Very Professional, Quality Work at a Fair Price
Project date: June 2017. Date of this review: November 2017.
Scope of work: We have a 5 bedroom home in Mill Valley which needed all of its siding replaced (7,000 sq ft), along with 15 windows and 3 patio doors. It is also on a steep slope with lots of vegetation and 4 stories on the downhill side. We had already decided to go with Hardieplank for the siding and Milgard for the windows/doors.
We interviewed 3 general purpose contractors and 4 specialized window/door contractors. We learned about AHR from Diamond Certified, and we met with co-owner Chris. AHR was by far the most professional, most experienced and best organized of all the contractors. We received their bid just 4 hours after meeting with us compared to other contractors who took several days or weeks to think through the project. They were also far more detailed in how they would do the project. Even though Hardieplank does not seem complicated to install, we became convinced that it would be beneficial to use a firm specialized in it, and we didn't need the versatility of a general purpose contractor.
AHR has several window/door crews and several siding crews. Our window/door crew had 2-4 people run by Andrew and took 2 weeks for the installation. After the first week the siding crew of 4-8 people run by Alex began their work. Each crew had good camaraderie and we enjoyed working with each of them. Progress was steady and consistent with no interruptions. They cleaned up at the end of every day. There were no problems with neighbors. The total job was estimated to take 5 weeks; it actually took 6 weeks. Chris came by once or twice a week to check on the project and meet with us.
There was never a time when we had to have any uncomfortable discussion about anything. If you've hired contractors before, you know that's very rare.
Any problems that came up were ones AHR had seen before and knew how to solve. They had all of the latest specialized tools and were current with the manufacturers' best practices. They used trim tabs to eliminate ugly face nails on the exterior trim, despite their adding $1,000 in cost to AHR. They used James Hardie (JH) products throughout: JH trim instead of cedar; JH house wrap instead of "the other brand", and JH caulk color matched to the siding. JH works with Sherwin Williams to provide paint that is officially color matched to the siding. Also, it was comforting to know that AHR works closely with James Hardie and Milgard in case there were a warranty issue.
We are very picky about workmanship; theirs was consistently high. At the end of the project we did have a "punch list" to address, which they did.
There were a few pleasant surprises:
* The "extras" were negligible.
* Our old windows had sheetrock wrap on the inside. AHR's installation includes replacing it with wood molding of our choice: jamb, casing, sill and skirt, all mitered, puttied and caulked, ready for our painter.
* A couple downspouts broke during the tear-off, so AHR replaced all of them. Unfortunately, there wasn't a color match available, so we painted them before they were installed.
* We made a last minute decision to install 3 louvered attic gable vents. AHR had them installed and integrated with the siding in under an hour.
All of the other contractors we interviewed use scaffolding installed by scaffolding companies that would have added over $10k to the cost. AHR uses their own pump jacks instead. We were uneasy about their use until we spoke to their insurance agency and learned that AHR's safety record was extraordinarily good. Their use did require penetrating our composition shingle roof with screws, which they repaired afterwards.
In summary, we were very happy with their work, the price was very fair, and we have already referred friends.
Steve and Marjie Shank
Mill Valley, CA
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