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

"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."

"Olsen Tuckpointing Company did a brilliant job of cleaning & tuckpointing our 91-year-old brick bungalow. We are delighted with the results and highly recommend Olsen if you need any kind of brickwork done. It wasn't a huge job, but with the home being as old as it is, we were concerned about getting it done right. The brick exterior had quite a few old mortar patches and some washed-out sections, and over the years the walls had collected a wide assortment of paint stains, hardware hangers and old screw holes. The textured, tan brick also looked pretty dingy, although we weren't sure how much was the original color and how much might be accumulated dirt. The attached pictures show the after & before of dull brown bricks cleaned to a warm, clean gold. I didn't take closeups of the repairs, but I am impressed by how seamlessly the new work blends in with the older mortar. Everyone was friendly, knowledgeable, prompt, and professional, and I have only good things to say about them all. The estimator was able to come out quickly after the initial contact, he did a comprehensive walk-though, and he provided a clear, reasonable, and detailed estimate in a timely fashion--along with an explanation of the whole process from start to finish, so we would know what to expect. The office staff was great about getting things scheduled and making sure we knew when the crews would be showing up, the crews introduced themselves on arrival, and they were all friendly, careful, and incredibly skilled. We are 100% pleased as can be & will certainly be calling Olsen Tuckpointing when next we need any masonry work performed."

"Can't say enough good things about our experience with AAA-1 Masonry & Tuckpointing. We had two holding walls with brick that was deteriorating. They power washed to identify which bricks needed to be removed and swapped out those bricks with new ones. In addition they replaced the capstones on the two walls with larger capstones to provide the walls more protection from the elements. Everything was sealed and completed flawlessly. The crew was experienced and professional. Since the work was done this summer, our walls don't even get wet from rain! We are so grateful for the expert repair but also the guidance that replacing the capstones would provide more of a long term solution. Highly recommend these guys for your masonry needs."

"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."

"Nick the owner was excellent to work with, and Paul who did the overlay and sealant did outstanding work. They were wonderful to work with, they would answer phone calls and get back to you right away with any questions that you had. They did everything that they promised. I would highly recommend using 3d concrete."

"They inspected the chimney from the roof and found that caps needed fixing or replacing and the chimney had cracks. They showed me pictures before I approved the additional work and they fixed everything right then and there—quickly and professionally. They skowed me pictures of the completed work."

"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."

"Great. Complete tear up and replace"

"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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