House Doctors Handyman of Chicago and North Shore, IL

Ethan Myers

2023-11

EDIT: The owner reached out to me and we found a solution for the issue. Highly recommend this business.Tom is excellent. Very helpful, incredibly knowledgable. Some drywall work we had done was a bit lackluster (in my personal opinion).We hired some electricians to replace the old cloth-insulated wiring in our house, which left us with several holes on our walls. We consulted with Andy on Call for their questions related to home maintenance, and Tom has always been a phenomenal person to talk to about these matters. My wife and I were eager to hire a local company to work on our home. Personally, I’m not every experienced when it comes to drywall and construction, and figured it’d be better to let a pro handle it. 

After the contractor for Andy on Call was done, I have mixed feelings about the process. We first hired a different contractor to service some 30-something holes in the walls, and that set our expectations: they did a great job. For the remaining 5 holes in our drywall handled by Andy on Call, I was surprised that it took the worker more than 2 days to handle it.

The employee was only at our house for a couple hours each day, getting fairly little done. There were disputes about the scope, as the employee forgot about one of the holes that I had shown them in the first walk through. Finally, the “finished” state of the drywall once the employee was done left a bit to be desired to my inexperienced eye. The texture was rough, the lines were a bit sloppy. 

In the end, I ended up researching drywalling on Youtube to patch up the work to my own standards. Another trivial matter is that (as both I and my wife were working from home) hearing the contractor speaking loudly and cursing at the walls as they worked was a bit disruptive.Services: General construction, Drywall repair

Demetra Matsis

2024-04

I hired House Doctors to replace a shower base. I went with them as Louis represented that he had replaced just the shower base on many showers. The price was expensive but cheaper than redoing the entire shower. When the project concluded, I was charged for the labor costs and materials/disposal of construction materials (cost +15%). A week into the project, Louis told me that he intentionally picked a new shower base an inch lower than my previous base, necessitating another accent tile. As he had not told me that when he bought the base, I didn't have time to look for that tile. Louis told me when he needed the tile that day. I could not go with him to pick the new tile as I had to work. Louis sent a picture of a tile he thought was OK, which, once installed, does not look good as the tile is a different depth than the original tile so there is a weird "ledge" between the tiles. I showered and realized the shower base was a mess to stand on. There is a large lump in one area of the shower, and the base, in general, feels uneven. The shower isn't big, so there is no avoiding standing on the lump. Given the base is brand new, it should be perfect. I emailed the owner, Tom, about my concerns with the base and some questions regarding some of the materials purchased.Before I heard back from Tom, my neighbor told me that someone dumped garbage bags filled with construction materials in his and other neighbors' trash cans and if any were placed in my garbage can to leave them by his as he had notified the city to pick up. Putting construction materials in residential garbage cans is against the city's ordinances. Given the description of the garbage bags and the description/color of the car seen dumping the bags I was fairly certain that Louis had dumped the bags in the trash cans. I immediately contacted Tom again. To his credit, Tom agreed with me that Louis had illegally dumped the garbage and that he would pick up the bags immediately, and he did so. Tom refunded me the cost of the garbage disposal.As for the shower base, Tom wanted his senior craftsman, Mike, to look at the shower. Mike agreed that there was an issue. Mike thought Louis didn’t properly level that area of the base. He gave me two solutions: try and fix that part of the base or get a small refund. I decided to move ahead with trying to fix it. I wanted Tom to confirm that I would not be responsible for additional costs associated with fixing it. I emailed Tom on a Friday and again on Sunday, saying I hadn’t spoken to Mike because I wanted confirmation regarding the costs. Tom responded Sunday night saying he was waiting for me to talk to Mike. I called Mike on Monday saying I wanted to move ahead with the scheduling the repair. Mike finally responded on Wednesday leaving a message saying he could start Monday. I could not immediately respond, so I texted Mike Thursday morning that Monday was fine, less than 24 hours after Mike returned my call. Mike called me a couple of hours later to say that since he didn’t hear from me immediately, he booked another job on Monday. As I was not happy with the communication to this point, I decided to cancel the repair, partly because I am sick of this whole project and partly because I question whether it will be fixed properly. I emailed Tom that I was canceling the repair and would take the money. Tom agreed to send the check.When I received the check, Tom had written two conditions on the back. The first condition was that by cashing the check, my receipt of the money was a full and complete settlement of any claims against the company (which is too broad), and the second condition was that I would not post any negative reviews on social media (which is completely unacceptable). I contacted Tom telling him that we had neither discussed nor had I agreed to these conditions. Tom did finally issue me a check without any conditions.Would not recommend, poor work product/practices.

christine trimarco

2024-02

I have used Andy on Call twice in the past year, once to repair my deck and the other to do a small remodel on a bathroom. Both experiences were great. The company and their team are very responsive, and the work was excellent.

Natalie E. Morgan

2023-05

I had to have my gas line to my stove repaired (which my usual plumber was handling) but the drywall needed to be replaced afterwards. I have an adult with disabilities in the home, and it was important that her routine be disrupted as little as possible. I explained my needs and schedule to Tom, and he was able to schedule Boris to come out at a time that worked for my family, with transparent pricing. Boris was on time, respectful, considerate and conscientious. I am very pleased with the work completed and will be using this company again.

Paula Kaye

2024-03

We just used the house doctors to complete a complicated job in our home. The people we worked with from the house doctor were great, able to figure out how best to do the job we wanted done & were very efficient. We’d use them again.

Raymond Newgard

2023-10

We have used Andy on call, for many years.. For installing securerailing to upper floor to the basement. Installed outside lights' &new kitchen lights & dimmers. Quality work. Met Andy himself onone occasion. Dr Ray Newgard

L Jackson

2023-05

I had a leaking faucet that needed to be replaced. Stefan came to see what needed to be done.While doing so, I asked about having a bathroom vanity and cabinet installed. An appointment was made. Everything was done within a day, actually within 2-3 hours. Stefan was very professional. Love my new bathroom look. Will hire again.Services: Installation, Plumbing fixture installation

Tom Jacobson

2023-05

Andy Oncall did a great job preforming a difficult wall repair for our condo. They came when scheduled and the price was much less than expect. Well recommended.Service: General construction

Lori Post

2022-05

If you need your door frame fixed along with some trim work, this is a great place to call. If you want a fun affable guy who walks and talks like Keanu Reeves, ask for Jeff. Thanks to AndyOnCall!!!!!! We have several more projects we never got around to fixing and will certainly be calling this company back. Let's face it ---if you have some projects sitting around for two years, just call Andy :)Services: General construction, Painting, Repair flooring

Jim Sandherr

2022-05

Great experience overall! We had to get a plumbing access panel installed in our hallway, and the work was completed very professionally, super happy with the end result. Communication was very easy and all of the staff we worked with were incredibly friendly.

Danny Ortegon

2022-05

Used Andy OnCall for a few small to medium painting and carpentry repairs. They do excellent work at fair prices. They are reliable and easy to communicate with. Highly recommend!

Sy Rosen

2023-05

Great experience replacing a pergola. . Pleasant to deal with. Stefan was easy to work with, was on time and neat. Would definitely recommend.

Donna Williams

2022-05

This was my second time using their service. Happy happy happy. Professional is the first word I can think of regarding the electrical and kitchen work . Will only use this service and I've had a few others in Evanston , not worth the call.Thank you your being true to your word.Service: General repairs

Mason Yanez

2022-05

Tom and the crew have helped our store on several matters. We appreciate their timeliness, craftwork, and great cost on time and labor. We highly recommend them.

Jonathan Shimberg

2023-07

Jim was professional explained what he was going to do and what he did. I have no hesitancy in recommending this company.

Laurence Smith

2023-05

Great quality! Very fair price. Installer came on time and kept me aware if he was running late.

Sally Fischer

2022-05

Great communication, service, and finished product. Made home projects feel so stress free. Thank you!!

Judith Wilson

2022-05

Had a new mailbox installed. Andy OnCall was on time and the job was well done.