Magic Hammer Development

I hate giving bad reviews, but I felt I should. I hired Magic Hammer aka LA Best Builder (which is just one contractor – Sean) to replace my crumbling asphalt driveway and patio with cement, to upgrade my electrical system, to put up a ready-made gazebo and to renovate my garage (no bathroom/kitchen, just a basic renovation of the existing structure into a playroom). Issues: 1) Lack of communication – I kept having to ask what to expect, when the workmen would be at my house, the status of various parts of the job – sometimes I’d get a response, sometimes I wouldn’t, 2) His guys would show up sporadically and sometimes took a full week or more off, 3) Sean wasn’t on-site or reachable for some major cement work that was going awry. It was a Saturday (Shabbat), and I respect that he is observant, but he should not have had that work done when he couldn’t oversee it or be reached. He also made excuses for the things that went wrong and tried to push it back on me (he was trying to “save me money”). He ultimately fixed one issue months later after much arguing and much pressing. It will be interesting to see if my patio floods during a heavy rain. Also, his cement guys pushed through my side fence and broke it open – my neighbor saw them do it. Sean said the fence was in poor shape anyway and would eventually have had to be replaced (yes, EVENTUALLY, but it wasn’t a priority). He never acknowledged that his guys did this (again, he wasn’t even on-site when they were there). I had to have someone else come in to replace the fence and Sean did nothing to cover any of the cost. 3) I requested side windows on the garage and he told me he could put in 18” “custom” ones, but I wanted bigger ones which he said he couldn’t do (why would “custom” windows only come in one size?). I looked online myself and saw that Lowes had 30” and 36” casement windows and asked what the biggest size was that would fit in that area. He said 36” so I said I wanted to go with those (it was confirmed in a text AND he built the spaces for the 36” windows). Three weeks later, 30” windows arrived and he blamed me for the error and tried to get me to take those, saying it wasn’t much of a difference. I said I’d rather wait and have him order the 36” windows. He got upset and said he’d lose money. Since they were from Lowes, I assured him they could be returned (and they were). It was going to take another 3 weeks for the 36” to arrive, and I told him I didn’t want the rest of the job to stall – there were several things that could be completed within that time and the job was already taking forever. He said they couldn’t continue with the other things because “it would create dust.” I told him that it seemed that he could put up plastic to alleviate that problem, plus there were several things that needed to get done outside. The job was delayed and delayed. I had to push and push for things to get done. 4) I told him I wanted a digital keypad for the garage door but that the one I saw at Home Depot wouldn’t fit. He said he had one in mind, but then realized last minute that it wouldn’t fit and gave up. I looked online myself and easily found a few that would work and ordered one. He simply wasn’t solution-oriented. 5) His men re-hung my gate improperly after the cement work was completed and I asked him continuously to have them rehang it. I even went and bought the hinges myself (different kinds that his men could choose from). He made a big issue that it would be a lot more work, but after more cajoling, he finally had his guys do it. 6) I was going to have cabinets from Ikea installed along the back of the garage. His guys were supposed to pick them up at the store, bring them to my home and install them (this was all in the contract). Long story short, the job was taking so long that I ordered them online and had them delivered (at an extra cost). He had his guys install them and ended up charging me $800 to install cabinets that Ikea would’ve installed for $450. By that time it was too late for me to halt this as they had already installed the cabinets. Sean made up some excuse saying that there were more cabinets than planned and it was a lot of extra work. This was completely untrue. I emailed him the original documentation and contract showing 2 units which had 6 cabinets each. I ended up buying 2 units of 4 cabinets each – less cabinets than we discussed. In the end, it was a terrible and stressful experience working with Sean. He was full of excuses, rude, argumentative and I now realize that he was overpriced. I’m disgusted by the entire experience. It’s hard to believe it all went so smoothly and pleasantly for all these other reviewers.

All I can say is each time I this company I am never disappointed! I had a floor in a large dining room re done. After a few months I had some small chips that were in the floor. Sean and his crew came out immediately and fixed the problem no charge. My floor is great!

It went great! The people who were hired did a great job! the ceilings, floors were all shattered. everything was replaced from ceiling to floors to plumbing to pantries etc.They also did painting and replaced tiles. they were easy to work with. Seans the best! he made sure every detail i wanted was met. Im not very good with making reviews and making this things long, but, over all i am very satisfied and happy with the results. My family came to visit for the holidays and everybody gave a great compliment with the new set up. definitely will hire Magic hammer development again for future projects!

Me and my family are so happy to have hired Sean to help us renovate our kitchen!The paintings, lighting and tiling are all on point! The people they hired really knows what they're doing and we're just really happy we found Magic Hammer! They don't skip work, they do it professionally and you can definitely see the quality of work! Their customer service is excellent! definitely a 5-star company! We've been getting compliments from friends and families and has definitely referring them to everyone we know!

Sean Ahern is a terrific partner for remodeling your home. He listens and makes excellent suggestions, especially using the best materials. His crews are amazing, all trades were outstanding, easy to work with, and very accommodating with my need to keep pets inside. My bathroom is now the envy of the neighborhood and everyone is asking about hiring Magic Hammer.

Contractor always did what he promised. Was on the site during work almost everyday. Personal attention to details. His crew always showed up on time and never left a mess. End product was satisfactory and on time. I am very happy with Magic Hammer AAA++++.

They came and gave us an estimate that wasn't the cheapest but was the more detailed, We liked it allot and hire them for the project, there was a few bumps on the road but Sean was right on there and took care of business. Sean and his crew where amazing they did exactly what they promised. My new master suite looks amazing.

Magic Hammer Development has helped us remodel our home on several occasions. Sean, the owner, is truly a pleasure to work with. He is honest, attentive, has great prices, and always puts his customer's satisfaction first. He's highly experienced at what he does and has a great understanding of his customer's needs. He will also work around your schedule! Sean has the best guys who can do anything! All his guys really care about doing a great job and they do it right! They also clean up afterwards, and are always polite and friendly. Sean is our first choice for every job and we plan on using Magic Hammer for everything we ever need done on our house! Highest possible recommendation!

Words cannot express enough of how wonderful it was to deal with Sean, he is the Magic of Magic Hammer. He is trust worthy and gives the right advice when needed. His attention for detail and presence at the job site gives peace of mind. Sean stepped in and took charge of a job that was left off only about 30% done. At that point Magic Hammer was our savior. Sean has a great team in Pedro, Marco and the other guys. We dream it, Sean builds it, with no compromise! Communication with Sean was never ever a problem (which is common with most). His schedules were realistic with no excuses necessary. My kitchen and my bathroom are my favorite, they did the best stone work. Thank you guys, you are the best, highly recommended. There are contractors and then there is Magic Hammer, Good luck. He did a complete finish of a house, Job well done! We are now happy that he refinishing our pool. Nancy and Tony Joseph