I am so pleased (and relieved) to be able to write this review of John and J&R Custom Walls. Hiring a contractor to work on my house is always a stressful process for me - I have no idea if who I hire will turn out to be great or a nightmare. We have done a lot of remodel projects over the past eight years (with seven different contractors) and I have had both. But luckily, Yelp steered me right!
First of all, I would like to mention that I contacted five different contractors to come out and give me an estimate for our job (insulating and dry walling our ceiling and an attached wall, removing a half wall, texturing and painting, plus some drywall patch work). Of those five, John was one of only two who actually showed up on time. He was also only one of two who actually followed through and provided me with an estimate. And right off the bat, I knew I liked him. He is very warm, friendly, and professional. He thoughtfully reviewed the space, discussed the options available, and gave me a very fair estimate for the work.
Then our job started. With other contractors, this is where the wheels might start to come off. But not with John - he and his crew (yes, John actually shows up to the job site and works with his crew) showed up exactly on time every single day and they worked full days. It was very important to me that this job be done on CONSECUTIVE days - no missed work days which would draw the work out longer than necessary. Plus, there was another contractor coming in after this job, so they really had to finish by a set day. John was true to his word and there were no missed days (including Sunday) - they even finished one day early (even though we added in extra projects a couple days before they started). I really appreciated this level of professionalism and commitment.
Speaking of professionalism, I want to mention that John's crew is really stellar. In addition to all being very nice guys, I didn't hear a single four-letter word used and John politely asked if the guys could play music while they worked (which ended up being '80s alternative and rock - funny). They were very respectful of me, my husband and our home. I really appreciated that.
On top of all of that, they really did an excellent job. John is a perfectionist and is very detail-oriented. He made sure everything was absolutely perfect - even if it meant extra work for him and his crew. We wanted to just patch a couple areas of drywall and after thinking about it, John determined that the wall would really look much better if the ENTIRE wall was re-textured. But did he try to get us to pay extra to do it? No - he did it for free because "it is the right thing to do to make the wall look great." What? Who does that? Seriously, I thought I was being punked. And he did that twice - requiring his guys to texture and paint two entire walls rather than just patching two areas.
For the wall texture, we were having a hard time matching the existing texture in the rest of the house that was done 60 years ago. After a trying a few different techniques, they came up with something that my husband was happy with and I reluctantly went along with (I knew it wasn't going to be right, but I didn't want to be difficult hold them up too long). Well, even though I said it was fine, John could tell I wasn't thrilled with it, so he and his guys spent another 30 minutes (one hour total on this) trying different techniques until they came up with something that matched perfectly. I was thrilled! It is so refreshing it have someone working on your house who is really on your side - they just want you to love the finished project, even if it results in more work for them.
I have always done all the painting in our house - I am pretty good at it and always get the trim lines straight. I wasn't sure whether their painter would do as good a job as I would, but I needn't have worried - Martin did a PERFECT job (better than I would have done). He even painted a couple other things while he was at it - our mantle and a door trim - that he didn't have to do and that I had planned to do later. That was such a nice surprise! Start to finish, these guys were really a class act.
John and J&R Custom Walls really are the gold standard for contractors. I wish they offered customer service seminars for other contractors. I am pretty sure that John is the only contractor I have ever hired who actually asked me if I was happy with everything at the end of the job (I am VERY happy - the room is gorgeous) and thanked me for the business. I am already starting a list of projects for the next time I hire him! read more
