Get matched with top wood stairs and railings installers and replacers in Portsmouth, VA

"We are very pleased with our new exterior stairs and railings. We have a yard with challenges and Ross handled them all, leaving us with sturdy and attractive stairs. We also appreciated the great communication and responsiveness. All in all we are happy with the results and would not hesitate to work with Ross again!"

"Bryan and his crew were professional and meticulous. They kept working on the project after discovering our upper porch was completely rotted out. They really saved our home and made it beautiful again . Great Craftsmanship! I would definitely hire Ripwood customs again!"

"Everything went great. He was professional and I'd recommend him."

"This company has honesty and integrity--the most important qualities I could ask for in a contractor. They are fairly priced and they will do what they say! Could not recommend them more."

"Purchased a deal off of Angie's list for 3 hours of drywall service. Steve came in and repaired the drywall where I had a busted pipe in wall replaced. He also patched three small drywall holes left from previous owner.  Steve did a superior job and I would use again in the future.
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"Not as good as I would have hoped. He told me how many square feet of tile I needed to purchase. I brought. maybe, nine samples of tiles that I liked because with the price I didn't know what they were willing to work with. Sometimes it's more expensive and more difficult to work with another. I wanted to give them the option saying we don't want to use this because or it's going to cost you more to use this. So I showed the tile to their workman who came out. He said we use a lot of this 1 by 1. I said this is an old house, the floor is not going to be perfectly smooth and having done insurance for years I promise you instead of 8  by 8 tiles the 2 by 2 is going to be more forgiving on an uneven surface is it alright if we used this? He said that's mighty expensive, They are not paying for it so, do you know how to put it down? And he said he knew how to put it down, I asked it he was sure? He said yes, this is what I purchased. I came back and he had gotten all the tile up and he said my sub floor on half the room needs to be replaced and that's not in the price. I said ok what's the price to replace the sub floor and they gave me a price that was a little high. I said that for replacing a sub floor on half and he said that's for the whole room, so if you don't have to replace the whole thing then why don't you adjust that, and they adjusted that price. We agreed I paid them the extra money, and I said they could put my tile down.  He put the tile down, but it was not done in a good professional manner -- you know when you're really finished it looks like a finished room and it was not. I have a floor to ceiling mirror at one end of my bathroom which I pointed out to him. I asked it he realized I have this floor to ceiling mirror. He said he knew how to go about it. I stopped speaking because I thought he understood with a floor to ceiling mirror you have to either measure for it or start at the mirror so you don't end up with tile pieces abutting the mirror and then having it look tacky. Well, that's exactly what he did. Also it was not evenly cut along the wall. Not a problem. In that case you either take up the mold end and put it back down or put a shoe down to cover where at least it looked finished. None of that was done. The thing that got me, most of all was he left and didn't say anything. So I called his office and asked if he's finished. He said he remembered it wasn't finished completely. He said he had run out of tiles. I asked why didn't he tell me ran out of tile. By the way I bought the amount of tile he told me I needed. I will happily go and get some more. My whole thing is communicate with me you don't just run out of tile and leave. You tell me that I'm out of tile and I asked when is he coming back? He came back the next day or two whatever the case was and finished installing that tile and left again without saying anything. So I wondered if he was finished. It doesn't look finished to me so I called they said he was done. I said this is not acceptable, it doesn't look finished at all and I recounted all the things that went wrong. The guy in the background said he did not know what they want. They told me to take some pictures of it. I'm not a photographer and I don't think what I am talking about is going to really read in pictures, someone needs to come and at it. So the owner of the company finally agreed to come and look at it and when he looked at it he said "oh! I see," what can we do?" And I said if you want to put down a shoe mold in to finish up all these edges there's places where tiles not lining up a couple of them are going to have to come up and put back down. He hasn't done anything and the floor looks totally unfinished, it's just some tile in the middle of the floor and a huge gap around the edges. I point out all these things he said he would send someone out to finish it. They sent the same guy who was basically baffled about it. He said this looked fine to him. So now I thought I had to tell him what to do."

"Our is 2.5 storey and steep roof. Owner visited and without getting on roof told me that you need to replace 2 flashings. The house is 9 years old and according to him ( I am not sure) it is better to replace flashing after 10-12 years any way. I think flashing should have same about 30 years life of roof. However, I accepted the recommendation as cost was $150. Also, I don't think they inspected or did anything on other side of the roof. He sent Brian in the following week to carry out work. Brian is really hardworking honest guy. He spent about 4 hours on roof to replace flashing and nail down singhles on one side of roof. I was not happy since they didn't even look at other side of roof. Since my $200 +79 was worth their effort of 4 hours I am OK with the service provided. However, I felt that they are giving this deal to generate more business. and chnging of flushing was not necessary. Anyway I was happy with Brian and hence I am giving A other wise I would have given B."

"Tommy and his assistant, Louie, completely repainted our newly purchased condo. Everything was painted, top to bottom. HE IS FANTASTIC IN EVERY WAY - AAAA++++

My experience in evaluating contractors: My experience in remodels working with painters is very extensive: I?ve completely remodeled and had painted six major homes over the years. Thus, I have dealt with numerous paint contractors. Tommy is one of the best I?ve ever worked with.

Scope of Project: Notably, I hired every contractor remotely from San Francisco prior to moving out to Norfolk. Using Angie?s List and Better Business Bureau, I searched and evaluated numerous painters. I initially thought (from long distance) that only the walls needed re-painting. Upon inspection, Tommy noted everything needed to be repainted, to insure a consistent look and classy look. He emailed pictures evidencing the work that needed to be done. I agreed completely (other paint contractors suggested much of the same but no pictures sent). So, ceilings, all walls, closets, doors, windows, trim, top to bottom. Am I glad I followed his advice.

Bid Preparation: Getting estimates from afar, I had prepared an extremely detailed, line by line item list of every step that needed to be done. My real estate agent had keys to our condo and coordinated pick-up and return for inspection and estimates by contractors. All significant paint selections (quality) had been specified in the proposal at Virginia Paint (Benjamin Moore) I sent out. Each paint contractor got an identical email from me with no changes, thus ensuring comparability. I was searching for the best workers, at reasonable costs, and a good personality fit - most important. Numerous emails and phone call exchanges with these folks over two weeks it took to find the right painter. I chose Tommy as we determined approximate time frame he and his crew could begin. I had contract sent / signed, and initial deposits made for the work.

Professionalism: From long distance emails and over the phone, Tommy and I hit it off right off the bat. He is very, very professional, super experienced in all facets of painting, especially on color selection and co-ordination, helpful with suggestions and ideas. He is very reasonably priced (on the lower end but important, not the low end - you get what you pay for). Most important, he is a gentleman, courteous, very likeable, cheerful, extremely honest, a family man, very responsive(always a phone call response back to me generally within an hour and always within the day). I knew within the first day or two I had the right man for the job and needn?t worry about a thing. Not only was he an expert, he has an excellent way of dealing with other sub-contractors working their jobs (during the time frame he was there), who genuinely liked working with him, coordinating with them, their schedules, to keep things flowing smoothly.

Color Expert: Tommy is an expert.  Once getting to Ghent, meeting him in person for the first time at the condo, we hit it off immediately as we traveled together to the paint store. I had ideas about color, but it took me over a week to make my selections. There are literally thousands of colors, with options for various rooms, ceilings, trim, high lights, accent walls etc. He has a real eye for color selection and co-ordination, and was extremely helpful to me in the process. An expert like him for advice and direction was critical to success.

Work ethic. He is extremely detail conscious, everything needed to be perfect by him, always opted for the best look, never cut corners, even if cut into his profits - he is a perfectionist. Always cleaning up everything at the end of the day, removing tools. Remodels, especially old homes, always run into problems not anticipated and not part of the original contract. Important: home owners always come up with new ideas, the job expands, change orders, etc. Therefore, I knew from my extensive remodeling experience I could run over budget. I can assure you that Tommy was always more than fair with me, not a bean counter, he included gratuitously many little things we would try out not in the budget or he did so at minor cost addition. It became a bit of a partnership.

Job Done: The condo is absolutely beautiful, on time done to perfection at a reasonable cost, with a wonderful working relationship, hassle free co-operative manner thanks to Tommy and his assistant Lewis.

Summary: Having done five extensive home re-models, working with all the trades and at least 100 contractors, I CAN TRUTHFULLY SAY HE IS THE BEST. His work is top notch. HIS PRICES ARE VERY REASONABLE. His work ethic superb and honesty is impeccable. Most important, he loves his work.

Scott and Nancy
 

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"Geoff completely remodeled our bathroom from top to bottom. It came out beautifully. His does all the work himself and its high quality. He was great to work with and always kept us updated with progress. Highly recommend this company for your next remodeling/home improvement project!"

"Good, we had them do a fireplace and I knew it was not easy but they did a very good job on it, then the kitchen and hallway was next, very good."