When the Bercuvitz’s invited Joel to look at their backyard he wasn’t too surprised to find a small, fenced in yard that is typical of downtown Ithaca homes. Joel listened to their vision and cooperatively designed a hardscape that would compliment their lifestyle and desire to entertain.
Joel designed and installed a walk from the side of the house, a large patio and a semi-circle, dry-stacked sitting wall as the centerpiece. It was a pleasure working with this visionary couple.
Hiring Joel Brain to design and construct a patio for us was one of the best decisions we have ever made as homeowners and his work exceeded our expectations by a mile! From our first meeting we could tell that Joel was right for us. No heavy pressure. He drew us out to help us get clearer about our vision. He brainstormed with us about ways to keep the cost down. Everything he did was on time, under budget and beautifully crafted. When one thing wasn’t to our satisfaction he came on a weekend to fix it immediately and at no charge. We did a very expensive kitchen remodel which is beautiful but when people come to our house for the first time all they talk about is how lovely the patio is. Our most recent appraisal suggests that the patio added five times the value to our house over what the work cost. Joel is an artist and a craftsman. It is rare to find someone who is at once so precise in execution while being so calm in his manner. We cannot recommend Brainstone highly enough.
Jeff Bercuvitz
Ithaca, New York
