Alward Corporation

Julia V.

We went to Home Depot to have our 25-year-old kitchen with all the original appliances remodeled. The designer from Home Depot was amazing - very detail oriented and knowledgeable. Unbeknownst to us, Home Depot contracts the actual construction to Alward. We met with the Project Manager, Robbie and he seemed like a great guy, promised us the sky and the moon. We bought into his used car salesman speech hook and sinker.
One of the biggest sticking points was a soffit that we needed them to remove. Robbie promised us that he will inspect it and make sure that there is nothing behind it and it was removable. Well, he didn't. That is one of their tactics - they use their ""unforeseen clause"", so that they can charge you more money. It's called a change order. That's how they actually make their money. The fact that the PM promised to do the inspection and didn't do it on purpose speaks volume of his ethics. I would never hire them. They don't even do the work. They hire individual subcontractors to do the work. So, you can imagine - now you are paying profit to Home Depot, Alward and the person who is actually doing the work. Talk about being overpriced! Save your money and your sanity and go somewhere else!

Jesse H.

They did a kitchen for us and it was a total disaster. You will end up having to hire additional contractors to cleanup the mess they make.

Ellen W.

I contracted with the Alward Corporation for renovating my kitchen. The experience was excellent. The office staff arrived on day one and walked me and the work crew through the contract detail by detail. Communication throughout the job was great--called at the end of the work day every day to ask how the job was going and if I had any concerns/questions. The work crew was polite, professional, efficient. They checked with me as the work progressed if options presented themselves so I could direct them how I wanted an item to be done. The inspection after completion found a few minor details to fix and they were done well. Job well done!

Glenda P.

Alward (AKA ConstruXure) has renovated two kitchens for me now. I am extremely pleased with the work and the short time to complete. They showed up when expected, did an excellent job, and fixed any minor issues that I requested be done. In addition, they provided excellent advise on cost effective and beautifying work. I worked with Kelly and Robbie.
The first kitchen I would give a four star, simply because it took longer than expected due primarily for the need to get Fairfax County permits to remove a wall between the kitchen and dining room in a high-rise building. On this kitchen, we kept the wall and avoided about $8K in costs and 4 months in time!
I have a few tips: I used a professional kitchen designer through Home Depot and posted pictures and initial estimate on a display board for easy reference. Also I recommend that you make sure all renovation work is clearly stated in the narrative section of the initial Alward estimate. It makes for better understanding and eliminates needless worry about potential change orders. All materials must be on site before they will begin - including the cabinets, paint, plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, etc, making space a little cramped while work is done. So if you are a ""snow bird"" and can go on vacation while work is done, you can come back to a complete job.. I lived in the unit while the work was being done. The dust was manageable and I forgot to cover the furniture, but it would be a good idea to cover the furniture with drop cloths -- just to prevent the need to dust afterward. I live in a high-rise, sold the first Unit with the renovated kitchen primarily because the new buyers had renovated their kitchen and knew the kind of work that goes into the project. I had no reservations about purchasing another Unit that required renovation because I knew Alward could and would do a great job at a price I could afford.

Rehicks45 H.

In my opinion working with Alward is an awful experience on all levels. Poor craftsmanship, poor schedule and no management skills.

This company is used by Home Depot to install kitchens. So check before you buy.

Saunter M.

Alward / ConstruXure is my #1 go-to for medium-to-large house repair and renovation. Kelly is always kind and able to schedule around my needs. Robbie, the chief, always visits the site beforehand to make an estimate, and after to ensure all work is complete. I have worked with multiple contractors on kitchen, bath, and home sale projects and have never had a problem with them. The contractors will work as long as it takes to get the work done, and it is high quality work. The renovations have always been beautiful and worth every penny. I highly recommend them to anyone that wants to support a local small business for their trusted home work.

Kelly D.

Do not waste your time or money with this company. They lack quality workmanship and integrity. I had them fix cracked grout in my bathroom. The Project Manager claimed that he assigned his best grout guy to the job. I disagree. The first day of the job the contractor started at 8:30 am and left at noon. When he left there were cracked areas that he did not address. I ended up putting sticky notes on the areas that he missed. Is this really your best guy? When I asked the contractor to repair the grout defects his attitude was poor and he did a terrible job fixing the mistakes. Lastly, after a few months I noticed cracked grout near the shower niche. I called them to have someone come back and fix it. They told me that the soap niche was not part of the contract. I mentioned the soap niche cracks to the Project Manager on the first day that he came out. Really?? Nice memory. The contractor fixed the soap niche cracks but again he did a horrendous job and they claim it is not their responsibility. To me, if it was not in the contract, they never should have fixed it in the first place. I have no patience for deception and this type of nonsense. I will take my business elsewhere.

Ed T.

I have never had such a negative experience with a construction project as with this me. I agree with the other two comments-- they are certainly overpriced, are not sensitive to the needs of the customer in any way (absolutely NO customer service) and do not take responsibility for sloppy work. Stay away from them.

Super S.

Used this overpriced company in 2014for a kitchen update via Home Depot of a tiny 9x9 galley kitchen w/ no layout change. It took them 3 months to complete so that should tell you something right there. Alward Corp, used a project manager, Chris Luque, from Construxure. I was very reluctant initially because as I told the Home Depot rep Alexander (Ali) Poling that I had a tutor job at that time that I had to be back in LA for before the start of the school season so I was only looking for a contractor who could have a crew who could start when the cabinets arrived and work on-site every day until the job was complete. Ali assured me that their contractor could accommodate my request.

First red flag: the cabinets arrived in June. Alward stalled about a start date. Really at that point I should have canceled. However, Ali reassured me once again. They didn't start until July 21st. Red flag 2: there was no crew. One man named Tom Huston, showed up (not even sure this man has a license since Home Depot has refused to provide me with one during my complaint). I told Ali, that no crew showed up. She assured me that there would be one and not to worry that the kitchen would be done in time as did Tom Huston. That was never the case. He had a buddy help him mount wall cabinets and that's it. He was not there every day. I complained to Ali about it. Again, she assured me it would not be a problem and she would speak to Kelly at Alward.

Chris Luque incorrectly measured for the cabinets. The cabinets would extend into the dining room. Cabinets had to be returned and remade to correct measurements. Instead of admitting his mistake he lied and claimed I requested the cabinets to extend into the dining room, which if you view the photo you will see that makes no sense. Furthermore, he was instructed that the cabinets share the same layout as the ones being replaced which did not extend into the dining room. I signed off on the measurements assuming the guy knows how to measure. I don't think customers are expected to measure after the project manager. In retrospect I believe Chris purposely miss-measured to delay the job as they needed Tom on another job and they needed an excuse. Tom revealed to me that early on, he mentioned to Chris that he thought the measurements were incorrect but Chris told him to move forward with work. Ali said she'd spoken to the manufacturer and there was nothing they could do to get replacements produced and sent faster. That wasn't true. I contacted the manufacturer of the cabinets myself to have replacements expedited. Tom also could have completed other work while waiting for the cabinets but instead he was a no show. I reiterated my employment schedule. Eventually after a lot of back and forth and driving to NC to collect cabinets only to find one damaged, they sent a replacement.

Chris included an icemaker and dishwasher kit in our order, none of which was requested. I asked how they would resolve the labor and cost of those items we did not order. I never received a response. Tom asked too, he got no response. Finally, I told Tom he could just replace the faux paneling in the kitchen, drywall & paint it to compensate for the miss-order. He told me that would take some time. I mentioned again my employment schedule. Since it would take too much time he agreed to remove faux paneling in the dining area, which did not require drywall, and paint it instead. He never mudded/sanded the studs. The contractor I hired to do the rest of the house, corrected it and repainted. Tom also put some ridge in the ceiling when he was confused about where the kitchen cabinets would stop. That too was corrected by the other contractors.

At inspection the inspector said he would fail the inspection as Tom had put the built in microwave electric outlet in at a measurement that would be a fire hazard. Tom corrected it and marked the electrical panel as instructed by the inspector and it passed. Tom pressured asked me to sign off on the job before completion on September 2, 2014. He had asked once before and I declined. This time he showed me what what little work he had left to do, saying he really needed to collect his son, swearing he would be back that evening to complete the job. I believed him. I signed off. He did not return that evening.

Prior to the start of this job I sent an email to Chris Luque and Kelly at Alward about ensuring that the kitchen floor is the same level as the dining room floor that it transitions to. At the time of Chris' measurement there was a gold metal transition clearly demarcating the tiled kitchen from the former carpeted floor. The floor is about 1 inch higher (see photo). There's more but in a nutshell they are snakes that took advantage of an 82 year old woman. Home Depot offered $1k compensation. Alward cowered and offered nothing. Email me for the contact info of the contractor who I should have hired, fixed Alward's mess, and did a great job on rest of home.

Scott C.

Terrible and unethical . Recommended by GCC so we expected the gold standard in service at a reasonable price. However, they asked for the entire amount of the project up. After wrangling with them on upfront payment, they agreed to a payment plan. We should have walked away then. The office and the representative were not on the same page with any information and seemed to be doing a good cop/bad cop routine. They indicated that the estimate was approved by USAA (who promotes the use of GCC to their members). This was likely an outright fabrication based on my 30 years of outstanding experience with USAA.

Then, they completed the project in 1/3 the amount of estimated time but insisted on payment in full using the original estimated cost. The representative (RF) claimed that the office told us the wrong estimate. Thus, they severely overestimated the project, lobbied aggressively for payment up front and were clearly unethical in every aspect of the job.

Do not use and avoid at all costs.