We recently had two big jobs done by Carl Walsh at Mark Meredith LLC. The first was exterior work. A third floor bay window had rotted out, and birds and squirrels had started nesting in the holes.
Carl came out within a couple of days, and quoted us a price on the window repair. He also pointed out that if the wood in one part of the exterior was rotting, then there might be similar problems lurking elsewhere, so he also looked at the rest of the wood trim. I was leery of being upsold, but Carl gave a low-pressure assessment, and each time he identified a potential repair he gave me convincing reasons and supporting evidence. We ended up also replacing the front and rear soffits, repairing the rear dormer, painting and caulking all the windows, and repairing the canopy over our front door. It was a lot, but I have no reservations about any aspect of the jobs.The wood that came out was clearly rotted, and all the new work looked much much better. Carl pointed out where wood trim had been replaced by the previous owner, and no additional work was needed. When one of the roof fixtures looked bad, Carl had it replaced at no extra cost. I’ve included before and after photos of the bay window, and a photo of the repaired front door.
We were happy with the end result, and we feel that we paid a fair price. However we were most impressed by the professionalism of the workers. Exterior work is not too intrusive, but Saul and his crew made it absolutely painless. They were unfailingly considerate to our neighbors, from not blocking parking spots, to minimizing construction noise, to keeping their workplace neat and disposing of waste. They also kept us informed of their progress and let us know about any unexpected snags. We could not have asked for better.
By their nature repairs have a limited upside. It’s hard to get too excited about fixing problems (though it *was* nice not to have to hear the critters romping around inside our walls). Overall we were very satisfied with the outcome, and we will go back to Carl with any future exterior work.
On the strength of this experience we went with Carl and Mark Meredith for a bathroom renovation. That was a bigger investment and a more intense experience.
We had an older bathroom with a rusted tub. We wanted a walk-in shower. We got two quotes. The Mark Meredith quote from Carl was for a complete tear-out and replacement. The other quote was about half the price. It was to replace the tub, toilet, and vanity, and to tile the shower and floor. Any other work — such as replacing subfloor, pipes, or wiring — would be “as needed” and extra cost. It was hard to compare, since we had no idea what problems might turn up during construction. We had to think about it for a while. Eventually we decided that since we plan to be in the house for the foreseeable future, we would go with the more thorough renovation. In retrospect I think we would have ended up with additional items on the lower quote, but it would have still come in quite a bit cheaper. That said, we don’t regret paying the higher price at all.
Our experience with the Mark Meredith crew was exceptional. They were working in our home from 9 AM to 5 PM five or six days a week for a month. That’s a lot of time if you don’t get along. But the crew, led by foreman Dagoberto, was great. They began every work day setting up dropclothes to protect our floors and walls, and they ended every work day cleaning up any mess and neatly stowing their equipment. They were invariably friendly and polite. Dagoberto took great pride in his craftsmanship, and he explained all of the work, step by step. Not everything went as planned, and when that happened Dagoberto would consult us on the best path forward. Either Dagoberto or Alfonso was always available to answer questions or take requests. I would trust either of them completely with any future work in my home.
We love the new bathroom. I’ve included a few pictures of the almost-finished result...