The doorway out to our patio looks like it was an original part of our home (built in 1930). We also had very intricate tuck work with the brick and stone on the front of our home that needed repair. They returned it to its original condition. It turned out beautiful. We’ll continue to call Art when his services are needed. We have and will continue to recommend him and his guys."

"The salesman came and gave us an estimate. The job was completed for the price quoted. I could not believe that they took off 3 layers of shingles and cleaned up so well that I could not tell that there was so much debris. They also protected the neighboring homes on either side so that no damage occured while my project was completed. Excellent. I will call them back for other work."

"Rivera concrete did a good job, they were on time and professional and answered all my questions. Had to come back for a touch up and is now complete."

Todd Matula, the founder of Matula Masonry, started the company in 1998. The company spans Brookfield, Milwaukee, and surrounding areas in Southeastern Wisconsin. He has 41 years of masonry experience in which he perfected his craft. Matula Masonry is an experienced business whose goal is to provide customers with the highest rate of satisfaction possible. To achieve this goal we provide quick communication, a planned timeline for all projects, and follow ups.

"Generally well overall. Unfortunately, the weather (early spring) put off the date for the final paving over the outside drain tile. There was also an area along the basement wall for which they didn't install the seepage material (no explanation why). The team broke one basement window, reported to the manager that I had approved replacing ALL the windows with glass block ($200 each for 5 windows). I explained that I had not spoken with them at all, and I'd be willing to replace the ONE broken window. They replaced two. At no extra charge to me. I felt as though it was my responsibility to nag (when will you be able to finish? what's going on with the outdoor work?), when that should be the priority of the business... keeping me informed about what's going on. Finally, when moving appliances, they destroyed my washing machine (cracked a cement part so it couldn't be repaired). I wasn't aware this had occurred until after the fact. I complained but have had no response. Despite the carelessness and unresponsiveness, that basement is dry as a bone. Can't complain on that note. I marked that I would hire again... slightly unsure about that. I'd like to think there's a perfect company out there that would contact me up-front about when work stops or will continue, or when they break something. Otherwise, the foundation work + sump pump install was superb."

"Excellent work taking out old cement between large stones on landing and steps and reapplying cement.  They also tuck pointed the whole stairway structure which is quite large.  They did this over three days, were on time and reliable.
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"explained everything. Did a pretty good job. some Lines in concrete were not straight. Did a good job next to the house and the back steps. The 100 yr flood here in MIlw. left our basement dry, partially from the sidewalk sloped properly and having it next to the house. gary"

"Called Brandon out he said they was really busy and we try and have someone come out that day that didn't happen but they came out the next day and gave us a great price and explained everything very well would definitely hire again"

"RESPONSIVENESS TO NEEDS
There are different measures of success on any project and different constraints and issues that will challenge those measures.  My primary measure of success was a DRY basement, and Brian?s proposal to deliver it was comprehensive. He was committed to meeting my request while satisfying my second measure of success: do it at an affordable price.

ESTIMATE
Brian does all estimates himself instead of sending out salespeople (which I appreciate).  I scheduled Brian's first visit in the days following a large rainfall that caused flooding in neighboring areas, so his schedule was packed. Understandably, Brian was crunched between appointments when he arrived slightly behind schedule, but he had kept me updated in the hours preceding his arrival.  Brian quickly conveyed a focus on resolving the seepage problem.  He also listened to my concerns, identified primary and secondary issues, and said he would send a thorough e-mail containing precise details for a solution with a cost breakdown.  He arrived and left in about hour, and within a couple days he sent an e-mail estimate with two options. 1) A complete basement drain tile system with crack repairs, or 2) a partial system that he believed would resolve the problem at a lesser cost. He offered to allow me to "upgrade" to the full system in the future and pay the difference between the two estimates. This type of offer was not even discussed by the three other companies (two big names and one small business) that came for estimates.

With the exception of the extended (years-long) payment / financing options offered by the larger companies, Brian?s proposed solution was almost a hands-down winner.  The other small company was comparable, but after sending the initial estimate, Brian offered to return on the weekend to give me the opportunity to talk again when there was more time.  Other companies' approaches to doing exterior excavation ranged from doing minor reinforcement to not even wanting to touch it.  Brian, in contrast, said he can?t honestly guarantee a dry basement when he didn?t know what the previous repair looked like.  He offered to completely excavate the two walls that had work done previously and to replace (if necessary) any inferior quality materials with his own fix.  Now we're cooking with gas!  The cost of the job remained competitive, and this ?extra mile? effort on top of everything else fully satisfied my need to be 100% sure the seepage would be stopped.  I opted for the full drain tile system.

TIME
The timeframe Brian quoted was in line with all of his competitors: 2 days max.  The time element of the job met some challenges, taking 5 full working days to complete, (Tues-Fri plus half days Sat-Sun).  The reason?  The crew found the floor was new, dense 4-inch concrete poured on top of the original 4-inch concrete floor.  This meant twice the work for the breakup crew that was prepared for a conventional job, making it impossible to accommodate the original time frame. Brian promised to never leave a job unfinished, so he juggled his crews' schedules to make daily progress, and he never once raised his price despite the extra time or material (concrete) required. I was very grateful.  He also personally came to finish the job on the weekend rather than pushing it out to Monday or Tuesday.

EXTRAS AND RESPONSIVENESS
Some plumbing in the floor was impacted by the concrete breakup and required repairs due to its age and condition.  Brian took the time to find the exact materials I requested for the repair and installed them.  I was not present at installation so he took photos and video and sent them to me via smartphone so I could verify he got it right.  What other contractor does that?! He also paid attention to every detail for laying out the design of the downspout tie-ins, finishing touches, and every single special request I threw at him. He also spotted an additional leak in the corner of the foundation and sealed it up as well. His commitment to resolving every issue to my satisfaction was outstanding.

Brian made himself accessible via phone, e-mail and text, and he responded quickly to inquiries.  I wanted to know every detail of the work, and Brian accommodated. Another totally unexpected surprise came when Brian discovered that some of the promised work did not need to be performed, and he provided credit for this instead of using the difference for my extra requests.

SATISFACTION
"You'll be happy," is Brian's mantra.  He addressed a couple gripes - dust exposure to the first floor space; a few trampled plants outside - by providing equitable financial credits.  These professional oversights on his crew's part are unacceptable to Brian, and credit on the final bill was all he could do to make up for it.  Overall, the crew was polite, and one even brought a stack of extra floor tiles from his personal supply to replace some I'd lost during demolition work I had done weeks earlier!

From start to finish, despite delays and minor shortcomings, Brian executed on the proposed project by 100% nailing the two most important measures of success ? quality and cost. As for timing, the job ran long but Brian didn't quit until the job was done. I never expect perfection; nevertheless, Brian aimed to earn my satisfaction as his primary goal. I give an A+ on nearly every category, taking a point or two away for the issues mentioned.

Rain is coming in the next two days, and I'll only edit this review if the repairs fail to deliver a dry basement.  I am posting this review before the rain comes as a vote of confidence that I won't have to change a word.

The most important criterion to assess a job well done is whether you'd recommend a service provider to a family member or friend.  In Brian's case, I absolutely would."

"Things started very slowly for us, because of constant rain in the beginning and then one or two of the guys were out sick or injured (not work related). But, once things got under way, everything went really well. First of all, our house is three stories tall and the garage is not attached, also the homes in this neighborhood are quite close to each other, so there wasn't a lot of space on the sides of the house for working. The stucco work made it so that you couldn't even see where the patching and repairs were. And, the painting is just beautiful. We needed some gutters replaced and they even cleaned out gutters which were not part of the job or contract. While the work was being done, there was stuff all over the yard, but at the end of each day it was all cleaned up and piled nicely. Bruce and his guys were very courteous and friendly. Whenever we brought up anything that we felt needed doing, they always took care of it. They never gave us some reason why it couldn't be done. As the work went along we discovered that a ceiling had fallen down in a sleeping porch that we just used for storage. It turned out that water was coming in from poor roofing that had been done years before. After first trying to calk it and finding out that didn't work, we had Bruce repair that section of the roof. So that was a completely separate job and the room is now dry and being brought back into working order. We were so happy with the exterior painting that we have now gone ahead to have some interior rooms redone (the walls torn out and replaced and painted.) The one bedroom that has been done is so beautiful that everyone now wants that to be their room. We went beyond what we had planned to do, so we are having to come to an end here, but we will definitely be getting Bruce back to do further work in the future."