Mattos Co

We had an addition to our house done by Mattos 8 years ago. We are now dealing with quite a few major issues- the floor is warping and one wall is basically crumbling. In a nutshell, the craftmanship is poor. The foreman was very aloof and rarely gave us dates. This left us guessing. The price was decent- middle of the road from the bids we got, but we regret hiring them. The subcontractors he used were a joke. The electricians had to come back like 3 times for simple fire alarm installs, the driveway guy had to come back and redo the driveway after just a few months, and we had to hire a new painter to repaint the deck railings because Mattos' guy used the wrong stain which peeled after two attempts to get it right. AND HERE IS THE KICKER- after I wrote a review to the Better Business Bureau, the owner, Jel, texted a scathing note to me calling me "a *****" and saying that my job wasn't worth his time. it was a "small job " but now he works for "rich people". Those are quotes from his texts! Since this job, we have had to hire someone to redo 2 rooms from the addition Mattos did! I would stay clear of this guy and this company.

wonderful, older floors, too thin to refinish. when he was done, we were very happy with the results

I?d like to begin by saying that I have had many experiences with contractors over the years. Mattos is truly the best. There are many construction companies that have a comparable level of technical expertise, but few offer the extraordinary quality of customer service that Mattos does. What do I mean by customer service?

• * They listen because they really want to understand what you, the customer, want.

* They hold themselves to a very high standard. If they make a mistake they own it and fix it. 
* They do what they say they will do.
They have a wonderful, talented crew. You won?t be able to find a better master carpenter than Ricardo, a finer painter than Jonathan, a more talented cabinet maker than Junior or a better tile mason than Chico. They and the rest of the team were committed to making sure my job was done to the highest standards.
One of the two owners, either Jel or Thales is ?assigned? to be in charge of your project. In my case it was Thales. He worked very hard with me to get what I wanted and still be affordable. Many of his suggestions were brilliant in terms of what I could do with relatively small spaces. I would not have received better advice from an architect. No concern was ever too small for him to address.  He is talented, patient and has integrity.
In September, I took the Historic Newton house Tour and was delighted to see that one of the best houses (a large historic home) on the tour had restoration/renovation work done by Mattos.  Visitors couldn?t say enough positives about the quality of their work. I felt so good that they were my contractors too!!! Dollar for Dollar Mattos Company is the best the market has to offer.  

If you wanted to build the kitchen they would work with you. If you were just inquiring they wouldn't provide the design. It was more or less a sales call to complete the work instead of just creating the design. The entire big deal was just a way to have a employee sell me on more services.

We had a very good experience with Mattos.  We hired them to help us out with our kitchen renovation.  They painted our kitchen cabinets (twice, since I changed my mind on the color, arg), built supports around our stove, turned one of them into a bookcase and one of them into wine storage, and also added shelves alongside the refrigerator.  They also built a wooden enclosure for the radiator, which turned an unusable space into more counter space.
They did a great job, were tidy, punctual and above all affordable.  Wonderful crew.  What else can I say??

I had the most terrible experience with him.  I got him from Angie's list and he had all good reviews.  He did the worst possible imaginable thing.  This company was so terrible.  I paid him $20000 down to start with.  He came in and demolished the first floor with a permit on the door.  I told him that I hadn't signed a contract or given him permission to do that yet so I went to the permit office and they had his permit application including a contract with my forged signature on it.  I confronted him and I fired him.  He was very contrite.  He gave me the $20000 back but it was really terrible.  He begged me not to take him to court or tell the licensing bureau because he would lose his contracting license.  I saw a couple of other jobs he had done and they were wonderful and excellent so I didn't want to get him in terrible trouble but I thought what he did was unconscionable.  Somebody told me that I can take people to give good reviews on Angie's list and he had the best reviews on Angie's list, they were all great.  He completed the demolition.  I gave him $30000 and I told him I wanted $20000 back because he had done the demolition.  He didn't do it right and it was terrible.

Very good. They provided 3 layouts for a kitchen renovation, and cost estimate which turned out to be quite helpful when we finally decided to renovate. Only (minor) point was we asked for "what could be done for $25K" and got "the plan you liked will cost you $40K". That said, we didn't realized until after the job was over and didn't follow up. I suspect they would have revised had we asked again, and ultimately, their costs were right on. Headline: they did a good job, it was fast, easy and kinda fun.

It went fine; it was good. I think that they were a little overbooked because of the deal being offered. I don't think that they were a bad company but perhaps the amount of deals offered should have been limited. We decided not to go with them because they had to turn around so many designs that it felt a bit thoughtless to us. But I don't think that was a reflection of the company because they got good reviews, I think that they just got overwhelmed. They did get the designs back to us and it was probably worth what I paid for. They just came once and gave us the designs and that was it.

It was fine. They drew up a plan to remodel my kitchen. They came to my house once and then I went to their office. Sometimes it was a bit hard to get a hold of them, but eventually they would call back. They did draw up a plan and go over it with me. In the end I decided not to remodel.

 

Jel was recommended by neighbors who used Mattos for a complete kitchen renovation (gorgeous!).  Jel gave me an estimate over the phone.  In a very professional and "no-nonsense" manner, he explained the options and costs.  We selected metal collapsible stairs because they are lighter/ easier to maneuver.  Within a few days I received a written estimate in the mail, and paid 50% upfront.  Within a week, Jel scheduled the work to be done on the next Saturday.  The two gentlemen that were assigned to the job arrived promptly, prepped the worksite prior to the wood being delivered, and immediately went to work.  They were polite and good communicators.  They stopped at various points to ask our preferences and to have us inspect their work, which was meticulous and impeccable.  The whole job was completed in about 4-5 hours, and we could not be more pleased.  We will definitely be calling Mattos for larger projects in the future!

We purchased an Angie's List Big Deal coupon for a kitchen design from Mattos Co. on October 5, 2011. We received a preliminary design on July 18, 2012, only after much prodding on our part. The design consisted of 4-5 crude CAD drawings that addressed none of our requirements. After meeting with us to discuss the design in late July, the designer promised to send us a revised design. We never heard from him again. Basically this "Big Deal" was a scam to scout and drum up business for Mattos' remodeling services. When Mattos learned that our project was too small for them, they wanted nothing more to do with us.

They came to discuss what we wanted. They came later to present the design. The service was good.

This is the 3rd time we've used Jel Mattos and his crew. The first time they redid all our bathrooms, replaced the roof, and changed an unusable garage to a functional and beautiful mud room and storage room with shelving. The second time they completely renovated our very run down family room in the basement and turned it into a wonderful multi-use TV-room with a redesigned fireplace. So when it came time to renovate our kitchen I knew who to call.
I did get estimates from a couple of other very strong contenders, but in the end I went with Jel, because we know and love his work and he has the best crew around.  They are polite, kind, helpful and professional and always clean up after themselves.
I have hated my kitchen since we moved in 10 years ago and have spent the last ten years making a long list of must-haves for my new kitchen. Jel did not flinch when he saw it, but had his kitchen designer Ana come in to take a look. Ana is amazing! Her design ideas were great and I am so happy I listened to her when she gently told me why some of my ideas weren't practical. She would then figure out how to make them practical and turn them into reality. ALWAYS listen to Ana! :)  She knows what she's doing.
But Ana is not the only one who went above and beyond. Everyone in Mattos Co. is special. Fernando, the project manager, made sure that everybody knew what they were doing and he took care of any problems along the way. Wesley the cabinet maker is an artist. He makes the most beautiful cabinets exactly to your specifications and then installs them flawlessly. His sidekick Walter was also great. I should point out that I may not be the easiest client. I had many requirements and changes along the way and Wesley figured out how to deal with each and every one in a superb and often very creative way.
A good company starts with the boss and Jel is no exception. This is one fantastic contractor who always says "Sure, we can do that", or "No problem, we will take care of that".   I made a ton of small changes along the way, and they were all dealt with swiftly and beautifully and without reproach.
My kitchen now look like something out of a magazine and it is super functional. How great is that?

The in-house designer for Mattos can to my house and discussed my vision for the kitchen and budget.   He took pictures and a full set of measurements.   A few months later he sent a full set of plans based on my requirements.  

They started in Mid-November, and even with the holidays and the weather, we were enjoying our new space 10 weeks later.  Jel's employees and subcontractors are all really nice guys, they are family men who were super respectful of my kids and our family.  They use quality materials and are really responsive.  An example of their super service is when a fuse blew in our furnace while they were working on it but we didn't discover that we didn't have heat until 5:00 on Friday night!   They had a guy here 30 minutes later who was able to fix the problem and get our heat working again.  This is one of many times I picked up the phone and got their attention right away.  I am used to dealing with e-mail, having to write every little detail down, with these guys they would rather you just call or text what you need, but they hear you and I rarely had to ask them twice about something.  I would work with them again in a heart beat, but we just did all the work we were planning to do!  I highly recommend Mattos.

Mattos visited the house, listened to our vision for a new kitchen, and designed 3 different plans, including dimensions, specific cabinet and appliance choices and a rough quote for the renovation.
It was very helpful in helping us to understand our options and the cost.

I paid for a special deal to have a plan or layout of my kitchen for future remodel. The person who came was nice and courteous and measure my kitchen. Then he said I would hear from them in about 2-4 weeks. I didn't hear a thing, i reached out and they said the overloaded with all the people who bought the deal for $75. So I was patient and waited. 6 months passed by and nothing. Then, I reached again and got finally a layout of my kitchen as a remodel solution. When I received the plan, it was something done very quickly and nothing in that kitchen was changed. No design, nothing different that the same information I had and I put together myself. 

In the end, the project was carried out efficiently with good workmanship and  professional supervision.  I am extremely pleased with the final result which is not to say that there were some difficulties along the way.
After three estimates were obtained from other companies, we chose Mattos, in large part on the basis of highly positive reviews on Angie's List. We did not take part in the "Big Deal" offer which appears to be the subject of a number of subsequent negative reviews on Mattos.
Jel assigned Louis, one of his designers, to draw up the initial plans but after repeated efforts to email  him, there were several promises but no design for nearly a month.   We contacted Jel to indicate that we would halt the project unless we received an immediate response. Jel assigned another designer, Ana, to take on the task.  She was knowledgeable, pleasant, and a joy to work with throughout the process.  (We understand, from a recent review, that Louis is no longer with the company). Jel himself is a
highly hands-on contractor, always there to answer questions and respond to issues. Perhaps even more important, he is a good listener, eager to please the client but always ready with another option if the client "appears" to be unrealistic. 
The demolition began on July 6, and the job was completed on September 4, 2012, with the last three weeks spent trying to get missing window openers and hinges for cabinets. The kitchen was usable in mid-August.  The work went quite smoothly throughout.  We made a decision to eliminate some cabinet doors in favor of open shelving which required additional granite work and delayed the project by about a week; the cost for the change order was reasonable.
Greater communication between management and workers could improve performance.  
Subsequent to completion of the project, the heating unit failed to work and we called on Jel to fix the problem.  He responded quickly as he had done throughout the remodeling whenever a question arose.  We also called on Mattos to repair a roof, unrelated  to the remodeling.
We enthusiastically recommend Mattos Construction company.

The work started in June and was pretty much complete by the end of October.  That's a quick turnaround.  We interviewed several
contractors.  None could complete the job in that time frame; their estimates ran from $1.2M to $490,000.
The quality of the work was excellent.  They built us a high end home and those who see it are always impressed by the quality of the finishes.  I was around the site constantly during construction and I could see that no corners were being cut, that the work was done responsibly.  It is a well built home.  We are especially pleased with the framing and the cabinet work.
One of the great qualities of Mattos Co. was that we never felt that we were billed unfairly or being surprised with additional charges.  I know that it's all to common to have a relationship with a contractor in which the budget seems to be a moving target.  Jel, the owner of Mattos Co., is an honorable person, a quality we very much appreciate.
Another thing we liked was that as a group, the workers were civilized people who were pleasant to be around.  They took pride in their work.  They hustled.  The neighbors noticed this professionalism as well.  
We would hire them again gladly.  Mattos did great by us.  We were fortunate to find them.

see above

A gentleman came on the arranged date, took measurements and photos, and told us that his company would send the plans in a few days.  Sure enough, 4 days later we received some plans in the mail.

person very punctual
as of this date, I am still waiting for my drawings
overwhelmed with requests so at least if I get a set of drawings, I'll be  happy.

A technician was sent to the house who drew the kitchen layout and we got back a computer-aided designed plan by email followed by a follow-up phone from the design consultant herself.

Just wasted my money. I never believed big deal any more. 
What you pay what you get!

We had the designer work with us through the early project phases, making recommendations on layout and later color selections for cabinets, granite counter tops and back splash.  He also steered us in the right direction for suppliers of tile, plumbing fixtures and lighting.  Once the project was underway, the only hiccups we had were due to communication breakdowns.  I suspect that is a common element to all renovations.  In the end, the work was beautifully done, it was completed ahead of schedule and at the promised price.  Every time we made a request for a slight change (type of cabinet closing, for example), it was done without question.  All of the workers were very polite and friendly, and they all seem to enjoy their work.  Most importantly, they each take great pride in their work product.   We were SO pleased, we've extended the remodeling to include our 2-1/2 baths.  I give them an A++, and have already recommended them to neighbors and friends.