ABALIA Construction, LLC
Local business
Verified record
- Not rated by the BBB
Highlights
- Large renovations — $119k and $120k whole-house jobs on record
- Garage and addition builds — a two-storey garage with engineers coordinated
- Owner-led — customers name Khaled personally across five years
- Priced overages flagged — a 2022 customer cites warning before extra work
- Custom builds — a 2022 sunroom with sunken hot tub matched to an old house
- Schedule slippage — two reviewers name time management specifically
- Subcontractor detail — a 2024 customer had work redone
- Site language — that customer says crew members spoke no English
- One serious complaint — a 2021 half-bath job called quality below expectation
- Stale record — no customer account newer than April 2024
ABALIA Construction is a Salem-based general contractor built around one man — Khaled, the owner, who reviewers name in almost every account — and the jobs on record are big ones: whole-house renovations, two-storey garages, finished basements and a custom sunroom. The scale is unusual for a small outfit. A June 2023 customer described a $119,000 renovation covering kitchen, bathroom, basement, living room and deck on a house that also needed its heating, electrical and plumbing upgraded, and wrote that Khaled walked the structure first, pointing out defects and possible approaches. In April 2022 a customer running a $120,000 renovation in Salem said he was flexible as things changed but insisted the work be done to code, and flagged any price overage before starting it. A February 2022 customer had a large two-storey garage built with Khaled coordinating subcontractors, engineers and the town building department. A July 2022 customer got a large three-season sunroom with a sunken hot tub built to match an old Wellesley house, and called him a perfectionist about materials and finishes. Smaller work shows the same pattern: an 800sqft basement remodel in December 2022 at $50,000, a $28,000 bathroom in February 2023, deck railings replaced in two days for $6,000 in August 2021, and a March 2021 job painting cabinets and swapping in granite counters and a new sink. Two things are worth pressing on. Schedule is the recurring criticism from otherwise-happy customers: a November 2021 reviewer who rated the work 4.5 said her project took much longer than estimated and named time management as the thing to improve, and a January 2024 customer described delays from material back-orders and worker availability plus subcontractor detail work that had to be redone — adding that the crew did not speak English, which made site communication harder. And one customer's account runs against everything else: writing in December 2021 about a $25,000 half-bathroom, they described communication as absent or dishonest, poor time management, and finished quality below expectation needing another contractor to fix, with a small discount given. The other thing to know is that the written record has gone quiet — the newest customer account anywhere on file is from April 2024. For a large Salem-area renovation, addition or garage build, this is a contractor with real, itemised evidence of doing that scale of work well. Ask for a written schedule with milestones, ask who will be on site day to day, and ask for two references from the last twelve months.
Read the comments
Most recent comments
- 5.0Apr 1, 2024
Khalid and his team were great to work with throughout a challenging project in an older home. He was responsive and provided many different cost effective ideas & recommendations. I would recommend their services + be happy to provide a reference as needed! ($12,000)
— Michael T.View on Angi ↗also on HomeAdvisor ↗ - 5.0Mar 1, 2024
Huge thank you to Abalia Construction! Khaled, the general contractor/owner made our home renovation dreams come true! Seriously, this guy went above and beyond. We had this huge house project on our hands and a short timeline to get everything done. But Khaled? He's like a magician. Somehow, he managed to keep us on track, while also balancing our vision and our budget! I'm talking about creative solutions that we never would've thought of ourselves. And the best part? He made it all happen without sacrificing quality. Our home looks absolutely stunning now, thanks to Abalia Construction. Highly recommend!
— Lindsay M.View on HomeAdvisor ↗also on Angi ↗ - 5.0Mar 1, 2024
Khaled's team was a pleasure to work with. They kept us looped in at every stage of the project, they were incredibly organized, and really made it a point to minimize any impact to us. We are very happy with the project and would highly recommend Abalia. (Foundation, Basement or Crawlspace - Waterproofing / Encapsulation, $45,000)
— Lauren K.View on Angi ↗also on HomeAdvisor ↗ - 5.0Jan 1, 2024
I recently contracted with Abalia Construction to finish my basement, and overall, my experience was great! Things that stand out for working with Khaled are his communication style, his ownership/creativity to meet the design in delivering the end-product and his efforts to keep our project timeline and budget. He brought fresh and innovative ideas to the table, transforming our basement into a unique space that stands out. Khaled demonstrated an ability to manage time effectively, ensuring that the basement was completed within the specified period and provided a realistic cost estimate from the beginning which they stuck to. There were still some unforeseen delays to the project due to either material back-order or unavailability of workers, but still Khaled worked personally to keep the project on task and within reasonable time. While the basement looks great quality there were still instances where attention to detail seemed lacking. The subcontractors and workers employed were also skilled professionals however their attention to details could have been better. Moreover, communication with workers/sub-contractors was little challenging due to fact them not speaking English. Clearer communication on these fronts could have mitigated some of the concerns I had during the construction process. However, Khaled overcame these challenges by taking an active role in addressing any issues even when it meant that he had to re-do some of the activities again, bringing his workers back, or even him spending long hours to complete the job to our satisfaction. In summary, Abalia Construction delivered a basement finishing project that showcased creativity and was completed within the agreed-upon timeframe and within budget all with an excellent communications. Without any doubt, they will be the first I reach out to for my next project. (Basement - Remodel)
— Naveen B.View on Angi ↗also on HomeAdvisor ↗ - 5.0Nov 1, 2023
Thank you Khaled for everything, you and your workers were nothing but professional. Clear, concise, very neat and eager to please. I highly recommend Abalia construction for any project.
— Linda B.View on HomeAdvisor ↗also on Angi ↗
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Update history
Added 51 new comments, established rating 4.0
- behind the score: Schedule slippage — two reviewers name time management specifically
What does basement waterproofing cost in Greater Boston?
Typical Greater Boston range for this kind of work, from regional averages — not a quote from ABALIA Construction, LLC. Use it to sanity-check bids, then get the real number in writing.
Not sure which you need? Start with an inspection — many reputable companies assess free, and independent assessments run up to $500.
The wall run getting the drain — a full 30×40 ft basement is about 140 ft.
Estimated range
$7,600 – $15,000
Typical waterproofing project around $11,300