RICE MASONRY CONST CO INC

Gerry was professional, timely and thorough. He willingly discussed what needed to be done, answered my questions and provided the most reasonable of three bids I solicited. What else can one ask for?

Rice was responsive to my initial outreach, got me a quote quickly, and was very competitively priced. Gerry came when he said he would, completed the project, and left the place spotless. I would definitely hire them again for any similar work.

Mr. Rice himself showed up this morning to give us an estimate. He arrived without a mask. He refused to take one (new, still in the package) from me when I asked him to put one one. His response: "I don't need one." I explained that it wasn't for his safety, but for my own and my husband's. My husband is in a high risk group. Roce repeated: "Well, I don't need one," adding "I won't wear one. I don't do that." Do not hire these people. They clearly do not care about the safety of their clients. Rice said as much this omrning. He can be reached at 847-824-2223 if you want to opine on this to him directly.

Rice came out to look at the chimney, unannounced and while I was away. I later called to discuss the work and get a price. I called again several days later and left a message to tell them to go ahead with the lower priced option, but never heard from them again.

We could not be more pleased with Rice Masonry's professionalism and workmanship. Communication with Mr. Rice was direct and straightforward. He arrived promptly after I contacted him to estimate our job and pointed out additional problems that I had not appreciated, but which obviously needed to be addressed as well. His proposal was reasonable. His workmen were a pleasure to work with. They came on time, were respectful of our property, worked efficiently and left the place spotless. This was no minor feat, as they had to work both inside the house and out, in damp weather after rain the night before. Except for the noise of their equipment, they were so quiet we were able to carry on conversations and activities inside our home as usual. Rice Masonry was highly recommended by an acquaintance, and I now can see why. I will not hesitate to recommend them to others.

Never got the quote. He came out and we met and reviewed the project. Then, I chased him for the quote, leaving messages and emails. He finally responded early Sept that I would have a quote over the weekend. Never got it.

They came when the said they would and the project took about the time the said. They wrapped the chimney because it was cold at night.

The work was performed by Francisco and Luke on our property. They provided professional work with on time performance. They didn't have a loud radio going: respecting us and our neighbors They left the area clean and tidy after they finished. I have included before and after photos for your use.

Very happy with the work performed. Great attention to detail and qualty control.

Mr. Rice came and diagnosed the situation very quickly and got back to us with a detailed proposal. The chimney rebuild was not cheap, but it was swiftly and really beautifully done. Mr. Rice understands chimneys and physics. We heartily recommend him to anyone dealing with really difficult fireplace problems.

I got three prices to rebuild my chimney. Rice Masonry was the lowest. When he came out he showed me a place where the tuck pointing needed to be fixed as well. It seemed legitimate so we had them do that as well. I didn't end up having any other bids on the tuck pointing so I'm less confident about that price but we really liked Gerry's professionalism and figured we'd go with them. We were very happy with the work and would definitely work with them again.

Gerry was responsive, came out when he promised, the crew showed up when scheduled, the repair went well. Quote was much lower than competitor.

He has always done good work for us. They clean up after themselves. We're very happy with them. We never have a problem. They are always here when they say they're going to be.

We had a great experience with the company. They worked on our home for approximately 2 weeks. Jerry was professional and easy to work with. His team was always on time and they cleaned up after themselves. We would definitely hire them again and recommend their work.

Bought a 60 year old two flat in dire need of tuck-pointing. Got three bids. Went with Rice since he seemed to really know his stuff and his price was competitive with the others. We had the face brick on the two sides facing the street (corner lot) completely done and spots on the side that needed it tuck-pointed. Building has a fair amount of limestone and that was tuck-pointed and cleaned. The chimney was in bad shape and was rebuilt. They did a great job. The building looks brand new. Gerry was easy to talk to and answered all out questions, even the dumb ones. Finished the job on time, including all the small details. They left no mess whatsoever. Several neighbors stopped by to comment on how nice the building looks.

He came out on 7/8 a day or two later after I called. So far so good. After that it went downhill. In my opinion I found him a bit arrogant and he didn't seem interested in doing the job. Said he would get my estimate to me by Monday, but over two weeks later never received one and I did give him my email to send the bid. If mailed it had plenty of time to get here. I am not going to chase a bid down. Either get it to me or I'll pass you by as unreliable. I found another company that was much more response.

I can't recommend Gerry enough. Everything done as per the estimate and even though it took a day longer than expected, the price remained the same.

We asked for several estimates from different companies and even though the estimate from Rice Masonry was not the cheapest, Gerry seemed to be very knowledgeable and provided all the answers to our questions. In other words, he made us feel he knew what he was doing. We formalized the contract in early winter and even though the job was not started until after February, he kept in contact with us at all times, informing us about possible start dates (temperature and snow played a big role in this, of course). Once work was started, it was completed on a timely manner. It was done carefully, cleanly and proffessionaly. They were also very flexible in taking care of small spots around the house where the tuckpointing needed some work. I would not hesitate to recommend Rice Masonry to a friend or family member.

They said what they would do, showed up when they said they would, and completed the job on time and on budget.

We had scheduled an appointment with Gerald Rice for Saturday early morning at 8 am. Normally, we get up a bit late on Saturdays & specially got up early to accommodate Gerald's schedule and also because we wanted to work with him (given the good reviews in Angie's list). But Gerald never showed up. Neither did he bother to call us before or after the scheduled appointment. We left him a voice mail & also texted him. His voice mail said he would respond after 4 pm. But we are yet to hear from him. We are willing to modify the review if he cares to make up for this poor service. But, we thought it was rather unprofessional of him to do this. ------------------ UPDATE ON 12/12/14: Mr. Rice requested us to update the review since he came over to inspect the house. No work has been performed yet.

He was very thorough and repaired the wall and also help protect it from future water damage.

I called three contractors and chose Rice Masonry Construction Co. Inc. because Gerry Rice seemed the most knowledgeable about what needed to be done. He was the only contractor who went into the attic (that has no floor) and looked at the problem from the inside. He also advised me of all the contingencies that could occur, given my home is an old Chicago bungalow. He sent me an itemized contract, including costs for the contingencies, and put me on the schedule with a 30% retainer.. Due to the rainy summer, the job was pushed back a few weeks, and he replied to all my emails/phone calls within a few hours, updating me on the schedule. We tentatively confirmed the date a week out, and then reconfirmed the day before. The first day Gerry and his crew came out and did all the prep work. Over the next three days, they completed the remaining work. The two men he worked with were polite and considerate. They had to break through the brick in the basement to replace the chimney liner. When I saw the large hole, I was worried, but Gerry bricked it back up and did a beautiful job. The lintels were needed because the arch over the windows had failed and the roof was no longer supported. We weren't really sure what we would be dealing with until the wall was opened up. As a precaution, Gerry shored up the roof from the inside, and placed both lintels working from the outside. His workers laid paper down on my carpeting, and when the shoring was removed, I did not have to do anything--there was no damage to the ceiling or walls. They removed the soffit, and were also very careful working from the outside, so as not to damage the inside walls. That was another reason I chose this company. One of the other contractors had said he would break through the wall from the inside to do the work, which would have meant replacing the drywall, cleaning the carpet and repainting the dining room, which would have been a nightmare. Also, to minimize the difference between the new, replacement bricks and the older bricks, Gerry placed them vertically rather than horizontally, so they looked like decorative trim and blended in, for a nice, aesthetic appearance. Overall, this project, which could have been a nightmare, turned out to be the smoothest run project I've had done in this house in the 20 years I've lived here. Gerry was the ultimate professional who obviously takes pride in his work. He was patient and explained everything he was doing and why, and kept me informed when there were unexpected issues. I would highly recommend him to anyone who asked.