We recently hired Liarakos Construction to do a seismic re-enforcement of our single-family home…read more We were impressed with Nathan, the owner, as well as his workers, Drew and Patrick's work. Nathan stayed in communication with us until he was able to get to our project. He was on the job and working the entire 2 1/2 days it took to complete the job. The crew arrived precisely at the agreed upon start time and were well-organized and efficient. They were pleasant to have working around the home. We had a grant from the Brace & Bolt Program, which required Nath to understand the building techniques and building codes specified by the State. Because of his familiarity with the Program, he was able to help us through the permitting process as well as communicating with the State. It was a pleasure to have Nathan and his crew doing this work, which is making us feel more secure in our home.

Nathan was awful. Passive aggressive, left damage to my exterior of house with splashed dry wall…read moreand then stole $5,000 from me before project was completed. I filed a complaint with the county and they found him guilty of not having an official contract with me and theft. So now the next strike he gets he looses his license. This man will pretend to be kind to you then turn into an asshole and damage and steal. If covid hadn't hit I would have been able to take him to small claims court and win. I filed the damage to his bonding company and they were as bad as he is and stated they can't help Me with my home damage and they can't get the money back. I have to sue him. He also has NO INSURANCE FOR WORKERS TO WORK WITH HIM! Yet he used workers at my house and allowed them to wear flip flops during constriction. This was also reported to the county license and they confirmed he was in violation of this. You can call the county to confirm the strikes he got from us working together and all of his illegal activity he was found guilty for. If I had the money for a lawyer this guy would have been sued. Never hire him unless you want to get messed with.

really good service. I hired Tony Coscia to build me a mini home in the back of my back yard. when…read morehe finished the construction in only 2 months he charged me a very affordable and fair amount. He was very nice and really helped me jump start my Airbnb career.

I hired Tony Coscia to rebuild a home that was destroyed in the Tubbs fire. The contract was…read morewritten for 180 day completion to finish the work, but the actual completion was 8 months past the contract completion date. The house a two bedroom property rental and the insurance payout included lost rental income. This delay resulted in the loss of a large portion or my property insurance benefits. I am a senior citizen and I depend of the rental income from this property. Losing months of income from the insurance co. caused me severe financial hardship. Tony Coscia did not stand behind our contract completion date which caused me duress and financial loss. Tony Coscia did not oversee his subcontractors work nor did he attempt to correct problems and address my concerns. The roofing job is substandard with warping and curled edges. The roofer tried 3 times to fix the problem but was unable to and blamed the problem on the gutter installers. (even though the roof is curled where there are no gutters)! The painting contractor painted over the color coded wires inside of the electrical outlets so paint will need to be scraped off if wiring work is needed. The electrical work is problematic as most of the inside wiring and fan installation had to be done numerous times before meeting code and working properly. The inside doors throughout the house do not stay open at a the required 90 degree angle and the HVAC failed its first test. PG&E found that the installer failed to hook it up! The roof venting lacked screens so months after the house was complete wasps started nesting in them. Tony came back and installed the screens only to have over 30 of them fall out a few months later! Tony Coscia failed to ensure and provide quality work in these areas. Tony Coscia made purchase decisions without my consent or input. He chose and bought a greenhouse window, living room lighting and a bathtub admitting he bought the bathtub cheap. I requested the lighting to be replaced 3 times but he ignored my repeated requests. I gave up as the insurance money was running out and the building needed to be completed. Tony Coscia does not stand behind his word. The fences were not in the contract but he told me verbally that he would build them. At the end of construction he said he didn't have enough time to do the work because of his next job. One of the last steps in the construction was the bathtub install. The new bathtub was damaged with a hole in the acrylic. I asked that Tony submit a claim to his contractors insurance but never got an answer. As we didn't know who caused the damage; we ended up verbally agreeing to do a temporary fix and install the tub and when the renter moved out split the cost to replace it. I would purchase he tub and he would do the work. He told me not to get a cast iron tub. After much research, I determined that cast iron was the best investment. When he asked what kind of tub I purchased and I told him cast iron, he became enraged on the phone, screaming, dropping the "F" bomb telling me to take him to court and sue him! His reaction was way out of proportion to the situation. The next day, I emailed him apologizing for buying the incorrect tub that I would return it and requesting him to purchase the one he wanted to use. I never heard back from him. I hired another contractor and bore the cost. When the contractor removed the old tub he found that the plug for the overflow drain was never removed! If water had ever reached the overflow it would have flooded the bathroom. In the end, again it amounts to sloppy/unacceptable work by his subcontractor. He didn't solved this problem, cursed me and left me with the full cost. Tony Coscia did not stand behind his word, honor his legal binding contract or ensure quality work by his subcontractors. Tony Coscia is disrespectful and rude. Tony Coscia left his work unfinished-has cost me thousands of dollars in lost income, replacement and repairs

I contacted Rob and scheduled at appointment for a bid to replace the deck at our summer home. We…read moreset the appointment for the following Thursday at 11 am. At 1 pm on the appointed date, I called Rob to find out what happened. After I identified myself to him, he immediately said he knew he missed the appointment. He said he was going to call me but never got around to it. Rob then told me he had several other jobs and wouldn't get to mine anyway. Might have been nice to get a call, as we stayed up there an extra day to meet with him. Keep this in mind when you're looking for a contractor. He Is VERY overworked and doesn't need your work. So much so that prospective customers do not even warrant basic customer service. While his time is valuable, he has no problem wasting yours.

Great service. Received a recommendation for Watkins by Michele of Royal Service Cleaning who works…read morewith them often. We needed our ceiling fans re-attached before moving in after they were removed (quite forcibly) by contractors during our popcorn ceiling removal. After trying to re-attach them ourselves and finding parts/screws missing, Rob and Bill re-installed the fans for a great price. They also came back after we moved in to make on the fans more secure with extra screws since it had been rocking back and forth when turned on--and they didn't charge for stopping by to finish the job. We plan on calling them for future contractor needs.

Jeff is an outstanding contractor. He is responsive, thoughtful, conscientious and an expert in his…read morecraft. He has done several projects with us and he really understands how to take our vision and make it a reality. I highly recommend him for your next construction project.

Fabulous service! Jeff was polite, friendly, efficient and came in under budget. Kudos! Glad to…read morehave met him; Getting good contracting help in my area has been a real challenge. I'll certainly call on Jeff again if the need arises.

I contacted Sierra West for chimney repair, talked to Steve, who asked me to send him my address so…read morehe could schedule when they were in my area. After texting him the info, a week went by without him contacting me, so I called to ask if I was still on the radar. Steve said they were too busy to get to my job and would not add me to a wait list. Thanks for letting me know Steve.

I am so very happy with my fireplace. Steve Lenschmidt,…read moreowner of Sierra West Construction, came out to see the project, listened to my vision, and came up with a proposal. He was the only contractor I interviewed who followed through with showing up and giving a reasonable proposal. The project was impressive. Steve and his crew showed up every time he said he would and punctually. He built the fireplace structure even when it was raining by putting up a pop-up tent. His stone installer is an artist. Truly an artist. Look at the pictures for proof. Steve was very helpful regarding gas & electrical considerations. He was accurate with the timeline. I really could not be happier! Thank you so much, Steve!! PS: I'm in Santa Rosa where finding contractors is quite a challenge since our fires in 2017. I feel so fortunate to have found Sierra West Construction.

I have known and used Frank Gallagher's profession services during last 35 years. He is a hard…read moreworking and honest General Contractor busy in the Bay Area, he did 2 multi million constructions for me and my clients in Sausalito and Sonoma from ground up, he also has done many high end remodeling in Marin and Sonoma County. I highly recommend Frank for any kind of construction and advisory service. I especially like his promptness in finishing projects as planned. Kouros Tavakoli Top producer Real Estate Agent

We hired Frank Gallagher to remodel our condo in SF. His workman drilled numerous improperly holes…read morein the cabinets and installed the cabinet handles unevenly. He never corrected the damage he caused. I've hired numerous contractors but I would never rehire this contractor. I can send pics of the cabinets he installed.

I feel very fortunate to have had Brownstein Construction, a licensed contractor, do a remodel on…read moreour home. I met Clark at the permit office, in passing, while seeking a permit. He overheard me sharing my project, and introduced himself. From there, he had a simple and straight-forward bid process, showed up to meetings on time prepared, and is a very good communicator. He's friendly, fun to work with, and no-nonsense. More than anything, he cares to get everything right and safe. Through our months of work together he would listen to my ideas, always working with me to make my dream home. All of my questions were treated with respect, and nothing was left undone. His team was creative and positive as they navigated any unforeseen hiccups. Most of all, every member of the team showed up with an open mind and integrity in their work. In working with a contractor, one has to be adaptable to their schedules. From the top-down, these are blue-collar guys, giving 100% everyday physically. As owners, it is our job to treat them as the peers they are: they should be allowed to take family vacations, pivot to other clients while subcontracting takes place, and they can get sick just like anyone. Marin is a very wealthy area, and I did not take for granted that these gentlemen would get up at the crack of dawn to be cognizant of commute traffic, to be most efficient with their time on the job. Similar to other counties, the permit process stinks. But the permit process should be no reflection of the contractors. Both contractor and owner have to be highly proactive in the permit process, given the broken system we are forced to use. I have already referred Brownstein Construction to family and neighbors. And I will certainly use them for future projects.

Clark Brownstein and his company did the remodel on my less than 1200 sq ft condo. The job was to…read moreremodel 2 small bathrooms, the small kitchen, redo electrical, put in floors and paint. Unfortunately I would not recommend Brownstein Construction nor would I choose to work with them again. We had to wait 2 months for the County of Marin to issue the permit. The project started in July. We had a deadline for the project of October 15. Then we moved the deadline to October 30 then to November 1 then to November 15th. Despite the apartment not being ready I had to move in about November 20th. The guys had made a big show of coming down and working for a couple of days before i moved in but to my surprise they left without installing the shelves in any of the largest cabinets, not the kitchen or the linen cabinets. I wrote Clark and said the rolling retractable shelves aren't installed and he wrote me back saying watch a You Tube video and do it yourself. I lived here in the apartment with all the boxes containing kitchen items piled in my living room for well over a month. Also I couldn't put anything away into the linen closet. They did not come back to work for a long time after that. They did not come back to work for a long time after that. Then just 1 man would show up to work for some hours and then week or 2 later some other guy would come and work a little. There were meetings Clark scheduled with me for which he did not show up. One time I waited for 45 minutes before texting him and about 45 minutes later he called to say he is not coming to the meeting he is doing something else. I was ghosted by Clark more than once. Luckily I came to the apartment the day they were laying the floors and they were laying the floor crosswise the way you walk in the apartment. When we talked about the job Clark told what they could and would do and then did not do it. They said we can put that cable box in the closet behind the tv and no one will ever see it and then did not do that. Oh we will have a cleaning person come and clean it up before you move in and then took that back.. From the beginning of talking about the project i said i want cedar shelves in the linen closet and into the project he said no. I wanted a ceiling fan and had bought it and he said no after saying yes. As Christmas approached I said whatever is left to do please do it before i go out of town on December 18 and as the day approached Clark said they, or 1 of them, could only come on December 18 so I changed my plans for sake of getting the project done. Still it was i think January the 23 when I was finally able to shut the door behind Clark. That day he kept saying "It's always a rough road. It's always a rough road." and made a big deal about shaking hands. The work is ok. There was nothing complicated. It was completely straight forward. The tile in the primary bathroom is a little uneven and around the shower they did the seams with some silver joiner. It looks cheap and I would not have chosen that look and have never seen that silver capping used anywhere before. The grout on either edge of the silver capping is at uneven depths and needs to be cleaned all the time or it looks bad.

It's sometimes difficult to find someone local to do work on mobile homes. If someone's really…read moregood, they're sometimes either so booked that you can't get them when you need them, or they don't return calls in a timely fashion because they just don't have the time. It can be discouraging. I needed work on two projects. One was for my mother's mobile home that had been damaged in a kitchen fire. We called Joel Vargas at Var-City General Contractor. He called me back immediately and we met to scope out the project. He did a fabulous job at a reasonable cost and my mother could not have been happier with her new kitchen. Joel was extremely communicative and I really enjoyed working with him while overseeing my mom's project. As he was finishing up that project, my husband and I found ourselves in need of some major work on our own mobile home. We needed our house re-leveled and it was quite a mess underneath. Lots of garbage, cables, rocks, etc. We had all the garbage and large rocks removed, had a moisture barrier put down, had our belly band repaired in several spots, plumbing issues repaired, electrical and gas fixes, and replacement of entire skirting around house after it was re-leveled. The project evolved into not only fixing the entire underside of the house, but also relocating double doors from the back of the house to the front, moving windows around, closing up a single door, and adding some new windows and a ceiling fan. We LOVED working with Joel and plan to use him again for some more work on the house over this next year. We highly recommend him!

We have nothing but the highest recommendation for Joel and Var-City Contracting. He and his staff…read morewere friendly, responsive, great to deal with, and created an awesome deck that we love and will get to enjoy for years. My wife and I wanted to build a great deck to go with our new swim spa, something that would minimize the appearance of having a spa simply slapped down on a pad but would instead help transform our backyard into more of a place where our family would want to spend time hanging out. We designed a multi-level deck with riser lighting to accommodate a lounge area, dining area, and a raised sundeck for chaises and to allow our kids to easily get into the swim spa. We initially read some Yelp reviews to help us choose the contractors we wanted to bid. Joel was the last one we consulted, as Var-City didn't have that many Yelp reviews and we hadn't heard about his deck work until we started asking for referrals from friends when our first round of bidding didn't go as well as we wanted. From the start, he distinguished himself with his communication, showing that he really cared about what specifically we wanted, and that he actually wanted to build it for us. So many contractors would fail to get back within the timeline they had provided, wouldn't respond to follow-up calls or emails for weeks, or would get back to us in a way that left us feeling like they either didn't care much about getting our job or that they couldn't be expected to be responsive. Joel's bid was extremely competitive but it was his outstanding communication that clinched our decision to go with his company, and nothing that happened after we signed a contract with him did anything to change our opinion. This project took several weeks. His crew was never anything but friendly, respectful, and on-time. Before the job had even progressed to the halfway point, his foreman's wife was injured and he had to miss the rest of the job to take care of her, and Joel was able to replace him with another foreman with no delay. A job as big as this was bound to have at least a few issues that would arise during its construction, but this again is where Joel's communication really shined. He was always happy to answer questions about both what had been done so far and what was to be done next. Both my wife and I are perfectionists, and if we wanted things done a certain way, he was able to either do that or explain why it would most likely (or certainly) be better to do it a different way. We quickly learned to trust his instincts and ideas for how to do things, and when on one occasion a mistake was made, he took responsibility (very nice) and got it fixed immediately (even better). There were even a couple of times he would bring an issue to our attention before we noticed anything, if he felt something had possibly been done in a way that might not be good enough. This was a large multi-level deck with a composite material, a double border in a second color, a railing in a third, a section of wraparound stairs, and LED lighting in the risers. It also required gutter modification and another small concrete pad to be poured due to my own oversight in planning, which Joel's work addressed. It had to be constructed at precisely the right elevation, primarily over our existing concrete patio but also extending into our lawn. It had to pass three separate stages of permit inspection. And we needed it to be finished before our swim spa was delivered. Var-City delivered exactly what we needed on all accounts. This was a massive job, and we were incredibly impressed at the level of care and intricacy that was involved in how they made sure all of the elements fit together. We love our deck, and now have to get the house and rest of the yard to look as nice! Joel's company is going to be the first call we make when we have projects in the future; we have no hesitation at all in either recommending him or hiring his team again.