We met with Courtney when deciding what architect to go with for a home addition project. Courtney…read morewas responsive, professional, and friendly throughout the whole process. Courtney is very quick to respond and communicate requirements and suggestions. Courtney was very meticulous with great attention to detail. His work was top-notch and we were very happy with it. His contacts were also friendly and helpful. When finalizing the plans, he helped us deal with uncooperative engineers we had hired from a separate company. We are nearing the end of our permit approval process and we are happy to recommend Courtney to others.

Courtney Miller did our plans and design for our second-story addition and kitchen and bath…read moreremodel. The first time we met him at our house he had already had a vision where to put the stairs and had a lot of creative ideas flowing. Those ideas were put into the plans and once we saw they were completed in a timely manner we were so thrilled, he did a great job! The city of Oakland approved the plans with no issues which is cost efficient. Courtney is very professional, a very nice person, and knowledgeable and does his job excellently, and all his referrals were just as professional and diligent as he was. What I really appreciated was that Courtney was easy to get in contact with he got back to you in a timely manner. It was a pleasure working with Courtney.

I highly recommend Simplengi for any structural engineering needs…read more David is a responsive, prompt, and highly knowledgeable structural engineer. I enjoyed his candid style and excellent recommendations. David formulated and documented the necessary engineering solution, so my architectural plans for a duplex remodel would pass review. In fact, my plans passed DBI the first time, and I accredit that to David's excellent work. David was even available for a call during the DBI review to help answer questions. Truly the sign of a professional who cares about his clients.

We have been working on a 2nd floor addition to a 100 yr old house. As one can imagine, there are…read moremany significant structural issues that may arise unexpectedly when opening up walls and seeing how people build things 100 yrs ago. David and Ray have been incredible since the beginning of the process, helping us navigate through all the structural concerns and always trying to find a value engineering approach - whether it was optimizing depth of foundation work, or finding ways to reinforce old windows, coming up with ways to get headers into locations where there isn't the space, and/or proposing alternative shear wall options when there isn't room to fit things. Ray, our project engineer, has been the best communicating and responding to all our questions and worries. He carefully reviews the problem at hand that arise and often will provide 2 or 3 possible options that our builder can work on. With our current project, Ray is always super prompt to resolve any issues via call or email, or video conference and if necessary an onsite visit to inspect the construction phase. He was just crawling in our crawlspace the other day and notified our builder if some items that needed to be addressed to maintain a positive continuous connection from 2nd floor down to 1st floor and to crawlspace foundation. We are now adding the 2nd floor framing and almost done the most stressful part of the project. We have done 3 major remodels in the past with other firms where it was difficult to get in touch with anybody. With Ray and David at Simplengi Engineering, it has been a very refreshing experience to have experts that promptly responds to all our concerns. Value engineering, great timely communication, attention to detail, common sense, simple and smart engineering. We highly recommend Ray and David and Simplengi Engineering for any structural work. Simply great engineering. We don't plan to do another remodel for 100+ years but if we did, we would hire Simplengi 100% for sure.

I bought a house in Kensington in August 2020. Inspectors' documents reported that extensive repair…read moreand replacement of major systems of the house were needed. In September 2020, over a 90 minute Facetime, I consulted with Maurice Levitch, the president, architect, and general contractor as to how best address the issues. He walked through the house I had just purchased; I was in my home on the East Coast which is where I then lived. During that Facetime we agreed on the major contours of the project. During the next two months, his staff and I refined what would be done. Project scope, cost, and expectations were completely transparent at all times. The project took place from September 2020 to April 2021. While the project was going on, I was in Washington, D.C. I never once visited the Kensington house. Levitch and I did the entire project over email and telephone. At the end of almost all days, pictures and a short report were posted on their ProCore website showing me what had been done that day. I found the whole process enjoyable and interesting. I found Maurice to be a first-rate architect and general contractor with a deep knowledge of design, building systems, environmental impact, materials, and product. He will offer alternatives so that you can stay within your budget (I did find I spent more than I intended to but that was because I wanted to expand the scope of the project or pursue alternatives I hadn't contemplated). I found his subcontractors to be first-rate as well and Maurice makes sure that their work is organized, efficient, and of the highest quality. Among other things done: --All windows, interior doors, and exterior doors replaced. --New HVAC system. --Electrical system replaced, new interior panel, outlets brought to code. --Plumbing issues remedied, an entire subfloor of a bathroom rebuilt. Exact match for a rare marble tile found for a new floor. --Wood floor repair. --All manner of Kensington animals removed from crawlspace and attic. Moisture barriers, crawlspace and attic insulation replaced. --Walls sanded, made uniform throughout house with skim-coat plastering and then painting. Old baseboard removed, new chosen and installed. --Closets gutted, expanded, outfitted with custom rods, panels, and underlit shelves --A gas-leaking 36" range in the kitchen removed. Replaced with a 30" induction range, involving carpentry, electrical and plumbing work. --Carpentry work in kitchen, old maple cabinet wood was reused or matched perfectly. --Mudded in light fixtures for art lighting and wall washing installed. Total project cost was more than $325,000. A daughter with an Oakland worked with Levitch on two projects (2018 - 2022). First project: structural work to prevent house from sinking and an addition of 2 bedrooms, a playroom, and 1 bathroom. Second project: total kitchen renovation involving re-architecting of entire main floor. Excellent work, lovely people!

If you want a quality project run by ultimate professionals, Levitch is the design/build company…read morefor your project. They designed and rebuilt our mid-60's home from the floor up. They made the process as comfortable as possible and worked with us every step of the way. When the city contractor reviewed and closed the permits, he said the work was the best he had seen in 30 years of performing inspections. We love Maurice, Vuk, Susan and the entire Levitch team. We definitely would use them again and recommend them to everyone who is looking for remodeling or rebuilding work to be performed.

I first met Tony when he worked at my fathers house in 2001. Based upon this great experience, we…read morehave hired him to Take care of several painting projects for my family. Excellent quality work at a fair price. Easy to work with. You will not be disappointed.

Tony came out, gave us a detailed bid, and delivered the work exactly as he specified, and didn't…read morecharge extra for carpentry repairs on some trimwork he pointed out as too rotted out to patch and paint. . There were some trees limbs covering a fascia off the roof when he and his crew were finishing our house, and two years later when we had the trees cut back, he came out and finished the fascia, no charge and no complaints. Very professional, quality work, and an easy person to deal with .

Moran Engineering has integrity, experience and heart. We…read morehired Moran Engineering as part of our team to repair a large slide in the Berkeley Hills. Jim Moran and his group knew just what the City required for Permits in Berkekey and they delivered on time. Our communication was clear and they were able to accommodate our changing schedule, keeping everyone on track. Kathryn Kimball Berkeley CA

I had a survey done for a letter of verification and I contacted Moran because they had done a…read moresurvey for my neighbor. I'm very grateful to both Jim and Heather... they accommodated my time crunch and were pleasant, affordable and quick. Thank you!!!

The guys at Gehl design team helped design, build and implement a 300 sq ft design Artist studio…read morespace from start to finish, as well as build a small detached storage shed, that also looked contemporary in design. Mike and his team helped with every aspect of this project, from initial brainstorming, conception and design, to implementation -- I can't recommend them enough!!

We've had a great experience working with Mike Pourzand of Gehl Design / Build…read more Our original project was to replace a dilapidated shed in the backyard of our North Berkeley home with.a completely new structure having an identical footprint. Mike was very attentive and responsive to our objectives, and he developed a number of innovative and cost-effective design ideas to address our needs. We were often impressed by the way Mike's design ideas built on his extensive engineering and construction knowledge -- and vice versa. We also appreciated his efforts to anticipate and navigate city permitting requirements. Based on our very positive experience during the design phase, we elected to engage Gehl Design /Build to oversee the construction of the new shed, as well as to design and manage several additional projects (including a new and expanded driveway, new fences and gates). As part of this second phase, Mike identified and secured bids from qualified contractors he had vetted and worked with previously. His recommendation -- which we ended up going with -- proved excellent. On several occasions, Mike helped explain elements of our plans with our neighbors. He was very respectful and straightforward in his approach, helping to secure their support and goodwill. What made us feel that we were in excellent hands with Gehl Design / Build was not only Mike's extensive experience and his impressive knowledge and skill set. His dedication, patience, responsiveness, and integrity are all exemplary -- and made working with him a true pleasure.

We had a rain water leak from a slate covered outdoor atrium into the master closet and a crawl…read morespace area below. Previous attempts by others to patch up possible water entry points were unsuccessful. US Accurate Construction reconstructed the atrium floor from the joists up. They even used 2 layers of water entry prevention with a hot mop and a roofing membrane above it. They flooded and tested the atrium before re-installing the slates and everything was good. They also timed the project so it was completed on time, since we leaving for a long overseas vacation.Fred explained the steps of the project thoroughly before starting, as well as any changes needed along the process. Both he and Jose were readily available to answer questions/concerns. The crew was friendly, considerate and hard working. The finished product looks great and we look forward to a leak free El Nino winter! Services General construction, Tile work installation

Fred & the US Accurate team did an excellent job in our bathroom. We needed to level the floors and…read moreas a result, we wanted to update the original 1960s bathroom with a statement tile, simple floor, fun vanity and a new window. Everything was executed flawlessly.

Glenn Jarvis designed the re-build of my house in Walnut Creek. I now realize how important having…read morea good architect is. This was my first time using one. The results were excellent in all respects . Glenn was very patient with my various anxieties about the project. The pricing was fair considering the good results. And you really don't want low cost architects. He fully understood what I wanted and put it to paper in a way that exceeded my expectations.

We contracted Cindy Chan in the beginning of 2019 for a remodel of our Oakland home…read more It must have been a busy period because the process dragged on for months. It took ~9 months to draft plans. We wouldn't hear from Cindy for 2+ months after giving a short list with minor feedback. We chose Cindy because we wanted a local architect to help navigate building codes for an ADU. We already had a studio in our backyard, but wanted to make this a legally permitted unit. The Oakland city inspectors were baffled by Cindy's choices regarding the ADU. Specifically, she insisted we were required to have a washer and dryer in the unit (not true) and because of this we ran a gas line to the back of our house based on this information ($$). The inspectors also said they had never seen a gas heating system like the one she recommended in any ADU. But the most expensive issue here was that Oakland DOES requires a separate PGE meter for ADU dwellings and Cindy's plans had all wiring and gas lines connected to one system. I think the worst part of our experience, and the reason I took the time to write this review, is that when I involved Cindy in these discussions with the City of Oakland around changing the wiring/ gas lines, she charged me for every interaction here. I felt like I was paying her to not only fix her mistake but provide her an education around ADU requirements in Oakland. She would send an email to the building inspector to discuss the issues and then send me an invoice for her email. Maddening. Overall, was not happy with the timeline, design, and building code mess. Total architecture fees were $43K (this was several years ago) NOT including permit, structural engineering and as-built costs.