I contacted a few stucco contractors that were in the top ten in the google rankings to get estimates on repairing the problem areas on my house, and I didn't go with the lowest bid. Sure, it's a common attitude to go with the cheapest, but out of all the contractors that came out, I felt most confident that Ken of USA Builders was my guy. He was prompt, polite, articulate and professional. I also knew that he was a hands on owner and did the work himself rather than handing the job off to a helper, employee or family member.
When I first met him, he had just come from finishing another job. He was a little dusty and had dried stucco residue on his hands, but I liked seeing that. This told me a lot about him right away even before he said a single word. The other guys that came out, I'm sure they know their craft, but one guy just gave me a verbal estimate and I told him on the phone that I wanted written estimates. When I asked him for it, he said he would text me later. That text never came. Another company didn't even send anyone out to visually inspect the problem areas first hand and just had me text them pictures. I didn't like that because the can see things even a sharp picture can miss, and I have a very high resolution camera on my phone. Plus, it just screamed laziness to me. They all had 5 star ratings on google, but Ken clearly stood well above his competition in my book. Stucco repair is something I never want to have to deal with, but if I do, I want to have it repaired once and not ever have to think about it again.
With Ken, I was purchasing peace of mind; not just excellent craftsmanship. He came on time as promised and with just one other person with him to help out, the two of them were able to knock out the job by lunch time. Initially, I thought this would be a 2 day job, but they did it in 1 day. They were about halfway through the job when Ken asked me to come out and check out the progress of their work so far. He wanted to make sure I was happy with what I saw and that they hit all the target areas we discussed. The eye sores were gone, and the patched up areas looked great. He even made sure that it had the same texture on my existing stucco so that when I tackle the painting next, it will looks like there was no signs of the walls being patched up. They worked quietly and efficiently. They didn't shout at each other, curse like sailors on shore leave or blast a boombox while they worked. They just worked. When the job was completed, they cleaned up all of the waste material and even put my can out on the curb for me. After doing a second walk around my property, I was 100% satisfied and was happy to pay him the amount he quoted me. So if you've got stucco issues and are looking for the best guy to do the job, look no further. Ken is your man. Your house is your investment. You spent a lot of money for it. Do yourself a favor and have only the best people do work on it. I'm glad I took the time to do my homework.