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OVERWHELMINGLY NEGATIVE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH MEGABUILDERS
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Based on the positive reviews on http://Houzz.com, Yelp and the self-serving testimonials posted on his website, I hired Alon Toker of Megabuilders for several remodeling projects on my home in the Hollywood Hills. While Mr. Toker assured me during the
initial sales call that he personally supervises the quality of the work done at each property, if you do hire him, be prepared to communicate exclusively with him via email, text and cell phone about any issues regarding the quality of the work that his employees
and subcontractors are doing. He just did not get that motivated to come to my property to supervise the projects, instead relying on his "foreman" to self-police his own shoddy work. As a result, what was supposed to have been a fairly straight forward 4
week project of "weatherproofing" and replacing the old slate tile with new porcelain tile at the exterior entryway of my home, turned into one of the most needlessly stressful experiences I have yet to endure with a contractor. And now four months later,
it is still not finished! (on-time guarantee?! NOT) First, during the course of the remodel of the exterior of my entryway, the slope of the tile was not checked before $2,100 of porcelain tile was set. Instead of making sure that the water ran away from the
house (after all, I hired them to do "weatherproofing"), turns out that the slope was level causing the water to pool right at the top of the front doorstep. When I pointed this out to Mr. Toker via email (because he was not on site supervising the tile sub,
nor was his "foreman"), he at first denied slope was an issue and then after being shown pictures via email of water pooling, later offered to have the subcontractor pull up the tile, correct the slope, and yes -- wait for it --- re-set the old tile that was
cracked at the corners! When I insisted that new tile be used, he then added insult to injury, by suggesting that the 10% extra amount of tile that he insisted that I purchase be used. Only after insisting that I was not going to pay for his subcontractor's
mistake, did he purchase the new tiles and correct the slope. But wait, there's more! After the old tile had been taken up in front of the front door and before the new tile was laid, it was somehow determined by the "brain trust" that since the slope was
off maybe they should check to see if the waterproofing really works! I came home one night at 11 p.m. to find the water hose going full bore and water rushing like a river down the street! As I drove up towards the driveway and my headlights hit the stream
of water flowing down the hill, I seriously thought a water pipe had burst in the street. It turns out that the Megabuilders crew had left for the day at 5 p.m. and no one thought to tell the homeowner that a hose had been left running unattended right next
to the front door and that they were doing a water test! The water hose had been running at full blast for 6 hours! When I reported this incident to Mr. Toker by email at 11 p.m. and asked him if he were going to pay next month's water bill, he told me to
read the contract -- that in it I had agreed to pay for all utilities during the remodel! But wait -- you think this is over ? No! Not by a long shot! During the course of removing the stucco at the base of the entryway, his workers cracked the casing on both
sides of a $6,000 custom douglas fir/glass front door. When I brought this to the attention of Mr. Toker, he responded by email - again, without physically inspecting the damage -- that all that needed to get done was "hammer the casing back in place". Again,
I sent more pictures, again I insisted, and he then reluctantly agreed to repair the outer door frame. He did replace the door frame, but not with doug fir, but with a much cheaper wood, the grain of which does not even match the door. The stain applied was
highly glossy and was not even close to the matte finish of the original door. WAIT! If you are still reading this far - you are ready for the 'piece de resistance.' I came home after "final stucco" to find an electrical cord and outlet for the water fountain
literally "sprouting" about two feet high out of the wall like something out of the movie "Alien." Again, Mr. Toker, in his infinite graciousness, advised by email and then (surprise!) later in person that it was not a building code violation and that it could
"easily be covered" by the pre-fab fountain that had been in the garage and was to be installed by his workers. Had anyone asked me, the owner, about the placement of the fountain, the electrical box and outlet could have been secured to a beam and properly
recessed into the wall BEFORE any stucco work had begun! If you have read this far, it should not be surprising that Mr. Toker refuses to take responsibility for this and has left me to repair his mistake on my own. That's the long review. A short review based
on my own personal experience: CONTRACTOR FROM HELL WHO DOES NOT PUT HIS MONEY WHERE HIS MOUTH IS AND DOES NOT STAND BY THE QUALITY OF HIS WORK - IF HIS WORKERS DAMAGE YOUR PROPERTY, SOLELY BASED ON MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, HE WILL DENY, DENY, DENY ANY
DAMAGE DONE AND THEN ONLY WHEN THREATENED WITH LEGAL ACTION WILL HE ATTEMPT TO REPAIR OR EVEN WORSE, TRY TO HIDE THE DAMAGE. THE ABOVE REVIEW IS BASED ON MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND IS THEREFORE MY OPINION OF THIS BUSINESS AND HIS BUSINESS PRACTICES. AS
SUCH, IT IS CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED SPEECH UNDER THE FIRST AMENDMENT OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION.
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