General Contractor Reviews
We would like to start assembling a more comprehensive library of service provider references than the ad hoc feedback that happens in the Forum. To that end, over the next several weeks, we will solicit your feedback on a variety of services that go into building, restoring and maintaining brownstones (and apartments for that matter)….
We would like to start assembling a more comprehensive library of service provider references than the ad hoc feedback that happens in the Forum. To that end, over the next several weeks, we will solicit your feedback on a variety of services that go into building, restoring and maintaining brownstones (and apartments for that matter). We want to hear the names of the companies/individuals you have used (you can stay anonymous), any contact info you have, how they performed, how were they priced, were they on time, pleasant to deal with? Finally, if you can rate them on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the best), that would be great too. Hopefully all of this can ultimately result in a comprehensive resource that we can all benefit from.
So we’ll kick it off with General Contractors today. Who wants to go first?
I cannot praise Manny Lassalle enough, prompt, courteous and most important knowledgeable and professional. His crew work hard, are clean and know what they are doing. They all are very good at solutions to problems i did not know existed.
He repaired the cast iron frame and grill of a marble mantle, that desperately needed to be secured in place. Attempts before had been very temporary. It is now secure, neat and as it should be.
Added to that he had to change the appointment 1 day because he had just come out of the ER, but still showed up the next day.
I wish I could post a photograph of his work.
Andrew
Building Manager for Carlton 3000 LLC
I’ll have to say a big thumbs down for Burda construction. I feel they were probably a good operation that grew too big. I dealt with Larry Sr, explaining how I wanted to keep my exposed brick in my house and that I would just want it repointed and sealed clear to prevent the bugs that had been coming through. Basically to preserve as much of the look as possible.
I think essentially he was too busy, so he subcontracted the pointing out to 2 guys who came and were doing an ok job in the morning. I went downstairs to watch another renovation, and when I came back, they were covering whole bricks with mortar. When Larry came back he asked ME why I wasn’t watching them. I usually hire contractors so I don’t have to watch their workers.
So for that room, I decided since the brick was ruined, that we should just paint using the sealer he recommended (Thorocoat). He left a sample book and told me to give him a color. He really did seem too busy with other jobs because one day he was supposed to send guys, he didn’t show up, and when I called, he claimed he left me a message (I never got a message, and I would have seen it on visual voicemail with my iPhone). He asked me if I wanted a texture (they put a kind of grain into Thorocoat), and I said definitely not, I wanted to preserve what I could of the wall’s look.
Later on, he shows up with another set of subcontractors and they go ahead and start painting. I don’t like the look of the texture, and he says that it will settle once it dries. Later on, I see that it actually is not smooth, but half the job was already done. I call him (since he’s not there, he just leaves his guys) He says that he got the “fine” texture, and that was the smoothest available. I look it up and I find out that “fine” is in the middle, between smooth and coarse. He says that it’s a mistake but “what can you do? Pretty soon you won’t even notice it.” This is in my bedroom. I hired them because I heard good things about it. Every time I pointed out a problem, he would say things like “I usually never take jobs this small.” So perhaps if you had a big job, it would be good, but for me it was one of the biggest letdowns. As an owner of an 8 family building, I’ve dealt with a lot of contractors, and though they were not the very worst, I wish I had just done it myself.
Does anyone know a good and not too expensive person/company who does roof decks and knows building code? Also need a reference to someone to build stairs down to the basement in the front of our house– any help would be appreciated
Hey,
I’m wondering if anyone knows if it is unwise to go with an unlicensed contractor for a fairly large job ($150,000). I’m from California where contractors are required to be licensed, but not sure what the deal is in NY. Is it common to use unlicensed contractors? Thanks. And any recommendations appreciated…
Used T&A Carpentry bacause somebody recommended the. They were installing windows. Did a very poor job – I had to re-do most of what they did.
Great information !!! I’m converting my 2 family home to a three family. My plans have already been approved by the city. I am now looking for a repuable and licensed contractor to pull the permit and perform the work. Your recommendations are appreciated.
I’ve used Fred Taverna and New York Interior Construction for over five years. Fred and his incredible team have done three jobs for me. The first two were commercial, relatively small projects ($50-80k) range and the work was done beautifully and on schedule. The coup d’etat was a major renovation Fred did at my brownstone in Brooklyn Heights. An enormous project that would have taken most contractors at least a year, we did the job together in 6 record breaking months. Every phone call was returned, every problem solved together, no hidden costs. I’ve come to consider Fred a friend and I trust him completely. He’s now working on my brother’s bathrooms in Cobble Hill… Nina Collins
“wiring a building with computer wire; huge fire hazard”
Have you folks at Brownstoner lost your minds? You need to have people back it up, otherwise this is libel.
I’ve used NYIC and Fred Taverna for the past 15 years and NEVER had a problem. And what’s with all the “anonymous” posts?
Admin: you might want to start vetting this.
Stay away from Fred Traverna and NY Interior Construction. He is horrible. He is not reliable and his work is not only shoddy, but dangerous (for example wiring a building with computer wire; huge fire hazard). Stay away.