In my opinion, I would not recommend hiring Antonio beyond basic handyman work, such as hanging a…read moreTV or painting a wall. We hired Antonio to fix a squeaking sound inside our wall that occurred when the wind blew.
When I first called Antonio, I described the issue and told him I believed the wall might need additional bracing. Antonio came to our home, looked at the area, and agreed that bracing might be the solution, but said the drywall would need to be opened to see what was going on. We scheduled the appointment believing Antonio would be performing the work. We were surprised when members of his team arrived instead, as that had not been clearly communicated. That said, his team members were kind, on time, and got to work.
After opening the drywall, one of his team members had me look at what they found. He also had another employee, Joe, on speakerphone to discuss the issue. Joe said the problem appeared to be a brick tie and that fixing it would likely require addressing it from the outside. Joe said he would discuss it with Antonio, and I waited to hear back about next steps. After about an hour, I called Antonio myself.
Antonio relayed the same information Joe had given me. I asked what the next steps were, and Antonio said he wanted to try spray foam to see if that would fix the problem. I questioned whether that was the right approach, because both he and Joe had identified what sounded like a separate issue. While standing in front of the open wall, I told Antonio it seemed clear where the squeaking was coming from behind the stud. I asked why we could not cut into that specific area to see if it could be fixed from the inside. He explained why he did not think that was a good idea, which I understood. He also said we might need to remove all of the bricks on that wall to find the one causing the issue. I understand the concern, but I also believe that kind of statement should be based on an in-person assessment, not a guess over the phone.
Antonio then told me he had been doing this work for 10 years, believed we should try his proposed solution, and said he stood behind his work.
His team came back, applied the spray foam as instructed, and had me look at the result. At that moment, it appeared the squeaking had stopped. I spoke with Antonio and told him that if the squeaking had truly been eliminated, I was satisfied. He again assured me that he stood behind the work and would make it right if necessary.
The following day, when the wind was blowing around 10-15 mph, the squeaking returned. I recorded a short video and sent it to Antonio. He replied with a detailed text describing the same issue we had already discussed the day before. Antonio and I then had a 42-minute phone conversation.
During that call, I asked him about his statement that he guaranteed the work. He then told me his guarantee was only that he "tried." That was confusing, because I did not hire his company simply to try; I hired them to fix the squeaking wall. If the guarantee was only that an attempt would be made, that should have been clearly stated before any work was performed.
Instead of providing a long-term solution, Antonio chose to try an alternative approach that did not work. I was left with the full bill and the same problem I had before hiring him.
As I told Antonio on the call, I do not believe he acted maliciously. However, I hired him to fix a specific problem, not just attempt a possible fix. I appreciate that he wanted to try a less invasive solution, but ultimately it failed, and I was left paying the full cost for an unsuccessful attempt.
I would have been much more understanding if he had acknowledged that his solution did not work, confirmed that we needed to proceed with what he and Joe originally diagnosed, and prorated the cost toward the actual repair needed. Instead, I am in the same position I was in before hiring Antonio, but with an additional sunk cost.
