I met Martin when he came to pick up a few bookcases I had sold via craigslist. The woman who…read morebought them had hired him to pick them up and deliver them. He was punctual, professional and just seemed like a good guy, so I made sure to get his info. When it was time for me to move to a new condo, I hired Martin and his team to help me with the move. They arrived on time, worked hard and were VERY careful with all of my things. For example, instead of just rolling a heavy round mirror down the hall, he picked it up and made sure it would not get damaged. Things that other moving companies I've hired in the past forget! They are also fully insured, which is required of most condo buildings in the city. The move was efficient, and his entire three-man crew was professional and polite. I'd hire them again for any moving job in a heartbeat. (Make sure to tip them well!)

Yet another company I will be filing out a complaint for review due to shoddy business practices to…read morethe Better Business Bureau. Yelpers...you let me down in a big way with these guys. I (mistakenly) chose them to move me from Scotts Valley to Sacramento. I made the arrangements back in March, and Francisco, the owner, quoted me $960 and said that he wouldn't charge me for the drive home. Perfect. I sent him an itemized list of furnishings and told him I'd contact him in May for the exact date in June. I mentioned that I'd need at least a 26' truck for the move. The two guys show up and hour late after stopping for breakfast in a 12' panel van with "Susan Bianchi Designs" on the side. I shook my head and told them to call Francisco. "Francisco: I need a 26' truck. What your guys are driving is not going to work." He says he'll bring one right over (from Mountain View). This takes him nearly 2hr, and it's soon obvious why: He'd gone to Budget to rent a truck, but it's only 16'. Me: Francisco, this is never going to fit all of my stuff. I told you that I needed a 26' truck. Francisco: A 26' truck won't fit up this road. Me: A 26' foot truck is what moved me in here. Francisco: A 26' foot truck won't fit up this road. Me: Are you listening? YES. IT. WILL. Francisco: All the other trucks are busy. Me: We made these arrangements in March. I need a bigger truck. The guys get to work loading everything that I'd already had staged outside the house, and they fill the truck very quickly. About 1/3 off my things are left. I ask Francisco what his solution is and he says that he'll make a second trip, but he'll have to charge me for it. Ya, think again pal. I said, "Francisco, this is not my problem; it's yours. I refuse to pay for your lack of planning." So...we agree he'll bring the rest of my things, including 2 racks of clothing that I'd hung and wrapped in syran, and a Suzuki scooter, the next day. After we get to my house and unload, the guys ask me for the cash (that Francisco told me he needs to pay the guys) that I owe them, and I tell them that I'm not paying them a dime until I get my things. Francisco gets on the phone and yells at me, "ARE YOU OK? I NEED TO PAY FOR MY GUYS. YOU OWE ME AT LEAST HALF NOW!" (breathe) I told him what I told his workers, who were very pleasant, that there was no way I was giving him the $1250 he wanted (ya, he bumped up the number by $300 the day I met him--typical) until all my things were accounted for, and since he has NO contract or paperwork, our agreement exists only in Yelp emails. The next day, the team shows up to my old house an hour after they say they will, and my landlady was not pleased; what's worse is that they show up in the same stupid panel van that apparently belongs to Susan, and the thing has no ramp. What? NO RAMP? Nope. When they arrive in Sacramento, half of my wardrobe is strewed all the floor of this filthy vehicle. The syran wrap I'd wrapped the clothing in is gone (??), and he makes his team dead-life the 500+lb scooter off the end of the van, bringing a huge chunk of my clothing with it. I. Was. Pissed. I didn't hold back telling him how poorly this entire move has gone, and when I asked why he refuses to listen when his customer tells him what she needs, vis a vis the size of the moving truck, he tells me, "I can't afford a truck that size." That's when I sort of lost it...I said, "THEN YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN MY JOB, AND YOU SHOULDN'T BE IN THIS BUSINESS!" Lessons Learned: 1. Francisco has a nice team, but they have no idea what they're doing. Not even close. They are NOT professional movers: they have no trucks (I later learned), no contract, no moving dollies to roll furniture (said they didn't need them), and all-cash employees. Total amateurs. 2. Francisco does not listen, which is a shame when he lucks out with a customer who knows exactly what size truck will fit her stuff. 3. Francisco is no business man. He is making "it" up as he goes, and when it comes to one of the most stressful events of anyone's life, that isn't acceptable. Bottom Line: This was a total sh*t show. Save yourself the headache. Susan Bianchi: I have no idea how you are related to Francisco, but a word of advice: One day, you will be sued for something that his guys do with your truck due to their lack of professionalism and unsafe practices. Count on it.

Our project was a major remodel practically the entire house was rebuilt (with 2-3 walls left) due…read moreto fire. Michael S at MHD was assigned to our project and performed exceptionally. He has a knack for taking what we envision and creating plans spot on to our design intent. He helped us pick various design elements that are consistent with a modern farm house home. The turn around town for his work was days not weeks and his personal and professional demeanor is a welcome surprise. We would love to work with Michael and MHD again in the future.

Great friendly place for Architectural Design (Customs, Remodels, Additions, Accessory Dwelling…read moreUnits, 3D Renderings, Animation) and Building Permit drawings! Also a great place for quality prints (The Blueprint Shop)!

***************UPDATE*******************…read more We finished the first part of our project and it is AMAZING. We are completely stunned with the quality of work and commitment of Gabe's team. The men have been in and out of our homes for months and we feel like they are family. I can't recommend Gems strongly enough. I Am not sure why Gabe and company would receive anything less than 5 stars. At present , we are working on a master suite addition and pool renovation. Our experience has been nothing but positive, consistent feedback, and we were able to select our finishes prior to signing any documentation, this fixing the price. The amount of options we had that were in or expected costs were amazing and we were able to choose things that we didn't feel were settling, but rather our preference. Affordable elegance. Bernadette was absolutely amazing to work with and at first I did t realize she was gabe's wife. Once I made the connection I was happy and grateful to support a family operated business. I always received a call back signing a few days. I think this is reasonable for a busy contractor. Gave has shown up on the job every day or close to it to check on the progress and touch base, even if just to wave to let us know he is here. He worked tirelessly with the city to get the permits. His workers are hardworking, respectful and I'm very impressed so far. Overall I'm totally confused why anyone would have a bad experience with this company. Also, I think with Yelp it's wise to ignore reviews of those who never actually work with the business. Contractors in the Bay Area have more work than they need. Don't take it personally and write bad review when you have zero experience with the business( it's spiteful and poisons the pool deliberately for those who may end up actually working with them; like us. Will update the review as the project closes and provide pictures. But so far, so good.

The quality of the work was amazing. The work was done with great care and the crew cleaned up…read moreevery night. There was someone on site almost every day and I love my kitchen.

It's been a long time since Gayler worked on our house but we have to provide an update…read more We moved out of California and finally got around to selling the California house. So why the review update? We sold the house for WAY over ask, cash deal, quick close, in large part because of the Gayler work done on the house. Everyone who viewed the house was impressed with the quality of the work Gayler did and wanted to know who did the work. When we told the potential buyers it was Gayler, the offers came in. So we loved the work they did on the house and it turned out to be one of the rare times when home improvements turned into a very lucrative investment. Something to consider when choosing a design/build firm.

Beware. They put on a good show ... slick marketing materials, fancy offices, a slogan, etc. We…read morehired Gayler to draw up plans for our kitchen renovation with a very specific budget. My husband and I eagerly showed up for our meeting, excited to see the plans they had prepared for transforming our '50s kitchen. After they wowed us with the renderings and all the possibilities, they showed us the estimated fee, which was approximately $200K over our budget. I almost burst into tears. After an awkward silence, the Gayler team found it appropriate to pour salt in our wounds, with a comment to the effect of, "Well, maybe you can afford it if your stocks do well this year." It was the humiliation on top of disappointment that was the nail in the coffin for us. We were already out of pocket in the thousands with Gayler, but the thought of working with them made me nauseous. So we took our money and ran ... to a contractor who was open, honest, and trustworthy. He built the kitchen of our dreams, within our budget.

I needed a structural engineer for a complicated stair & multilevel deck replacement project. I…read moregave them my rough drawings and they produced deliverables for the City of Berkeley that were approved the first submittal. I then need a letter to clarify that I had made appropriate changes to accommodate a 1890's era built house. The letter was accepted by the building inspector and the project was final approved with no hiccups. Thanks to Carl Milsum (principal) and Nahal Salmasi (project engineer) for the great job. I look forward to using them again...

Completely on the ball: these guys don't sweat the small stuff, they focus on the stuff that…read morematters. Listen to them if you use them. I did a really complicated hydronic system and had a lot of trouble with the City of Berkeley, who seemed to state a new objection every time I talked to them. Carl really helped me get through all of it.

Scott Amarant and his team have done bathroom and kitchen remodeling at our home in Pleasanton and…read moreour vacation home. We have been extremely satisfied with the projects they have completed. Martha McNally has been the interior design planner and she is an expert and absolute dream to work with. We highly recommend Amarant Design & Build for any remodeling projects you may have.

We are extremely pleased with our beautiful new bathrooms!…read moreWe found out about Amarant Design and Build through a referral and could not have been happier. From start to finish Scott Amarant and his team including Stacy, Travis, and all their workers were wonderful to work with. Their attention to detail is second to none. Their suggestions were innovative and they listened and worked with all of our suggestions and requests. From the beginning design to the finished project, the team that worked on our home were outstanding. On top of that they are just great people to work with. Thank you for a fantastic transformation! We highly recommend Amarant Design and Build.

My wife and I are having new low maintenance landscaping work on our home here in Pleasanton done…read moresoon. We wanted to get the front of the house stucco redone so that the work would not have to be done after the new landscape was installed and workers would have to walk back and forth over it. As a consulting engineer in my prior life, I have done enumerable bids and award for all sorts of major construction projects. I requested bids for the stucco work. As usual, there we some no bids, some ridiculous bids but Dave gave us without a doubt the best bid. Now the best bid can be the one that makes sense, has a great timetable and explains the details of the work but in addition to that, Dave was by a wide margin the low bidder. Now that might be a caution flag, but you review the bids and there were no red flags in Dave's bid just the same details that some other bids had. Dave also showed up and walked us through the plan. So we went with Dave and he had his great assistant pressure wash the entire front on the house including the eves and windows. He taped and covered everything. The next day he came back with Dave and the two of them completed the both coats of the acrylic stucco and it looks great and they matched the color perfectly. Highly recommended.

We decided to hire Dave to repair stucco on two sides of our house and a small area on the front…read moreside of the house based on the reviews here on Yelp and his availability. I sent an email inquiring about a quote and received a phone call from Dave the next day. He came by a day later to analyze the areas and was able to determine that it was previously worked on and it was a shoddy job since it was cracking in several areas. He was professional and very knowledgeable about the work. His price was fair and he and his team were able to finish the job in two days. They cleaned up well after they were finished. The work looks great and seamless. We would highly recommend Dave and his team if you're in need of stucco repair.

I bought a new stainless steel sink along with a new garbage disposal because I wanted to upgrade…read morethe overall look of my kitchen. All of my kitchen appliances are stainless steel so I wanted my sink to match as well. My old white sink just didn't cut it and looked out of place. One of my best friends referred a contractor to me for the installation of my sink, garbage disposal and granite tile. I'll make a long story short, the contractor did a horrible job! First of all, he basically supervised and watched one of his workers install the sink and granite tile. He told me he couldn't do an undermounted sink because it would be to hard to install. He also told me he couldn't connect the dishwasher tube to the garbage disposal. The contractor said there has to be an air vent. I told him an air vent coming out of a sink is outdated. He told me an air vent is the only way to go. The contractor ended up drilling a huge hole in my new sink for the dishwasher air vent. The hole wasn't cut properly and looked horrible! When the other guy installed the granite it looked like crap! The granite was off level and looked very sloppy! They didn't even use the right grout material to glue down the granite tile. After the contractor and his friend finished the installation of my sink, I noticed several chips in the granite, off level granite, soft cocking that never hardened and pieces of tile missing towards the back of the sink! I decided to go with a Diamond Certified contractor. I should of went with someone more reputable and qualified in the first place. Of course your going to pay more but then again you get what you pay for. It's all about quality when it comes to getting work done on your home. I gave Kevin Abrew a call. I read a lot of good reviews about Kevin in my Diamond Certified Blue Handbook. I called and spoke to Shannon Abrew to set up a consultation. She was very nice and professional. Kevin came out the next day and took a look at my sink. He explained how he would fix my sink and give it a really nice clean look. A few days after I received a quote from Shannon through email. I scheduled the installation of my sink and granite tile a few weeks later. A contractor (Noel) who works for Kevin did the installation. He did an amazing job with the granite tile! The sink looks beautiful! Noel was able to connect the dishwasher tube to the garbage disposal. He installed a soap dispenser in place of the air vent. He even fixed the hole that was drilled in the sink. He also installed a black material piping for free which would prevent any water leaks in the future. Kevin stopped by once the job was completed and made sure everything was picture perfect. If you want quality, efficient and affordable work done to your home, I would definitely recommend Abrew Repair & Construction. I will definitely go through Kevin again when I decide to remodel my master bathroom. Thanks again Kevin for the easy going experience and great job!

Unfortunately it took me 10 years to write this. 2015, Abrew Construction did a fireplace remodel…read morewhile saving our original mantle several years back. As usual, the owner, Kevin Abrew, sells his business because that's his job. He really pushed his 5 star rating in the Better Business Bureau which is a scam. The BBB doesn't do anything if the business' clients are not satisfied. His employees did a fine job in the work they did, but his business practices were suspect. He was not upfront with any additional work and costs. When you give a customer a quote for repairing and repainting cracks in your stucco the logical assumption, if you were to add on repairing a few other cracks on adjacent walls, would be that they would also be painted. Well, you'd be wrong! He gave us a quote for the additional cracks and Mr. Abrew went ahead and had his guys repair the additional cracks on the adjacent wall. Then he gave us a bill that didn't include painting. When questioned about the missing paint, he stated that it wasn't on the quote. That would cost extra. Who gets ready to leave a job site with stucco patches and no paint??? Painting was conveniently left off the additional quote so he could then charge more money after we had already agreed to have the work done. Not a good business practice, but unfortunately a common practice. He also writes up his quotes in units. Ex: "Stucco outside of house 1 unit." (See attached pic). Any contractor that doesn't itemize their bill providing pricing does so so that you have no idea of how much you are being charged for each part of the job. So if you ask to remove some element of the work from the bill, you have no idea if the reduced price is on the level as there are no references to what you are being charged for. Again, not a good business practice. It keeps the customer in the dark having to trust that the contractor is being honest with what they are charging. He even charged me 3 units for "Waiting for inspectors." So how much is a unit? How much was I charged? Your guess is as good as mine. I will say the experience could have been worse and in the end the work was done right. As for hiring someone who is upfront, honest and not ready to argue with you....I'd pick someone else.