Alchemy Restorations

Alchemy Construction received $30,000 advance upon acceptance of their proposal of $89,000.00 (excluding independent flooring contract). their pitch man, Michael Gonzalez, cashed the deposit check then proceeded to sit on ANY substantial work for 3 months. unfortunately, I was out of town during the scheduled construction work and neglect set in from the start. after repeatedly pressing on at the very least purchasing the dormer windows and making progress on completing the drywall in the stairway, Alchemy purchased dormer windows that did not match the pattern of the ones being replaced. when calling to inquire, they had no clue if they even had screens. they had the drywall delivered, which was to sit unused for the next eight months. Alchemy then billed for the amount of the purchased items and ADDED a surcharge of 15% on materials, a surcharge that was not in the contract (there WAS a 15% surcharge on CHANGE ORDERS). when I complained about the TOTAL lack of progress five months on (only the materials that were ordered were on the property, no workers), Gonzalez complained about my using CAPITAL LETTERS when I detailed the progress I expected to see moving forward. seems he cannot handle any legitimate criticism regarding a project proposal, and this prickly nature, once revealed, never left. I returned to Savannah to review work that Alchemy failed to perform work on in a reasonable time frame. seven months in, hoping to salvage our 1/3 upfront deposit, we allowed the dormers to be repaired and the double sash windows to be installed. again, I was not in town to see that the work started or to supervise, believing Gonzalez. assurance that it would be done to my satisfaction. I returned and found the result was a completely unacceptable. the dormer and eave flashing had been removed and not replaced. many of the shingles were not reset. rain poured through the poorly compromised sections of the dormers and missing flashing. the front side double sash windows were not attached to the existing pulley system. the top window sashes were NAILED IN PLACE and the existing cables cut. the windows were misaligned and improperly set within the improper framing that was built. the window ledges were in a cheap white pine, not stain grade red oak, etc... when told that the windows did not open and shut (at the time we only thought they had been painted shut, not nailed shut), Gonzalez refused to even come out to inspect the work, simply telling us to call his attorney (without supplying a name). that turned out working relationship to a litigious one. we hired a new contractor, Tim Donahue with Empire Construction, and within weeks of receiving a $30,000 deposit (same given to Alchemy), ALL interior framing in the building was completed. although we wasted time and money with Alchemy and would not recommend that anyone hire them without quality checks and safeguards (if at all), we are finding our faith in construction companies redeemed by Empire Construction.

After paying $30,000 deposit in September 2015, and despite repeated requests for a work schedule, no work was begun in the initial six [6] months from date of up front payment. Windows were ordered and delivered in November 2015 along with drywall materials to finish enclosing stairwell in November 2015. These materials sat for months with no effort to begin work. One excuse after another was given, but no progress. After asking for itemized bill for materials purchased I was given an inflated estimate that included an unjustified 15% surcharge. After asking to be refunded our deposit a flurry of activity in February 2016 resulted in a billing of $42,009 in order to justify keeping the entire deposit. The work involved installing the windows and rebuilding five [5] dormers as well as seven [7] 2nd floor windows. The workmanship was appallingly poor. The existing dormer flashing was compromised. The drip rails along the former eaves were removed along four [4] of the dormers and not replaced, with the 80% of the drop rail along fifth dormer removed and not replaced. The result was significant water leakage after the first rain. The seven windows were improperly installed on the second floor. The top and bottom sashes were not aligned and operable and the weights were not reattached. Indeed, the top sashes were NAILED SHUT! The window sill specs called for red oak stair tread, but a cheap pine tread was substituted and warped and cracked within weeks. The entire window assembly had to subsequently be uninstalled and reinstalled by new hires. Alchemy refused to address these and other concerns and after receiving the total of $42,000+ abruptly quit the project. Much more of the substandard nature of the little work that was done has come to light since Alchemy dropped out an examination of their billing showed a 14% surcharge was added to ALL materials purchased, despite the $30,000 advance and the contract stipulating that ONLY CHANGE ORDERS were subject to this surcharge. new hires are correcting the poor workmanship. Alchemy refused to make any corrections and referred is to their lawyer.

I declined their services because It was more than I wanted to spend.

Mike, the owner of Alchemy Restoration, is very professional and exacting in getting everything just right....i would hire him again and am thankful that i chose him and his company to paint our home's interior....he had the difficult task of matching trim that must have been on the woodwork for years....and he did it! no one could ever tell where the old paint stops and his new paint begins....that saved us an enormous amount of money because we didn't have to paint everything! He is absolutely terrific and i will hire him again! Also, everything was done in a very timely manner as i kept adding things to the job.....i am so happy with all the painting, from the stair risers, to the hall closets, to the butler's pantry cabinets.....all is looking wonderfully new again!