Altera Design & Remodeling

We had re-​done our master bath with another contractor about four years ago and arranged some of the sourcing of subs and supplies ourselves to save a few bucks. Worked out OK, and the contractor was very good, but it was more hassle than we wanted. So when we did our guest bath 2 years ago we engaged Altera, a full service contractor. We are ecstatic with the work they did. Maybe it cost a little bit more, but the fabulous design support, conscientious and timely work, and «no problem» dealings with the unexpected stuff that always pops up made it well worth it. What was bid was what we paid – no nickel and dime-​ing. So earlier this year we decided to do a MAJOR remodel on our kitchen and we didn’t hesitate to work exclusively with Altera. We worked again with the same designer, and she created yet another wonderful and highly detailed plan, applying her extensive experience but clearly listening to our wants and tastes. Plus we had the same project manager who is a great guy and fantastic to work with – if he has limits to his capabilities, I have no idea what they are. And he would not tolerate anything short of getting things exactly right. In fact the whole team was that way. Of course there were some things that did not go as planned, but they were all handled and we are thrilled with the final result. Recommend them in a heartbeat.

Remodeling is tough and Jim and the team at Altera make it as painless as it can be made. Our designer, Chrysan, was terrific, our Project Manager Chuck skilled, responsive, and attentive to our periodic requests, and the entire experience has made our home more beautiful and inviting. Do yourself a favor and use a company that ‘gets’ what being attentive to their clients is all about. You won’t be disappointed! Thank you!

Altera Design successfully remodeled our kitchen and bathrooms. Jim and his team are top notch, have an established design process, tons of building experience, and stand behind all their work. We will always go to Altera when we need some serious remodeling done on our home.

Our kitchen remodel has just been completed and my wife and I are totally happy with the completion of this project.
The process began with a visit with the President of Altera Design and Remodeling, Jim Vivrette. He listened to our wants and needs in our kitchen remodel project and explained to us how Altera Design works.
Our kitchen designer, Scott Powers, is the best. After meeting with us, Scott understood what we were trying to accomplish. Scott’s sense of style and creativity is what makes Scott stand out. Not to mention, he was very helpful in narrowing down our choices of materials for our kitchen. If it wasn’t for Scott, my wife and I would still be looking for materials at Home Depot (no, really).LOL
And our Project Manager, Oscar Martinez, did a great job in the construction of our kitchen. Not only is he meticulous in his craft, but was very respectful of our home. Every night I came home from work, I saw a great amount of work performed and he would clean up the work area before he went home for the day.
So I would like to thank Jim, Jennifer, Scott, and Oscar for making this kitchen remodel project go so smoothly. We are so impressed and happy with the service that they had provided, that we will be calling Altera Design and Remodel to redo our master and guest bathroom when we are ready to do so.
Ken J.
Fairfield, CA.

Our bathroom remodel has now been completed and we are extremely happy with the entire project performed by Altera Design and Remodeling. This project was performed flawlessly from the day the contract was signed until its on time completion and the final walk through was made.
Amanda, the in house designer, offered selections and recommendations for materials and color selections that made it very easy for us to choose; we totally love the new look
Michael, the project manager, made this entire job flow smoothly and without any unexpected surprises. We were particularly impressed with his meticulous workmanship. This work can get messy but it never happened under his direction.
Thank you Jim Vivrette, President of Altera Design and Remodeling, for coming to our home and presenting how this job could be achieved. The end result is remarkable.
Joan and Herb N.

Altera Design did a full gut and remodel of our kitchen and bath. We are very happy with the entire experience from start to finish. Our goal was to maintain the original 1950s floor plan of our 1200 sq ft home without opening the walls into an open concept design which is contrary to current design trends. Altera designed a kitchen that fits perfectly with our design requirements and fits perfectly with the character of the house.
We were very concerned about making sure that the project stay on schedule since we were living in the house during construction and would be without a bath and kitchen for 2 months. Rick our project manager was onsite everyday and was great at making sure that we felt comfortable and informed about the construction progress. And kept the entire work site clean and clutter free so that we were impacted as little as possible. Altera completed the bath two weeks earlier than scheduled and the kitchen was completed on time. There were several unexpected setbacks. These included a construction issue found in the ceiling joists and a flaw in the custom cabinetry. Both were dealt with expediently and resulted in our complete satisfaction.
We are very satisfied with Altera Design. We are now in the design phase of our third project with Altera Design to add a master bedroom and another bath to our home. We look forward to working with Jim and Rick again.

For our kitchen remodel, we were referred to Altera by a friend who was very happy with her Altera bathroom remod. This is the kind of experience we’ve all heard horror stories about, so we had some trepidation as we began this process.
We were pleased with Altera’s approach from the beginning to the very end. Jennifer, our designer, visited our old kitchen, interviewed us about what we wanted, and drew up a design for the new kitchen based on those conversations. She welcomed our input and made some changes that we requested.
We purchased most of the new appliances (double ovens, microwave, cook top, range hood, fridge, plus sink), and Altera handled everything else.
Mike, who demolished our old kitchen, was thorough, fast, and friendly. When he got done, there was only a shell remaining.
Chuck took over as project manager at this point. There was nothing negative about our experience with Chuck. He is detail-​oriented, meticulous, super-​clean, always cheerful, and an exceptional craftsman. This guy can do anything, and do it well. The sub-​contractors he brought in were equally thorough and did excellent work (floor tile, wall tile, electrical stuff).
We love our new kitchen, and everyone who sees it is impressed. We strongly recommend Altera, without hesitation, for any remod project.

For those of you who want the quick story, we used Altera for a major remodel recently and had a wonderful experience, start to finish. They were on time, extremely professional, very detail oriented, and came in with 10% of the price quoted, going over only on things that were out of their control.
Now, the details. We chose Altera Design in Walnut Creek, after looking at three firms. I looked into Altera initially because they were Diamond Certified, which gave me a level of comfort right off the bat. We are not experienced in remodeling or construction, and I wanted a firm that would do both design and build. I don’t have either the time or the expertise to manage a project of this kind. And with all the horror stories you hear about construction, I figured that gave some modicum of safety.
I stopped in to the showroom one Saturday and the President (Jim) was there. I didn’t have an appointment, but he spoke with me despite the fact that they were busy. We had a quick meeting, and set up an appointment for him to come to the house to check it out.
He arrived on time, and stayed more than an hour. No charge. The president! In the time that had passed since I met him and this appointment, I had talked to two other reputable/​popular firms. One wouldn’t come to my house without a $ 5,000 retainer. The other came, but the designer immediately told me my kitchen was tacky (duh, that’s why i need to remodel), that my budget was unrealistic, and that my project was likely not to be big enough to garner much of her attention. Those things may have been true, but they seem like poor customer service when trying to win business.
Jim, however, put me at ease with his calm, thorough approach. He asked very interesting questions about how we use the kitchen and what was important to us. He took copious notes. And he offered multiple suggestions with no strings attached. I looked at the Diamond Certified ratings and comments after he left, and called him the next day to book the job. When they presented the estimate to us, they reiterated all the things I had said in our initial meeting to reassure me that they heard our input. And the plans reflected them perfectly.
We ended up taking down a wall, installing a beam for structural safety, gutting the entire existing kitchen and taking it down to the studs. Everything new, top to bottom. It was done in 10 weeks. The design phase was very collaborative, with my Designer (Chrysan) working very patiently with me while we looked for just the right touches. She was helpful, tactful, and knowledgeable. I asked for several rounds of changes, and she never hesitated to show me options to accommodate my wishes. I had seen concerns in some of the previous reviews about working with her, but my experience was wonderful.
Tim was my project manager, and he was new to Altera when he started my job. He was fantastic – very communicative, thorough, tidy, and extremely capable. I can’t believe some of the things he did all by himself. And the subs they brought in worked well with him, too. The experience of remodeling is stressful, but Tim did all he could to make it seamless.
In the end, our kitchen turned out better than I could possibly have hoped. I am thrilled with everything and highly recommend Altera. They have entered our design into a contest and I hope they win and get the acclaim they deserve for a job very well done.

We had a great experience working with Altera on two bathroom remodels. We chose Altera because we wanted a full service company to take us through every step of the process from design to construction completion due to the complexity of the master bath redesign. We were impressed with Altera’s Diamond Certification and they did not disappoint.
At our first meeting with Jim, he was able to provide us with the answers to the questions we had on the changes we wanted to make. He asked a lot of very good questions to help us come up with the design we wanted. When we later met with Jim and our designer Amanda, we were thrilled with the proposals they had for the design. They then provided us with the budget and timeline, which they ultimately delivered on both. I worked with Amanda over several weeks to choose all of the materials for both of our bathrooms. Amanda was extremely easy to work with and expertly guided me through the selection process.
Oscar was our on-​site project manager, and he also did a good deal of the work himself. He was great to work with, and did very high quality work. One of the things I most appreciated was how good he was with our dogs — always a huge plus for us when we have workers in the house. I was also very impressed with all of the sub-​contractors used — they all did high quality work and were also a pleasure to have in the house.
I highly recommend Altera for the work they did and will definitely use them again. They delivered the project a day ahead of schedule and on budget, and I have my dream master bathroom!

Our master bathroom renovation was recently completed by Altera Design. We’ve wanted to renovate the master bathroom for awhile but none of our friends could recommend a reputable firm. Our key criteria was to go with a design firm that specialized in bathroom renovations and one who had a reputation of ensuring that the job would be done properly.
We chose Altera Design because of the reviews we found online and they were Diamond certified. We found them really easy to work with and very professional. We had agreed to the design and had started to select the materials so that the project could start but our little one decided to arrive 4 weeks earlier than planned and Altera were very accommodating with delaying the project until we were ready to start again.
We worked with Yuko an extremely talented designer who understood from the start what we wanted; she listened to what we had in mind and was able to translate our ‘vision’ into a design. She helped us to keep within our budget; where we wanted to splurge she found lower cost items that didn’t compromise the overall look of the bathroom. I wanted ‘bling’ in our bathroom, my husband didn’t so Yuko was able to come up with a compromise that satisfied us both — a feature wall just above our new soaking bath that had gold leaf tile and decorative mosaic tiles that my husband really liked. Rick our Project Manager was great. He did a fantastic job and his workmanship was A+. He always arrived on time and cleaned up every day before he left (this was important especially with a new born in the house). Both Yuko and Rick were great at keeping us informed of any issues with the renovations and made sure we were happy with the progress on the project at all times. We had a problem with the sealant that was used on some of the tiles in our shower. Jim and his team wanted to ensure that they gave us a bathroom that we were 100% happy with even if it meant that it would cost them money to fix this issue. They fixed this issue quickly and to our satisfaction.
We love our new master bathroom. Although the cost of the bathroom was at the higher end, the finished product was worth the cost as it will be something that we will enjoy for a long time. It’s also comforting to know that everything was done properly and to code. We would look to work with the Altera team again.

It was a bad experience. Jim came to the condo we had just purchased the latter part of April. I told him about the extensive remodeling we wanted done and explained we had to have it completed by May 31^st because our present home was in escrow and we would have to move. He said he could do it by then. I questioned him on the time frame and he assured me he had six crews and would have it done by May 31^st. He signed a contract to that effect. At every step during the process when I questioned them as to the completion date they told me it would be completed on time. I told them they would have an extra 11 days as our escrow closing had been moved up. They said it would definitely be complete by June 11^th. We moved in on June 13^th after being assured the kitchen was in working condition. It wasn’t. We ate sandwiches for two weeks that I picked up each day from the Safeway. On July 1^st Jim finally showed up with two of his employees. The travertine that was put down in our patio had yet to be sealed. Jim said he would do it, but he would have to charge me «extra» for doing so. I explained to him that his tile supplier said it had to be sealed with Du Pont sealer and he said he wouldn’t pay for that. He then asked me for a check. I had already paid him $ 190,000 and there was a remaining balance of $ 23,750 due. I explained to him my total dissatisfaction with the time line and the continuous lies to me that the job would be finished on time. He said they would be finished in two more days. I told him when he was finished in two more days I would send his check with his superintendent when he took the lock box off our door. He said he wanted his check «now» and I told him to «sue me»…he didn’t like that and he finally left. I haven’t spoken to him since. Actually, his visit two months after our signing the contract was the one and only time I saw him on the job site. He lied to me at the outset knowing he couldn’t perform in our time frame. He just didn’t want to pass up a $ 213,750 remodeling job. He said a relationship between a builder and his client should be based on «trust» and he wanted his check… this coming from a company that lied to me every step of the way… I paid him a premium over our estimate in order to get the job done in our time frame and I didn’t get that. It’s my own fault… if I had more time I would have checked out a couple of other contractors…

Friendly people, but lacked a professionalism I would expect. Jim impressed me upon first meeting but once my wife and I were paired with a designer it was all down hill. Chrysanne was a total mess couldnt use the 3d software, her designs had rooms with no doors to enter them by, she worked off crumpled architectural drawings and wouldn’t listen to our input. The budget for our bathroom and closet remodel was 85,000 $ and after 3months of «design phase» the estimate we were presented with was 157,000. Mind you we hadn’t changed anything from our initial consultation besides our designer who kept trying to take our tub out of our master suite… When the estimate was presented there wasn’t a line item break down, there wasn’t even a per trade break down. Just a $ that was 2x over the budget we had agreed upon when we signed the design contract. I didn’t pay them 1500 $ for a design that was double the agreed upon budget… Felt like they were intent on doing whatever they wanted pocketing the design payment and never delivering any plan within the scope of the contract we signed. Huge waste of time for me, when I questioned the justification for the 70,000 $ in overages I was told that the economy in the peninsula is booming and If i wasn’t comfortable with 157,000 $ for a bathroom and a closet remodel I should take my business elsewhere. He should have given me a refund lol… I dont know where Jim thinks he is… His business is located under an overpass in Walnut Creek for gods sake =). If Alerta wants to charge Michelangelo’s prices my advice would be to hire designers who at least know enough to put a door to each room in their design… who take notes during their client meetings and actually listen to their clients… It would even be nice if they showed up on time to the meetings they set.

When our contractor quit and left us with a half-​finished bathroom and laundry room, Altera Designs bailed us out.
From beginning to end, they were highly professional and their craftsmanship was excellent. Micheal kept me in the loop, clearly explaining the what and why of everything he did.
After the flake, I’d been working with, I especially appreciated the detailed invoices which showed clearly what they’d done.
Altera Design is a bit pricier than our other contractors but it is worth it knowing that the job will be done well, on time and without financial surprises.