Straight Up Masonry

The results of an insurance inspection of my home in 2011 noted that a deteriorating brick porch column and numerous water damaged bricks and tuck pointing issues would have to be addressed in order to maintain my coverage.

I immediately contacted Anthony Devlin (Tony) through Homestars and he promptly provided a very fair estimate compared to the two others I obtained. It was comprehensive, organized and professionally presented; all good signs. The contract was signed and a small deposit sent just prior to the start of the job.

An estimated commencement date was given but due to inclement weather, had to be changed which is understandable as Tony, as excellent as he is, cannot control the weather. He did keep me informed of any delay, throughout, so there were no surprises. In fact, I believe it to be a good sign when a contractor has to schedule your job as it means that they've got a number of jobs already lined up i.e. a good contractor is a busy contractor.

Tony was able to show up a couple of days before the rescheduled date and we reviewed the scope of work in detail and to weigh the various options. He took the time to carefully explain the process and order in which the work would be carried out. Brick samples were provided and matched as closely as possible for a century home. The brick match turned out to be very close and the brick selected is far more durable than the original.

Tony arrived early the next morning with his assistant Dom ready to work. The deteriorated porch column was removed after shoring up the porch roof and by mid afternoon a perfect new brick column stood in its place. The existing porch and handrail were built to accommodate the out of plumb existing brick column so Tony had to spend some extra time cutting the rail and decking to ensure that the new column was level and plumb. He even went the extra step and raised the sagging porch to bring it back to level. I was truly impressed and knew that I had selected the right contractor.

Pass through scaffolding was then erected between my house and my neighbours so our ground floor tenants wouldn't be inconvenienced. Spalled bricks and powdered mortar were removed in sections over the next few days and replaced with new bricks and mortar. I didn't realize how bad the condition of the affected bricks and mortar were until I saw it up close. What an incredible difference once it was fixed.

Tony noticed some additional bricks and tuck pointing that needed to be replaced that were not covered under the original contract and we agreed on an incremental price increase even though the amount of work was significantly more than what would've been covered by the price difference. Basically he only charged for the materials, and not the labour.

Even so, there was no compromise in the quality of work. They worked quickly and efficiently for long hours, rarely stopping for breaks. Another reviewer made the comment that Tony completed a tuck pointing job in a day even though it could've been a two day job so he thought price for the job was a "little high." That's like complaining that someone is working too hard or too efficiently. In my experience it's obvious that Tony prices the job based on the scope of work and not the time it should take. Not a good business model, for sure, but one that benefits the client as he takes however long it takes to make sure the job is perfect. He does not sacrifice on quality for the sake of quantity or speed.

Upon completion of the job, Tony and Dom spent the better part of a day removing the debris, dismantling the three storey’s of scaffold, and giving the whole property a thorough clean up. I was most impressed as many contractors that I've used in the past tend to skip this important step. Even my tenants mentioned how nice the house looks now.

I am so impressed that my next project for them will be a chimney rebuild as another fly-by-night contractor that I hired to tuck-point didn't know the difference between tuck pointing and parging. They skim-coated the chimney with mortar which now looks absolutely terrible.

To summarize, my experience with Straight Up Masonry was exceptional. Tony and Dom were knowledgeable, friendly, reliable, professional, ethical, honest and a complete pleasure to deal with. Tony honoured the quoted price (despite performing some extra work that I noticed but he didn’t mention) and his workmanship is excellent. Without hesitation, I give Straight Up Masonry my highest recommendation.

Fixed the crumbling bricks and put a new cap on my chimney. Tony was great, he responded to all of my calls quickly. The job was done when he said and for the price we agreed. I would have no hesitation in recommend him

Tony did a great job at making sure I was only charged for what I needed done. He was very honest, I could trust what he said needed to be fixed. they cam exactly on time and finsihed early with amazing work. very clean i am seeing them again in spring for more work that needs to be done.
Thanks Straight Up Masonry for a easy and stress free exp!

As with many other reviewers, I called Tony from Straight Up Masonry along with 3 other masonry companies in for a quote based on reviews on Home Stars.

Of the 4 estimates, I felt that Tony was one of the most through and reasonable. Tony was also the only person to come that actually performed the work himself. This along with the "gut feel" I got from him (yes, I believe intuition is a factor) made him my choice for the job.

There were a couple of delays in the start date but Tony informed me of these and explained the situation. Considering that weather factors into his line of work very prominently, I didn't have an issue with it since he kept me up to date.

The job was done in less than 2 days with minimal disruption to my family (I have twin toddlers & a dog). The site was cleaned up each day and Tony & Dominic were professional and considerate.

I highly recommend Straight Up Masonry and hopefully they will be in next year to repair my garage wall.

My husband and I needed our chimney repaired before our new roof could be put on. Even though Tony is very booked up, he still managed to find some time to come over and fix it for us. He is friendly, professional and punctual... and worth the wait if he's booked up! My hubby and I can't wait to use our fireplace now! His quote and his final invoice were identical (no surprises!). Thanks again!

My chimney is very old and around 20 years. There are few bricks fell off and cracked. Tony did a great job for my chimney. A small job, but done very well and professionally. Finished product looks excellent.

I was walking my dog and took a few minutes to watch Tony and his co-worker performing the service that I required on a neighbour's house. I was impressed with the speed and quality of work. I approached Tony and asked if he could provide a quote for me. He not only did so, but we agree that since he was in the area, had all the equipment available it would be cost effective for me and timely for him to do my job as well. We agreed on the price and the job was completed to my satisfication within a reasonable period of time. Both gentlemen were so curteous, professional and did an excellent job. I would e extremely pleased to refer them to others without hesistation. Congratulations to the work ethic of Straight up Masonry!!!

I contacted three tuckpointers in Toronto to get estimates. Tony was the only one who followed up quickly. The second contacted me two months later (!). I never heard from the third one.

Tony paid a visit to my house, and emailed me a reasonalbe estimate.

It was like magic. We agreed on a date, he showed up when I was at work, did the work and was finished before I got home. Seamless job.

Tony is responsive by email and by phone, which is great! Very personable too. We need more Tonys in the trades.

Tony and his crew showed up on time, left on time, clean the area surround the job site, quoted a fair price, maintained that price, were enjoyable to be around, and did fantastic work. The only bad thing about Tony is that he is not a plumber, electrician, roofer, etc., because if he was I would easily hire him for all of my renovation needs. If anyone has done a lot of renovations to their house you will understand how important it is to have the first sentence occur.

After a horrible re-build by another company, I was looking for someone to rebuild my chimney CORRECTLY. Tony (Anthony) was "straight up" and quoted me an excellent price. They arrived on time, and finished the job ahead of schedule. Cleanup was done and it was like they were never here :) I would highly recommend Tony. Job well done.