Manchen Construction

I had my kitchen remodeled by Manchen Construction in January of the year. It took about three months to complete and it came out beautifully. I was very happy with the project managers Anthony and Rafael. They finished up all the various projects and made sure all issues were resolved. I appreciate the follow through with the project.

We hired Manchen Construction for a renovation that included a kitchen, powder room, bar area, and two fireplace surrounds. The construction portion of the project was about $185,000, and we invested roughly another $50,000 in materials, with cabinetry priced at about $1,000 per square foot.

With that level of investment, we expected careful supervision and a consistently high level of finish.

Unfortunately, several workmanship issues arose during the project. The initial cabinet installation included doors that did not fit properly and noticeable staining differences between cabinet doors and frames. The doors were later remade, which we appreciated, but the staining inconsistencies between the cabinet frames and doors remain clearly visible in everyday use and were still present at the completion of the project.

Inside the dishwasher opening there are also multiple visible drill holes along the cabinet frame from installation attempts. When we raised this concern, we were told these were pocket screws and “industry standard,” though they are visible each time the dishwasher is opened. (see photo)

A cabinet shim also fell loose shortly after installation was completed. When we asked about correcting the remaining cabinet finishing issues, we were quoted $6,100 to refinish the frames, which we ultimately declined. (see photo)

Throughout the project it often felt like there was very limited oversight of subcontractors, which contributed to several of these issues. At one point the contractor acknowledged concerns about the quality of the initial cabinet work before the punch list was created.

Given the cost and scope of the renovation, we expected tighter supervision and a more consistent finished result. If we were starting the project again, we would make a different decision about who to hire.

I am an interior designer that has worked with Manchen construction on four projects. What I like about Manchen is that they take the designer’s drawing documents very seriously. They are detailed and follow the vision to a T. I like that Chen has an engineer‘s mind really cares about how all the parts and pieces come together. It is a family oriented small business with aspirations to excel in the LA marketplace. They stand by the work and don’t walk away from a build until everything is 100 percent.