Amethyst Contracting Inc

I have been very happy with Amethyst! When I first contacted them, I was shocked to have a real--and friendly--person pick up my call. They have responded in a similar manner throughout my work with them: prompt, friendly, and professional. Their design work is beautiful--creative while still sensitive and responsive to my opinions/ideas. I would highly recommend them!

Kristi and her crew were a pleasure to work with. They were very creative in fitting a half bath into a small space in our old home — making it look great and as if it was always there. They were reliable and got the work done on schedule (and without extra charges). Plus they were considerate as they worked in our home.

We wanted to keep the original maple floors and hardwood cabinets in our kitchen, but still have it be transformed into a modern, beautiful, and functional kitchen. In the end, everything looked as if it were designed to go together. More than that, our kitchen looked like a picture from the kitchen design website that my husband and I visited for inspiration. The renovation was done in the timeframe that we requested and with a budget that met our needs. I would definitely work with Kristi and her team again.

The design was sophisticated, creative, AND within my budget. During the design process different options were considered and refined and resulted in a efficient construction phase with zero delays. Throughout construction I always felt as if Kristi (the Architect) always had my best interest in mind. There were frequent visits and reviews of the quality and completeness of the work and any questions I had were answered quickly. The entire process - from design to completion of construction - was absent any of the drama I have experienced from other construction companies! I give Amethyst Contracting my highest praise and recommend them without hesitation.

I have only great things to say. We will keep on hiring and working with Kristi!!!

We had many delays, but they were not on the part of Amethyst. They city, including various departments of the city, required us to modify the house several times before giving us a permit. Kristi worked through the changes diligently, calmly, and with purpose, always resolving the problems. I have found Kristi to be very honest and capable. I would not hesitate to use Kristi/Amethyst for construction projects in the future.

It was a pleasure working with Amethyst Construction. Questions were answered promptly via email and text. Matt did an excellent job of creating a beautiful island in our kitchen. I had no idea how to make the island coordinate with the rest of the updates. The island had to also be functional to be able to withstand the weight of granite. What Amethyst construction designed is beautiful. Also, the new fireplace mantel is such an interesting piece. Matt took the time to find a piece of wood that had some interest. He did it. All of the people that worked in the update were friendly and professional. Each day the crew cleaned up. We love our new lower level.

They did an excellent job of everything. Owner/architect, Kristi Minser is very willing to work with clients' own ideas and she is flexible with changes and modifications. The crew has a lot of integrity when it comes to doing things right and providing the best aesthetic outcome. I am so pleased with the care the head carpenter put into this job, especially a wall of custom built-in bookshelves surrounding our bed. They are stunning! While there were some delays in progress during this project, I would highly recommend Amethyst to anyone looking for a remodeling contractor. Kristi only hires good people who care about what they do. We also felt the services provided were very fairly priced.

We called Amethyst in June 2014 with the our my project the first for 2015 and suggested that we call back at the end of July or beginning of August. We called back and made arrangements to meet so she could see the space. Within about a month of the meeting, Kristi provided an intial plan for the room. We worked together over the next few months to find the right solution for the space. In October, Kristi brought out a team of carpenters, electricians, etc. to put together an estimate of the cost of the work. The estimate was within the range of what I expected and we decided to go forward in the spring. We made some additional changes to plans over the winter and finalized the plan for the architectural review board in mid-April. Construction started at the end of April. The demolition and rough carpentry was high quality and done ahead of schedule. Things slowed down with with the dry wall contractor and that put everything behind because the carpenters as well as the other subcontractors were now well into construction season and very busy and it seemed like there were lots of days when no one was on the job. The work was substantially done by the end of June in about the time frame projected and we are very happy with the room. All of the contractors did quality work. There were a few glitches along the way: 1. The entrance to the room from the outside involved steps because the room was brought to the level of the rest of the house. Initially, the carpenters built wooden steps. However, the building inspector indicated that the steps did not meet code because a landing is required for safety. The carpenters built a landing larger than the required size because of the configuration of the area/ The landing was ugly and covered up a bed that we use for planting. We indicated to Kristi that the solution was unacceptable and she suggested building a deck that covered the whole area. We asked her to draw it and price it and it was more than $5,000. We then worked together to find something more reasonably priced, but attractive. We are very happy with the final solution, which added about $1,000 to the cost. However, we were unhappy because the original plan was not up to code, an unacceptable solution was decided between the architect and the carpenter and built without any input from us, and that this was a code issue that could have been foreseen and took a lot of time to resolve. 2. The french doors to the house from the room did not have a good locking system. The plans called for a new lock, but that was never priced into the contract. It turned out that due the type of door, the lock itself was going to be very expensive. The doors were old and warped and this seemed like too much to spend on the old doors. I asked Kristi to find out how much new doors would cost pre-finished and was told about $1,200. We talked about wood types and I asked them to price out maple with some kind of textured glass. After checking, we were told that we could get an Oak Door for $1,200 and that frosted glass would cost about $200 more, but the maple and the glass would add another $1,400. The final price of the door installed once it was finally bid was over $2,000. In the end, we decided to replace the doors with regular glass. The doors were ordered at the end of July and were installed in September. We are happy with the new doors, but would have preferred to have a realistic price up front rather than a guess a that turned out to be way off and also the number of times we had to go back in forth to get a realistic number. Kristi was very responsive throughout the process. The room matches the architecture of the house and in the end is exactly what we wanted. Construction projects always have glitches and cost overruns and we felt fortunate that that they were kept to a minimum and that Kristi took care of dealing directly with the subcontractors to resolve issues. We would consider using her again for a project should the need arise.

When we built our home in 1991 we figured we?d remodel the master bath within 5 years. We put in a cheaper double cabinet (oak, of course), 4x4 tile on the walls, Kohler?s smallest corner shower, ugly vinyl flooring and, oh joy, Hollywood lights on both sides of the mirrors. We actually remodeled in 2014. From 1994 to 2014 we planned. What I really mean is that we argued. Hubby wanted cutting edge. I wanted traditional. He wanted a bigger shower. I wanted a bigger bathtub. And then the whole messy pot of ideas got pushed to the back burner. Enter Kristi. She had already done a large shed for us with an attached porch so we knew we liked her attention to detail and respect for the style of the house. (In fact, our home was on a tour and people kept asking if the shed was the ?servant?s quarters.?). First she sat on the potty (the top was closed!) and listened to us talk with one ear while her other was listening to the ideas already spinning in her head. ?Yeah, well that wall?s gotta go.? Converted a big area under the stairs into a small useable area and bought us a feeling of spaciousness. Cool. She carved out a new shower area for the hubby and I found a "Victoria and Albert? tub that is bigger than the old one but takes up less room. We decided on that 1930s black and white look with console sinks and old-fashion-y chrome hardware. My fave part is the push button light switches with the mother of pearl buttons. A woman is only as good as the men she hires and Kristi?s subs are top-notch. The tile guy ? wow. Home Depot presented its usual nightmare, even accusing him of having picked up the order before and trying to get more for free! He ended up pretty much pulling apart the tile sheets so he could create the greek key pattern. The floor heating is marvelous as well. The plumber, Bob the P, was very good. At one point he called me upstairs as he?d cut through a low voltage wire under the bathtub. Turns out it was for the doorbell ? a very odd place to find it! You would?ve thought he cut the cord to granny?s respirator! Needless to say, it was fixed without comment or delay. Almost a year later we noticed a small leak under one of the sinks. He stopped over within a day or two and it turned out to be a manufacturing defect. We had to force him to write out an invoice. We?ve worked with some contractors who are very protective of their subs ? mostly so they can pick up a percentage of their work. Kristi will give you their phone numbers and tell you to tell them she said to call. Her philosophy is apparently if you?ve got a little job that she wasn?t involved in, why not let her customers get the best. I'd write more but a nice bubble bath seems more in order...

I emailed Kristi after reading good reviews & viewing past projects on her website. She responded promptly, giving a very reasonable quote for a one-time assessment followed by design work at an hourly rate. We made an appointment for looking at my front entrance for a makeover, with the intent of rebuilding the glass sliding door of my front porch into a traditional entry, as well as expanding the paved walkway leading to it. She returned not long after with a sketch drawn over the photo she took. We discussed materials and the possibility of doing the project in phases. She gave me advice on how to research door companies and large house address numbers online. She had a carpenter and mason who could provide quotes. This part took a long time. The carpenter was especially busy with other projects and did not show up for 3 different appointments. Finally Kristi contracted with another carpenter she recommended and after many weeks she compiled a quote in several parts (doorway, porch tiling, outdoor paving). My ideas changed with the passage of time and further research and alternate quotes. She was encouraging and helpful with my numerous questions via email - for example, agreeing that a used door would be a great savings and better match the age of the house, etc. In the end, her costs were in the middle of my other quotes, but on the high side including her percentage. So I chose to go with other contractors, who were more responsive & timely, for the actual work. Kristi very graciously offered her ongoing support for the design consulting aspect, which I may take advantage of - she has a very good eye for design and the overall impact of a project. She made me feel good about doing the upgrade.

Kristi Minser, owner/designer at Amethyst, contacted me promptly after I emailed her via Angie's List. We were able to arrange a meeting within a week. I'll tell you what I loved about Kristi from the start: she's really into what she does, not who she is or what she's selling. She was friendly and professional, but she didn't waste time with puffing herself or her work, or with "getting to know me." There was no fuss and she didn't patronize me. I showed her where we wanted to make the addition, we walked around the house for a couple minutes, and then she stood staring out a window (into the space we wanted to fill with an addition) for a really long time without saying anything. I could tell she was already imagining what could go there. Then we talked about the house and what we could do with it. All business, and she was hired on the spot. So then we worked for about 3 busy weeks on the design of the addition, as well as some reworking of existing space. I wanted to move fast, and also hubbie and I had really specific ideas about what we want to do. In other words, we're difficult clients. Kristi was always responsive and professional, listened to our ideas, and never appeared to be put out when we suggested changes to her initial ideas. In the end, she came up with a design that was totally different from anything we had ever imagined, and also it's perfect. The initial fee we paid Amethyst also included Kristi collecting bids from contractors and putting together a detailed bid for the project. We're financing the work, so she had to meet expectations of our lender for what that bid has to include and not include -- a lot of jumping through bureaucratic hoops. Kristi was really flexible in that painful process (like pulling toenails off), and also very responsive to our budget limitations. We've hired Kristi to manage the project itself now, and the work is in progress but that'll be a separate review. All excellent so far. As for money and value in the design process, here's how it went for us. Kristi gave us the Angies List discount even though I forgot about it (in other words, I didn't need to ask). I paid Kristi a thousand bucks in the beginning, and then she forgot to ask me for the rest. I actually had to remind her I still owed her money. If you want a designer who's thinking about your house, your renovation, and your dreams more than her own pocketbook, Amethyst is a design firm that should be at the top of your list. And also, Kristi is just a charming and whimsical person who is super fun to work with. I could not recommend her more highly.

She did a great job of incorporating what our kitchen cabinet supplier/designer suggested. Many of the iterations were handled via e-mail that were both time and cost effective for both of us . As I stated, after the positive kitchen experience we then hired her for a second floor dormer addition including a dormer with a full bathroom.Although we had a very small footprint for the bathroom, Kristi came up with a cleaver design to get a full bath that incorporated a large shower over the window - she gave us great advice that a large ? killer? shower would be great for resale. (so much better than the corner shower I envisioned). Kiristi did great on meeting all our turn around requests which kept our project on schedule.

I contacted Kristi Minser after seeing her website and reading the reviews here. After about 60 minutes on the phone one evening, I was completely comfortable. It was just a "click!" Kristi designed a 24 x 28 "shed" only 20 feet from the existing garage. We live in a 3 story Georgian home so having something that looked like a pole barn was the furthest thing from my mind. What we got was a very serviceable building for my husband's stuff with an upstairs for storage and future usage. Kristi managed to work it so the single garage door is accessible from the existing driveway with only a short concrete pad. The floor is concrete. It is 2x4 construction with ample lighting. The yellow siding with white trim matches the stucco of our home. So that was my husband's part of the project and he is happy. He's got big plans for retirement in that "shed." But let's see what I got! From the garage door on the"shed", we turn right through an aluminum gate on the decorative aluminum fence. This takes us onto the "piazza" - a 20' x 20' expanse of concrete stamped and colored with a pattern reminiscent of Paris streets. The side bordering the garage has an 18" open space and clematis vines clamber up the wall. A winding path leads to the kitchen door past the rose bushes edged with lavender. Directly across is a 28'x10' porch. There's white wicker on one end, room for a table in the middle and another seating area on the other end. The roof is supported by round pillars. We'd planned on railings but eliminated them as we wanted every square inch we could use. We entertain endlessly on our piazza and porch. The cool thing is the "front" of the shed with its balanced facade and double doors, faces the yard. This makes it appear far more like a "summer kitchen" from the 1700s than a modern building. It complements the house perfectly. We say the shed is from Mars and the porch is from Venus. The design is all Kristi Minser. All that being said, every single subcontractor was easy to work with and willing to be "creative" if necessary. The few small problems were addressed easily with a text to Kristi. It's obvious that she trusts these people and with good reason. PS Little tiny misleading thing: Kristi did not do the roses and lavender or clematis. Everything else is true!

Kristi went above and beyond to help us determine our wants/needs for our renovation. She walked us through practical and creative processes in a friendly and professional way. Excellent, creative, innovative service!

They came out and gave a beautiful presentation on the remodeling project for my kitchen but we only needed a refacing so were unfortunately not able to use the provider. I was very satisfied with their attitude overall though.

Meetings with Amethyst went very well. She is very conscious of environmentally friendly options and was very responsive to our needs. In the end we opted not to do the addition and pursue the purchase of another residence after doing a cost vs. return analysis.

Kristi was very responsive to my requests for more information and special attention at various steps. My only point of discontent was that the line item for the carpeting was significantly inaccurate. (She missed the labor component for installation entirely, and didn't estimate for even mid-grade carpet.) On the whole, I was quite pleased with the work and the professionalism of Kristi and her crew. I love my new space and really enjoyed working with Kristi.

Kristy was very responsive unlike many other contractors I called, including the use of email and texts. She was able to corral several subs to get the work done on time and for a reasonable price. I liked her method of bringing all the subs on a single day to walk though the project together before bidding. The interaction between all the skill sets uncovered many potential problems and surprising solutions before work started.

Kristi did a phenomenal job with her designs for our kitchen update (last major kitchen remodel in our 1913 farmhouse was in 1949!) and a wonderful conservatory/sunroom addition. She must have redone the drawings for the addition at least a half dozen times, each time incorporating our desires and her ideas for improvement until it was exactly the design of our dreams! Kristi also oversaw the construction of our kitchen remodel as general contractor and the design worked fabulously. Everyone who comes over remarks about how spacious the kitchen looks and how well it fits our vintage house. Sadly, the conservatory addition construction cost was out of our budget range, but we have recently started on an alternative plan with Kristi that may solve that issue as well. Kristi started the project as our designer/contractor and ended the project as our friend! What more can you say?!!

Kristi designed our new kitchen and then oversaw the construction as general contractor. Details included moving some of our vintage cabinets to a new location (adding glass door cabinets up to the ceiling to match the transom window over our closet door - Kristi's idea and they look fantastic, like they've always been there), all new floor to ceiling cabinets in the main part of the kitchen, maple flooring repairs (where a long time ago there was a pantry wall), floor refinishing, new plumbing, and granite countertops which look great! Kristi's guys were all a pleasure to work with. Sure there were a few little bumps along the road to completion, but for the most part, Kristi and her workers were able to turn potential lemons into lemonade and even managed to improve the end result along the way. We're very pleased with our new kitchen.

This is the second year we worked with Amethyst contracting; last year Kristi engaged subcontractors, coordinated and oversaw complete rebuilding of a curved exterior wall of the house, including replacement of a full wall of stacked, rectangular windows, reinforcement at the base with a curved metal bar, while matching the existing brick and stucco. This was completed at a cost of 21,000, including interior drywall repair around the wall and in other parts of the house. We were so pleased with the subcontractors, that we had the carpenter build interior closet fittings for a bedroom, and had the upstairs of the house painted (large hallway with vaulted, 2-story stairwell, 4 bedrooms - 2 with 16 ft vaulted ceilings, and 2 bathrooms, one with vaulted ceiling). This past year, we engaged her again to perform similar exterior repairs to a curved wall surrounding the staircase in the home - redoing stucco, replacing brick, and exterior reframing of windows. She is willing to negotiate price, is always responsive, and has excellent subcontractors.

Our Home is very special to my wife and I. It is a 1930's French Tudor style and we have always felt that any remodeling we did would need to embrace the style and craftsmanship of the original construction. After our first meeting with Kristi I knew that she got “it”. Upon seeing her initial design, there was no doubt. Amethyst is a company that listens your vision and then makes it a reality. Amethyst designed and built a new garage and workshop space on our property that feels like it came with the house. We also contracted with them to completely rethink our kitchen. Kristi has a unique ability to re-imagine space, maintaining the charm of century old design and enhancing it with modern touches that seamlessly enhance the living area. This is not cookie cutter design. If you are looking for something personal and unique, and are willing to go on a creative journey, then I would highly recommend calling Kristi to set up a design meeting.

This was the first time that I did not have ANY problems whatsoever with a contractor. Everything went smoothly from start to finish. Kristi Minser and her team are responsible and accommodating, accepting changes when we asked for them, suggesting new ideas as needs arose without extending outside of the expected cost range of the project. Her team were all winners: all did high-quality work, cleaned up meticulously, and were a delight to deal with. The final result exceeded expectations at every level. I would use Kristi and her team without hesitation and would recommend without reservation. This was the easiest, most seamless, most problem-free renovation job I have ever encountered.

Kristi was always available and open to our ideas. But what seemed to be a good partnership did not ended well. She was not meticulous as expected and her lack of attention to details was apparent throughout the entire project. The overall quality of work performed was poor. Some problems we faced could be fixed, like wrong drain installed, wrong shower enclosure size ordered, big tiles cut in mosaic style and almost installed when no mosaic where asked at all. But others could not be undone, like existing linen cabinet ended up smaller than it originally was, scratched cabinet door on master bath, chipped mirror, poor transition between tile wall/drywall ceiling. Besides, grout on master bath was irregular in color (looked like a chess board!!) and wall paint was not well done. It was necessary to hire someone else to re-grout, paint walls and fix drywall and paint master bath ceiling after new HAVC was installed. Unfortunately it was not a good experience. Very frustrating.