MICAVEN BATHROOMS

It was excellent. There were no complaints. The craftsmanship was quality.

We signed a contract and were told the job would be started in 30 days or less, in the 30 days after he received the deposit he did not contact us once with an estimated time of start, we called after 40 days and then we're given a start date. He started the job after 50 days of receiving deposit. He promised about a week for completion, it took about 7 weeks, he used 3 different plumbers. Every time we brought up a concern with time he would blame us for every delay. His subs are low grade to say the least, especially his tile person, when we at the end complained about the tile work, he told us that we should have brought it to his attention earlier...... I thought that's why I hired a contractor, so that he would check on his subs work....I guess not. He's does not communicate well nor does he keep notes on anything that is discussed, then he blames the customer. Never ever would I hire or recommend him. I did not pay him in full, I shorted him about 1,000 since I have to live with the horrible tile work and now I have a Granite place looking for money from us because he did not pay them.

The work was delayed, but finally finished and looked nice. But then I saw some problems and tried to call him to fix the issue. Like our tub had scratch marks and after speaking to the company, they said the contractor should fix that. Frank would not even return my phone calls. He lies, makes false promises and is never on time or worse, does not show up. He has cut corners in his work as we are now finding out. The work is sub-quality and the bathroom is showing cracks. Please do not use him. Avoid Micaven Bathroom, Frank is very unreliable and his communication is the worst

do not contract with Frank Carta of MiCaven. He is a dishonest and does not perform work as contracted.

So far the work that has been done has been great. We had a lot of obstacles which they cleared. I have no complaints, and I am waiting for them to finish the work. I can see that it is going to be great when it is done. The general contractor is extremely conscientious. My tenants were away when the floor was remodeled and he worked on Sunday to make sure that the work is completed.

We are exceedingly pleased with the results our our new kitchen. When we first met Frank Carta, he offered his creativity, vision, and energy for our proposed kitchen remodel. He listened to our ideas and offered wise advice. He assured me that I could have the kitchen of my dreams, and he in fact delivered just that in the end. When the job began, he was present daily to assure that work progressed smoothly. All of his sub-contracters and workers were professional, polite and careful. Before the job began, I had mentioned to Frank my concern about safety with my young son around power tools. Frank made sure that the site was safe and secure every evening, which really eased my mind. Once underway, a few challenges presented themselves (such as some crazy plumbing installed by the original builder), but Frank and his crew handled them with skill. Nothing seemed to be an insurmountable problem. Frank handled everything with a sense of humor and an understanding of how families with kids function. When we made some changes mid-project, he made it all seem easy. When the project was winding down, Frank made sure the final touches were done with the same high quality and attention to detail. The final bill was right on budget with no surprises. We have already recommended Frank Carta to friends and family for their home remodeling projects. We have been delighted with the whole job and know that Frank's professional demeanor, excellent technical skills, and wise management abilities are a real asset to his customers. The most important thing I can say about Frank is that we handed him the keys to our home at the start of the remodel, and we know for a fact that he is a man of honor and integrity. We were very fortunate to find him.

We had 5 contractors come to look at the project. We had a pretty good idea of what we wanted for the new design and had a computer generated drawing for them to review. The first 3 contractors did not convince us that they had a good grasp of exactly what we wanted and we were feeling discouraged. However, when Frank Carta of Micaven Bathrooms arrived for his appointment, we were instantly relieved with his vision of the project and his suggestions for improvements that we had not considered. In other words, he knew his stuff. His bid came in as second lowest, which surprised us. We hired him for the project and set a tentative start date. As that date approached, he let us know that he was finishing up another project and would be 3 days late to start with us. We were a little disappointed and anxious to get the job started but this made us aware that he would not leave a project unfinished in order to start a new one. When he arrived to start the job, he was here every day as expected and exactly on time. He was always very polite and professional. He worked as quietly as possible and cleaned up each evening by vacuuming the entire route from the front door to the upstairs bathroom. He stored all of his tools neatly in the construction area and told us that he wanted us to feel like we were living in our home, not a construction site. We appreciated that. His carpentry skills are right on and it is obvious that he takes great pride in his work as well as his reputation. Frank's sub contractors were great. If Frank said they would be here at 1:00, they were here at 1:00. Having worked with other contractors in the past, we were amazed at how fluid this project went. At the end of each day, he would ask if we were happy with the progress and spent much time answering our questions and addressing any concerns that we had. We feel that he went above and beyond what we expected from a contractor. In fact, we recommended him to two neighbors that had their kitchens fully remodeled by him and a friend of ours had her bathroom gutted and remodeled by Frank, as well. All three were appreciative of Frank's work. We are hoping to have Frank remodel our own kitchen in a year or two.

We hope to share this horrific experience with others who may consider contracting with Frank Carta or MiCaven Contracting or MiCaven Bathrooms as made a poor decision by contracting with him. We contracted with MiCaven and at this juncture (almost 5 months later), our son is not able to bathe in a tub. I completed the installation of the downstairs shower at 9 Months pregnant (one small indicator of the ability of this contractor), to ensure that the glass doors would not shatter. Walls were damaged, floor varnish stripped, "scrap" wood used for the thresholds (I was told by Jimmy, the floor installer that it was leftover from a job) and it is the incorrect species of wood, we were without heat on a 45 degree night, due to faulty work on our new furnace with the plumbing tie-in, luckily we have a woodburning stove. The upstairs shower surround had to be installed twice and still leaks, we purchased the product recommended by Franks' vendor and it is poor quality and must be removed and replaced with a quality product. Additional information can be made available for those interested. We have been in contact with all inspectors at the North Andover building department, they are now aware of this contractor. Good luck, don't make the same mistake we did, please don't be persuaded by the professional demeanor and perceived friendliness of this person.

He is spectacular. The job is going excellently; it's unbelievable. The neighbors have said they want to hire him. They come in on time and they're neat and quiet. They've done what they said they were going to do when they said they would. He keeps me in the loop about when everything's going to take place. They're always early as well.

From the initial estimate to the finish, Frank was a true pleasure to work with. He showed up every day promptly, and at the end of each day explained what was to come the next day. As the project took 4 weeks to complete, with a staggered set of subcontractor schedules, some days Frank would oversee the subcontractors (plumbing, plastering, electrical) and for a while, then leave, and others he'd spend the day himself, mostly on the carpentry and related tasks. His guidance was provided throughout the project and was especially useful at the start when plans were being made. We thought we wanted a bidet and toilet, and he suggested that without the bidet we could put in a much larger shower, which we decided to do (and save some $). There were a few snags along the way that caused minor delays (some of the ordered fixtures weren't delivered, or the tile floor installer did not bring the right adhesive), but Frank handled these professionally and quite openly. Extra cost items were always identified before work was done - for example, we needed to expand the hot water feed from the heater from 1/2 inch to 3/4). The end result is an absolutely gorgeous 10 x 13 master bathroom, a luxury and added- value investment in our home. We are planning to use Frank again to remodel the two existing bathrooms in the spring.

Frank was by far the best contractor we've ever worked with. He returned our email quickly and gave a detailed estimate. He was responsible, conscientious, easy to work with. He frequently went above and beyond what was necessary. The first day, there was a snow storm; he shoveled our walkway so he wouldn't track snow in and out. The demolition caused more dust than we expected; he hired a cleaning company to come in, at his expense, to clean our rooms. He frequently checked in to see how we liked the progress and was concerned that we were satisfied customers. We couldn't recommend him more highly.