I recommend Jacob Blei if you are a woman. Check the reviews. Most (all?) of the positive reviews are from women. Men are giving him the poor ones. When I hired Jacob he and I had our differences but my female room mate could see no wrong in his work. She thought he was great even after he built our fence without using cement for the posts and switched the hot and cold water from the hot water heater so that water in the house was backward (even the toilet). If you are a woman or have a woman in your family that can be responsible for working with Jacob you'll love him. He does some good work. Just be careful - his estimates are about 1/2 of what the total price will be. read more

Jacob is a gem! Dad and I bought a foreclosure that needed retrofitting for Dad's disabilities. I went with a different company and nearly did myself in with the stress of dealing with those people. I finally decided to look for someone else to finish the rest of the work in the house and called Jacob. When Jacob came for the initial meeting, we walked through the house and he pointed things out that should be taken care of before I could say anything! He KNOWS his business and cares about each client and their house as if it were his own. When I mentioned the dealings with the other "contractor", he was very professional and just provided solutions to some of my concerns with their work. Just like the other reviewers have said, he is prompt. He offers cost effective solutions that are elegant, not cheap alternatives. He LISTENS! The few contractor nightmares I dealt with didn't listen to me. There is so much more I could say, but time and space do not permit it. Read the other reviews, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that I know them to be true and honest reviews because my experience has been the same. Jacob is now in my Black Berry as my construction go to man....and I have very few people that I keep in there. I highly recommend him!!! ~Michele, Concord read more

Jaap (aka: Jacob) was highly recommended by a friend. I was worried about water damage in my spare bedroom and he was able to come over right away and provide scenarios of what it could be and ballpark estimates based on what he found when doing investigation. I decided to go forward with him and his company. First, he found the source of the roof leak and got the repairs done promptly. Next he opened up the damaged portion of my bedroom walls and determined that the extent of the damage was minimal. He addressed the water issue and patched things up within. While he was around at my house, he was kind enough to to look at and advise on small home repair questions and even do some quick fixes as a favor. He was responsive, a good communicator and very kind. Plus, he loves my little dog...bonus! I would definitely hire him again and give him a strong recommend to others in need of a general contractor. read more

I hired Jacob for a relatively simple job on a section of the foundation and a front porch. He had been recommended by an acquaintance, which I gave more weight than I should when choosing the contractor. Both communication and quality of the work were a disaster. Communication was abysmal from day one. When he finally obtained the permits he said that he could start in a couple of days. I asked him to call to confirm the date and time he'd arrive. He didn't call. One day I heard loud banging in front of my house and realized that his crew had started the demo of my front steps. Things didn't get better. I never knew if they were going to be working any given day, what time they would arrive, why they didn't show up a particular day. I was often told they would come a particular time, but they didn't show up or showed up at a different time. Jacob and his assistant Rick were always complaining about something: the permit office, the inspector, the engineer who made the drawings. The job they did was extremely sloppy. They tried to cut corners everywhere and were often told by the city inspector to go back and do things properly. God knows what the inspectors didn't catch. It was clear that Jacob had no knowledge of the building code: "Can you believe the inspector is making us do things this way?!" They left a huge pile of debris in front of the house for much of the time, including nails and screws spread everywhere, even on the sidewalk. My neighbor was extremely upset with their mess. It appears that they didn't measure properly when cutting or screwing the wood. The railing bars are different sizes and the gaps between them are different widths. One of the hand rails was clearly uneven. You had to be blind not to notice. I gave him a list of the really obvious stuff that I wanted him to fix, which he did grudgingly. They also built the porch before patching the stucco, so when they patched the stucco there were sections they couldn't get to. They didn't bother removing the wood of the porch to get to the stucco underneath, so in one section they left a huge hole. You couldn't see the hole, but it was obvious that it would let water through behind the stucco and rot the wood underneath. I took out the section of the porch and fixed the hole myself. Hiring Jacob is one of my biggest regrets as a home owner. read more

Jacob is extremely knowledgeable, conscientious and meticulous. He did a great job updating an older bathroom. He proactively came up with great problem-solving ideas and has the breadth of experience and know-how one expects from a general contractor (but not all contractors are as seasoned). His prices are reasonable. Even months later, he was willing to come to our house at no charge to check on an issue that had arisen. Some of the people who work for him are not as skilled, however. My one caution would be to ask him to supervise them more closely. read more

I just finished screwing in the deck boards & fascia that Jacob & his assistant Rick left undone - approx. a quarter of the lumber was incompletely secured - so that's another reason this won't be a favorable review. The most important things you need from a contractor were missing: responsiveness, craftsmanship, price, honesty. Initially, Jacob seemed nice. Although he missed 2 appointments in a row without calling, he'd given me affordable estimates on a few things, including a deck, so I thought I'd start with that to see if the good reviews were right. NOT! Fast, sloppy, argumentative, incomplete and Rick was surly. Jacob tried to double the charges for the deck even though I simplified the design. He still overcharged by 50%. I didn't want the picture frame design with mitererd fascia but that's what they built after arguing with me and disregarding my requests. Some of the discussion I overheard and was part of made me think that Jacob doesn't know much about deck construction. It's a floating deck but Jacob attached a short decorative trellis to the house with one screw - the only attachment to the house that would easily rip out. Glad I started with the deck. Can't imagine what the interiior work quality and experience would have been like with his company. read more

A few years ago, a friend recommended Jacob when five other contractors said the job we had would be too difficult without ripping out walls. But not for Jacob. Naturally, we've been using him ever since. He just finished our kitchen remodel, which involved gutting the room, shoring up the floor from underneath the house, installing cabinets, doing the plumbing, replacing all the mill work (our house is 100 years old) and tiling. Not only did he do a beautiful job but he was a joy to work with -- extremely accommodating (we change things a lot and are hyper picky). After the kitchen re-do, we had him replace a window, fix our leaky roof, tile a laundry room and install lighting. He does it all. And for a fair price. I can't say enough good things about Jacob. read more

Jacob just finished a few projects in our house, installing French doors, fixing leaks and staircase, painting and etc. This is the second time we hired him. As we were after the first time, we are VERY satisfied with the quality of his craftsmanship and efficiency. He is very easy to work with, conscientious, and eco-friendly. He has two employees, a painter and a super skilled person (maybe a handyman), who were very methodical and thorough. In the course of working with them I learned a lot about my house. It was really a pleasure to work with Jacob and his team. And we plan on consulting with him for future projects. read more

Jacob is one of the most responsive house maintenance service providers we have worked with. He is always responsive to our emergency calls, last minute requests for help, and has completed many house and outside projects for us and our children. He is professional and very fair in his pricing. We appreciate Jacob's concentration to the job at hand. He is efficient and cares about customer satisfaction. read more

Jacob and his two man crew just finished building the most GORGEOUS deck on our home in Walnut Creek. We are mot impressed with Jacob's artistic eye, impeccable skill, and outstanding craftsmanship. Jim and Jeff are incredibly talented, as well. I am not exaggerating when I say that everyone who has been to our home since having the deck built nearly drops their jaw when they see his work. We were under a serious time crunch to have the deck completed and they finished early! HIRE Jacob today- you will not be disappointed!!! read more

Jacob Blei works with skill, integrity and enthusiasm on any construction project from creative redesign to simple fixes. He turned my very ordinary office into a beautiful and elegant space. Through skilled work on the floors and wainscoting of the downstairs unit in our Victorian house, he transformed it into a delightful home for our new tenants. He is gracious, committed to the task at hand and delightful to work with. read more

I highly recommend Jacob Blei. He was totally pleasant to work with, reasonably priced, and did a fantastic job renovating a cottage at my house in Oakland. Excellent craftsmanship and design sensibilities. I'd hire him again in a heartbeat. read more

Jacob is the best! We've used him on projects large and small, and he is invariably professional, reasonable, on time and on budget. I've recommended him to several friends and they've all been happy, as well. Jacob has high standards, great prices and a terrific sense of design and craftsmanship. I highly recommend him! read more

I recommend Jacob for electrical work. We had an electrical problem that eventually involved replacing both the main panel and the sub panel. Jacob was extremely fair on his pricing and really worked with us to get the job done. I really like the rewiring job he did on the sub panel. read more

Jacob and his crew have been working at our home for about 10 years on all kinds of things: installed a skylight, replaced a concrete and a wooden stairway, repaired concrete patio and driveway, reconfigured patio planting area, installed French doors, did earthquake retrofitting under the house and in the garage, fixed a concrete block retaining wall, did electrical repairs, painted interior, etc. He is smart and fun, always on time, always congenial, prepared to work and gives thoughtful advice that has saved us money. No job is too big or small. We trust him with a key to the house and he and Jim have often worked in the house when we're not at home. If we're traveling, we take his number with us. His employee, Jim, is also unfailingly prompt and efficient. Even when he will be back the next day, he cleans up as best he can. At the end of a job, he spackles and paints if necessary and cleans up everything. read more