Mr. Porch

After three attempts at getting an estimate, we are just going to pass Mr. Porch by. The first time I called, I left a message in the voicemail with the thought that I would receive a return call. After one week, I called again and was told by the individual who answered the phone that their phone system was not working and that my message may not have been recorded. Okay, I can understand that. I gave my name, number and the address where the porch was located. The day of the estimate came and went without a phone call or visit from any Mr. Porch representative. The third time around, my husband called. He gave his name, number and the address plus an email address (what can go wrong now?) that was requested. Another appointment date was set. This time, the person came but my husband and I weren’t home. The worst part, though, is that although my husband verbally gave the address of the house to the representative, they misheard and sent an estimate to my email for a two story porch in a house that is two miles away from my own. I simply wanted an estimate for a 10×7 porch at a single family home. Mr. Porch, I had good hopes but now they will have to go somewhere else.

Cannot recommend. We contracted with them in Oct 2014 & provided a large downpayment with the understanding they would start work as soon as weather allowed in Spring 2015. We stressed from day 1 that this job had to be completed well before Memorial weekend.
They did a great job of completely dismantling our old rooftop deck and building the new one. Excellent construction and all the old wood was properly discarded. They only sent one guy for this big job and it took a over a week, but turned out beautiful.
However, DO NOT use this company to stain your deck! It took 2 weeks of phone calls for someone to come out and stain the deck…2 days before Memorial Day. We had already cancelled our party, since it couldn’t be walked on for 3 days. But worse, it looked terrible when they finally finished. (See photos.) 13 warm, sunny days and many phone calls & emails later, they sent the same guy who did the first terrible job to re-​do it. To his credit, he worked for 12 hours and it turned out so-​so.
We also have a smaller back deck which was also poorly stained. Mr Porch said he didn’t know when they’d be able to send someone to re-​do it. We had to go to Menards, purchase stain & equipment and finish the job ourselves… and did a far better job. Not at all worth the fortune we paid. Very, very disappointed.

We used Mr Porch to build a deck addition on our townhome. They were a bit slow, but in end did a nice job. It did take while to get the permit settled — but Peter who came on board during the process, took it upon himself to get all rectified. I would recommend you stay close to him during any work with MR Porch.

I had an appointment for an estimate for a demo and rebuilt enclosed porch.
So, no one bothered showing up or calling to cancel or reschedule.
Thanks Mr Slouch

This company has been working on my 30+ unit building for about two months. They are loud and rude. They play music as loud as possible and scream to each other all day long. I asked them to please turn down the music and they replied «Call my boss».
The porches look less safe than they did when this crew began, and they have wood and nails thrown everywhere. I ask when this project will be done, every day they say «tomorrow».
I would never hire this crew to do anything. I wish my landlord had read the Unilocal reviews before trusting them.

Having worked recently with Mr. Porch on a large association project, I trusted Mr. Porch to replace the aged, rotted, roof deck for my townhouse. The wood had been neglected over the years, with mold growing on the surface with the deck being a hazard to walk on. One major challenge was to have the old deck demolished and removed from the 4^th level townhouse roof top. I explored many options (chutes, dumpster, crane, etc), but the most reasonable expense is to have the old wood manually carried down 4 flights of stairs. Mr. Porch assured me the task is do-​able although daunting at first appearance, and they can complete it in just a few days.
I received an estimate from on a Sunday, began demolition on Tuesday and had a new balcony by Saturday… utterly amazing. They sent 2 of their best guys to handle my project and they took 2 days to demolish, haul away the wet heavy debris, and carry up new lumber up the 4 flights via emergency stairway. They took the next 2 days to construct a quality floating deck with railings. They paid attention to details by constructing railings with thicker railing and wooden lattice design. The finish product was a night-​and-​day difference.

Happy with the job they did. We encountered some hurdles but got through them just fine with patience on both sides of the deal. I knew there were going to be small issues with an old building. The entire city permit process was handled by them. I did not want to replace my porch but the city deemed that I was in violation. I still miss my beautiful iron railings that were only 28 inches high vs. 36 but they were OK for over 100 years. Anyhoo working with John was fine and the permitting process went well. I represented myself in court and I am glad this miserable process is behind me. What a waste of time. Mr. Porch handled the permitting process from beginning to end, the architectural drawings, the plat survey, the permit approval, and most important the final inspection meeting with the city inspector. I handled the court appearances, paid court costs, and was present for the initial inspection. My expectations of having issues with the city were extremely low, the city code process was worse than I expected. The process is terrible, poorly organized and all of the city inspectors this fall were pulled from inspecting buildings over to baby sitting for the new Safe Passage program for Chicago public schools. I wanted an organization that had enough experience to create drawings that would pass the permitting process, I wanted to get the work done as soon as possible, and I didn’t want to have issues and that is why I went with an experienced group like Mr. Porch who only does porches versus a general contractor. Did I mention I do not enjoy working with the city?

Worst experience ever. A few months ago this company tore down the porch on our building and rebuilt because it was not to code. During this process, the employees smashed down most of our wooden fence and shattered our kitchen window. Not to mention, many of our outdoor items went «missing» while they were working there. This company did NOTHING to reimburse or replace the damage they did. They just took off. One of our tenants asked one of these trashy employees what they were going to do to replace this damage, and the employee responded «It’s not our job to do that, nor our problem.» I hope no one uses this company for anything, unless they want their property stolen or severely damaged and not be reimbursed. I strongly advise to NEVER EVER use this company. AND in the end, the porch turned out pretty terrible. I think a class of preschoolers could have done a better job, and probably have higher IQ’s.

I live in a 30+ apartment building. Mr. Porch had two guys working today to tear down a porch that wasn’t up to code. The threw wood carelessly onto our building’s water pipes and broke them. What did they do after it happened? They took off, it was the end of the day and they didn’t want to get into trouble, let someone else deal with it. Water has been gushing out of the pipes for hours and nobody in any of the units has any water. Way to go Mr. Porch.