As we were planning our remodel it was very scary hearing about contractors doing crappy work and leaving it half unfinished or taking your money and running. We received many overpriced estimates. We were nervous about removing a wall and having it done correctly. If we removed a wall, we wanted the work permitted and we didn't want our house to be unsafe. Then we found AMCE Design & Build (AMCE Engineers & Developers).
We love the company founders which made us very comfortable with the wall removal. Carolina Mendez is an Engineer and is partnered with Jose Ramos who is a talented contractor. We started our work on new plans with their Engineer intern, Welbert, which saved us a little money. Then he referred us to Carolina, who reviewed and signed off on all his work. Then we discovered that she also had a contracting company. Their work on our plans made us feel extremely comfortable with them so we requested a quote for all the work.
Carolina presented a really strong, upfront quote with a thorough, well detailed contract which also impressed us. Very quick and thorough responses throughout the whole process. Other contractors came and spent a ton of time and then never got back to us with the quotes. One guy wanted 50% of the money upfront to confirm the deal. AMCE's contract contained clear and very reasonable payment plan based on work being completed. They also handled all the city permits work, which all seemed very daunting but with this company it was made very simple. They have a very complete change request process which I think is good for them and the client.
We proceeded with our full kitchen remodel, including removing a major (sheer - earthquake) wall and also decided to fully remodel our master bath. We took the approach whereby we determined the design and all materials, appliances, cabinets, etc, we chose and purchased and we were responsible for materials arriving on schedule. All the labor was AMCE's responsibility. The entire team was filled with really nice people and easy to work with. Everyone on their team was extremely respectful and friendly. Luis, Rodriguez, their electrician Jesse, their tile guys. Really, everyone did good work.
We were out of the house during the demo process, which we were told would be the noisiest part. Carolina was great about giving us updates and even sent us a video of the work completed. The team worked extremely hard and long hours, often on Sat and sometimes on Sun. The quality of the work is very high and from demo until finishing touches was on schedule. Finishing touches took longer than expected. In the end they were on budget as well.
We would not hesitate to recommend them to our friends, and in fact already have. One of which is starting their project with AMCE now. read more