I recently had Miller's Builders completely renovate my very old kitchen, add a 1/2 bath, and at…read morethe same time do a complete seismic retrofit in the basement. My house was built in 1918. At that time, there was a wood burning stove in the kitchen. It was vented by a chimney that went from the basement up through the kitchen and then through an upstairs bedroom and out the roof. Sometime, probably mid 20th century, the kitchen was updated and the chimney was enclosed in a wall separating the space into a laundry room and tiny toilet room at the back wall of the house, and the kitchen in the front part of the original space. There were windows in the kitchen side wall originally, but before we moved in, in 1989, a building was built next-door up against my roof-line, leaving almost no natural light in the kitchen. After an architect and engineer confirmed the safety of taking out the chimney and wall surrounding it and cutting a huge picture window in the back wall of the house, Charles Miller, owner, and his friendly team of skilled craftsmen got to work. Charles and Julia, his project manager assistant, were completely on top of details like the order of work, procurement of materials, and scheduling sub-contractors so that the progress of the work was not interrupted. Also, when it comes to finishes, these people are perfectionists! The tiniest cosmetic details were handled with an aesthetic and artistic eye. If something needed to be re-done, Charles pointed out to me if I didn't notice it, and it was re-done without complaint. This project took about 5.5 months until full completion and I was able to use the kitchen by about 5 months. I did not have the luxury of moving out during the remodel, so I welcomed that the crew worked just Mondays through Thursdays. I enjoyed 3 day weekends without construction noise. I was the designer of the kitchen, aided by my architect, and my cabinet designer from Home Depot. So, it was useful to be available when necessary, to make choices of things like flooring, tiling, lighting and innards of the cabinets. One special highlight was installing inset stud-bay shelving on one wall. Martin, the carpenter extraordinaire, meticulously created gorgeous shallow shelves for both decorative and functional items. My friends come into my new gorgeous kitchen with natural and LED lighting and give it delighted praise. I'm here to say you can trust Miller's Builders to do the job right with friendly helpful attitudes. And the price was towards the lower end of the 4 bids I received before making my decision. Honestly, I miss these guys.

Millers Builders did a phenomenal job on our project, which was converting a 1-car garage into an…read moreADU with a full kitchen and bathroom. They also helped us with our front gate and leveling part of our front yard for a parking pad. Throughout the process, Charles was extremely communicative and thorough. He really takes care to understand what details you care about, eliciting feedback every step of the way. He is very friendly and personable, and goes out of his way to make sure the finishing touches are exactly what you're looking for. The team was all super friendly and kind to everyone they encountered, including our neighbors and kids. They were all clearly talented at their trades and did a nice job pulling the whole project together. This team can do anything, and they will do it with a lot of pride and craftsmanship. I would without a doubt not hesitate to work with Charles and his team again, and strongly recommend them to anyone looking for a great contractor.

We hired counterforce to do our seismic retrofit work for our house in South Berkeley. These guys…read morewere the best contractors I've hired. Clean, professional, and they did really excellent work on time and on budget. I could not recommend them more.

I hired Counterforce Inc to do mandated retrofit work for my apartment building in Oakland. James…read moreand his crew were the ultimate professionals from beginning to end, timely, responsive, friendly .... easily the best contractor experience you could ask for. I highly recommend Counterforce Inc.

Luis is absolutely fantastic and I cannot recommend him enough. He did a huge job for us and was…read morethorough, professional, responsive, and fair in his prices. We are so grateful to him for giving our new home a much needed upgrade.

Luis came from Oakland to Vacaville with his crew for 4 days to gut and replace the shower surround…read moreand base in the rental my daughter lives in with her family. I happened to be here staying with my grandson coincidentally for the last 2 days while they completed the job and while I didn't interact with them much through the process (they were able to enter the MB from the back entry and never came through the home which maybe @ 1200 sq ft - aside from some of the construction noise which is expected, I hardly knew they were here and my grandson didn't know they were here at all and was able to take his naps without a problem), he ended up showing me his completed work so I could share with my daughter and SIL the detail and information for example how he installed a new drain because the old one didn't fit the new base and how he also installed a new shower bar and toilet paper roll holder and the correct door with the attached towel bar being the door that should be on the right and the ease of use of the glides of both doors. He also told me how he installed a couple of additional 2x4's behind the surround of the largest wall to provide extra solid support for the backer board that he had replaced a big section of (significant rot/mold damage to the preexisting backer board). He needed to access the roof crawl space to assess the access to potentially return to install a ceiling fan since this bathroom was not built with one and he needed to provide the home owner with an estimate. After confirming the crawl space, he did enter the attic and took pictures and again shared with me in great detail what he found and took pictures to share with the home owner so I could give the kids a heads up if he may return in the near future. Which admittedly would end up being quite costly although he did not say how much and I didn't ask as that part is not my business, ultimately it is between he and the home owner and I can't speculate if it will be something she will end up moving forward with but I believe, with the limited info I know is it still may be a possibility since mold is any homeowners and residents enemy. I know that the homeowner had several estimates and anticipated spending upwards of 10k but really wanted to pay much less but was simultaneously realistic. She had been coordinating such for a couple months before she selected Luis and from what he knew he said that his bid was half the cost of one of the higher end estimates she had received. I have no idea what any of the actual numbers were, I've never met the home owner but I know it's pretty universal that home owners don't tend to invest on the high end of their rental properties. Years ago I had a kitchen and bathroom reno done in my home at the time for a house of comparable sz, it was expensive as hell and took a couple months to complete both. I haven't written a lengthy detailed review on here for years but my short interaction with Luis got my attn especially since my boss who owns a home in Walnut Creek and a lovely law enforcement couple that I volunteer for on their ranch here in town have all recently asked me if I know of anyone who does construction or electrical work recently and at the time I had no one come to mind. Now I have Luis that I will be more than happy to recommend him to any people if I'm asked. He's a kind, genuine, considerate, business owner and works hard with his crew to provide excellent work and really pays attention to his details and it shows because he cares and that just doesn't seem to be the majority of businesses out there like him these days. He also told me that he mainly works for property management companies out of Oakland for apartment complexes and home reno and this was his first job in Vacaville and that the home owner who resides in Martinez was put onto him by her friend that highly recommended him because they've exclusively use him for their prop management company. After she received his estimate he was a shoe in for her. The more you know!

We used HDR Remodeling to redo one of our bathrooms, as well as do a conversion of the downstairs…read morefloor of our house. While there were a few delays in the construction schedule, they were very professional in handling everything and the work was high quality. We're very happy with the result!

We signed with HDR, then had to fire them due to significant mistakes on their part…read more Their initial bid had some items (like windows) which were low, but not outrageously so, and we asked them to verify their numbers were correct. Which they confirmed was accurate. 5 weeks in, they came back to us and said they misquoted the project and the price was going to go up by ~40%. We also learned they were aware of this issue within a week of signing, but took another 4 weeks to tell us. They gave us a variety of reasons as to why, but they came down to them making mistakes and significantly misquoted, which they acknowledged. They told us some changes were structural and required significantly more work, which was false. We checked with the structural engineer they suggested hiring, who confirmed what HDR said was structural, was not. On top of all of that, they told us they were spending significant time talking to the structural engineer, who confirmed to us HDR did not do that. Overall I was unimpressed with them, given they managed to mess up fairly basic parts of being a contractor.

I highly recommend Job Juarez for house remodeling. They completed two bathroom remodels for me and…read moredid an excellent job. Job worked closely with me to get architectural plans done and approved by the city, and also helped me get city permits and constantly worked on the meticulous details that my partner and I thought of throughout the project. They also handled any changes we suggested and did frequent touch-ups after the project when we noticed minor issues. Their prices are on the higher side, but the quality of work reflects it.

Would recommend Juarez construction to anyone I know! Job and his crew repaired extensive repairs…read moreon the water damage on the exterior of our house, replaced windows, and removed and reinstalled a deck and stairs. The crew were on site and on time every day, meticulously cleaned up during and after construction, were polite and knowledgeable about all details of their work.

We used Mari at Flooring Alternatives 15 years ago to install a cork floor in our kitchen…read more Everything was great. The original floor wore out and we opted to replace it using Flooring Alternatives once again. We chose a 12x12 solid cork floor. The replacement process has ended up with a poor quality installation, not worthy of the price. --There are uneven tile edges in numerous places that are noticeable when your shoe or foot catches. These raised edges will break off at some point. --There are gaps at the edges by the cabinets. --There are numerous places where 4 tiles meet and are off center. Mari's installer Fito returned to inspect the floor at our request and reported the problems to Mari. Mari came out to look for herself and was unable to figure out what or why. She promised to contact the manufacturer of the floor and adhesive. She has not responded in months. I've sent emails, texts and left voice messages. I will be filing a small claims suit shortly because I have no alternative so long as she is unwilling to respond. I think Mari was nearing retirement and working from her home when we hired her this year and may be out of business but her website is still up. I can post a dozen pictures if people are interested. Mari has them and knows very well the floor install is substandard.

It is coming up on one year since we chose to have our kitchen flooring and having it installed by…read moreFlooring Alternatives. I did a lot of research and found that Marmoleum (Forbo's linoleum brand) is eco-friendly, made with non-toxic materials and also feels wonderful beneath bare feet. We decided on White Chocolate which has flecks of real cocoa hulls embedded in the material. It is a light-coloured shade to keep the kitchen looking bright and clean. Some people might choose a floor that hides the dirt, but with this colour floor you can't get away with that. It really helps keep me on my toes for keeping the floor clean. Fito did an excellent job with demo and installation of our sheet marmoleum flooring. The underlayment has to be perfectly smooth and clean. Any dirt or bumps will eventually translate to the marmoleum. It was an all day job for him, but at the end of the day we felt very good about the install. It looks amazing with our new cabinets and after having lived with it for almost a year, there have had no issues with sweeping, mopping or cleaning. Despite the challenges with Covid, Mari and Keegan were great in communicating with us. Everything was timely and we did not experience any significant delays with shipping or installation. Much praise for everyone on the team!

There is a very good reason (actually many good reasons!) that all the people who have used Govers…read moreSidewall Shingling give him 5 stars, as do I. We contracted with Govers Sidewall Shingling to re-shingle our entire house; the work was completed 5/2015. Oliver and the shinglers that work for him, Danilo, Jarol, and Killo, are really artisans and take great care and pride (rightfully so!) in their work; they are also genuinely nice people and were easy to work with. I am very, very detail-oriented which has previously been a major source of conflict with contractors. This is the first time I have found no flaws in work I have contracted out. The whole organization is detail-oriented, professional, and knowledgable about the art of shingling. Regarding cost: I had three quotes for shingle replacement and found Oliver's pricing to be similar to the other quotes; I find this truly amazing considering the quality of the work and materials.. Regarding Materials: Oliver buys his shingles in bulk from a small mill in Washington state that fabricates shingles from reclaimed cedar. If you are interested / concerned about sustainable forestry this is a unique benefit that Oliver provides. The quality of the shingles is top notch, too. Regarding the shingles: They are beautiful, and so much better looking than about 95% of the shingled houses around this area. Most contractors don't know how to properly shingle. Shingling is expensive and uses a lot of wood; you should do it right so it will look good and last a long time. I wholeheartedly recommend Oliver and his whole crew!

Best shingle work in the bay area. They re-shingled our entire 100 year old house. Price was very…read morefair, even cheaper than the option of replacing the shingles with new synthetic siding. A true craftsman. We found that details really matter with shingles. Oliver and his crew pay attention to every detail - corners where the shingles meet, edging around windows, and overall aesthetics. Quality of the actual shingles they use are top notch, noticeably more solid and appealing than the crap you get at home depot. Just take a smell of the shingles they use and you'll know it's better than the stuff most others use. Work was done on time and on budget. Many friends that visit see the before and after and compliment the shingle work. Even contractors that come by comment on the quality of the shingles, definitely a good sign. Oliver even came back to reshingle a small area around a rooftop patio that we removed recently. All beautifully done.

Almost four years later and here we are again! When we moved to our new (to us) home, we knew we…read morewanted to update our one room with carpeting immediately. The issue for us is we wanted it to match perfectly with the rest of our house. Matching original oak floors from the 60s isn't easy, so we did our research. We met three other installers and no one could match the pricing and service of Oakland Wood Floors. We felt confident that Gaspar would install beautiful hardwood and that it would match seamlessly with the rest of our house. He did everything in 3 days, just like he said he would. Luis is a saint. He was always so responsive and answered my questions promptly no matter what time or day that I texted him. We weren't sure what size to order and he was always willing to check pricing and inventory. Our floor came out beautifully! So happy to be repeat customers! Thanks guys!

My sister recently reccommended oakland wood floors for my mom's house…read more they had done her apt floor and she spoke very highly of them. My mom wanted to redo her stair and hallway. After speaking with oakland wood floors they came out and did an estimate. Customer service was good. My mother decided to go with them. They scheduled to come in on a wednesday at 10:00am. That wednesday at 8:30am I received a call from their office telling me they had car trouble and unfortunately they would not be able to make it. I understand, that is not their fault. They rescheduled for the next day. The next day, they arrived on time and ready to work. Bottom line, my mother is very happy with the job they did! Gives the house a grand look. They were able to match it well with the existing hardwood in the other rooms. She loves it. The job took about 3 days which was what they estimated and the price was very good! My family highly reccomends this company! attached are some pics of the beautiful work they did!!