I had a great experience with Ben and his team. It's have been a while since we finish the project, but after that time, I can guarantee that the work was worth it.. the main thing I was worried it's what's gonna happen after the General Contractor going to finish the work but now after a few months, I can tell the work have done on high end and it really good quality. From the beginning, when was high communicate, and they deliver a really valuable suggestion of how to create our space more functional . I've been working with many contractors, but definitely Ben is the best. One I ever hire. I definitely commented to hire Benjamin for your next remodeling project. read more

Seriously, the world''s best contractor. Smart, personable, organized, honest, creative, and great communication skills.

We have recently completed two projects with Ben and his team- one small, and then a major home remodel a couple of years later. We found Ben trustworthy, honest, detail oriented and ultimately fair. Ben is well-connected with a good set of trade subcontractors to work on the different parts of the project. A home project, especially a large one, is a huge investment financially and emotionally. Finding a contractor to lessen some of that worrying, was key for me. This was even more critical completing the project during a global pandemic. As a design professional, I find myself very particular - a potential nightmare client for a contractor. Ben and his team responded in-kind with detail solutions to questions as they came up during the project process. I would highly recommend and trust Ben with projects large or small. read more

We just finished our 2nd major home remodel project with Ben. Our first remodel project (kitchen and bath) really went great, but this one exceeded our first very positive experience. Our project this time around was very significant, dig out our dirt floor basement and add a whole floor and an internal stairway. There was more too because we had to work all this in to the existing look of the house. This project was a real stretch for us financially, but Ben helped us realize our dream and we could not be more pleased. The new space in our home, that way it supports our family space and activities and being able to host friends and families - we are so pleased! Ben was great with the planning, helping us find an architect, creating a budget and schedule, and he was a great communicator all the way along. I feel like he really listened to us and understood what we wanted, doing a great job of planning and being proactive as we moved into each next phase of the project. I'll add this as well - another great sign of Ben's quality work is that he has such great subs and contacts. His digging contractor, the carpenters, the plumber and electrician, the painter - everyone was a pleasure to work with and really helped us make small to big decisions. Making life in San Francisco "work" for you is not always easy, but Ben's work contributed significantly (hugely!) to the quality of my family's life. I highly recommend him and would be happy to talk with anyone looking for a reference. My family gives him 12 thumbs up! read more

I did my research and found out about Mr. Shaw here on Yelp, and went to his website, and appreciated all I read about him. So, of course, I went ahead and contacted him with a general inquiry about his services, and how he might be able to assist me with a very small project. But the only time that I'd received any sort of response from Benjamin Shaw was after I'd posted a poor review on Yelp, in regards to never getting any response from him within two weeks of me reaching out to him. But even then, at the end of the few emails we'd exchanged, he said he was not able to take on the project that I'd wanted done. He said he may know someone that could do it, but on a larger scale than the small corner of my closet that I needed adjusted, and with a larger price tag along with it. He thought it'd be too much work and pain, than the gain I'd get from the finished product. I turned to youtube, watched a few DIY vids, and performed the work myself, with a small cost of $50-$70 for materials. It only took me about 4 days, to finish something I'm sure a trained contractor/carpenter could have done in half the time...but at quadruple the cost. First impressions are lasting impressions, and if he can't even take out the time to respond to a potential customer without being prompted by a detrimental review, it does not paint a pretty picture of his initial level of service and ethics. read more

This review was filtered by Yelp's awesome, magical, mystical algorithm. The review below was for work Ben completed in Jan 2012. He is working on a major remodel of my home now - new steel I-beam, new staircase, all new plumbing, electrical, etc. - and it is going as swimmingly as my bathroom remodel. Shame on Yelp for taking down my review. Seriously - this is how businesses live and die. Review from Jan 2012: Ben just completed work on a bathroom remodel in my very old and quixotic home, and I could not possibly be more happy. From my first interaction with Ben (when he told me the most important aspect of the client/customer relationship was communication) to the day the job was complete, he took care of me and every aspect of the job with aplomb. When looking over the other reviews on his work, I could not agree more with what his other clients are saying: he's honest, communicative, knows his stuff and his subs know their stuff, and I plan to work with him again the first chance I get. If you choose to work with Ben, you will be the lucky one. read more

We hired Ben as our contractor for our house remodel and it was the best decision that we could have made. From the very beginning, Ben was wonderful to work with. He was very prompt, professional, and quick to reply to any emails or texts that we had. His initial quote and time estimate were extremely accurate. People warned me that remodels will take 2x as long and be 2x as expensive as the original quote but this was not the case with Ben. Unlike other contractors who gave extremely rough estimates, Ben actually brings his subcontractors with him to see the project so that your estimate is very detailed and accurate. The work he did on our house came out SO beautifully. We get tons of compliments whenever people come to our home. It was a joy to work with Ben and I will never hesitate to recommend him to friends/family or call him again for our next project. Highly recommend. read more

Wow did we talk to a lot of contractors before we chose Ben. It turned out to be the best decision we made during our renovation phase. We used him for 2 projects, a kitchen and a drywall/closet-making project. He and his team did a stellar job at both and I have no complaints. What sets Ben apart from other contractors (and pretty much any service provider in the construction/renovation industry) is his attention to communication. It seems like he's constantly checking his phone/email and most of the time he was waiting on us to respond to him rather than the other way around. Ben also has a really good design sense, which means that you don't have to micro-manage him. Like with any renovation, we discovered unexpected limitations that forced us to change plans and Ben always had good (and code-compliant) suggestions. read more

We recently finished the condo conversion work that the city required our 3 unit building to do. All 3 units are owner occupied and the work included plumbing, electrical, HVAC, drywall, etc. work while we were all living in them. Benjamin Shaw was the contractor that we used. He was one of only two contractors (from the many we met) that clearly had had this type of experience and knew what he was talking about. Many others were pretending to know all about but were clearly bluffing. He took care of all the permits and associated nightmares Ben was very responsive from the get go. Working on this project meant having to deal with 3 different set of owners and four different subcontractors, having them adapt to our schedules, needs, and personalities. Frankly, not an easy feat! Ben was always courteous and very easy to deal with. Any issues/questions we raised were addressed right away. He was always calm and professional. The subcontractors all did great work, their employees were friendly, professional and cleaned after themselves very thoroughly. The complicated project was finished on time to comply with the city's deadline. I would highly recommend Ben (and any of his subs) for any kind of contracting job. read more

Benjamin Shaw did the complete overhaul of my Victorian cottage 10 years ago, so when we needed some work done recently, he was the first contractor who came to mind -- and I'm so glad I called him. His company is everything most general contractors are not -- honest, prompt, courteous, thorough, and comprehensive, in addition to doing outstanding construction work at a very reasonable price. One of Ben's greatest strengths as a GC, in my opinion, is that he can clearly articulate all of your options and their pros and cons in a way that empowers you to make good decisions about your project. If there is something that you really *should* do, he will tell you so. But he will also be straightforward about which parts of the project are "nice to haves" but which are not strictly required -- or which can be deferred to a later stage. This means that your remodel gets done on time AND within budget. How many general contractors can you say THAT about? Because of these excellent business practices, Ben enabled me to prioritize the work on our house in ways that both fit my budget and made our house a showpiece on our block. At least 3 or 4 times a year, some random new neighbor will ring our doorbell to ask who did our construction work. I always send them to Ben. I cannot recommend his company and his work highly enough. read more

Ben did a lot of work for me when I first moved into my home 15 years ago. When I decided to change my slider to french doors I gave him a call. The greatest thing for me is that he can seriously manage his time. If he says he will be somewhere or call you at a specific time, he follows through. This is invaluable. Besides that his pricing is reasonable and competitive and his work top notch. read more

Ben and his team lead a major renovation on our townhouse up in Diamond Heights, which involved the complete renovation of our dated kitchen, two bathrooms and major structural work (multiple beams, posts and shear walls). We had met with several contractors who were clearly afraid of our project, due to the complexity... we finally found Ben after reading his glowing reviews on Yelp! Ben came over and was very confident in what needed to be done, brought in an expert structural engineer and we agreed on a plan. We could tell immediately that Ben was very different from every other contractor we had ever worked with and found him to be very trustworthy and honest from the beginning to end of the project (which is very very rare for this industry!!!). The subcontractors (plumber, electrician, tile artist, etc...) Ben hires are all excellent, prompt, polite and professional and all really enjoy working for Ben and on his projects (we got to know everyone who worked on our project and really enjoyed meeting everyone that came through). The kitchen and bathrooms came out amazing!! We are very happy with Ben's work and his creative suggestions along the way! We will definitely be calling Ben and his team when we are ready to do our next project!! Thanks! read more

Ben just completed work on a bathroom remodel in my very old and quixotic home, and I could not possibly be more happy. From my first interaction with Ben (when he told me the most important aspect of the client/customer relationship was communication) to the day the job was complete, he took care of me and every aspect of the job with aplomb. When looking over the other reviews on his work, I could not agree more with what his other clients are saying: he's honest, communicative, knows his stuff and his subs know their stuff, and I plan to work with him again the first chance I get. If you choose to work with Ben, you will be the lucky one. read more

When we decided to remodel our kitchen, we spoke to a number of our friends and found that Ben had done some major remodels on their homes. He came highly recommended and we were able to see the finished product on their homes. When we finally contacted him, it wasn't surprising to know he had a number of projects already lined up so it would be nearly a year before he could start ours. He was well worth the wait. The results were better than expected -- a beautiful kitchen delivered on time and within budget. We've heard so many horror stories about remodels so this is huge! From the very beginning and throughout the project, he was very responsive and clearly explained the process, timeline and the potential issues that may arise. We had a somewhat vague idea of what we wanted, so he advised on our lighting, wall tile, and eating area. He encouraged us to find specific photos of other kitchens to help us be completely in agreement. We were also impressed with the plumbing, electrical, flooring and drywall teams. They were all very polite, professional, and did a good job cleaning up after each day. Some days, the power or water needed to be shut off, and we were notified well in advance so it didn't disrupt us nor the tenants in the building. Overall, Ben was responsive, a straight-forward communicator and easy to work with. He found economical and sound solutions for remodeling and upgrading the electrical for our house that was built in 1890. We highly recommend him and hope to use him again for future projects. read more

Here's some of the reasons that make Ben the best contractor I've ever worked with (and I've done several big renovation projects in Echo Park's Historical District in Los Angeles): 1) Ben estimates a job, then keeps you abreast of that estimate throughout the job and delivers on budget. In the past, I've received $30K estimates that I watched balloon to $65K and felt powerless. Ben delivered virtually exactly where he estimated and I always felt I could scale back or expand the project if I felt it was necessary. 2) Ben is respectful of time. If he says a task will take a week, it will take a week. If he says he's going to arrive at 9:00, he arrives at 9:00. I always felt he was aware of my timing, my deadline and my schedule. 3) Ben is a great resource for specialized contractors on a job. Even when there was a problem with one of his suggested guys, he helped mediate the communication process and everything worked out fine. 4) He brings great ideas to a project to make it significantly better than what was originally specified. In a situation where I wanted a material that he was unfamiliar with, he researched it and arrived ready to install it, armed with solid knowledge. 5) Clean! The first thing Ben did on our job was calculate how to keep the mess from impacting our daily lives. Everyday before he left, he swept and vacuumed. Let me repeat that: He cleaned up after himself everyday. And that's just a few things I can think of off the top of my head. I chose Ben on a major renovation project two weeks after arriving to San Francisco, where I felt I had limited knowledge of the city's resources and was sure I'd be ripped-off. Looking back, he was my single, five-star blind choice. Throughout our project with Ben--which was massive and lasted several months--I never forgot how lucky I was to have him at the helm. I would recommend him to anyone without any reservations. read more

Contractors, like car mechanics, generally have a bad rap. Things always take longer and are more expensive than they say. Not so with Ben. We recently did a major remodel and Ben was great. He was prompt, hardworking, knowledgeable and had great subs. Besides all the on-site work, I like that Ben uses email and texting so it's very easy to communicate when you're not on site. His invoicing and paperwork was also very organized- a big plus. I highly recommend him and will certainly call him for the next job be it big or small. read more

Ben did not actually do any work for us. However, I am compelled to write a review because of his professionalism. We searched endlessly for a contractor to do a roof deck for us. Over a 5 month period, contractors did not either bother to respond or, worse, promised us bids never to be heard from again. It was extremely frustrating. Ben had responded to me (within 24 hours no less) and told me flat out he was too busy for additional work. However, he took the time to continue to answer my e-mails AND recommend other people. This is rare in the contractor community. So, if you get the chance, I think he would be great to work with. read more

I can't say anything but GREAT things about working with Ben and all the folks he brought onto the job as a part of his team. I hear so many people complain about contractor experiences and I had the opposite of that - I was sad when the project ended because I liked working with Ben so much. He makes what can be a very stressful experience as easy as it can be and is great at troubleshooting the inevitable and unpredictable things that come up on a job. His subcontractors love working with him because, as others have said, he is kind, fair and level headed. He was flexible with me as I made changes during the project and as I managed a few inevitable supply change issues. He also managed relationships with neighbors very well since some parts of the job had implications for them - and required traversing their property lines. He is also budget aware and helped me keep my costs in check over the course of the job. Ultimately, and most importantly, I was very happy with the outcome of the remodel - I couldn't be more pleased to be in our wonderfully refreshed home! I wouldn't hesitate to hire Ben again. I too would happily act as a reference for Ben. I too would give him 12 thumbs up - maybe 50 thumbs up...if I had that many thumbs! read more

It's been 11 years now since Ben renovated my house. Everything has stood the test of time. Still have it, still love it, still works!!

There are not superlatives enough to adequately describe Ben, both as an individual as a contractor. He is absolutely fantastic: from helping design your project, to helping you consider budget constraints/parameters and solve around those issues, to creative problem solving when unforseen issues arise, to offering you access to some of the bay area's best resources, Ben is the absolutely highest quality GC I've ever had the pleasure to work with, and look forward to working with him again in the future. read more

Ben is really great. Smart, honest, very knowledgable and a nice guy. I have done a lot of remodeling, and have worked with many contractors. Ben is one of the best. read more

Ben is a very clear communicator and gets the work done right at a reasonable price. He did some voluntary retrofit work for us (bolting and shear wall). Even though multiple inspectors and a structural engineer where involved, Ben made the process as manageable and efficient as possible. I will definitely hire him again. read more

We initially contacted Ben to give us some advice on a fixer-upper we were thinking about putting an offer on in Bernal Heights. He tagged along with us to a few fixer uppers until we finally got a place on the northeast slope. He wound up doing an overhaul on our house, stripping the home down to its studs and then rebuilding. He's exceptionally competent, calm, kind, honest, drama-free, and affordable. Unsurprisingly most of his subs were top quality, too. Not only did he go above and beyond the call of duty to help us (even hauling furniture from Craigslist for us on the weekend), but he materialized an impeccable end-product. 2 years later, we're still thrilled with our house. We'd hire him again in a heartbeat. read more

Ben did a project for us about 10 years ago ( rebuilt our staircase and a few other things). The staircase to this day still looks amazing and i think would hold up the walls :). he had to reconfigure it, since it was not up to code and as remodels go was way more broken, then we hoped for. he is a great honest man and easy to work with. read more

Ben recently finished our 3-unit condo conversion in San Francisco. He was friendly, sent us weekly email status updates, and managed the communications and expectations of 5 separate owners very well. He has great sub-contractors doing the electrical and plumbing, and made sure we felt very well taken care of although I'm sure he had a lot of projects running concurrently. I will definitely use Benjamin on future projects. read more

I originally contacted Ben Shaw to rebuild flower boxes in the front of my house. I found Ben from reviewing Yelp. He responded to my inquiry immediately and came to review my project. I contacted some of his other clients and was very impressed with his work. Ben and his crew did an excellent job rebuilding my flower boxes. I have since needed other work done at my house and Because of the wonderful experience I had with the first job, I hired Ben to tear down and rebuild my deck in the back of my house. Not only does he do a great job, he and his team are very pleasant to have working at my house. Every day when they are done, the work area is clean and they arrive on time every morning. I strongly recommend using Ben Shaw as a contractor for any jobs you need done. read more

Ben worked on our huge home remodel project and was awesome. He has a great eye for design and utilizing space well and he is a true artisan when it comes to finish details-- he built beautiful interior moulding and external deck posts that were just gorgeous. I highly recommend him! read more

He has replaced a door for us in the past and helped us fix a broken handle on another old door that we're trying to salvage. Really nice, professional, and responsive. Highly recommended. read more

I feel really lucky to have Ben as a general contractor. I recommend him wholeheartedly as long as it doesn't interfere with my remodel. :-)

A friend of mine had a shower that she wanted to have replaced with a bath. Ben did all the work and did a terrific job. The bath looks like it was meant to be there and the finishing work on the tile is first class. I was very impressed. read more

Ben has done several jobs for me. The biggest and most gratifying was a new kitchen and bathroom. Ben was cooperative, respectful, on time (!) and in budget (!). I love the kitchen and the bathroom (they are beautiful and functional) and happily recommend him to you. read more

Ben just completed a partial remodel of our tiny 1936 bathroom in the Inner Sunset. Working with him and his team was a pleasure and we couldn't be happier with how the bathroom turned out. At Ben's very first visit, he immediately took in the scope of the issues (barely functional shower etc) & communicated a clear vision of what would be involved in fixing things. We didn't fully understand at the outset what a big job even a "small" remodel can be, so we appreciated Ben's orchestration of his excellent subs (and sub-subs) - electrical, plumbing, drywall, tile, painting. Ben was extremely responsive throughout the project whenever needed via short emails and texts. His calmness, competence & integrity allowed us to go about our busy lives (work, kids, pets) during the project without feeling we needed to get bogged down in the details of the work. Ben is extremely busy so in our case it turned out that he wasn't able to start our project until several months after we first met. That worked out just fine for us, and it was definitely worth the wait. read more