Casual Things Done

While Allan is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, he unfortunately didn’t do a great job for us. We needed an external door frame replaced after a break-​in and Allan recommended a steel door and frame that would take one day to install and at a very competitive price. We thought at the time that this was a great solution and would offer more safety, but after three days of work, we were left with a door that barely opened with a deadbolt that was floating in the door. Even after having another contractor come out to adjust this, the door is still marginally functional at best. To Allan’s credit, he did address our concerns during the process in an extremely timely manner and does have a genuine concern for his client’s well-​being. I hate to leave a review like this, but I had to give an honest assessment of our experience.

We got in touch with Allan about building a wall in our Archstone apartment building that would turn our living room into a third bedroom. Martin picked up the phone the first time I called him, and I arranged to email him about getting a quote.
Within two weeks, his associate Lenita was able to come by and assess the space and give us a quote. He estimated a cost of $ 875, which was over $ 300 cheaper than the other quote we got from a different company. We decided to hire Allan, and he came by on a Saturday morning (since my roommates and I all work during the week, this was a huge plus scheduling-​wise) to pick up the contract and the down payment. He was extremely friendly, easy to talk to, and professional; he had a list of things for us to talk to the building about so that he could get started as soon as possible. (Allan likes to drop off the materials a day early so he can get as much work done as possible from day 1.)
My roommates and I thought Allan was coming by on Saturday October 22^nd to start building, but at 11am he wasn’t there so we gave him a call. He picked up and was very apologetic about the mix-​up; he said he and his crew would be there on Tuesday morning. He offered us a $ 50 refund for the inconvenience, which was very thoughtful. The only thing is that we didn’t actually get the refund (though because of the scheduling mix-​up, we forgot to reserve the service elevator for that Monday and it caused him a bit of inconvenience, so we didn’t mind too much! Also, we preferred him not building a wall during the weekend.)
Allan and his crew started building on Tuesday morning and were done by Friday, which was a FULL DAY EARLY! Even though we’d spoken to the apartment management, they failed to mention that even though we were allowed to build a wall, the wall couldn’t be screwed into the «foundation» (which means the ceiling and floor). Even with this hiccup, the wall turned out perfectly! It looks like it came with the apartment! The door Allan and his crew installed was a bit tight, but this was due to the foundation misunderstanding and he sanded it down as much as he could.
Overall, I have to say that Allan was great. He was professional, apologetic about the mixup, tidy (for the most part; it would have been nice if he’d covered the counter with plastic or something because when he finished, there was dry wall dust coating everything), and inexpensive. The apartment staff even loved him! I gave him 4 stars out of 5 because of the scheduling error and the lack of promised refund, but in the end we were really pleased with the work.
I recommend Allan Gray to anyone looking to build a wall in their apartment!

While Allan is a nice man, the work he did was terrible. Even simple things like caulking a bathtub had to be redone. He cut out a sink countertop wrong, among other errors. He did not do the work promised and the work he did do was of extrememly poor quality. What a disappointment and it caused me a huge problem.

He did show up– not at the time agreed upon. Never sent me an estimate or contacted me thereafter. I’ll give him two stars for at least showing up, but this no-​follow-​up makes him just like any of the other dozen folks I’ve contacted over the years.

Allan is a real gentleman and professional. I hired him to wash and seal my deck and those of a few of my neighbors. He did a thorough job and is simply a very pleasant person. He said he used to just work in DC but suddenly is getting Arlington/​Alexandria calls «because of some web site.» Haha.
To Megan E, who gave him one star – did it occur to you he forgot to call you back, since he was on a roof in the middle of a job? And as for email – well, he isn’t the one checking the emails, so you’re better off calling him…

Another fantastic job completed by Allan. Very highly recommended!

Allab Gray of Casual Things Done comes strongly recommended! He was very responsive to my call, arrived at our house within a very short window, assessed the problem and took care of it (before the snowstrorm hit!). He was knowledgable, friendly and took care of our frozen gutter and downspout issues in short time.