A&K Stone Masonry LTD

Ayman did a wonderful job on replacing large sections of the stonework on the front of my house. Because the previous install did not account for drainage, the mortar deteriorated and the stone was falling off and splitting. Ayman put on the new stone and repaired the existing areas that could be fixed. He was very good at explaining what and why he was doing things and he matched the existing stone and pattern that you can’t even tell what sections were redone. He was quick, very tidy and his work was meticulous. Very pleased and would highly recommend him.

The workmanship was good but Ayman added $1,000 for this and $1,000 for that and came up with an $8,000 bill for a total of 37 hours work and less than $100 of materials.

Response to Ayman's rebuttal:

When Ayman came to my home in the spring I gave him a budget of $3,000. His response was that it would probably be closer to $4,000 to $5,000. Our RFP was to have our sidewalk stone restored to an acceptable level because after 13 years there had been movement that was becoming both unattractive and dangerous. Ayman, who indicates that he has 29 years in the industry, told us what he thought was needed. When he did the job he told us that he quoted $6,500 when he was here in the spring. My wife and I know that to be false. He then proceeded to add money to level the sidewalk beside the garage and to raise the garage door, which he indicated in the spring he would arrange to have done. He raised the price to $8,000. The sidewalk beside the garage leads to the sidewalk to the front door and the patio. How that becomes an "extra" is beyond us. However, as I pointed out to Ayman, he used less than $100 of material and a grand total of less than 37 hours to do what he did. This is irrefutable as I have security video showing precisely what time they arrived on and departed from my property. He had requested the $8,000 in cash which made me very suspicious. We never indicated what we felt was a legitimate price for this work. He did all the talking and none of the listening. Everything was verbal so our videos are the only record. I advised Ayman that I was not prepared to pay anything over $2,500 (that's $125,000 per year) until I receive a proper invoice stipulating the time and material required to complete the job. I want a record that provides his license info and assurance that the money he receives is declared as income. I have yet to see a proper invoice. In the mean time he has accused us of being racist which people who know us would attest is absolutely untrue. At this point Ayman has not show any professionalism and will not receive another penny until he has met our request for a proper invoice. At that point I will have it independently audited and pay any outstanding monies if that is deemed to be appropriate.

It turns out that the workmanship was not good. I asked Ayman if I should hire a contractor to raise my garage passage door as he suggested that we do that to level the sidewalk. He chose to do it himself and charged $800 to do so. I have a professional contractor here today completely removing the door and frame because the work done by Aman made a total mess of the fit and function. He should stick to stone work although I have another contractor coming to adjust the stonework on our patio so that the water runs off. Ayman was supposed to have done this but he just moved the pooling from one spot to another.