Shane Oake Brick Mason

Our brickwork was in sad state when we purchased our home. The chimney needed to be re-laid, and a large number of bricks needed replacing, many due to a detached eavestrough that had allowed water to flow down sections of the wall for some time. Additionally, a parapet running the length of the house had shifted, and a large amount of tuck pointing needed to be done.

Without going too much into dollar amounts, we received several quotes ranging in detail from inexpensive but vague 'fix some bricks' quotes to very detailed quotes over $10000. Shane's quote fell in the middle, and we felt most confident in his assessment. Being new home owners, cost was a factor, and Shane helped us identify the items that we needed to address vs. those that were cosmetic and could wait.

Shane's work was impeccable, and the end result looks great. He obviously takes great pride in his trade and it shows. Original bricks were reused where possible, and he took care to match brick colours and tinted new bricks to match the existing facade. Issues that we had along the way were addressed quickly -- After the work was complete there was a minor section we wanted replaced for cosmetic reasons, he was back the next day.

Throughout the job, Shane went above and beyond:

- Without prompting, he took care of several items not included in the original quote
- He found issues with our chimney flashing that a well-known roofing company had failed to spot, and referred us to an excellent roofer who addressed the remaining issues at minimal cost
- He came back after the job was complete to give us a lesson in parging (work we wanted to do ourselves), and left us materials to finish the job
- He even loaned us an extension ladder to take care of some eavestrough issues we couldn't reach, saving us buying an extension ladder we would never use again, nor had any way to transport

Shane is passionate about his work and operates with the highest integrity. We recommend him without hesitation for jobs large or small.

I hired Shane to do a bunch of masonry work at my 90 year old home. He rebuilt one window sill and installed a second one (replacing the existing wooden one). He also fixed various cracks and rebuilt the brick pillar which holds up the front porch. He used reclaimed bricks and they matched perfectly. He kept me updated every step of the way, as I was out of town.

Shane was prompt with a quote, reasonable pricing..arrive when he said he would, good advance protection of the work areas, excellent work, final walk around to confirm all in order...if only all contractors were like him

Our chimney had shifted, cracked and separated in places a few years ago when we had some below ground waterproofing done on our home. The waterproofing company attempted to seal the problem areas on a couple of occasions but just made an absolute mess of our chimney. Shane came out and gave us a couple of options 1. Complete rebuild (approx. cost $5000) 2. Remove the bricks in the areas that were problematic, grind out between the brick, realign and mortar (approx. cost $350). Shane advised us that there is still a chance of shifting due to the original chimney design but recommended option 2 so we agreed to try that. He realigned approximately 10 rows and confirmed with us that he could add two thin rows of brick to balance, support and avoid areas where the mortar would be too thick. The brick colour was not identical but very close and it looks great. He also cut and repaired other areas of the chimney where bricks had cracks, cleaned up the mortar/cement the waterproofing company had slathered all over the place and said he'd like to come back in the spring to check for signs of shifting. The only extra cost above his original quote was $20 for the thin brick he added. We were very happy with his honesty and skill.

Shane was recommended by Joe Dunphy at Downtown roofing (another excellent company) when I contacted Joe about replacing some shingles and looking at our chimney, which I knew from our initial home inspection had some "loose bricks". I had previously received quotes for both jobs that seemed ridiculous (~$2600 for the chimney) from a large Toronto roofing company with a reputation for being expensive (and whom I later realized got terrible reviews on Homestars).

Dealing with Shane was great. His quote was reasonable (~$600). He took down and ground out 6 courses of loose bricks from our chimney that had been very strangely and badly built at some point. He rebuilt the courses and added a preformed concrete cap. He sent me before and after pictures, and his work looks great. I never actually met him in person since he did all of his work while I was at work. He made arranging everything easy.

What started out as a painful process of not getting companies to call back and getting an unreasonable quote from one, ended up well when I got in contact with Shane. I highly recommend his company and will contact him if/when I need any masonry work done.

John

I contacted Shane in 2008 about some tuckpointing work on my house. One company had quoted me more than $10K to repair the tuckpointing on the side of my house.

Shane took a careful look at the situation and advised that only a small number of areas (e.g. the windowsills) needed any repair work. The work was done and the water leak problems were addressed. He saved me a bundle of money because of his honesty. I think he is a very friendly, effective and honest contractor.

Shane did an excellent job in repairing my damaged brickwork. A consumate professional all the way. Explained exactly was he was going to do and followed through with precision. He took extreme care to protect my shrubs and other plants. In fact, he left my place as neat as it was before he arrived. I would gladly recommend Shane for any masonry job.

I found Shane through Homestars and he lived up to his reputation. After removing a sidelight and shifting a door over, I had a gap that I wanted filled with bricks matching the rest of the house. I called Shane and he scheduled a site visit within days and showed up when he said he would. As it turns out, the brick dimensions I needed are no longer available (let alone colour). I eventually suggested to Shane that if possible, we could poach some bricks from the interior of the garage. He said it was definately feasible and quickly drew up a quote. Finding the quote to be reasonable, we scheduled the work and again, he showed up when promised. As for the work itself, I can only say that Shane did an amazing job. As others have pointed out, he is a real craftsman who takes pride in his work. The end result speaks for itself and I couldn't be happier. Apart from the workmanship, Shane is also a pleasure to deal with: prompt, courteous, lots of communication, and he cleans up after himself. I would recommend Shane to anyone without hesitation.

Called up Shane and set up a time to meet for an estimate. He worked with another guy named Greg on this job since I had some concrete work to do in conjunction with the masonry work. Greg did the concrete and cinder block work, and Shane did the brick work. Shane gave me a quote and stuck with it, he's completely straight forward and honest -- my kind of guy. He did his work very diligently and with pride. He finished on time and cleaned up after the job was done. His work -- in my eyes -- was flawless. I won't hesitate to hire him again.

Shane is very courteous, prompt, and thorough. He gave me a written estimate, took all the time I needed to talk about what I wanted and what options I had, was straight up with me about cost impacts of changes, started on time and finished on time, did an excellent job, and cleaned up the site when completed.

In the course of finding someone to do this job I met a number of contractors who I am sure are capable. However, unlike them, Shane is a decent, regular guy who clearly takes pride in his work.

I will use Shane in the future and I highly recommend him.