First, I would like to thank Antonio (Tony) for providing me with the service, quality of work, and experience to empower me to write this review. As a busy ICU nurse, I typically do not take the time to write the reviews. I do use them though, and hope others will take the time to read and consider my review of Bernas Masonry before hiring Tony or his business for a job.
I researched Bernas Masonry on Yelp and through their website. I decided to go with Tony based on the the Yelp reviews and the company being in business since 2014 and claiming "Berna's Masonry is committed to excellence in every aspect of our business. We uphold a standard of integrity bound by fairness, honesty, and personal responsibility. Our distinction is the quality of service we bring to our customers. Accurate knowledge of our trade combined with ability is what makes us true professionals. Above all, we are watchful of our customers' interests, and make their concerns the basis of our business."
We have been updating our home and have been making a point to support small businesses in the community. I have attached a few photos of the work Tony and another person did, as well as the invoice for the job. The job was completed on 9/10/23 and took approximately 2.5 hours. Please learn from my life lesson and do not allow Tony to take advantage of you. I take accountability for agreeing to the price because our home is older, and I was not sure what would happen once the work started. But, after seeing how simple the job ended up being, quality of work, and materials; I hoped Tony (claiming to be a man of integrity, fairness, honest and personal responsibility) would charge for the job completed and not just the estimate.
When I messaged Tony this morning, inquiring if the price could be adjusted for the job performed, he stated the price was firm. He provided me with an itemized invoice which has since been changed to reflect the price being paid. It was smart of him to eliminate the evidence. Some charges were $500 per day/per person (they do not work per hour), $300 for supply delivery, $200 for supplies (Home Depot sells the bricks for 0.67 each and a bag of mortar is $20), $200 for gas. He needed the price to match the estimated $1500 charge, so he kindly included a "discount". Some of you may think this is reasonable. As you can see in the picture Tony and another person placed roughly 35 bricks and mortar. The old mortar on the brick was messy and Tony claimed he could match the style. The mortar was too thick and did not ooze like the original. Tony and the other person did a half ass job and the work was reflective. Upon inspection Tony left gaps around the edges and at the bottom. I could have done the quality of work that I received, but was hopeful that in hiring a "professional" that it would have turned out better. Again, I am owning my life lesson of allowing this individual to take advantage of my lack of knowledge. I hope this review stops others from hiring Tony as he did not uphold the values of his own company.
When I met with him this morning to correct the original work, he offered to remove the work. He was going to charge me an additional 2k to take down the 35 bricks and haul them away. I requested an invoice for the removal quote, he stated that he would not be providing the additional invoice and if I did not pay, a lien would be placed on my home.
There was not a single point in my interaction with Tony, that I was not going to pay for the service. I simply requested to be fairly charged for the work that Tony and another person completed. I maintained my professionalism with Tony, as did he with me. He was prompt to respond, which I appreciated.
Tony made sure if I approved of the work before he left. What options did I have, if he redid the work completely, I would be charged more money. So I stated that it was fine. Before Tony left, I asked him, if he as a professional and the owner of his business, was proud of the work that he completed. He stated that he was and I simply stated that we are all entitiled to our own opinions. So again, please take the time to review the attached photos of Tony's work. This is the quality of work that he stands behind and that you will receive if you hire him. read more