Steve is a "MASTER MASON," I've known him for almost 40 years and went to high school with him. Then starting the very next year I provided him and his Dad, who taught Steve a lot of what he knows today, with mason sand and concrete and because of that I was able to see MUCH of his work. As I say he is a true craftsman and will amaze you should you decide to hire him! 5 stars ALL DAY LONG! Paul Menard Facilities Manager Barkan Management Co, Inc. Seton Highlands at The Pinehills read more

This past summer my wife told me her dream was to have a farmers porch. A couple of months later we began construction. The project involved several contractors including carpenters, an electrician, and masons. We selected Steve Nicholson to complete the masonry work which included some excavation, structural concrete walls, a walkway, and stone veneer. The masonry portion of the project was about 20k and went on for weeks. A couple of weeks into the project, Steve asks me if I plan to cap the retaining walls. I obviously responded telling him I was under the assumption that a completed retaining wall would not leave beautifully veneered walls exposed with concrete filler falling out (see image). Steve then charged me an additional $800 to cap the walls. A few days later Steve asks if I plan to waterproof the wall, I told him that if it was suggested then yes. Steve gave me a price of $500 to complete the waterproofing and we agreed to waterproof the wall. Eventually we reached a point in the project that Steve needed to let the carpenter finish the stair treads before Steve could finish up the last few square feet of veneer, Steve left the job site and was slated to return in a day or two before the building inspection was expected, but Steve didn't show up. Weeks later Steve comes back to the job site. Steve had to finish the aforementioned veneer, my bottom stair, and waterproof the stonework. Steve completed the veneer but the quality was much lower then the rest of the job (see images), Steve was unhappy we progressed through the project before he finished the bottom stair. After a couple of hours, Steve informed me he was done and needed to return. He hadn't completed the bottom stair (see image), didn't properly veneer around my stair tread lights (see image), or waterproof yet but that he would be back in a few days if the weather held up. A few sunny days went by and the rest of the project had been completed weeks prior. I contacted Steve but got no answer, so I left a message but got no response. A day or two later I text Steve, I even offered to accept the $500 waterproofing refund and that I would finish the waterproofing and bottom stair myself but still no response... My carpenter reached out to Steve as he had worked with him in the past and hoped to get a response. Steve responded to the carpenter and informed him that he would not be returning. Once I heard Steve wasn't planning to return I called two more times, got no answer, and left a message. Steve let me down I trusted him to standby his work and finish the project. After several weeks of work and personally interacting with Steve everyday, he seemed like a good guy but unfortunately that's not the case. Steve stole my $500 and never completed my stairs. So the good news is my wife's dream has almost come true, now that I know Steve won't return I will finish things up myself. It's to bad I paid for a 20k headache, it looks like others have reported similar instances on this thread. OWNERS BEWARE, IF YOU LIKE YOUR MONEY DON'T GIVE IT TO STEVE! DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND CALL ANOTHER MASON! read more

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Steve and his crew build a beautiful stone wall to level our back yard. The work was beautiful and the price very reasonable and way below three other contractors I contacted! He responded well to changes we made along the way and communicated well with us. Several months later we had him come back and build a patio in the yard which was also well built and attractive. read more

Stephen Nicholson Masonry - Stone wall plus deck by Stephen Nicholson Masonry...ready to landscape! - Masonry/Concrete Near Me

In the process of a home renovation and hired him to reface a small 8' x 8' fireplace surround. As a professional interior designer I provided a picture of exactly what I wanted including color to match the stone floors we currently have in our house. He brought veneer stones that were HUGE (12"-15" each) for this small fireplace and the color was way off. I told him politely that this was not the look I wanted and that it looks nothing like the picture. He starts yelling at me that he knows better and that he's an artiste and storms out saying this has never happened to him. Well he calmed down and brought other stones the next day that were still too big and an even worse color. So he cuts them on site into sizes that looked like brick and not a natural, organic look. It looked horrendous. He put the cut stone on crooked (not level so the stones were sloping downward) and frankly it was so much worse that what we originally had. I tell him again it was so off from what we wanted and even offered to go to his stone supplier so I could select the material I wanted and he went ballistic. The other contractors on site told him it looked terrible. He proceeds to scream at all of us that we don't know what we're talking about and that he's a master. I told him this wasn't working out and he needed to leave. He even got our dog all worked up with his yelling. He said he'd give us our money back and after many texts, voicemails and emails he won't get back to us or return the 2K we gave him (almost half of the quoted job). Since then we've hired someone recommended to us from the stone company (where I selected exactly what I wanted) who's doing the job for less that 1/2 of what Stephen was charging us. We're out the 2k and are discussing with our attorney if going forward with a court case out of principle is worth it. Run from this guy. read more