Creation 7 Builders

My family and I sold our starter home and purchased an upgrade home during the thick of the Covid 19 pandemic. It was a huge risk but it's turning into a great investment.

We spent about 3 months renovating our starter home with our previous contractor. Almost all of the work performed was cosmetic so no extensive amount of work such as stripping an area down to the studs was required. Anyhow, most of our experience with contractors up to that point have been cosmetics.

After we've purchased our current home, we realized if we wanted to personalize it, we would have to renovate more than 700 square feet, including a 300 square feet of addition. So, how are we to do this in the midst of a pandemic and an economic recession where the cost of labor and goods are ever rising while we have a modest budget?! The only option was to do some extensive cost comparisons. We ended up talking to 12 contractors and interviewed around 8 companies. We limited our choices down to 2: Creation 7 and a Plan B.

We ended up choosing Creation 7 because they made us felt comfortable, confident and excited. On top of that, they were able to commit to our modest budget. After speaking to Eyal, the CEO of Creation 7, we signed the contract and paid the deposit in January 2021.

Here's where things took a bit left turn on us. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic persisting throughout, doing a huge renovation of this magnitude was becoming ever more challenging. After many months of permit delays, we finally broke ground in the middle of July. The entire work was completed about 5 months. The scope of the work included: Converting an one car garage to a laundry room, master suite, and completely gut the existing bathroom and build an ensuite, plus removing a continuation wall, door to make room for a den. Oh, forgot to mention the city required us to have an one car garage. So, we had to scramble to make room in the budget for a garage. We also added a tankless electric water heater which resulted in another budget increase for an electrical panel upgrade. After a few incremental budget increases, Creation 7's project manager, Guy was able to work with us to perform the scope of the work and still make it affordable.

I could go on and on about our experiences with Creation 7, but I'll save you the time and say this: We absolutely love our new home! After all the headaches and stress, this was definitely a successful project and we will recommend Creation 7 to anyone who is looking to hire contractors. Creation 7 cares about their customers and have led us to believe they will do whatever it is in their power to make them happy. For that, we feel privileged and grateful!!

When we decided to remodel our kitchen I interviewed five contractors, all highly recommended. Yaniv, from Creation 7, was the only contractor who asked me what budget limit I had in mind and said he would try to build a plan that would fall within that limit. I was impressed and Creation 7 was hired. Yaniv brought in a hardworking, talented crew of professionals who were dedicated to our project from start to finish. One of our requirements was to raise the ceiling in the kitchen. When the old ceiling was demolished, a mess of substandard wiring was revealed. Our project lead politely suggested we rewire the kitchen, not part of our original scope. I'm so glad we did! Yaniv brought in a top-notch electrician who worked long hours to quickly bring our wiring up to code for a very reasonable price. Other issues were quickly dealt with as they came up. I can't say enough about the quality of workmanship and attention to detail on this project. The cabinets, new ceiling, lighting, new floors, tile work, quartzite counters - everything is beautiful and expertly done. We enjoyed working with Yaniv and the Creation 7 crew. They were respectful, neat, responsible, and had good suggestions for improvements. Yaniv was here nearly every day and very responsive. He was easy to reach and a clear communicator. Our project was completed within budget and right on time. Working with Creation 7 was a positive experience and we will use them again for future home remodeling projects.

My husband and I chose Creation 7 to remodel/renovate our kitchen, open up the living area, redo the master bath, and create a brand new basement space with two bedrooms and a new bath. It looks GORGEOUS and we are so happy with our choice. We talked with several contractors/design build firms before finally deciding on Yaniv at Creation 7. As first-time homeowners, we had no idea what the process was like. We had a bit of a frustratingly slow start getting plans from our architect (a different company) but once we finally got the final plans to Yaniv and Creation 7, things moved SO FAST. His team was respectful of our home (we lived elsewhere) and hard-working (some were even there on Christmas Day which was really above and beyond!). When we did have problems or concerns (e.g., bath tile placement, countertop slab measurements) he remedied them until we were satisfied or credited the cost against future work. He is so easy to talk to and made the process (which was full of headaches and surprises that weren’t their fault) clear and, dare we say, enjoyable? He was clear when change orders were going to be necessary (e.g., when they discovered that the foundation was crumbling) and was very transparent about costs. He was incredibly patient with us when we requested new little projects here and there (e.g., opening up the attic space, refinishing the floors) and was always immediately accessible when we had questions or needed to talk to him. We would absolutely use Creation 7 for any future projects and have already recommended them to friends!

I honestly don't know where to start with Creation 7. We are so happy to have gone with them for our Kitchen/Great Room remodel. This also included a laundry room addition, backyard deck and beautiful sliding doors that open up the space for indoor/outdoor entertaining. The wonderfully upbeat energy that our project manager, Cameron, exudes has really been a plus during this extensive project along with his keen eye for detail. Having him on our side while keeping our ideas, expectations and changes organized, along with keeping everyone on track, has been more than I could ever ask for. He always found solutions to things that came up during our remodel and their communication with us has been nothing but flawless. He always kept us in the loop, double checking our needs, and asking our opinions. Not only do they do amazing work but you feel heard throughout the entire project. Eyal, the owner, made sure that we were happy with the end product and checked on quality control regularly. I chose this company because their photos had a lot of modern, contemporary designs, which is what we were looking for. They removed walls, added new beams and framed a new sloped ceiling reaching 12 feet! They covered an old brick fireplace with quartz slabs. They fabricated the marble island in a waterfall design along with a marble backsplash to the ceiling over the cooktop. They really can do it all. As we near the end of our project it appears that we will be done before the completion date we were given! They stand by their word and have wonderful, positive energy from start to finish! I will recommend them to all my friends, family and neighbors. They also have an adorable mascot puppy they may let you borrow for a walk!!

Review of Creation 7

Summary
Quality of work: 7/10
Cost of project: 7/10
Judgment/Communication: 4/10
Customer appreciation: 8/10
Ability to complete work on scheduled time: No
Overall score: 7/10

Cost of Project (7/10)
We hired Creation7 for a complete remodel of our house after reviewing 5 other contractors. The job process included a full kitchen demo and remodel, a master bath demo and remodel, the entire floor of the house demoed and remodeled, new windows and updated half bath. We hired them based on prior reviews, their quality of past work and the peace of mind we felt from their more simplistic pay structure. In other words, payment is straightforward and required after a given step is completed in the job process. We were pretty appalled to learn some contractors ask for half of the payment on day one! Our experience was good, but not as memorable as we had hoped or others have written about in prior reviews. Let me explain:

Judgment/Communication (4/10)
Many of the challenges and issues we encountered were the result of a very poor decision by Creation7 to hire a brand new general contractor and his team and place the management oversight of that general contractor into the hands of a brand new manager on his team. This manager at Creation7 had no prior work experience on the job. The end result was that the general contractor ended up being fired halfway through the project, but everything that team touched had to be redone or touched up a second time. Creation7 also didn’t have a dedicated team to replace this GC, which resulted in more lost time and much frustration from both parties. One of the larger frustrations we had was that when job items clearly weren’t completed or needed to be fixed, we felt we were nearly always the ones pointing out the needed updates rather than the managers at Creation7.

Quality of work (7/10)
Overall, we are pleased with the end result and Creation7 does take pride in their work. Along the way we did encounter several issues, as ever project does, which I highlight below. Four of the largest problems we encountered were the following: 1) the master shower tile needed to be completely redone after poor workmanship. 2) the level of the kitchen counter, which was constructed on a non-level concrete slab, was initially off by 3” - enough for a glass bottle to fly off the counter. This required repurchasing 3 new quartz slabs and re-leveling of the kitchen cabinets. 3) The rare, mid century front glass panels surrounding our front door, which were also in other areas of the living area, had to be replaced since one glass panel was broken during the installation of the wood floor. It took months to find a pane of glass that would closely match the other glass panes in the living room. And 4) when we were out of the country the electrical box was replaced. It was inexpensive, but we were never asked the layout of the piping and paneling. The end result is a galvanized 2” by 6’ pipe suspended in plain sight between the carport and house and piping throughout the exterior, rather than interior walls of the laundry room. We chose to leave this as-is for now rather than pay for another change order. Candidly, this last point also influenced the rating I gave for communication.

Customer Appreciation (8/10)
At the end, the items we were not happy with, except for the piping in the utility room, ended up being fixed and paid for by Creation7.
Eyal always placed the customer first and had the final say in customer conflicts. We were appreciative in the end, but as a suggested area of improvement, it would be more helpful if the remaining managers shared the same customer- first attitude that Eyal exhibits.

Final thoughts
If you choose Creation7, or another GC, I would recommend putting in the contract a payment bonus or deduction for completing the job on time. That way everyone’s interests are more aligned.

When we bought our Saratoga house last year, we already had many ideas brewing in our heads on how we could transform it into our dream home.

We were very fortunate to find Creation 7, an award-winning design-and-build firm. Step-by-step, we worked closely on the project with

Eyal Matalon, his brother Avi, project coordinator Asaf and their team over the past year to turn those ideas into reality.

We made major changes to the interior layout, without altering the house’s external footprint. We chose Creation 7 after seeing their previous work and interviewing

6 other highly-rated design firms, renovation specialists, and builders. After design consultation with Creation 7’s team and structural engineers,

we were able to replace 5 large Greek columns supporting the main living space with a single 50-foot-long steel girder.

In the same vein, an unnecessary bookshelf wall was removed and we also opened up a kitchen wall. This ended up creating

an incredibly expansive great room. Stepping into the house now is like entering a broad, yet inviting museum hall. Two aisles of windows atop of the 15-foot-tall entryway provide

cathedral-like lighting.

Overall, the house went from 4-bedroom/3.5 bathroom to a 5-bedroom/4.5 bathroom with much improved feng shui and logical flow.

From the original sunroom, we created a new master bedroom suite, complemented by a large master closet.

We added a 3rd bedroom to the main floor and added new in-suite bathrooms to each of the suites. The bathrooms feature radiant floor heating and walk-in curbless showers.

Leading to the downstairs are modern open “floating” stairs. The original stair orientation was from the side of the kitchen.

With the new design, the stairs start more sensibly from the main hallway.

The new kitchen has all top-of-line appliances and an adjacent pantry room. We are very pleased with the waterfall kitchen island concept suggested by Creation 7.

We took care to select our favorite cabinets, lighting, and tiles from both online and local stores with help from Creation 7.

Throughout the house, we added 7 skylights, which help brighten and accentuate the open contemporary feel of the home even more. We re-located the laundry room as well as the

guest bathroom, which gets compliments from all our friends and visitors as reminding them of a 5-star hotel. We now have energy-efficient recessed lighting, LED fixtures, and fast-charging capability

for electric cars in the garage.

In retrospect, our project was a major undertaking, since it involved almost every aspect of the house, from a new roof to new air ducts, electrical and hardwood flooring.

We really appreciate all the effort the construction teams put in. We thank Creation 7 for all the extra above-and-beyond help they provided, such as moving heavy items from one level to the other and providing last-minute labor when needed.

It was quite an exhausting year, but well worth it!

Now that the house is transformed, we really enjoy living here every day. We wake up each morning amazed at the changes. Although we are not professional designers,

we still were able to realize almost everything on our wish list. Creation 7 team was a major help every step of the way, inspiring us with new ideas for color, pattern, and design.

Next step: onto the yard and landscaping!!

CREATION7 remodeled my kitchen, and I am very happy with the results.

Eyal gave me a quote for a summer kitchen remodel with a tight timeline. my tenants were moving out in June and we were moving in in August of 2017. There were several changes made to the first quote as I realized that there was more unforeseen work that needed to be done older house. Eyal quoted and re-quoted several times without issue. At one point, it looked like the repairs may exceed my budget and he worked through every line item with me and we were able to make trade-offs that made sense.

They then got to work, starting demolition expediently. The project took ten weeks to complete, and that included demolition of the entire kitchen and adjoining room as well redoing lots of plumbing and dry wall as we uncovered issues with the older house. I now have an open concept space with the kitchen and dining room as one large area. Every step of the way, they went through the issues with me, carefully evaluated the cost, addressed a bunch of unforeseen issues and still got things done on time.

My project manager, Yaniv, could not have been more helpful. He was patient as I asked many, many, questions, included me as he came up with ideas and suggestions, took into account my own ideas and desires, and designed a beautiful space.

He gave me recommendations and helped purchase the cabinets, countertops and windows and made good suggestions on how much to spend on each one. He spent a good deal of time working out issues that came up with the cabinets I chose, some of which were unexpected. He also made new drawings for the city to accommodate last minute changes.

The workers were polite and friendly. The lead, Jo Jo was meticulous and always available to explain what he was planning to do. Yaniv and Eyal told me they would create a beautiful kitchen for me, and they really did! One of my neighbors stopped by and liked what he saw and had his kitchen redone by them as well with the same results.

I highly recommend this company.

Sharing my amazing experience with Creation 7

The positive and praiseworthy experience began in the very first connection.

Sale/buy a house is a major challenge, when we finely found the one it was a house with some massive issues; construction work – sump-pumps under the house (not knowing what will be found), all the floor was replaced, a new electric panel and some other projects.

In a time of so many concerns I met Eyal Matalon, Creation 7 CEO
After explaining what I’m facing, with great courtesy Eyal Matalon declared “don’t worry” I’ve been told that the team will take us under their wings, and so they did!!!.

There were many tasks that required expertise, planning, coordination, and everything was done as efficiently and as quickly as possible.

During the course of the work, all kinds of finds were discovered that could not be guessed in advance, and they worked to repair what was needed.

I was given professional suggestions while taking into account costs especially consider unplanned cost that came along with the variety of projects. There advice saved me a lot of money. For every project, I received detailed explanations (which not only professionals understand (huge advantage), with regard to the various options available.

Throughout the entire relationship between the manager and his employees, our best interest was always in front of them.
The execution time took place near the time of the agreement out of consideration and a desire to make it easier for my family.

Avi Matalon, Creation 7 COO, personally supervised the project and made sure that the crew is on schedule and completing their tasks in the highest quality.

Asaf and each member of Creation 7 team, they all tried, except to do the work properly, also to advance us toward our new home. The work was done in the middle of a hot summer of Concord (around 105 degrees), long hours including weekends.

Later on, after we moved into our new home, Creation 7, again, showed caring and desire to bring my family to a comfortable position.

Creation 7 demonstrate heightened loyalty to us, and everything was above and beyond expectations.
I’m proud to be a client of Creation 7

Good work !!!
Dedication!!!
Consideration!!!
Professionalism!!!
Courtesy!!!

Riva

Quality- 5 stars!
Customer service- 5 stars!
Workmanship- 5 stars!
Communication- 5 stars!
Product- 5 stars!
ZERO Headaches- 5 stars!
Price- Competitive; and after seeing the end result- 5 stars!
Satisfaction- 5 stars!

If I can give Eyal and his team more stars I would leave 6+ stars. I can't stress enough how happy we were with Eyal and his dedication to our projects.

My husband and I hired Eyal and his team to remodel our master bathroom as well as our guest bathroom. We did the typical online search for the right contractor. We received multiple quotes and followed the typical recommendation for what it took to spot the right person for our projects. And to be honest I HATE SALESMEN! The most difficult thing about the whole process was hearing what we wanted to hear from those we met with until we had our first meeting with Eyal.

Eyal was very honest about the remodeling process and gave us a completely new perspective on what it took to get what we wanted. It was hard to not hear what we wanted to hear but at least we were able to understand the construction process. And with that said Eyal gained our trust from the very beginning to the very end. Both of our bathroom projects ended up looking AMAZING!!!

We are now considering remodeling our Kitchen. Or as I like to say, "MY" kitchen. Eyal along with his team will once again be hired for our new project.

5 stars, 6 stars, or 10 stars, no matter how many stars there are, Eyal will always exceed your expectations!

First and foremost I do have to say that home remodeling can be one of the most stressful things you can ever do. Finding the right person/company can take as long as 2-3 months or sometimes longer to find.

A few years ago I needed my kitchen remodeled and I decided to look for a reputable contractor with excellent experience. I'm a very picky person when it comes to choosing and/or buying things. I look at quality more than anything and I understand that sometimes with quality you have to pay the price. This is why finding the right person was very important to me and it took me a very long time to find that right person.

A couple of months into doing research and meeting different people I was fortunate to come across Eyal.

I first had the great pleasure to meeting Eyal when he was still partnered with a very large and reputable company a few years ago. Our first meeting was better than expected since most of the other contractors I met prior were more focused on making a hard sale then helping answer any questions that I had at the time.

You have to understand that I'm a skeptic so promising me the world is not the best route to take with me.

Eyal's approach was much much different. At one point I even forgot that I was meeting with a contractor. Rather than talk about how great he was or how great his company was we focused more about my kitchen. We shared ideas, solution to problems, different scenarios, and not once did we ever talk about the price or budget. Eyal's priority at the time was to help answer as many questions as possible. By doing so he was able to show me his past projects on his laptop and explained the kitchen remodeling process in detail from the start of the project to completion. During our meeting I was able to understand that Eyal was interested more in providing exceptional service than making the sale. This was a great sigh of relief. And because of this I knew that I was able to trust Eyal. Our first meeting ended taking up more than a couple of hours. We then scheduled a second meeting to go over the more important details in which I soon after came to a conclusion that Eyal was going to be the perfect person for my kitchen remodeling project.

During the kitchen remodel I was amazed at how clean my home and the construction site ended up being. I know that this is what was promised but what I saw during the remodel exceeded my expectations. Eyal always stayed in communication with me and was always ahead of schedule.

I'm sure you know that with any construction project there will always be hurdles to overcome. We did come across a few issues that we couldn't see prior to demolition but all of this was communicated to me prior to beginning the project. The best part of all was that I was prepared for the worst and Eyal set best case scenarios/solutions in case we were to face any issues. Fortunately for me they weren't major.

Eyal truly did make a huge impact on my day to day life. Not only did I fully trust him but his attention to detail, professionalism, communication, and work ethic made it much easier for me to focus on my day to day work.

The kitchen remodel lasted about 9 weeks or so. And boy was it worth it! My kitchen now is truly amazing. I was so happy with the end result that I gave Eyal my word that I will recommend him and his work to my friends and family. I also made a promise that if I ever decided to do anything else inside of my home without a doubt Eyal would be the person I hired again.

Fast forward to today and here I am now looking to work on a much bigger project which will consist of me adding another bedroom to the square footage of my home. Earlier this month I learned that Eyal decided to start his own company to focus on the high level service and his quality of work. I couldn't be more happy since service and quality is what most contractors lack.

I highly and strongly recommend working with Eyal and his new company Creation 7. I have no doubt that you will have the same experience as I've had.