Al's Carpentry

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• By Robert S.

  October 19, 2022

  To repair a stair case

  $1,300

  Al is honest and hard working. He does quality work at fair prices. He is also very flexible.

• By Gh A.

  June 25, 2022

  Toilet leaking causing ceiling to fall. Repaired cement board and plaster ceiling.

  We’ve used him twice both times we were very satisfied. Was on time, maintained clean workspace.Very reasonable prices. Old school work ethics. We would definitely use him again.

• By I.l.

  November 6, 2021

  Painting and carpentry

  $3,000

  If I could give him a no-star review, I would. Valuable lessons learned: 1) Don’t hire a carpenter if the primary reason you’re hiring someone is to do painting, 2) the appearance of a person’s ad in the Cranford Monthly every month has no bearing on that person’s reputation, 3) always get referrals from friends when it comes to things like painting, carpentry, masonry, and home renovations in general, and 4) look for reviews online. I didn’t get referred to Al. I didn’t look for any reviews until after we ran into an issue w/ Al and that’s when I saw the 2 negative reviews above, which sound consistent with our experience w/him.
  He came to my house to provide an estimate for painting several doors, closets, and baseboards in our house, as well as do some minor carpentry work. As soon as he walked through our front door, he started talking and didn’t stop for an hour. I was like, you ARE here to do an estimate, aren't you? That should’ve been a clear warning to say "Thanks, but no thanks." Then, he started talking politics. I should’ve said at that point “You know what? We need to find someone else to do our paint job, cuz this ain’t gonna work.” Despite all that, we still paid him a 50% deposit (of $3K) cuz we wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt (stupid us). After a couple of emails asking him questions to get ready for the paint job, I called him to ask about the colors he would use for the doors, closets and baseboards. I told him I needed the baseboards and door frames (and doors) in the foyer, in the upstairs hallway, and doors in that hallway to be the same color as the baseboards in our living room. He said he was going to use whatever paint he has leftover from other jobs cuz “White is white.” I'm like "Excuse me?" I'd never heard of such craziness! I said "I’m sorry but there are different shades of white and it matters." Shouldn’t a person who paints know this??? He could’ve said “Well, then buy your paint.” (This is what I ended up doing when we finally hired someone (referral from a friend) to do our paint job and his folks did a great job). And then Al proceeded to go off the deep end, ranting & raving at me and my husband for the next 20 min, ending w/”I’m not going to do your job.” This is despite the fact he already cashed our deposit! What kind of business is this guy running, anyway? After hanging up on him, I immediately sent an email to him saying he owes me my $1500 back and I expected it within the next few days. Fortunately, his wife sent the money back. What a nightmare! Do not hire this man! He has a serious anger management issue!

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• By Ruth J.

  June 27, 2019

  NEW WOODEN STAIRS

  VERY PROFESSIONAL !!! WE HAD AL HERE TWICE , ONCE TWO YEARS AGO AND JUST YESTERDAY HE PUT IN NEW WOODEN STAIRS FOR US. HE CAME WITH EVERYTHING WE NEEDED AND WAS GONE IN THREE HOURS . WE ARE SO GLAD WE DIDN'T HIRE A HANDYMAN WHO WAS TELLING US TO BUY OUR OWN SUPPLIES AND THEN WATCH HIM CUT IT ALL AND CHARGE US A ENORMOUS PRICE PER HOUR . I DONT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO SOME PEOPLE THAT GAVE A TERRIBLE REVIEW BUT I DO KNOW THAT DEALING WITH THE PUBLIC IS NOT EASY. HE IS VERY PLEASANT AND CARES ABOUT HIS WORK.

• By Annonymous

  December 7, 2015

  remodel

  28 days

  awful

  I would not use Al's Carpentry again. When Al first assesses the work and provide a quote, he is quite calm and even charming. However, as the job progresses, he gets loud, abusive, and repeatedly called our house, drunk, demanding more money. Al does not stand by his quote and will tell you that certain items in the quote are not excluded from his services, even though he included the items in writing. Also, the 2-week job turned into 4 weeks because he makes mistakes and is inefficient. He is highly unprofessional and I would never allow him to another job in my home again.

• Anonymous

  April 21, 2015

  Al seemed like a nice guy. He gave us a reasonable quote, showed up on time and was very easy to work with. Unfortunately, when it was time to give us the bill, he turned into a lunatic. The bill was for triple the amount of the original quote. Al raised his voice at my wife, in front of our 1 and 3 year old children, when she asked him why the final amount was for so much more than the quote. He bullied her into paying him the full amount since I was not home to confront him. I would highly recommend not using Al for any future contracting work.