Stone & Mason Design LLC - Guilford, Connecticut

Samantha C.

One of the good ones. We had a really hard time finding a reliable trust worthy company. Jim is definitely a great company to work with. Not only did he completely upgrade the look of our house but also did it in a timely manner.

He built the deck in our backyard and it looks absolutely fantastic. The front stone work took a bit more time but was well worth it.

A-Team P. A. D. L.

This company is absolutely terrible, we hired them in 2023 to do an outside patio with bar area and the job came out horrible. Pavers that were installed were not level the patio now has puddles everywhere. The retaining wall he installed was done completely wrong, seams match up everywhere and when I brought this to his attention he stated that he did that for strength which was incorrect that actually makes the wall less supportive. The stairs he did for us looked horrible and are already falling apart to where my daughter took a step and fell and because the block was not glued down and came apart. We paid for an outside bar/outside kitchen area and when the granite people showed up they laughed at me and stated that granite could not be placed on the bar/kitchen area because jim and his crew installed the unit unlevel and the blocks he used to build the bar were actually falling apart. Everything he did has to be re done and its going to cost me over 70k to fix all this. No other contractors will even attempt to repair as it is so bad. Stay away from this company jim is a smooth talker but cant back that up with his work. Attempted to contact him for his insurance information as we purchased all the material and wanted to get reimbursed and he refuses to relinquish it. Do yourself a favor and stay away. I am rejecting this so called response because as a professional in a trade, if my customer isnt happy I am not leaving until they are satisfied. What this company did to my home is unexcusable, as I have mentioned in other platforms my young kids are cutting there toes open because of all the trip hazards that exist on this patio. Pictures tell a thousand words so for potential customers looking up this sorry company do yourself a huge favor and do not hire them, you will regret it. He has 3 other customer that he has done this to, one as recent as last week where he took the mans money and didnt return. STAY AWAY!!!!

TRACIE S.

Do NOT hire this company!
Stone & Mason Design, LLC and owner, Jim Rapuano, (aka James Michael Rapuano). Worst experience ever!!! Jim’s a smooth talker, “nice guy”, until he’s not. He piece mealed our projects for more than 8 months and then he demands we wait a full year for him to come back and fix the ridiculous mess he left us with.
Short version, we paid him to cap our precasted front stairs w/ Blue stone & stack stone on the sides, a front walkway & a back patio.
After the fact, we find out that the front stairs & walkway were not done to code. He capped the front stairs but left no drip edge. He did not know basic math and dug the walkway 2 1/2” too deep causing the first step into the house to be 10 1/2” and the remaining stairs varying heights. He didn’t know the building code for stair rise is 7 1/2” and be consistent throughout. After 3 attempts the walkway treads are still a hazard. He did not seal the back patio and it has lost all color. It was sloppily done w/ concrete popping up like little peaks and lines that don’t match up. Neither front nor back was pitched properly and now the “free” retaining wall, that we didn’t want, is falling down along with his drain to nowhere!
ALL this has to be ripped out and redone!
HE ADMITS THIS! But blames me! His explanation of events is laughable. And he has an excuse for everything! Contractors we have had out to the house just shake their heads and say it cannot be repaired. Not only is it a terrible eyesore it’s a tripping hazard & liability.
Jim has been given every opportunity to remedy the situation, including to rip it all out & go away and we would release him! Unfortunately, he refuses to accept responsibility and we have been forced to hire an attorney. More unfortunate, looks like this isn’t Jim’s first rodeo. Do your research he is definitely not a nice guy!
Recent update…Another of Jim’s victims just found me on the CT Judicial website and reached out to me with his own horror story!?!?!

ajax943

Great work. No overcharges. On time on target. Even took the time to show us how to maintain unrelated problems elsewhere on our property.

The owner works with you quite a bit. Our situation was that we needed to let go a previous contractor and bring in another to fix and finish a job. Jim came in and explained everything and took a lot of time to work with us.

That's important because we were able to manage our expectations regarding all of the work which was burying us at the time. I appreciated the honesty and candid approach to our stair well, sidewalk and drainage. He noticed we had a failing retaining wall and offered to take on that task as well for a surprisingly low deal. I say that because alot of contractors were quoting us 3, some even 4 times the amount Jim completed it for.

With things really tight these past years money-wise it seems really hard to find work like this to be quality and timely while not breaking the bank. We got quality and cost effective work out of Stone & Mason Design and they deserve a good review.

Greg W.

Please do your homework before deciding to hir Jim R. at Stone & Mason Design out of Guilford CT. Working with Jim has been a complete nightmare. We contracted Jim to build a retaining wall around our pool, he took a 10% deposit when we signed the contract and 50% 10 days before the project was to begin but never full filled his contractual obligations and will not refund us the thousands of dollars he received. Please read the other reviews found on Google.

Greg M.

Over delivered! Great communication from concept to finish. Jim was so thorough he made sure my pregnant wife was involved (happy wife, happy life). Our new patio is flawless.

Jon C.

Absolute Master class masonry! Easy to work with, gave great advice and followed up to make sure everything went well!