This is the most extensive project that we have undertaken in our 90 year old house and Ben completed everything and more in a mere 9 days!! Here's the story:
Ben Warner was referred to me by my nephew. I had a long "to do" list and hoped that he would be the right person for some part of it. We set up a meeting and he arrived right on time. We started in the basement, went over the work there, then on to the kitchen area and then on to the second floor bedroom/bath/study. As we walked along Ben shared many ideas, tips and cost-saving measures. He quickly followed up with specific quotes and timeline, starting work a week or so later. Here is what he did:
Basement: The old tile floor was cracked and falling apart. Ben and Joe (with help from Joe's son, John) removed the old floor and ceiling, recemented the floor and painted it and then put in new ceiling tiles. Sound simple? No way, as in our 40+ years in this house, we SAVED everything and these guys had to move and replace everything to get the work done. They did it with the greatest good humor, never once pointing out the obvious about our accumulation problem. In the process they also repaired the faucet on the ancient laundry sink!
On to the second floor.........They moved furniture up to the attic and down to the basement (heavy stuff!) and then set to work removing 20+ year old wallpaper, repairing damage to the plaster walls. I do mean damage - one wall was even separating from the floor!! They painted the bedroom, study and bathroom. Joe built shelving for the study and installed glass shelves in the bathroom and it really began to look like a new house. I wanted to restore the wood floor under the old carpet (and also needed to refinish the wood floors in the kitchen area) but the estimates I had received were pretty high. Ben arranged for a floor guy to come and he gave me a great estimate for the kitchen but we decided the upstairs floors would just be too expensive to redo (and would still be cold on a winter morning). Joe then called his carpet colleague who came out that day and provided a great estimate on the two rooms of new carpeting. The rooms look sensational!
The floor man came and refinished the floors in the kitchen area in a day and a half. Low price, looks better than new. The carpet crew did everything in about 8 hours!
On to the kitchen, breakfast room, foyer and powder room.......... The ceiling was in bad shape due to a leak from the upstairs bathroom and there was damage to the walls. In what seemed like no time at all, Ben had it looking like new, complete with faux finishes. And, in his "spare" time, he installed new light fixtures in the front and upstairs hallways!
Starting to get the picture? That's not all by a long shot. Ben doesn't just sell his work. He does the work!! He is always on the job - no sending workers like we've had in the past where the owner/estimator disappears and then sends workers where communication is almost impossible. Seeing what great talent Ben and Joe have, I admit to getting a little nutty (as in this feels like Santa just arrived) and I did come up with a few (hundred) extra requests along the way. These guys were always great - accomodating, kind, good humor and incredibly expert and efficient.
I have never worked with a more competent professional than Ben. He is such a fine person and his standards are very high while his prices are very reasonable. On top of all that he is very neat, there is no clean up when Ben finishes because he does it all. Ben finished a week ago Monday night but before he left, he did some of his magic tricks for me. What a treat and what a nice ending. Whatever your circumstance - young folks taking on a big house challenge or old folks like us who need some extra help, Ben is the person for you.
Now we're looking forward to Ben and Joe returning to take on the next project ---- tackling our falling apart summer porch. Oh, yes, and maybe just a few more things..........well, that's the next story!
Thank you, Ben!! read more