Divine Design & Remodeling

It was a disaster! The only thing that went well was the demo. On top of stealing $9K from me, he Michael Divine, which isn't his name, it's Michael Warren Sawyer and he has a record, he scratched all of my tile in my shower cause he used a hard wire brush attached to a power drill to get off the grout that he let stay on for 3 weeks!!! He should have wiped the grout off the tile as he was applying it. To top that off, he committed a felony when he then forged my signature on a $3900 check! Currently, I'm waiting for court and a grand jury to be put together. Never use this business. He will rob you'

Things we liked: 1. Detailed contracting and pre-work planning, with detailed materials and labor estimates. 2. Provided evidence of license and insurance. 3. Excellent design, excellent materials, and precise construction of high-quality custom cabinetry and other wood work, including under-cabinet LED lighting, and fireplace mantle. 4. Negotiated with vendor to get good price and extended warranties included in the cost of all new kitchen appliances. 5. Nice installation of tile floors in kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room. 6. Excellent installation of stacked limestone panels floor to ceiling on a high angled wall around the fireplace, plus very attractive custom-made wood mantle, and new tiles on the hearth. 7. Worked effectively with vendor on design, purchase, and installation of premium granite countertops and trim, and kitchen and bathroom sinks. 8. Installation of premium plumbing fixtures in bathrooms and kitchen, no leaks apparent. 9. Well-done side job of installing two new steps, small landing, and wood screen door with dog flap on the deck. 10. Very cooperative about several minor design and installation changes along the way, with acceptable cost changes. 11. Contractor was on-site nearly every weekday and on many weekends. 12. Contractor is friendly, polite, considerate, and very aware he is working in someone’s home. Things that disappointed us: 1. No advance communication on one-week delay in starting the job. 2. Time estimates. We were told at least 3 weeks in a row that he would be done “next week.” Job actually took twice as long (about 15 weeks) as the original time estimate (6-8 weeks). We can allow one extra week for the changes and add-ons we asked for, but not double for the entire job. 3. Erratic attendance of assistants on the job appeared to contribute to significant delays. 4. Delegated cabinet finishing (staining and water-repellent top coats) to assistant, whose work had to be re-done in multiple places and still detracts from otherwise beautiful wood work. 5. Trim work is absent where cabinet panels meet hardwood floor, leaves what we consider a very unattractive gap. 6. Installation of wall tiles. The tile vendor did not tell us the tiles we picked for floors and shower walls were not for walls; the contractor had a hard time making them stay on the walls. I suggested changing wall tiles but contractor assured us that he could cut and install to get the look we wanted; tiles had to be cut, installed, torn off, and re-installed; were held onto concrete backer board with nails until cement dried, putting holes in the backer board behind the grout lines; tiles cut at angle for exposed corners were ragged and retained grout unevenly, and there was no accommodation for corners, so after the job was done we ordered and installed plastic corner guards with silicone (total cost of materials and shipping approx. $125) to cover unattractive and sharp tile edges. I estimate that installation of shower wall tiles alone took 2 weeks, maybe more. For the kitchen backsplash, smaller tiles were used and installed well, but there was no accommodation for where backsplash would transition to drywall, so tiles at drywall had edges exposed; we ordered edge pieces off-contract from a home improvement store, contractor installed them. It appeared to us that the contractor did not plan for tile corners and transitions. 8. Drywall and paint work. Drywall around arch that widened a doorway was not taped, and contraction of the mud has created a crack around the arch. Drywall work where lights and ceiling fans were moved and/or installed is lumpy and visible; one place on the ceiling was not finished and the supporting mesh is obvious right on the surface. Paint where the ceiling paint meets the shower wall tile grout is on the grout and cannot be scrubbed off and in our opinion will need to be covered by crown molding to make appearance acceptable to us, something we did not plan. Other places where wall tile meets drywall show evidence of damage to the drywall surface (e.g., surface paper torn off) that was not repaired, so it is uneven and lumpy. Bathroom was to be repainted, but not all trim was repainted, including a window that was caulked with colored caulk on white paint. The wall with the arch and the kitchen walls involved in wall cabinet installation were only partially repainted with the same color but different roller texture can be seen; the whole walls must be re-painted for uniform appearance. 9. Organization and worksite management. Our homeowner association informed us that neighbors grew impatient with the construction trailer and trash in the driveway, which were present from mid-November to early March. In general, we were unhappy with protection of the work site. Garage floor and wood steps have sizeable spots of paint and stain. Hardwood floors in the highest-traffic area were protected with cardboard only after we insisted on it, and then there were still paint cans and tools stored directly on the dining room hardwood floor. Stain cans were routinely left uncovered overnight. New tile floors and granite countertops were not protected from subsequent cabinet staining, so we did a lot of post-construction removal of paint, stain, glue, etc., from tiles and expensive granite that could have been protected, even with newspaper and masking tape. Grout haze was left on new tile for at least a week and then was incompletely removed; we spent several days scrubbing it off with white vinegar. Two manuals for new appliances were lost. Job proceeded in a sequence that was hard for us to understand or predict, perhaps depending on when assistants were available (a guess?), so there was little completed and usable across three rooms for more than three months. 10. Contract oversight/business management. Extended warranties for kitchen appliances (refrigerator, gas range, microwave oven, dishwasher) were supposed to be part of the package cost but the invoice the contractor presented to us did not include extended warranties on two of the four; I contacted the vendor, purchased the two warranties by credit card, and backed this cost out of the contract. Contractor deviated from the contract’s payment schedule, asking for unscheduled early payments to cover labor costs. Contract called for all invoices for materials to be presented; most were not. We presented an extensive punch list toward the end of the job, which we added to as we found things that needed to be corrected. We found at least one or two items that he crossed off but were not done. 11. Complete lack of follow up. This is a serious problem to us, given our financial and time investment. Before and during the job, we communicated well by text message and email. Since he finished on March 2, I have contacted him 5 times to request a time we could meet and talk about issues described here; he responded quickly to the first two messages saying he would get back to me, but didn’t, and he has not responded at all to the last three attempts to contact him since April 8. The contract has an arbitration requirement, but the contractor used his home address as his business address but moved during the job, and we do not have a mailing address for him, so we are unsure how to invoke arbitration. I contacted a handyman service on Angie’s List to get an estimate to correct several items described above; this estimate is $1,350 on top of the cost of the renovations in general. This review will stand until the contractor contacts me and corrects what we consider to be deficiencies. I will consider an update if he does. Overall grade: C. I would not use again.

Went great, was very impressed

We're thoroughly pleased with our new bathroom. They kept all the promises they made to us, and we'd be happy to recommend the company to anyone. Just have them give us a call. Thanks again for being so attentive and responsive and for doing such a nice job.

We love our kitchen and bath. It is so fun to have so much convenience in such a small space. All of our neighbors can't believe that you were able to complete the job in such a short time. Many say, "In that fast of a time did you really get good quality workmanship?" Of course, the answer is come and see for yourself! They are amazed at the beauty and convenience of the kitchen, we are also. It is really great to have so many electrical outlets. No more extension cords running across the counter. And the counter top is so easy to keep clean. We are sorry now that we didn't remodel sooner. <p>The new bathroom is a thing of beauty. The new 3 way mirror, the shower stall, it is hard to believe that it all fit in that old 6x8 bathroom space. The elegance and convenience the bathroom gives to two old people with bad knees cannot be imagined. We want to take this opportunity to also thank the crew that came to do the job. They were always courteous and helpful to us. We never had to worry once about the care of our home while we were away. And what a great surprise to come home after the construction and find that everything was ready for us to move in and use. All the new appliances were installed and working well. And what a surprise to find new matching towels hanging on the towel racks in the bathroom. Thanks again for your great work.</p>

great

We could not be happier with this company. Starting with the designer, to the very end of the project, every step of the way went perfect. It is often hard to find a company where all of the workers really care about how things are done. All of the workers were so professional and skillful. They were here everyday right on time and worked so hard to make sure everything was how we wanted it. They left our home cleaned each day and really took precautions to reduce dust and noise. The final results exceeded our expectations and we would only use this company for any future projects. They are truly outstanding!

Was the so much different before to after we love it... will never use anyone else again <br /> thanks Michael

went great I watched him he was very good at what he did and not bad to look at to,lol

I have never been more happy with a contractor he was so helpful and was some of the best work I've ever seen

It went great. The best remodeler I've ever done business with.

It went great was very knowledgable in the processing of installation of the solar power to run our home.

It went great he designed our new kitchen based upon what we wanted and printed out 3D drawings of what would look like, we changed things a lot but Michael didn't mind he just drew up anything decided to change... He and his team were the most professional contractors we have ever worked with. We plan on using him on all our remodeling needs in the future.