We had a leak in our office from the roof/deck above that I had been dreading fixing for a long…read moretime. Don't be like me and make sure you get those things fixed before they get worse. I know hiring a contractor is scary. There's a lot involved and they'll be in your house for an indeterminate amount of time which makes it really important to hire someone you can trust. Tom came out to provide an estimate for our project. He was the only one of the contractors I called that really investigated the existing condtions and repair based on what he could see and his own knowledge. He spent over an hour at the initial call making sure he didn't miss anything and talked through the potential issues and repair. This was his time spent not knowing whether or not we'd hire him. He was also the only contractor to tell me he would only do the work with a permit. Whether or not you think one is needed, just knowing that he wasn't afraid of the permitting or inspection process was a big plus to me. Always ask about permits during the interview process. He then went to his car, drafted an estimate and came back to talk to me about it. I was really impressed at this point. There wasn't any pressure from him to sign on and he encouraged me to ask questions. The estimate was well defined and a bit higher than another bid, but from what I saw I thought it would be worth it. After we signed on, he gave a rough schedule and starting time and said they stay on the job until it's done. We had a list of items to buy and he helped us out there too. He was in constant communications and always responded, even on weekends. Before the work begins, it is pretty easy to promise things to the client while telling your crew something else. When the work actually started, Jesus was our foreman and true to their word, he stayed on the project until completed. They were extremely respectful of our home, carefully protected things and kept the work area clean. During demolition, they found some unforseen things, but took care of it without issue. There were times when they could've easily walked through our house to talk to us, but instead opted to ring the door bell to respect our space. The construction went smoothly and Tom would visit and communicate frequently. He took care of the inspections as well without issue and some other things without charging us, which I appreciated. At the end of the project, we had some concern about the slope of our deck above the office. Tom and his crew came out and fixed it and didn't even mention the final payment until we were happy. Our remodelled office looks amazing. I'd gladly recommend LB Construction for anyone looking for a contractor and will contact them again in the future.

LB Construction did a great job on our front stairs. They were on time, worked steadily all day and…read morewere very friendly. We were very pleased with the results. Friends even complemented us on the work. Highly recommend them!

The Great (+2 stars) ==========…read more * The structural work: Our home is on a great, new, solid foundation (with shear walls), so we feel as safe as we can be in our home for an earthquake! * Our basement is also now more usable. * Drainage: There is now drainage around the foundation and under the basement slab, so we are no longer worried about our basement flooding! * The working crew were very friendly and considerate. The Bad (-1 star): ========== * The electrical subcontractor was quite bad. The electricians didn't install the dryer outlet properly (one conductor came loose before I first used it), most outlets they installed are loose (they give when pushing in a plug), and they installed a used, old (not LED compatible) dimmer for the LED lights they installed. Also, the owner yelled at his team a lot. * The plumbing subcontractor was bad, too. They misdrilled several holes, damaging the interior of the home. They didn't seal around exterior penetrations into the house. They didn't put a cover over the branch of a wye that was no longer needed. They wouldn't do anything about the loss of hot water pressure in a bathroom faucet that occurred after they moved some plumbing around (I ended up having to disconnect and disassemble the hot water valve myself and I found a piece of silicone clogged in there). They over-glued the drain of the laundry supply box making it nearly impossible to remove the cap, and they lost the o-rings on my faucet aerator. The Ugly (-2 stars): ========== * They overlooked details in the plans about where walls and doors should go, and denied responsibility since they weren't in the structural engineer's plans, which they opted to not have updated with the revisions I told them about. This lead to a sewer pipe being installed in an inconvenient location (it went through the foundation, so it can't be moved), a structural wall that was almost built in the wrong place (I caught it while they were digging the footing), and a room that was built with no doorway (they had to cut some framing to make the opening). * The pricing/scope was negligent at best, but I'd put it closer to misleading or deceptive. During the initial visits, they talked about all the things they would do (including putting up framing, drywall, and insulation), and then sent over an estimate that I accepted. I didn't realize until halfway through the project that the estimate didn't include many of the things they talked about (including the framing, drywall, and insulation); those apparently would be part of "Phase 2," not included in the price of the first estimate. I had chosen E&F over another estimate that was less expensive even though it did explicitly contain the "additional" scope. I was also surprised that the electrical and plumbing (most of which was necessary to get them out of the way for the structural work) was billed separately; i.e., an unexpected additional expense. * They chose to rebuild a segment of stairs (rather than just adding two steps at the bottom, per the plans), which ended up having insufficient clearance with an overhang halfway down. They tried to convince me there was no new problem because they built them the same as before (but the run of the new stairs was one inch longer, causing the 4th step down to be 4 inches closer to the overhang) and resisted remedying the issue. They just ended up taking a sawzall to trim the overhang -- a joist -- which I just have to hope doesn't compromise any structural integrity! Further, they didn't even finish the stairs (sand and seal); "Test your staining skills," they said. * They ghosted before Phase 2. As the structural work was reaching completion, we were going back and forth on scope for Phase 2. However, when the structural work was actually completed, they just stopped communicating, left dirt and demo debris they left on our driveway for a month, then disappeared. There were lots of things they removed to get out of the way (like several segments of fence) but didn't put back. I could easily add 3x more issues and details, but this review is already too long.

We used E&F for a foundation replacement as well as seismic retrofit, including brace and bolt…read more They finished on time and under-budget, with good communication from both the owner and site foreman. I'm definitely planning to have them quote the next phase of our remodel!

Not sure what decade our bathroom was last upgraded, but it was definitely due for a refresh…read more Santos and his team came in and completely transformed it! They replaced our shower and tub fixtures and installed sleek new tub doors. The difference is night and day--I'm absolutely in love with my new tub/shower combo. Santos is meticulous in his work and doesn't cut corners--he stayed until the job was finished and everything looked perfect. We're still updating the bathroom little by little, but the improvements so far have been huge thanks to him. He's now on my speed dial, and I'll definitely be calling him again for future renovations and home upgrades. Highly recommend Santos and his team if you're looking for quality, reliability, and craftsmanship.

Our roof job went well...the crew worked hard and kept us informed of the process...these jobs are…read moredirty but they did a great job daily of cleaning up before they left for the day...including our neighbors driveway that was unavoidable to get dirty as it is up against our property line. All were pleased. We definitely recommend ABI

Juan and Peter did a nice job for my floor replacement and cabinet repainting project - they were…read morevery responsive from the estimate process and throughout the project, price quoted were very fair and work was well done! I would use them again for any future projects!

I hired Juan Carlos to do both my cabinet and stairs installation. He did a great job with the…read morestairs, demoing the existing carpet and installing laminate for the step and riser. Great job.

Aesthetic Elements built my garage. There were some complicated (to me) parts to this…read moreconstructions such as underpinning my neighbor's garage with concrete piers, building high retaining walls, drainage, etc. They also did a great job with the framing, roofing, electrical, plumbing, etc. Alejandra has a great team of subcontractors who know what they are doing. They were professional and did an excellent job. Alejandra has good communication and was always there to answer my many questions. I highly recommend Aesthetic Elements Construction.

Overall, we had a fantastic experience with Aesthetic Elements. They truly exceeded our…read moreexpectations. After collecting several quotes for a bathroom remodel, this company provided the most reasonably priced and thorough quote. After completing the project, we realized we received a real bargain as the company was reliable, did quality work, and communicated with us throughout the project. The bathroom remodel was for my elderly father, who recently became wheelchair-bound. It had been almost 40 years since the last remodel. Multiple leaks from the shower walls and toilet required replacing the subfloor along with adding a curbless shower. The project manager, Alejandra, kept me informed throughout. Rosalio, the company's contractor, was reliable. He showed up every day on time and followed my detailed layout design to the letter. His attention to detail was greatly appreciated.

this is the second home we have had do the seismic retrofit for in the past 10 years and both were…read moredone by Matthew Gatterman and Avant Garde, he has done over 3000 of these retrofit upgrades since we first used his service extremely professionally and knowledgeable and the only contractor that took the time in the crawl space to do a complete assessment, his crew, David, Josh,Jose and Matthew were prompt and took the time to prepare a dust tunnel and the process was both clean to code, The building inspector even commented about how thorough and complete the job was done! Highly recommend this company!

Excellent experience with EBB program. I requested 3 inspections before picking a contractor- of…read morethem Avant Garde did the most thorough inspection and also offered the most competitive price. (Note however that they provide a rough initial emailed estimate based on house info like sq footage- for an in person inspection there is a fee, but it is credited towards the final cost if you go with them. They do an extra thorough inspection and provide full documentation so in my experience it is worth it even if you don't go with them.) Other free inspection contractors by contrast ran through quickly and provided few to little details on the actual reinforcement plan. My crawlspace had a section of perimeter foundation that was blocked by concrete and required drilling a hole to properly reinforce- none of the other contractors noted this. Avant Garde not only noticed this but also did not charge extra for it. After the work they worked quickly with us on the documentation to get us our grant check. I did crawl the crawlspace just to inspect the work and it was done neatly and the area was left clean. Very happy with the experience and would not hesitate to recommend.

Tried twice to schedule a site visit over text for a small project after speaking with Jesse over…read morethe phone. First time, no response. Second time, a time was scheduled but no one showed up.

Ethos saved me a lot of money by educating me on exactly what I needed for a drawer. Very nice!…read more I'm very thankful.

Fernando did a great job installing the Regency Fireplace I bought from Berkeley Heat (aka Berkeley…read moreTubmakers). His price was fair and the craftsmanship was utterly perfect - see photos I am adding. Gives you an idea of the level of detail work he can do. I did have to do some phone and email follow-ups myself but Fernando showed up on time on install day and did the job perfectly. Fernando offered to run the gas line plumbing for me but was not familiar with permitting in SF - so I had my own plumber install a gas line, with SF permit, to the exact location Fernando specified. (And boy was it exact - had we been off by a few inches the new insert would not have fit.) Then Fernando installed the insert itself. There was a slight miscommunication about what was included in the bid. I thought a custom metal shield to protect the wood mantel was included but it wasn't - turns out this was referring to other protection inside the old firebox - but Fernando agreed to do a change order on the spot for what I considered a very fair price literally less than 5% of the original bid. Situations like this are a game of chicken - it's highly unlikely I wanted to hire another metalworker before I could use the new fireplace. So it speaks to Fernando's character that he charged such a small fee for the extra work. So I tipped him heavily on the change order and considered it a win. Would definitely hire him again for a similar job. FYI these inserts WILL likely change how your existing wood burning fireplace chimney looks. I didn't love the new look at first but it has grown on me. Slightly steampunk.

I am very pleased with Fernando's work and by his team. I selected his services because he appears…read moreto be specialized in fireplaces and he demonstrated his skills and experiences refacing mine. The team had experiences with masonry, drywall, paint, electricity, etc. They adjusted the bricks on the fireplace, did the new framing for the drywall, patched and painted to hid any evidence of the remodel. The communication with Fernando was very clear and he was very responsive. The team came everyday for the whole day from 9 to 5pm. They were very respectful of the property and protected the working area daily. I think they worked together for sometimes and Fernando himself was there 70-80% of the time and he also helped me to find decorative solutions for the fireplace.