This letter is written to describe our experience with A & P Designers/Amnon Porat.
First of all, you must understand that we are very ignorant people when it comes to anything mechanical, or construction-related, or anything else related to the care and maintenance of one's home and property. As a result, we have gone through a series of contractors at our current residence and past residence in the Metro Atlanta area. Occasionally, they would start by doing a decent job for a decent price, but once they got the picture of the combination of our ignorance and our good will in wanting to pay a reasonable amount for good work, the work would inevitably decline in quality and the price would skyrocket in each successive job. In the prior State in which we lived, after similar experiences, we had found a general handyperson business and construction company that treated us well both financially and in regards to quality of service, but in five and a half years in Georgia, we had not found that kind of treatment and service here. As a result, we quaked in our boots every time a new property problem appeared.
A major problem then developed with our forty year old house relating to the walls and roof near our chimney, in terms of rot and leaking. We asked for an estimate from the previous contractor we had dealt with, and it was thousands of dollars... with the cute little proviso that "further cost may be incurred as the work is done." We then turned to our church's listserve, where people would respond to requests for professional services in a variety of areas, including handyman/construction matters. Three people recommended A & P Designers, and Mr. Porat in particular, all giving glowing recommendations. Our first reaction was, how much did they pay our churchmemebers to give such reviews? :)
In all seriousness, and with the fall rains coming upon us, we asked Mr. Porat to come and give us an estimate. We showed him the prior contractor's estimate, and asked him to go over it as well as do a look-over of the area in question.
Shockingly, Mr. Porat immediately felt that the other contractor's estimate was for services were completely unnecessary. He pointed out to us in terms we could understand that most of the areas that the contractor had marked for demolition and rebuilding were in quite good shape, and the area of the real problem was in an entirely different area of the roof, walls and chimney. We rolled our eyes, and thought to ourselves, "Oh, great, now he'll come up with another competing bid that will lead us to having to do more work than before." We were dead wrong. Mr. Porat drew up a contract, again using terms we could understand, and guaranteed that his estimate was for that which would solve the problem. We actually went back to two of the three people from our church who recommended him, and asked, is this guy for real? They both said, "yes, absolutely, if he says this is what it will take, then that's what it will take." His estimate for all work came to a couple thousand less than the other construction company's estimate. So we said a "Hail, Mary," and signed the contract. Of course, it had the standard "we have the right to charge more if more is needed once we get in there," etc. language, which he said was necessary to protect him AND us. We said to ourselves, "yeah, right, to protect us, uh-huh, sure, man, whatever you say," and held our breaths.
He then brought in his workers to do the job. He introduced each one of them to us individually, telling us a little about their personal stories (one was a refugee from Africa, another was a good old Southern boy, etc.), and personally assuring us that they were not only competent but trustworthy, and that he had worked with them for years. Despite our paranoid ignorance, he managed to calm us down and let them do their work. They obviously knew what they were doing (although we can only say with any certainty that the work has held up through three years of rain, snow, and sunshine so far), and finished within the time estimated.
Mr. Porat then made an appointment to come to our house to finalize payment, etc. Yes, time to hold our breath again.... When he got there, he brought us to the area where the work was done (it looked perfect, and he explained exactly how it would work and prevent any further damage), and then he pulled out a bill. I had to look at it three times before I could believe it... it was $400.00 LESS than his estimate! He explained that he had thought that one major portion of the wall would have to be replaced, but upon ripping out everything, it was in great shape, and so the labor needed to finish the rest of the job was less. Our jaws dropped, we paid, and sent him on his way with a promise to recommend him to any and every one.
A & P Designers has done about three other major jobs for us, all perfectly done and within the original estimate's amount. I unreservedly recommend Mr. Porat and his company. read more
