Communication:
Initially, communication was excellent, with…read moreresponses typically arriving within an hour. However, as the project progressed and more payments were made, responsiveness steadily declined. Sometimes, it often took 1-4 days to receive a reply, particularly when I was following up about permit submission delays.
Workmanship:
Average. The completed work was acceptable, but nothing stood out as exceptional.
Contract and Warranty:
The company did not fully honor the terms of the signed contract. After the deposit was paid, and before work started 10 months later, Solid Masonry requested additional compensation due to increased material costs. While material prices may indeed have risen, much of the delay appeared to stem from their failure to submit the permit application promptly. They initially requested approximately 30% above the contract price, though we eventually negotiated a lower increase.
Additionally, a newly repaired pipe was later found to have been bent during the backfilling process. Despite the damage resulting from their work, Solid Masonry still attempted to charge me for the excavation required to expose and repair the pipe.
Trustworthiness and Follow-Through:
I was charged for both excavation and plumbing work. However, on the day excavation began, no plumber was present. Solid Masonry described this as a miscommunication, and I ultimately had to hire my own plumber despite having already paid for plumbing services through them.
Another mistake on my part was paying the final balance before the permit was officially closed. Once payment was received, the company appeared to move on to other projects and did not proactively follow up on permit closure. The permit remained open until I contacted them and repeatedly followed up.
Architect:
The architect associated with this company had a reputation for overpromising and procrastinating. This was not only my experience but was also echoed by inspectors I spoke with at HPP. After receiving my deposit, it took the architect approximately five months to submit the permit application.
After the project was completed, the architect again failed to follow through on closing the permit. Multiple calls to both the architect and contractor were required before action was taken, and even then, it took another two weeks to finally close the permit.
Overall:
To their credit, the company ultimately completed the project, although it took nearly a year from the time we signed the contract to finish. Unfortunately, the process was far more stressful than it should have been. I found myself constantly having to follow up on issues that I reasonably expected the contractor to manage, including permit submissions, plumbing coordination, and permit closure.
My recommendation to future customers is to withhold final payment until the permit has been officially closed. I was also disappointed that the company chose not to stand behind its work regarding the bent pipe and instead attempted to charge me for corrective excavation.
My overall rating is influenced less by the quality of the workmanship and more by concerns regarding integrity, accountability, follow-through, and trustworthiness.
