A&A Masonry

Had A&A in just before Christmas to do a bunch of repair work for our 100+ year old brick home. Work included removing old large from the stone foundation, tuck pointing, replacing some damaged bricks, rebuilding the bottom section of the brick columns holding up our porch, cleaning stains and just a general tidy up. Eduardo and the crew worked quickly and efficiently and pushed to get it all done in a day. Was happy with the quality and communication with the guys and with Nigel for quoting and scheduling. All went smoothly. So it was a positive experience and I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

A&A has been extremely easy to work with and I use them for all my brick work needs. Their trades people have extensive knowledge and understanding of construction procedures and help move projects along quickly, efficiently and on budget. They set realistic expectations and meet them every time. Theirs transparency is respected and helps gain confidence and trust from home owners.

First of all, Ill say that the quality of the Stucco work, our house was fully stucco'd, is excellent. We never had a problem with that.

But we were disappointed with almost every other aspect of working with A + A. The project took more than 2 months to complete and cost (including extras) around twice what we had been first quoted.

The fundamental problem is that the Stucco work is completely subcontracted. Stucco does not appear to be part of A+As core business. This leads to a disorganized and frustrating experience from the point of view of the customer.

We were given a quote by an A + A salesperson who was not accompanied by the Stucco company. This was not a brief visit: he stayed and chatted and drank coffee and ate snacks for over 2 hours. We (me and my wife) believe we were misled about the work A +A would do, whereas they deny this (though did say at one point he had been dragged over the coals') In any case, what isn't disputed is that the quote included fire resistant material on one side of the house but the company came back just before the work was to begin and said that they could not honour the contract because the fire resistant material wasn't, in fact, necessary and too expensive. Even though we had had other cheaper quotes, with the changing Fall weather in mind accepted this change--a red flag we should have seen.

After asking the salesman about extra costs, he put in the quote one possible extra which was the 1500 cost of covering one neighbours electricity line. In actual fact, our project involved covering 2 lines (very visible), replacing rotten wood, removing old shingles, having roofing work undertaken, paying for two electricians, and a number of other extras to the stucco work. Most of these we dont dispute but none of these were explained to us as even possibilities at the time of the quote. I think in other words the scale of the project was hidden from us by the salesperson to get our signature and deposit.

During the work many times we were frustrated by what seemed at times to be the Stucco subcontracted company (with own logo on van etc,) acting almost as if they responsible to no one but themselves. It seemed that they held power over A + A, the two seem to have worked together for a long time, not the other way around.

Two incidents illustrate this. The stucco company sheared the outlet to our water heater. Actually it could have been a CO risk had we not heard the furnace constantly shut down and restart because stucco had also blocked it. A+As response (after talking to the stucco campy whose word they took) was that it was somehow the (20 yr old) pipes fault for not having enough play. I took care of its repair.

Then our electricity was disconnected for what we had been told would be a day or two. But it was almost a week. In part this was because, despite bing told that the Stucco company would come immediately and get the required section done, the stucco work was undertaken at the company's own pace . A + A said don't worry they will fast track their work using heat torches but the Stucco company laughed when I told them and said what torches . Then the stucco manager asked why I had even had the electricity disconnected, as in his view it wasn't necessary. Again, a complete lack of coordination. Things only sped up when we said that we would have to move into a hotel and charge A + A.

Again, I don't dispute the quality of the work, but I wish I had gone with a specialized stucco company that could coordinate the project from quote to delivery and give an honest assessment of its likely final cost. Subcontracting such a major project, even to a company that clearly cares about quality, just doesn't work for the customer.

Fantastic work. Reparged the exterior wall ahead of winter and replaced old bricks out front with matching ones. I called Greg and within a week ahead of when winter, they did the job on a day.
Thanks William, Alex and Rene for doing great work. They replaced a couple extra bricks free of charge when they saw they should be replaced, and also parged a few large cracks in our basement steps. Looks fantastic and ready for winter

We had to do some emergency parging work after our driveway was redone. We called A&A and they came by and got the job done within the week which was important to keep our basement dry. Their crew was clean and left our foundations looking great.

In August I hired A & A Masonry to do a one day mortar repair of my stair riser stones & porch wall & sealing. Connor had come and did a thorough review of what was needed & provided a fair pricing for the work required. Thomas came, as scheduled, and did a power wash, the tuckpoint repair and sealing. After payment was made, I noticed a few areas that still need a little more mortar. I contacted the company & Thomas returned after several days & conpleted the job. This company is very professional and thorough. The staff that I dealt with are all very friendly & knowledgeable. I would recommend them.

I had tuck pointing done first. I dont remember the persons name but she was fantastic - even closed off a wasp nest I didnt know I had over my front door. The company also applied Liquistone to the external foundations of my home. I picked a colour then didnt like it when it was completed (totally my error), they gladly returned with a colour wheel and re-did the whole thing for me in a better colour. A very special shout out to Tera, Pierre and Thomas! They were personable, highly professional, and did a terrific job applying the Liquistone.

Mortar in porch pillars was severely eroded, as was an old brick window ledge. Based on Homestars reviews, contacted A&A and Nigel was soon in touch. I provided photos and had a phone conversation, then he visited for review of site and quote. The amount was reasonable to me, and the great surprise was then that the crew could start very next day.
Eduardo and crew arrived bang on time and worked throughout the day, completing all work and clean up. The work performed was excellent, as was protection of porch area and clean up afterwards. High recommendations.

The service that was received was very good from the beginning to end they went over an above on the job. They gave a lot of advice on the job. Benny and kris where very helpful on pointing out minor problems and gave solutions to resolve them.
Michelle

Tani & his crew arrived on schedule. He explained the work well & showed me the pre- existing defect. They restored the original cladding & cleaned up afterwards. No complaints.