L.S.
Hi F. - Call Vern Elton ###-###-####). His company is Beth-Shar Construction (named after 2 of his daughters).
After trying many contractors/handymen over the years and dealing with no-shows and cancellations and feeling like I was getting ripped off and/or getting sub-par work, I hired him since my aunt and uncle knew him from having attended church (Calvary Church in Naperville) with him for many years to this day. He recently oversaw all aspects of Calvary's construction of their new church in Sugar Grove. So far, I have only found 2 things that Vern has told me were not within his expertise (replacing rotted wood on the exterior of my house, and building a $100,000+ addition on my friends' house), but he found someone else to do the work for me, and he gave my friends referrals to 2 other people, one of whom they ended up hiring and were very happy with.
Vern's workmanship is excellent (he'll work with you until you are 100% satisfied), and his prices are so low that they have honestly shocked me (but I'm not complaining!). Once he gives you a quote at the beginning of a job, he will not increase it, ever. I did not find that to be true of other people - they would either refuse to give me a binding quote, or they would give me a range (and of course it would end up being the highest number at the end of the project), or they would encounter "unforeseen expenses" along the way that they would add into the original price.
Vern is also one of the sweetest and most honest, humble, compassionate, and helpful people I have ever met. He and his wife of 30-some years live in Warrenville and have 4 grown kids (and grandkids), all of whom have turned out great. Because the quality of both his work and his character are of the highest caliber, I do not hesitate to recommend him to others. He is in his 50's and has two younger guys who work for him, but he personally comes to every job and works alongside them. They have both told me that they can't imagine working for a kinder, more skilled employer.
I have hired Vern to do everything from finishing my basement (twice, actually - it massively flooded and was destroyed 3 months after they had just finished it in 2006) to most recently replacing my front storm door. He even did the shopping around for the door for a couple of weeks until he could get an exact match with my newly-painted (by him) reddish/maroon wooden front door.
Vern is probably the only thing that my husband and I completely agree on, LOL. He recently converted a large closet into a full bathroom in a VERY old two-story home in Oak Park that my husband uses as his office, and he replaced all of the original, ancient plumbing in the house to increase the water flow/pressure throughout, which required walls to be cut away and rebuilt as well as other significant changes to the home. My husband initially got quotes from other contractors who his Oak Park realtor recommended, and they were so expensive that my husband ended up using Vern after all. After Vern and his crew were done with all of the work, my husband commented to me that he can't believe he even considered hiring anyone else.
Good luck,
L.
