Reliable Rails, Inc

We hired Reliable Rails to add rails on my parent’s front walkway (my dad has Parkinson’s). The first time I got back following installation, the railings looked awful. They jutted far too out into the walkway itself eating up about 25% of the paved walking space. This, they claim, was an error due to miscommunication. That’s debatable, to be honest, but I suppose is believable. Still, the owner claimed he would come out and make things right but never showed up! What is unbelievable, however, is that it has only been a couple months and the rails are already peeling BADLY! I don’t know if it’s an issue with their workmanship (I think it is, to be honest) or the quality of materials they’re procuring, all I know is, given the chance to do it all over again, I wouldn’t have even called «Reliable Rails» (ha!) for a quote!

We lost the rails to an antique metal bed. Spent a long time searching online. No substitute available. Finally decided to contact local ironworks shops. Reliable Rails actually responded to my emails and phone calls. Novel concept in customer service!
They came up with a wonderful rail system to slot into the old headboard and footboard. Not a hint of a wiggle. It sits perfectly in the old frame. They turned the job around quickly and charged what I thought was a reasonable price. Very pleased with their service!
Fiona S
Burke, VA

I purchased a home and the handrail for the bottom five steps were missing. This was very problematic for Phil who had a stroke and is physically disabled. His aid and I would have to stand behind him to steady him and it was pretty dangerous. The local hardware stores do not sell this, but do sell all the separate pieces and it was complicated. When I called Reliable Rails, Bina sent her husband, Lawrence, over right away (about an hour). He met Phil and measured the steps and area, explaining he could have it to us in 2 days! The railing was gorgeous and adds character to the front hall area. I cannot thank them enough for the fast service and quick turnaround.

The customer service here is absolutely horrendous. I hired them to make railings for two staircases. They came out quickly to give me an estimate, took my deposit, and then came out again for measurements. Before signing the contract I tried to get them to explain what type of railings they had planned. I had two pictures I liked from the website but they put the quote together without ever actually discussing the railing style, which I found odd. When I tried to verify what they had in mind, I was told to look at the website and pick a picture. So, I did, hoping for the best.
After two months of radio silence, I reached out to check the status. They had the railings done and ready to be installed next week. I asked to see their plans so I knew what the rails would look like and how to prep the area. Was told «our plans are just lines they won’t be helpful to you.» I asked how I should prepare the area, and they said just clear it of furniture. We scheduled an installation date which I ended up canceling because we needed to figure out what to do about the baseboards and nosing first. I sent an email with three questions (simple things like whether we should have the baseboards installed before the railings or not) and received an irate phone call. Lawrence told me that it wasn’t their job to tell me how to prepare the area, all he does is make rails, and he’s sick of dealing with me. He told me to call his wife and talk about canceling the order because I was jerking him around. I tried to get out my few questions, but he wasn’t having any of it. After we hung up, my husband called back and was able to talk through the questions and get answers.
They came to install the rails today and the measurements were off – something that wouldn’t have happened if they had sent us plans to approve. The rails looked fine, not great, just fine. The powder coating is sloppy (see pictures). We’re waiting for some of the rails to be recut to the correct measurements.
They were much cheaper than the competition, and now I know why. This place is only appropriate for house flippers who don’t really care about the final product. Stay far away if you expect to have any kind of approval over the design or communication during the process. And don’t dare ask questions or they may decide to cancel the entire thing, months after taking your deposit.

The company quickly emailed me a quote. The woman (Bina) was very courteous on the phone (at the start of things). The estimate was reasonable and I was ready to move forward with the project and called to put my down payment down. Bina said she needed 50% and I said sure that’s fine. I confirmed that the deposit was refundable (in case anything happened between now and when the project started– roughly 3 weeks) and she said no it was non-​refundable. Since the deposit worked out to be almost $ 600, I told her I needed to think about it and I would contact her later. After I emailed her saying I was uncomfortable with the size of the NON REFUNDABLE downpayment she called me on my cell completely irate. I apologized profusely for having troubled her and that I was unfamiliar with such large non refundable downpayments and she got angrier and angrier until she finally yelled «take your business somewhere else» and hung up on me.
They may do great work, who knows! But be ready for large non refundable downpayments!

I wanted to put about 65′ of railing and a ship’s ladder up to access a terrace behind my house. After consulting with Lawrence, he came up with a design that was exactly what I was thinking. Fabrication was fast and his guys were very professional and quick. Unfortunately, my neighbors are not very neighborly and complained to the ANC about the rail. I was reluctantly forced to take down the rail. After contacting Lawrence, he was very understanding and sympathetic, and quickly scheduled to come take it down. If only my neighbors could be as nice. I would highly recommend Lawrence and his company to anyone looking for quality ironworks.
John P.

I called reliable rails and set up an appointment for someone to come to my home, look at the loft railing, and provide me with options for wrought iron rails to match the wrought iron spiral staircase. The woman on the phone was very nice and informative. However, when Lawrence arrived the first few minuets all he was complain how hard it was to find where I live, which I found rather unprofessional and demonstrated his unpreparedness. I showed him the spiral staircase and the railing I wanted to match. He then answered a phone call and spoke to someone for several minutes. He repeatedly kept saying he didn’t do wood, even though I NEVER said I wanted wood. He asked me to pull up his website, so I did. When I pulled up his website he said «see I do iron». The whole reason I called this company was because it does iron work! I have visited the website before! That’s how I got the company contact information. I told him that all I wanted was some options for a wrought iron railing to match the connected wrought iron spiral staircase, and he did not seem interested in providing me with this information and kept saying he didn’t do wood. He seemed very distracted and uninterested in his work. I thanked him for coming out, but if he couldn’t provide me with any options then he should leave. Extreme disappointment.

Fast, friendly, efficient and timely. That basically sums up my experience with Reliable Rails. I spoke to Lawerence and told him my issue, rusted rail post, and he quickly gave me a quote over the phone. His team came out and replaced the post in under an hour. The worked quickly and efficiently as a team, I would highly recommend them for any rail servicing needs.

I wish they would do everything related to a house because they are as good as can be. They are responsive, they do great work, and even payment is easy. We’ve used them twice and we couldn’t be happier with the work that they do. Before using Reliable Rails I called another firm who came by and gave me an estimate for a lot of work on our front staircase, the representative said that it was absolutely necessary and would cost about 2k. Reliable rails came by and said that I didn’t need to completely redo the front staircase they can fix the problem (and they did) for much less. I would highly recommend.

We live in a townhouse and our front door is up two flights of stairs. The railings on said stairs were 20 years old and starting to rust out and get VERY rickety.
Our neighbors had theirs replaced by another company and they did a terrible job — the paint was uneven and dripping, they only put feet on some of the posts, they welded pieces back together unevenly (so you can tell it was done). The same guys came to our house and offered to completely fix our railing for $ 250 … all I can say is that you get what you pay for.
Reliable Rails did a spectacular job. I can’t say enough good things about them. I found them on Angie’s List, called, and Lawrence was at the house for an estimate just a couple of short days later. He was so nice (a 49ers fan … he gave me hell for our Skins yard flag and wreath but all in good fun!), very professional, and gave us what I thought was a great deal: $ 625 to repair all of the rusted out rails AND put feet on every post, not just the ones that were replaced.
His guys came yesterday to remove the railing, they took it to the shop and worked on it, and brought it back this morning to install. They were quick, polite, and professional.
The work they did looks really, really great.
As much as I hate spending the money, they did a phenomenal job and I’m so glad that we had it done and that we went with them. Highly, highly recommend!

We are repeat customers of Reliable Rails. The owners and workmen are pleasant and easy to work with during all phases of the work. Their work is high quality — we highly recommend this business.