Forum Archive

Since I’ve pulled so many great recommendations off this forum, I figured it’s only fair to share the info when a contractor works out well for me.

I’m slowly renovating a Bed-Stuy brownstone, and I recently hired William “Junior” Prates to do a variety of plastering work throughout my place. So far, he’s built a privacy wall in the parlor hallway, and it’s so well-finished and totally solid (thanks to being built with blue board and plaster-coated, rather than sheetroock)that it not only matches the original surrounding walls, but–major bonus!– I can no longer hear my upstairs tenants AT ALL. A minor miracle. He’s also done myriad decorative plaster repairs and even brought in plumbers on a day’s notice when we needed to move some pipes to finish one extensive repair (long story) and he made certain they only took one day to re-route a bundle of gas, waste, and hot/cold water lines so as not to inconvenience us or our tenants more than absolutely necessary. Junior made what could’ve been a tough, messy job very easy, and his prices are more than reasonable (I just about choked after getting quotes from some other local plastering companies).

Junior recently relocated to the NY area from Boston (by way of Brazil), and I’m convinced the only reason I can still afford him is because he’s new to the area.

I haven’t hired him to do any painting yet, but prior clients I spoke with for recommendations said that he does a bang-up job with that, too.

Contact Junior through his wife Aida (she handles the business):

Aida Prates
aida_barbosa88@hotmail.com
or 508-558-5380