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!"

"Perfectly! The work was completed on time (ahead of schedule) and within budget. The team took the time to educate and help with selection decisions, managed our changing requirements effortlessly, provided a transparent and thorough cost proposal, and most importantly, produced an outstanding product. Simply excellent work all around. The deck is beautiful, as you can see. We went with clear No 1 decking and white vinyl handrails with black balusters, trimmed with a white lattice skirt. Quality craftsmanship is evident in every aspect. I very highly recommend Ripwood Customs. I would not hesitate to have them back, and will be telling my friends and neighbors about them for sure. Five Stars."

"Made call and left message, which Darren returned fairly quickly.  Made appointment for this work, and added another job that will be done later (wood rot on exterior of roof eaves), and received estimate.  He agreed to call after completing another job that day, which he ended up doing at almost the exact time he'd originally estimated.  Showed up and walked with me to review the situation of birds building a nest inside broken vent access about 10-12' up side of house.  Assessed possibility they got nest materials into the fan area over the microwave where the venting originated in the kitchen. 
He was able to use a screened dryer vent flap assembly I'd already purchased, attached it after cleaning out the exterior area of the vent ducting, and then went inside the house to remove and clean the venting above the microwave/stove.  He reassembled the venting and duct-taped it to a better condition than it had been originally.
All in all, a most satisfying job done, well worth the quite affordable cost and totally responsive to everything I mentioned, including returning later for the wood rot repairs.  This is my second time using him, and he remains reliable, personable, and professional, and he'll get my business next time I need handyman work done.
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"The good:
- The people were friendly for the most part
- They did good work in some ways
- Their subcontractors did good work
- They gave us a quartz counter top "for free" for our desk
- They did a couple extra things without charging us
- Everything looks good (if you don't look too closely)
The bad:
- I did not like the communication in the beginning, but I hoped, based on the reviews they got, that they would do a good job. I was disappointed with a lot of things - see below.
- I had to prepare my own detailed cost estimate (based on their difficult to understand e-mails) and get them to let me know if my estimate was correct or not. They would only give me a lump sum price and very little detail on what I was getting.
- They seemed to have never worked with the Cabinet Factory before. It was almost impossible to get any information about the cabinets we bought prior to signing a contract. Neither Get It Done (GID) or the Cabinet Factory wanted to talk to us about them. In the beginning I asked for no fiberboard and ended up with lots of fiberboard. Also, GID apparently does not know what fiberboard is - they were trying to tell me the kick-boards were not fiberboard (they are). The cabinets seem pretty low quality although at the time I was told by the Cabinet Factory that the cabinets I was getting were good quality and approaching the cost of the high end cabinets. One of the sliders in the pantry broke right away because there was too much weight. I never had this problem with my previous cabinets.
- They used wax crayon as paint in many locations on the cabinets. This is bad because it is not intended as paint, it is sticky, and wipes off easily.
- They told me it would be $100 more per fixture (about $1000) for LED under cabinet lighting. I still don't understand why they say it costs that much more. The lights they installed get very hot.
- There was very little attention to detail. They were going to stop the peninsula cabinets about 6 inches short of the end of the floor tile. It would have looked really silly - fortunately, I caught it in time and got them to adjust it.
- They put two joints in my crown molding about 12 inches apart and did a poor job with the joints. It looks very bad.
- The painting of the walls was bad. They missed lots of areas and they wanted me to mark all the areas they missed for them.
- They did not plan out the closet desk and shelves well at all. I told them I wanted a shelf for a TV, and they gave me shelves that weren't wide enough. Then they rigged it to work after lots of discussion.
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"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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"We bought a deal on Angie's List that resulted in significant discount from what a normal quote would have been, so they get an A+ on price.  The Belletto staff was friendly over phone, but service-wise, they had to delay our concrete replacement by over a month.  First it was because they were backed up; then it was because their "concrete truck broke."  After finishing the concrete and letting it dry, they were supposed to finish the job by replacing our front porch pole so that it could support the weight of the roof.  That was scheduled for a date that was two months after they initially replaced the concrete...not sure why.  But interestingly, they happened to be in the neighborhood on random weekday in mid-December and offered to install the pole.  It was pure luck that we happened to be home that day because we both work full time jobs on weekdays...  We didn't anticipate them coming so we had to rush to Lowe's to buy the pole while they waited in front of our house.  I suppose it was nice of them to wait.



Overall, we are satisfied with their work.  However the scheduling issues were a little annoying to deal with because first they kept postponing initiation of the work, and then they unexpectedly showed up early to finish the last part.  Nonetheless, it wasn't too bad and we managed to get it done...  I give them an A simply because I saved several hundred dollars, which was worth some of the scheduling nuances.
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"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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"We are writing to rave about Geoff's work. We had two projects; one was a small shower downstairs and one was a complete remodel upstairs. After seeing the shower Geoff rebuilt for us, we asked Geoff to work on the remodel. I must say in the small space to which Geoff had to work with, he did an amazing job. It went beyond our expections, in particular, the glass shower door. The tile work is beautiful so having the glass door really made it pop. As for our bigger project upstairs, the complete remodel, I think only photos can do it justice. We do want to add that Geoff was very patient with us and guided us with design ideas while being cautious not to push toward up selling. What was important to us is that Geoff addressed all our concerns; trying to minimize the impact to our house, constantly updating us, offering the 2nd job after the first job, and the high quality of his work. From the beginning to the end of the project, Geoff is always accessible. He called us, texted us and emailed us. Anyone who is looking for a contractor knows that is a rare quality. We highly recommend Geoff Byers and First Quality Contracting LLC."

"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."