Amethyst Contracting Inc

Service Provider Response

This project was a pleasure! The client asked us to replace her existing sun room with a new sun room that fit seamlessly with her house and was suitable for use year round. The client was easy to work with and was able to quickly make thoughtful decisions during the entire design build process.The interior cabinetry, furniture and finishes she selected on her own were terrific. Yes admittedly there were a few days of lag during the project. I use small quality crews and there are sometimes small waiting periods when one or another is finishing up a prior project. I do try to make these as minimal as possible and step up the remaining construction schedule to make up for them as I was able to on this project. As for the glitches: 1. Because the entry to the sunroom was less than 2 feet above grade and the door swung inward no exterior landing or railing was required by code. The first inspector that came by indicated that because a screen door could possibly be added later and would swing out that he was going to require a landing right away instead of requiring one if and when the screen door was installed. Although I was scratching my head at the logic, in the end there wasn’t much choice but to build a landing. At no cost to the client we built a small landing with steps to the walk. Because the owner was not happy with what we built, we worked with her to design something more substantial at an acceptable price. As a note, we had a different inspector for our final inspection who said he would not have required the landing or railing at that point in time – argh! 2. We did indeed discuss changing out the French door lock set early on. At the time of the quote we hadn’t come up with a surefire way to replace the lock set and deadbolts into the floor so although I had it in my notes I did not include a price in the proposal and in 2020 hindsight I should have. The lock set change out, which should’ve been a simple matter and a minor expense, because of the spacing and configuration, ended up to be quite difficult to replace. My carpenter, myself and the client spent a good deal of time researching replacement lock sets and combinations of such and we finally realized that it was probably smarter to replace the old dinged up doors with upgraded new ones. In the end the client opted for the new French doors which are quite a lovely addition to the project. Yes the price for the full lite French doors the client ultimately selected including removal and disposal of old doors, adjustments to existing door frame, installation of new door and furnishing and installation of a new lock set was about $2000. Again, it was a pleasure!

Service Provider Response

Thanks [removed member name]! Due to [removed member name]'s decisiveness / responsiveness this is one of those projects that waaaay exceeded expectations. The addition of really great sconces to light the stair and pendants placed intermittently with the cross beams along the cathedral hallway / sitting area is stunning and her carpet choice is just gorgeous! Almost all carpeting I've done has been for my basement projects which is usually lower priced than for the rest of the house - that combined with the carpet selected made for a hike in cost from what I anticipated. I did address this with [removed member name] before ordering and she gave me the go-ahead. I think there must have been a miscommunication between the two of us when I forwarded the new carpet pricing which was for cost of material only. I don't add a percentage to items I order and in fact pass along any design professional savings I get from manufacturers / dealers to my clients and I did supply [removed member name] , as I do all clients with receipts. I have created an updated carpet pricing scale for house proper vs. basement and also for a low, medium and high grade carpet which should fix the problem... ~K~

Service Provider Response

Terrific client to work for - whole crew loved him! Lovely home...

Service Provider Response

[removed member's name] were a true pleasure to work with! Their ability and willingness to work with me as this project progressed resulted in a truely great kitchen. We were able to repurpose cabinets into a lovely buffet which looks original. The new upper cabinets fashioned after an existing transom window also lend an authentic air. Very happy with this one!!

Service Provider Response

[removed member name] were a true pleasure to work with on this project. Their willingness to work with me as the kitchen progressed resulted in a really great kitchen! The new buffet fashioned from repurposed cabinets looks original which was a goal and the upper cabinets fashioned to replicate an existing transom window adds design continuity. Thanks guys!

Service Provider Response

The [member name removed] have been a pleasure to work with. [member name removed] is just great! Look forward to future collaborations...

Service Provider Response

Thanks you 2! [removed member name] are really cool fun artistic people. They shared my sense of design being an adventure. They allowed me latitude to explore the avenues of possibilities, offering intelligent feedback along the way and adding great ideas of their own. We tailored both kitchen and garage / studio to meet their unique needs in today's world while maintaining the home's unique historic architectural integrety thru detailing of the new architectural elements.

Service Provider Response

Every successful project is a collaboration between myself, my crew and my clients. This one has turned out to be truely spectacular! Bill and Dawn are kind, savvy and decisive. They had a vision and great sense of style which made the project for me a complete breeze. Even though Dawn is one busy lady, she made time for me on a daily basis to iron out any details that arose, this is soooo important. Thanks you two!!

Service Provider Response

I actually read this less than mediocre review with a crooked little grin on my face. The member is a good person and I agree - we clicked right off the bat with regard to our “clean line” design sensibilities and a shared very “European” approach to her project. As a result, when everything is said and done, I’m sure she would agree her bathrooms are stunning. There was quite a bit of “out of the box” thinking done during this remodel and I believe that many of the issues and challenges stemmed from trying to temper the clients design aesthetic with good solid construction practicality. Please read on as I believe this and other reasons for her report will become clear. Although the member and family were away on vacation for the month of the project, all good, many of my clients choose to do this, her husband [member name removed] returned after two weeks and shortly thereafter sat me down in their kitchen and told me that I had not been his first choice for general contractor, that the member had insisted upon hiring me, and that he had begrudgingly acquiesced. He seemed to be out to prove a point to the member from the moment of his return, making frequent impromptu appearances at the job site, demanding changes and work beyond / different from the anticipated scope of the remodel, stopping progress, pulling my workers off the job and actually sending one home! [Member name removed] would return home at night, turn off all the lights, take out a flashlight and shine it on the new surfaces / work done that day, going over everything inch by inch. No kidding! It reminded me of Halloweens past when we as kids would take a flashlight and shine it under our faces, outrageously distorting our features to scare each other. My point being, that he was pointing out small, small anomalies that otherwise would not have been visible or would have been nominally visible at best under normal lighting conditions. He would then send pages and pages of texts and emails to me each night, cutting me, my crew and our work performance to the quick. It became a chore and a burden for my workers who have a minimum 20 years of experience each, and who have plenty of experience dealing with even the most persnickety clients, and myself, to face a day of work over there. Yet, we persisted because in the end, we are professionals, have a job to do and want the best for all of our clients. When the member returned home, I felt as if she was fighting the same uphill battle that I fought and that although she was trying to approach everything with an open mind, the antagonistic environment that had been created during her absence simply could not be overcome by either of us. I would like to address a few of the items mentioned in particular. The clients requested a trench drain be installed in the master shower area. These are usually reserved for larger commercial showers, so my team and I got together and discussed, decided that although it was probably overkill, it was ok to use. We located it in the center of the shower floor, as is traditional so that the pitch of the floor would not be running toward any wall. The clients insisted that it be relocated directly abutting the base of the showerhead wall as they had seen in a picture, in our minds, placing their aesthetics over practicality as the lowest point of the shower floor is now running directly into a wall fostering potential moisture issues. However, we again discussed and agreed to move it for them and reinstall at no additional charge because as a standard, we always double up the shower pan membrane and run it an extra distance up all walls as an added measure to preclude the possibility of water penetration. Another typical curbed shower floor treatment is the use of small mosaic or tesserae tiles. These are preferred because larger tiles can crack due to the pitch of the floor, become unsightly, sharp, cut feet and damage the shower infrastructure beneath. Because the bathroom floor tile that the member chose did not come in the small tiles my tile installer cut each tile into 3 x 3 pieces for the shower area, smoothed and rounded all edges and was ready to install. [Member name removed] came home, stopped installation and insisted that full sized tiles be used regardless of the potential consequences I explained to him. This is one of those situations where what do you do? We ended up installing the larger tiles because we were at an impasse with whom we were now beginning to consider to be an unreasonable client and progress on the project had again been brought to a standstill. There are two standard Kohler shower enclosure heights that can be ordered in the particular style that was chosen for this project. Because it was to sit on top of the bathtub, we chose the shorter of the two. The client preferred a taller one (in all honesty I agree it was the better choice) which extended to just below ceiling height, [member name removed] let us know, we ordered it, paid the restocking fee for the first, expedited shipping to keep the project moving, picked it up within a few days and installed it. The mention of it as “wrong”, in my mind, clearly demonstrates the antagonistic mindset of the client. Not sure about the scratch on the master bath cabinet door – must’ve been a function of the old flashlight trick. Yes, there was indeed a small chip on the upper left corner of the mirrored door to the medicine cabinet, we offered to have a new one shipped but the client declined. In 20 20 hindsight we should’ve ordered the door and had it shipped to them. Addressing the paint, again in all honesty, yes there were things such as drips that were touched up – not a lot but they were there. As for the bulk of it though, whether one tapes or paints purely by hand and eye, there can be a teench of ambiguity/ irregularity between wall and ceiling lines and there can be small differences and variations in the texture between existing walls which have been painted numerous times and the new walls. Anyway, the point being, the clients were dissatisfied with some of the original paint job so I brought in a second person, a meticulous artist friend of mine and paid her for a full day of painstakingly doing any and all touchups the client requested. I must point out here that when the client was pointing out several of the spots, my artist friend could not see what she was pointing out, so out came the old handy dandy flashlight. My artist friend turned to me with a surreptitious eye roll of “what the heck is going on here you poor thing? “, still not seeing anything. I was feeling a little better at that point, realizing that I wasn’t the only one that couldn’t see many things being pointed out as issues. At that point though, I also realized that there was a different level of perfectionism as perceived by myself and a typical client and as perceived by this client, a fundamental and probably insurmountable difference. Absolutely can’t imagine bringing in a third painter! What I decided to do though, was to complete the project to the absolute best of my ability and to move forward. That is all that one can do in that situation. And… last but not least, the grout! There was indeed some efflorescence in the grout. A dark brown tile was used and dark brown grout. Efflorescence is actually a common occurrence in tile work and occurs due to water used in the mix, moisture conditions in the house and substrate, and the composition of the particular batch of grout mix itself. This is usually invisible because most grout is light and so is efflorescence. However when dark grout is used the efflorescence is more visible. My tile installer returned twice to treat the grout and darken it up. The client remained unmoved. I got a call from the tile supplier who told me that the client had called them and sent pictures of the floor asking for support and was told that this is a standard occurrence, the efflorescence slight and within acceptable parameters. Regardless, and in good faith, I had my installer return, tediously remove all the grout from between the tiles, use different water, purchase and use a different grout mix and regrout the entire floor. Later I was told they brought in someone else to regrout the floor a third time however I was not allowed to see the finished bathroom and when I asked for the name of the person who did the work so I could gain further insight into the issue, I was told no. Hmmmmmm. So in closing, from my naturally sunny point of view, this report, although at first blush seemingly negative, really serves as a testament to my persistence, flexibility, patience and goodhearted nature. Although frustrating on my end of things as well, I will use this project as a learning experience and glean from it all that is positive! If future clients would be so kind as to hide all flashlights though, it would be greatly appreciated :-) Kristi