This guy's great, if not phenomenal…read more
If you read my other reviews, you'll find some ba-ad juju about other poor and dishonorable licensed, bonded, and insured contractors I've used, one of whom owes me, by court award, hundreds of thousands of dollars I'll never see. So long, retirement.
I needed someone to step in where contractor Eteaki and Sharp Construction of Hayward walked off the job -- and the vast majority of contractors are unwilling to pick up where another has left off. No interest. Too much liability, too many unpleasant surprises, too many fixes, unknowns, warts, bad timing, etc.
Art was not only willing to take this bull by the horns, he did so with style, understanding and complete professionalism. He hired a Project Manager to get us through hoops at DBI, SF's building department, and knew the codes well. And the progress was timely, since each day cost me more.
He listened to what I had to say and perhaps most importantly, understood my vision for the new unit I was adding, over and above the architect's plans. The final version sparkles, with options I didn't even know I wanted (but right then was the time to do them).
My experience is that, once the job is completed and the money has changed hands, contractors (and subs) are reluctant to return. I know; I have too many complaints to the CSLB and too many bond payments that don't cover the damage. But AC & Company is still here three years later, taking care of bugs and improvements at no cost.
His people show up when they say, do what they must, and perform courteously and understandingly. They appreciate the value of a job well done. My only complaint is that they don't clean up as much as I'd expect, or they get dirt in the wrong places. I don't demand a white-glove treatment, just more cleanliness and concern for protection of what's already there.
It's not just WHAT Art knows, it's WHO he knows. At the drop of a hat, he brought in the right plumber (who in my case has licenses in FOUR specialties!), the right sheetrock guy, the right painter, and the right electrician. I cannot speak highly enough of his finish carpenter, Montie Liebert of MBL-something, who worked closely with me to realize my vision of Victorian restoration. That guy put pieces together from Beronio and Victoriana and online sources in beautiful ways you and I would not have thought of, and took the time to sweat the details, usually outthinking me along the way. Although I lost the house in the meantime (search "Grendahl"), here are views of the sow's ear turned pink purse:
www.1105Castro.com and www.1107CastroStreet.com. Personally, my needs are much more humble, but they were built to sell.
I needed a new shower door and Art sent me to a business, California Shower Doors, that installed a beaut, far faster and somewhat cheaper than the Depot (which does not install or correct for measurement errors).
What do you want in a contractor? Reliability? Timeliness? Experience? A fair price for quality work? A willingness to stand by his work for years? Then Art is your guy. Feel free to contact me personally through Yelp if you want.
And his outfit is available for small, medium, large, and huge jobs like mine. I've worked with visibly uptight and even angry contractors but Art is mellow and instilled comfort and confidence in me and my project. What more can I say? Go here first.
