Masonry Contractor - Burbank, CA
Average rating
4.77
4.8
Average rating
DiBara Masonry is a fourth generation Italian masonry company specializing in repairs, restorations and new installations of stone, block, brick, concrete and pavers, as well as waterproofing and sealing of any sort. No matter how odd, large or small the project may be, DiBara Masonry can provide exactly what you need, because with DiBara, quality matters.
Average rating
Ben Q.
I'm pretty conflicted in my review as the work quality is great. The process was bumpy, but that's easy to look over given the quality of the craftsmanship. It is that their billing style as being the most aggressive I've ever encountered in all the work I've done. I had received an email notification invoice a day before New Year's when I was overseas. I let my project manager know I was overseas, had limited access, but that I would be back the subsequent week. Also, there were a couple of minor outstanding issues with DiBara's work which he agreed to send someone to fix. Upon my return, I connected with the foreman and we agreed on a time for the middle of next week for him to finish the work, do a walkthrough and pick up a check. I confirmed and all was good. In the meantime, I checked the online account and saw that there were three outstanding invoices that had been issued at once. Mind you, this is now four business days after the initial invoice was sent. Even though the foreman was ok waiting until next week, with DiBara being a small businesses I thought the right thing to do would be to proactively pay everything except the final bill (which was small) until the foreman came out to finish the work. I also saw that there's an online pay by card feature and thought, "Awesome - its a new year and I need to start racking up credit card spend for this year's airlines status". Unfortunately, I tried three different cards (Visa, Amex, Discover) and all declined. I emailed my DiBara project manager to see if I can pay over the phone or something else. That's when things went off the rails. I received the nastiest voicemail from a woman who I had never interacted with before demanding I "pay immediately or we will escalate the issue". Huh? I already had an appointment with the foreman to pay next week and I was being proactive paying ahead of that. I shrugged it off and called JP Morgan who put in an override and I was able to pay one of the three invoices. On the second invoice, it declined again but with a new error. I called JP Morgan back and they said they couldn't see anything on their end even trying to make a purchase. So I emailed the billing person a screenshot of the error and asked if she could pull from her end now that my card is on file. She called and said I was committing "fraud" by using multiple cards and reiterated her threat that I "need to deliver a check by Monday or she will escalate". I admittedly am shocked with being attacked out the blue and tell her to back off, so she hangs up on me. Two minutes later, I get an email from her once again accusing me of fraud and stating things will escalate if I don't drop off a check for the full amount on Monday. At this point, I think even the foreman and project manager can sense that the biller is being over the top. The foreman volunteered to come by this morning (Saturday, which was kind and not necessary) and finished the work and picked up the check. No sweat. Job is done and DiBara is paid. What was all the drama about? I really wish I could recommend DiBara and use them again myself for my upcoming work. Their project leaders are great and their workmanship is fantastic. But I just can't recommend them to anyone know that I have seen that their billing style is so nasty and intense. I'm sure collecting money from people is an awful job, but you don't threaten customers on your first call when the bill was just issued four days ago and there's already an agreed upon date to finish the work and pick up a check. If DiBara changes their billing style to be less aggressive, I'll happily recommend them. Until then, its not worth the headache.
Address
3900 W Alameda Ave Ste 1200
Burbank, CA 91505
Photo | Project | Date | Description | Cost | Home |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beverly Hills Tile Walkway and Stone Veneer | Sep 2016 | Along the perimeter of a house in Beverly Hills, DiBara Masonry installed a new, tile walkway per customer's designs. In addition, the fireplace was veneered - both along the interior and exterior faces - using cultured stone. | Beverly Hills, CA | ||
West Hollywood Block Wall Repair | May 2016 | At a residential home in West Hollywood, DiBara Masonry fully removed a block wall recently damaged by encroaching rooted and re-installed a new wall to match the remaining walls around the property. The new all is complete with knock-down stucco and fresh paint. | West Hollywood, CA | ||
Encino Entryway Installation | Feb 2016 | At the front of the property, the existing wall was partially demolished to all for the installation of a new, entryway gate. In addition, a paver walkway was constructed per designer's plans. | Encino, CA | ||
Encino Back Yard Renovation | Dec 2015 | Per exterior designer's plans, DiBara Masonry constructed a concrete fireplace with wood-grain sides and a smooth finish alongside poured-in place concrete pavers in the rear of the property and finished by sealing all our work with a penetrating waterproofer. | Encino, CA | ||
Tujunga Block Wall Installation | Jul 2015 | Installed 75' long, stepped block wall using standard grey blocks and finished the wall with a float finished stucco and fresh coat of paint. | Tujunga, CA |