It is easy to write a good review when the job was routine and simple. This is a good review of a job that was neither.

The effected part of the house was built in the mid 1920s. A leak during some (but not all) rainstorms developed in the front hall. The area in question has lath over plaster (not drywall) and the exterior is stucco and wood trim. The roof pitch is steep.

Prior experience taught us that the first problem was identifying the source of the leak. The person who came out to look at the problem agreed and described the process they would follow to try to identify the source of the leak. In the first mark of a someone who knew what he was talking about he did not promise or encourage a belief that they would find the source and emphasized that finding the source was a mixture of experience, technology and luck.

After the testing was done we concluded that the source of the leak probably from a specified area of the front of the house. A decision was reached that we would treat the leak as though it came from that area and hope that we succeeded in stopping the leak.

After the exterior treatment was finished the man sent to repair the hallway ceiling (and repaint it) had actually dealt with plaster over lath before and knew how to repair the damaged parts, patch and resurface where needed and paint. Those are increasingly vanishing skills in the Phoenix areas since virtually all of the post world war 2 housing does not use plaster over lath.

The hallway is fixed and we hope that we stopped the leaking. Each step of the way TWD clearly stated what they knew and what they suspected as well as what they did not know.

Having lived in old houses for a long time (in both Phoenix and Tucson) the combination of humility and expertise is rare and to be treasured. Too many contractors would have come in and said, with confidence, they could fix the problem when in fact they were just guessing and did not really know what they were talking about. The cautious and careful approach is appreciated.