We worked with Baywood for an extensive down-to-the-studs whole house remodel of our 125 year old…read morehome and couldn't be more pleased with the process and outcome. Robert and his team are kind, communicative, creative but grounded, accountable and just an overall delight to work with. The quality of their work definitely shined through after completion and since we've been living in the house for a couple of years. I can't recommend Robert and the rest of the Baywood team enough.

Baywood has been a contractor for me for 40 years. I first met Robet Malone, the owner of Baywood,…read moreafter purchasing my first house in Berkeley where they performed extensive renovations. 5 years later, I hired him and his team to construct a small office building and help remodel an existing office building on the same lot. And 15 years later, my wife and I purchased another home in Berkeley where we enlisted Baywood to convert a garage into a stunning guest room. Baywood is not inexpensive, but I found that they perform their operations with care, integrity and uncanny expertise.

I am taking the time to write this because there are a few things you need to know before you hire…read moreTappan Builders to remodel your house. These are things we wish we had known before we hired them. First, the bid. Don't believe it. Tappan low balled his bid, leaving out dozens of items that came up later as "suggested" change orders. Our project had 21 change orders! Some of these were due to real changes in scope. But too many were items that could have and should have been part of the original bid. Some change order examples (these are increases from the amount in the bid): -Electrical: Change order for $6600 -Windows: We did add about 30% more new windows, but the price went up by 90%, from $18,000 to $34,000 -Interior Painting: $12,800 -Flooring: $11,500 -Heating Ducts: $1500 -Bathroom Vanities: $4000 -Wood Trims: $3900 -Door Hardware: $2300 Secondly, read the contract slowly and carefully, and consider having a lawyer read it. Here's what we learned the hard way: We decided to have the exterior painted by a wonderful company, Contreras Painting, who has painted many homes in our neighborhood. Their bid was about the same as the bid from Tappan's painter, but we knew the quality of Contreras' prep work and painting was extraordinary. What we discovered about the contract was that when we got our allowance credited back, it did not include the 22% that Tappan tacks on to all sub-contracted work or materials that he buys. That is, he kept over $1200 in profit and fees on work that was not even performed by his crew or subs. When asked about this, he referred us to the paragraph in the contract that allows him to do this. Buyer beware. Third issue: Several times we were told that plumbing or electrical items we wanted were not available. These were toilets, faucets, fixtures, etc., that we had spent time researching and deciding upon. His answer: pick something else. When we did a bit of Goggling online, they all turned out to be fully available. We had to prove to him that he was wrong, and in some cases, purchase the items ourselves. Then, when we bought them ourselves, he informed us that neither he nor his subcontractor would warranty them. Fourth issue: Tappan suggested a very expensive, but supposedly quieter, fan for the bathroom (Fantech). When the bathroom reached the stage where it was useable, we discovered that the fan was no quieter than any cheap generic model. After complaining that this fan was not living up to its reputation, Tappan suggested that we "put some screws" into the duct work. After reading the installation instructions online for myself, I discovered that he had virtually ignored the manufacturer's recommendations: that is, the material for the duct work and the ducting length were both wrong. It took almost a dozen emails before Tappan finally had his crew take a look. Indeed they were able to fix it, and they didn't charge extra for this, but the aggravation it caused was simply unnecessary. Fifth issue: His electrical contractor tries to cut corners. When asked specifically to install Lutron switches and plates, he substituted Leviton, in a mix-and-match manner, and the colors did not match. This was eventually corrected, but it took time, energy, and a bunch of emails before it was done. Sixth issue: Schedule. From the start, we asked for some sort of schedule for this project. It was clear that this was not going to be done in the three months of his original estimate. But we were never able to pin him down about the overall timing, nor could we even get a rolling estimate of upcoming decisions and dates. We would get comments like "decide on the tile by next Tuesday" when they were nowhere near ready to move ahead on tile work for weeks thereafter. On about a week's notice, we even worked out a place to stay so that the floors could be finished. When the day came, that very day, we were told that the plan had changed, and we would have to work out our accommodations for a later date. Seventh issue: Double charging. In at least three instances, invoices had to be revised by Tappan as a result of overcharges by his billing department. One of these was for over $800, and the others were smaller. But be vigilant. You need to check their work. Eighth and last issue: He loves to look around your house and diss other work you have had done by others. He, of course, insists that you correct everything with his contractors. With his 22% tacked on to all work by sub-contractors, you would be far better off to get your own bids. His "oversight" of other professionals is simply not worth it. When it was needed, say with the electrical work described above, it was not done. Having said all of the above, Tappan Builders does do high quality work. Our crew was competent and friendly. If you can get past everything described above, you may still want to hire them. Good Luck!

I recently had Steve Tappan do another job for us. He turned roughly 400 square feet of unusable…read moredirt space underneath our home into a 200 square foot storage area, 100 square foot utility area, and 100 square foot laundry room. This job was fully permitted, done within budget, and completed ahead of schedule. Throughout the process my wife and I were worried about dust and debris as we were still living in our home. Steve and his crew took precautions to safeguard our home and possessions and little to no dust made it into our home.

Joe and his crew replaced and deepened 80% of our foundation, framed new living space, and added…read moremajor seismic upgrades including shear wall, ties, and foundation bolts. His price was competitive and he was responsive and attentive to our concerns throughout the process. He also went above and beyond in several instances to make sure the project was a success. We would certainly work with him again!

KC Custom Builders made a complex retrofit project look easy, when others couldn't. The plans and…read moreprice were fair, Joe Casey and his guys were never late, finished on time they were, courteous and most of all professional. I will definitely use this company again!

Arani construction has done small and large projects for us and have always been high quality, on…read moretime and within budget. Highly recommended for remodeling small or large, room additions, layout modifications, deck and pergola work, electrical, plumbing, etc...

Arani Construction redid my house about 8 years ago and did a truly wonderful job. The work is…read morestill looking good and holding together properly after all these years. I am looking for him to do another job right now which is why I am here on Yelp. So I am now posting the positive review that I did not put up when the work was done.

With a baby on the way, we really needed to undergo a major remodel on our house in preparation for…read moreher arrival. We interviewed 6 different contractors and ultimately decided on Gavan Duffy of Build It Green Contractors (B.I.G.) (license#886570) I won't get into all of the details of our decision, only the key elements which were: 1. Budget, our project came in slightly over budget. Not due to B.I.G, but to a few changes we decided to make and the general nature of working on a house built in the 20s and all the little surprises we found along the way. The important aspect for us was Gavan's clear communication with us regarding our options and the costs associated with each choice. 2. Timing, Gavan has a young child and he understands all of the challenges and changes associated with being expectant parents. He and his crew worked hard to stay within our time frame and still give us plenty of time to get our house in order prior to the baby's arrival. 3. Quality, We could not be happier with the attention to detail that Gavan and crew put into our remodel. Our house is stunning and the work is craftsman-like. 4. Cleanliness, this may not be important to everyone, but construction is messy work and B.I.G. cleaned up after themselves after each day. To me this demonstrated the commitment to quality that Gavan and crew insist on. If you have a remodel scheduled, then I encourage you to discuss it with Gavan Duffy at B.I.G.

Gavan and Build It Green was not the first contractor that I contacted for my leak issue, but he…read morewas the first to promptly organize a time to scope the matter. My plan was to call several contractors, collect quotes and pick from the lowest price and/or best match. But, Gavan made it easy enough, and I trusted his assessment enough that I ended up going with him without much additional due diligence. The leak issue wasn't able to be fully diagnosed without removing the stucco on the outside and dry wall on the inside - so Gavan suggested starting there. He produced a small initial quote for labor - which would allow him to produce a more accurate total quote. From there, he provided an estimate that ended up being within 5% of the final cost. He had a wide ranging team working for him - most notably Omar, a very friendly and extremely capable contractor in his own right, as well as several others. He brought in specialists for the roofing and stucco work, as well. The only issue to raise was that scheduling was sometimes challenging - as Gavan is a pretty busy fellow and who was consistently coordinating so many other parties. Sometimes, schedules were shifted around - which did require some flexibility from my wife and I, but nothing too problematic. At the end of the day, he and his team were trustworthy, were all very polite and friendly, and produced very solid work and cleaned up nicely afterwards. I would recommend Gavan and Build It Green, and in fact - when another small project arose within weeks of the big project - I didn't hesitate to call Gavan again.

Prompt, professional, and high-quality work…read more I asked Hofman Builders to help me with a newly purchased home. As a new homebuyer, I was terrified of all kinds of small/big repairs that the inspectors recommended that I get done on my house. First, Petr helped me review the recommendations, focus on the most essential repairs, and helped allay fears of repairs costing tens of thousands of dollars. Next, Hoffman Builders gave me an accurate estimate on various repairs, worked with me on the range of repairs that was within my budget and proposed quality building materials that also suited my budget. Finally, they finished all the jobs ahead of time and did not charge me extra for finishing up early. Petr was trustworthy enough to even refund a part of the estimated cost due to finishing up early. I highly recommend Hofman builder if you want to stress-free work done on your home. I'm definitely bringing them back for the other work pending on my house.

Excellent choice for all of your contracting needs! I used Hofman Builders through the…read morerecommendation of a co-worker after a nightmare experience with another contractor. The crew was great to work with and the quality of their work was outstanding. Professional, highly skilled, they were on budget and completed the work within the timeframe given. Petr is a patient and understanding guy. He explained everything in terms that I could understand and did not try to sell me on things that were obviously not needed. If you need a contractor, definitely give Petr a call. I couldn't recommend them more highly! Keep up the excellent work, Hofman Builders! See you next year for my kitchen remodeling!

Eduardo has done two projects on my house in SF and I've been very happy with the results…read more The first was a laundry room where he had to move the plumbing, electrical, and gas lines as well as finish the flooring. He expertly walked me through the permitting process, which can be difficult in the city, and worked with me through all the details. He was recommended to me by a friend and I would gladly recommend him again. We also did a mold remediation and closet rebuild, this was incredibly time sensitive and somewhat difficult because I am the landlord and had to work with my tenants to make sure they were ok with the process as it was happening. He helped talk both me and my tenants through what the process would be like, making sure that there were plastic walls to protect us from the mold as the job was being done, and beautifully completed the project within a very tight timeframe at the last minute. Very grateful for his expertise and his concern for my tenant's well being. I actually have another project that I'm planning to reach out to Eduardo for in the future!

On time, reliable, professional and clean. Rolando is above reproach, and I will definitely call…read morehim again!

Friends, we just wrapped up a 6 month project with AAA. The pictures are what really does this…read morework justice, but I can say that AAA far exceeded expectations. We did a kitchen/living room remodel which included removing two walls and adding a 16' new sliding door and a new deck. Toward the end of the project we expanded scope to include a new roof and new siding and exterior painting. They seamlessly provided this extra work. We lived in the house during the construction and worked from home while the crew transformed our home. Andrey got us going and Art and Alex were our main contacts during the project. I enjoyed working with Alex. He has the best "no problem" approach and when we hit a design issue with our deck, he had a great idea of how to rework the stairs and we went with that approach. They also recommended a great architect, window company and other items. Every inspection passed. They responded quickly to my concerns. I will definitely have them come back and do our bathrooms. Thanks Andrey, Art and Alex for making my dream remodel come true!

AAA is a great company that will always help with complex repair issues…read more Thanks a lot