I had a leaky chimney that needed to be torn down as well as a hole cut out for the plumbers to…read morechange the vent on my hot water tank so that this could be done. After doing a lot of research and looking at reviews I chose Dunbar Masonry for 3 reasons: 1. They had great Yelp and Homestars reviews. 2. They were very prompt with getting back at me with a quote. 3. They were able to arrange with a roofing company to have my roof patched up on the same day they took down the chimney which saves me from having to co-ordinate between 3 companies (masons, roofers and plumbers). I needed the masons to come in, take down the chimney and the roofers to patch up the roof so it doesn't rain on me and the plumbers to come in the very next day to install the b-vent so that the fumes from my hot water tank didn't poison us. In the middle of winter every day without the hot water tank is brutal. Job contracted to do: - Take down the chimney below the roofline. - Patch the hole in the roof left by the chimney. - Cut out a hole in the furnace room so that the plumbers can install the b-vent. - Come back and patch up the hole in the furnace room. Day 1 They came on time on the arranged date which is fantastic and proceeded to work quickly. However they forgot to cut out the hole in the furnace room and without that hole the plumbers that I had arranged to come in the next day could not install the b-vent. Needless to say I was in a bit of a panic as I called them up but they assured me that they could come the next morning to cut out the hole before the plumbers came. Okay, great! Day 2 So they came and cut out the hole and left again. When I went downstairs to checkout the furnace room it was a dirty disaster with brick dust and debris all over my furnace and on the condensation pump beside it. I was pretty shocked because most contracting companies I've worked with clean up after themselves, like really clean up. They sweep the floors, wipe things down, etc. The plumbers came and installed the b-vent and left. That night I come home and my furnace won't turn on. Now I'm not in the an expert with furnaces but I had a strong feeling that debris falling into a condensation pump's motor is not a good thing. As it was 11pm when I got home I had to wait until the following morning to call the furnace company to come have a look. Yup, no heat in the middle of winter all night and until mid-afternoon the next day. Day 3 Dunbar Masonry came in the morning to fill in the hole and I told the guys that my furnace died the previous night and I think it was the debris from their work that caused it to over heat and shut down. They were like nahhhhhh that wouldn't do it... They proceeded fill in the hole that they had left before and as I'm watching them I note that they didn't cover up the condensation pump. Seriously? I just told you I think you broke my pump, you're going to smear in wet concrete (or what looks like it to me) over the pump that you might have just broken? So I waited till they left and went to check the pump. Yup, there's something that looks like wet concrete on top of it (but not on the motor vent part). It was on the top right hand corner and it felt like went concrete. It was dark grey and kind of wet. After Dunbar leaves I call the furnace guys and they come over to have a look and sure enough, they confirmed it was the debris from the chimney that clogged up the pump's motor but they were able to take it apart and clean it out. The invoice I got from the furnace guys clearly state that was the cause of the motor malfunctioning. I took this invoice to Dunbar Masonry and they agreed to pay for the furnace service but weren't willing to do anything else for me. It didn't matter that I had to spend the night in a freezing house and that I had to take a day off work to deal with the furnace, I basically got, "These things happen." They didn't even apologize! Not once! And when I told them that I had to take the day off work I got, "Well no one pays me to fix my house." Ummmm yeah, but you're the ones who broke my "house". The least you could do was give me a small discount or heck, sound like you were sorry about the ordeal. I probably would have been happy with just some sort of apology. Pros: - The guys who did the work were pros, very nice job. - The guys were SUPER nice and polite. - They were on time which is always very much appreciated. Cons: - Their carelessness with my furnace room took out my furnace for a day. - They didn't seem to care too much that I was put in a pretty bad situation for a day and half with NO HEAT in the middle of winter. - They were still sloppy and careless in my furnace room after I'd pointed out that they got dust and debris in my condensation pump. - They never even apologized for their mistake. - They left the furnace room a disaster the first day and the second was still dirty but at least they made some attempt to clean up.

Although Dunbar M+C couldn't help me with my specific kind of repair, they forwarded me to one of…read moretheir contractors, who took the time to give me a fantastic referral. Much appreciated- great customer service.

I hired Ben to do some work on my clients home in North Vancouver back on May 05, 2023. The work…read moretoday, January 06, 2024 is still incomplete. The job mentioned was tops a 4 week job with a crew of two working 8 hours days. The original quote was $27930.00 and more than 30% of the materials and labour is either incomplete or not on site. I have endlessely been given excuses for why the work keeps getting delayed and every time he tries to comitt to a new date he has a new employee and doesnt work more than 15 hours before leaving for weeks and months at a time without any communication as to why he's not on site . He is extremely unprofessional and I do not ever recommend hiring him. I have given him multiple opportunities to stay true to his word, but he is incapable of doing so and has now been fired. I hired Ben to demolish a set of stairs made from stringers and rebuild a concrete base decorated with black granite treads and natural stone for the sides and risers. (80% complete)There was flagstone around the property that needed to be installed and grouted. (80% complete) A corten steel planter quoted at 3610.00 which was never delivered or installed. Stepping stones priced at 1480.00 which have not been delivered or installed. He has been paid $26,965.00 and has tried to inflate his quote further trying to explain there was out of site work. (which is false) I won't be bothering taking this to small claims court and will eat the cost to find a different company, but from the looks of it, this is not the first time Ben has done this to someone. I highly suggest not working with this individual. He does not priorize you.

Ben and his team did fantastic work in building a wall along our driveway and designing a stone…read morepatio for us. They were punctual, hard-working, conscientious and even kept close to the original quote. Ben is dedicated and passionate about his work, and a true perfectionist. It was a pleasure working with Coastal Stonescapes Masonry and I would not hesitate to recommend them.

Amazing - Alex put in lots of extra effort and house and windows looks beautiful…read more Well worth it vs trying to rent a unit

A couple of baseboards in one of the apartments that we manage were chewed on by a pomsky, and I…read moresent some pictures through e-mail. Even though Alex was busy and booked up, he gave me free advice on how to remedy the problem: "If you were to attend Home Depot with the photos, they will be able to advise an appropriate compound to repair the MDF material. It's relatively simple to trowel on with a putty knife and lightly sand after. The trick is to not apply too much compound, being better to do multiple coats that one thick one. Hope this helps." This stood out from a few other e-mails that I received. I have to find someone else to get this particular work done quickly, but I really appreciate the extra time that Alex took to offer a recommendation. Hope to try Better Under in the future. Thanks! Jeff

I would highly recommend. Seth did a great job on our chimney rebuild. He explained each step and…read morewhy it was done. He is very knowledgeable, does great work and his price was very reasonable

We called Seth in early Jan.2021 to fix a leaking chimney that roofers had given up on, claiming it…read morewas a masonry issue.He understood the problem over the phone but said he would not be able to fit us in until mid February. He said he would call back at that point to schedule an inspection. While we waited, rain periodically leaked through the ceiling. In the third or fourth week of Feb., not having heard from him, we called and left two messages three days apart without response. We left an email message and it's now been three days without any contact. Seth is obviously very busy, but if he can't bother to communicate and wastes your precious time better spent finding someone who's actually willing to show up, why bother in the first place?

They were very rude about insisting on having the landlord call directly as "they don't do business…read morewith tenants". Well, looks like they've lost some business.

Rob came out looked at my chimney,He new his stuff,He relayed the loose brick and repaired the…read moremortar .Great Job I would recommen Qualicum Masonry

In a desperate attempt to find an Engineer late Friday afternoon, and after calling several, Mr…read more Khorram from Builtex saved me! I needed a fast engineering report for my strata and within a day I had one. It was literally an incredible process with fast, reasonable price and really knowledgeable nice fellow. He was able to address my concerns, explain everything to me in easy to understand terms, took some pictures, notes and measurements....and then he thought for a few minutes in silence. The next day he had my report in my inbox...just fantastic and so helpful! I would recomend Builtex Engineering Group to everyone, honest and smart people with lots of knowledge...perfect! Thank you very much Mr. Khorram!!

From the owner: Builtex Engineering offers a wide range of structural consulting services for residential and light…read morecommercial projects. Serving a diverse range of clients, including architects, designers, contractors, developers and homeowners, we specialize in the design and site review of residential new home construction and renovation projects. We pride ourselves on our professionalism, honesty and reliability. Additionally, we're dedicated to providing our clients with quick turnaround times and practical designs at some of the most competitive rates in the area. Call us to schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss the needs of your small or large project.