Acheson Builders

Acheson has completed multiple projects for us: total kitchen remodel, screened porch creation, dining room creation, master bed and bath including walk-in closet, powder room and children’s bathroom. The planning and thoughtfulness has been first rate and the workmanship has been top notch. In addition Jim solved some knotty structural issues with great care.

Acheson Builders have done several large projects for us over the past 15 years. Major remodeling and smaller jobs. We have always been very satisfied with the work; very respectful; knowledgeable; diligent crew working for Jim and Marilyn. We highly recommend Acheson Builders.

I do not recommend working with Acheson Builders. I was under contract with them for seven months and was never given a timeline or formal quote. In the impressive initial meeting (2/18), Lauren said that we’d be able to complete the project by that summer. Once they cashed my deposit check (3/18), they had Nate come out (4/18) to measure the space. Despite emailing and calling every week, there was no progress being made; they would give me excuses and say there are no updates or they’re working on it. After three months after giving the deposit (6/18), I paid Jim and Lauren a visit in the office to relay my concerns about the project, and they promised me that they would deliver a timeline to me within the next two weeks. They did not deliver a timeline. Jim and Lauren came out to the house (7/18) to see the project again to see which subcontractors they needed to schedule. The subcontractors came out (8/18), and Jim said he’d have the formal quote ready by next week. They did not have the quote ready, and cancelled that meeting a half hour before we were supposed to have it. When they got around to scheduling a new time to meet about the formal quote (10/18), they again cancelled the day of. At that point, I finally gave up and accepted that my project wasn’t going to happen any time soon, if ever. Two weeks later, I paid them another visit asking them to refund my deposit. Jim refused, and instead only refunded half. I asked for the subcontractor’s quotes to be forwarded to me. As of the time of writing (12/27/18), two months later, I’ve sent multiple emails and texts to Lauren to forward me the emails and they still haven’t. In the end, all I got was a rough sketch of the kitchen with basic dimensions and nine months of wasted time. Do yourself a favor and find another contractor.

We hired Acheson Builders for a kitchen remodel that included a refresh of a half bath and a laundry room. We absolutely loved Lauren McCabe, the designer and coordinator of all purchased items, paint colors, etc. She is amazing, and we would highly recommend Lauren. Lauren and Jim Acheson (owner) were both very professional in all of our interactions with them. They took plenty of time with us at our first meeting, and were careful to understand our requests. The crew, headed by lead carpenter Kevin, did a terrific job. The only criticisms I have are of some of the subcontractors. The painters were sloppy; I am having to touch up areas on the window trim where they left bare wood, and I'm still scraping splatters of paint off of the granite countertops and tile backsplash. The tilers left a hazy film (from the grout) over the glossy tiles in the accent backsplash over the gas cook top, which I can scrape off with my fingernail. That's just sloppy. Also, I was very unhappy with the original floor finish. We ordered unfinished natural maple, which Kevin and the crew did a great job of installing. The finisher was a sub, and his schedule was extremely full, he had to squeeze us between other jobs. It was obvious he was rushed by the quality of the first poly coating, there were rough patches and bubbles in several places. We complained, he apologized and redid the entire floor. So while I'm happy with the professional response and the quick correction, I'm still not happy with the floor. We had factory-finished floors installed in the bedrooms several years ago, and maybe it is not fair to compare factory-finished with on-site finishing. If that is the case, then I can't fault the subcontractor. Keep this in mind if you are considering light-colored hardwood, and be sure to ask questions of your designer. The factory-finished maple has a nice warm, almost peachy color, and the poly finish is absolutely perfect in consistency and shine. The on-site maple is more yellow, which I don't like as well, and the finish is less shiny and much harder to mop clean. I had expected the two finishes to look and perform the same when finished. Overall, I would recommend Acheson Builders. We fully intend to hire them again in the near future, and are excited about getting to work with Lauren again.

Professional and quality work .Project started and competed in the estimated time frame. All the employees were courteous and knowledgeable. Pricing wasn't cheap but you don't get that with the first 3 items.

We have worked with Acheson Builders on may projects: total kitchen remodel, creation of a new dining room, creation of screened in porch, master bedroom remodel including a walk-in closet, master bath total remodel, half bath creation, unique storage closet creation and a second bathroom total remodel. The work is thoughtful and careful with careful attention to cost.

Jim does a great job of explaining the what and why of the projects he takes on, so that you know the reasons behind the process and any changes that need to be made along the way. The crews are friendly and clean, and do excellent work. In my case, Acheson did custom concrete work (in two phases) to an older garage to improve the structure and keep moisture from entering at ground level. This was not a simple or straightforward job and I'm very happy with the results. As far as I can tell the cost is moderate to high, but very much worth it for a job done right the first time. I highly recommend Jim and the Acheson team.

We hired Acheson Builders to complete a back porch and fence on our historic property on the Old West Side of Ann Arbor. We were very impressed at the quality of the work and the professionalism of the carpenters, who arrived on time every day and were very respectful and polite. We are very happy with the finished product!

Visitors are always impressed with the quality work Acheson Builders did for us. Our home remodel was a very complicated project. We have a Civil War-era house that has been changed considerably over the years by previous owners. We hired Acheson to completely update it. Our local historic district prevented them from changing things that probably should have been torn down and rebuilt from scratch, but they found clever ways of working around all the impediments. Our house is really one of a kind now.

We had a serious leak fixed in both upstairs bathrooms . New toilets, new tub surround, new exhaust fan and new piping. We also had new gutters with leaf guard placed as well as a new window in our basement that had rotted out. It was very exciting to see all those problem areas solved and done so well !

Acheson Builders and their workers made my house a pleasure to come home to. The 2nd floor was remodeled and dormers put in to the two upstairs bedrooms along with a new roof on the house and garage and a new porch and front sidewalk. I could not be happier with the project from going over my wishlist and getting my questions answered, asking and getting advise on materials and cost, because let's face it, cost is important, to the finishing up of the porch railings. The workers assigned to my house were on time, happy to answer my questions, cleaned up every day and most important, made me realize I had chosen a good company to redo my house. I would and do recommend Acheson Builders, in fact, I will be calling Acheson Builders again for some more work.

Acheson recently completed work on my condo, and I am very satisfied. I had a wide variety of different things done, all the way from a new deck to a completely redone bathroom, and it all came together very nicely. They were always professional, gave me helpful suggestions along the way, and kept in close contact throughout the process. I highly recommend Acheson.