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!

I happened upon Kevin by word of mouth at the perfect time! I was visiting my sister and the water…read moredamage in her bathroom was well beyond my ability to cope with. He also dealt with some rot around her windows and managed to fix her deck that had been a hazard for far too long.

Kevin is great! I had him come and install an oddly-positioned custom gate in my backyard and the…read morequality was top-notch! Kevin not only does great work, but he is easy to communicate with and has an excellent customer service orientation. I was so impressed with all his work, that he is now my go-to handyman for all jobs in Berkeley. He is also very reasonable and fair in pricing. I highly recommend Kevin for any projects that you may have around the house.

Posted this on Google reviews and it got hidden to the public. I think it's important folks know…read moreabout this experience so see below: ______________________ I had such a bad experience with Mission Home which I know will look bonkers given the 5 star reviews. I was definitely persuaded by these reviews - and now will question every business that has 5 star reviews. Do your homework and don't be fooled. Project took much longer than what it should have because they were disorganized and would forget certain things (the foreman would even admit that the PM should have told me certain things!) that I would have imagined a contractor had down pat in terms of sequencing. They use some subcontractors and you are at the mercy of their schedules. They just are not organized (you will do a lot of the reminding, checking in, following up, and certain things still may not happen). They failed inspections meaning more cost (it is their job to pass these! It says this in any contract!) If it seemed as though I was questioning something, the PM got defensive and sometimes unprofessional, gaslighting me in a very aggressive manner. I saved the communication, in fact. The people I worked with directly were young and it showed in the almost-too-casual style of communication and lack of professionalism. I surrendered towards the end and just wanted the project done and everyone gone. I feel completely foolish that I went with the significantly higher estimate thinking it would offer a smooth, superior experience. The actual people who did the work worked hard though and did nice work - hence the two stars. But at the end of the day, it's actually hard to enjoy the work as I am reminded by the months of bad experiences - up to the very end. You can find more experienced contractors out there for equal quality of workmanship and for a more competitive price. I am using a different contractor now for other work at the property - it's a 180 degree difference - they have a dedicated team for my project, meaning time to completion is more accurate and on time; they have a dedicated person to procure the finishes and fixtures, not myself; they are way more organized and even provided me a timeline of what to expect and communicate with me what time they are showing up and what progress was made that day (!!); they are bringing a truly expert eye with attention to detail that ELEVATES the space and are teaching me to ask things I didn't even know I should KNOW to ask; and most importantly, I feel truly comfortable asking questions without defensiveness and aggressive steamrolling in their answers. I received none of this level of care or expertise with MHR, and I want you to know that you should expect these things!!!

Try to get some basic quote range but they say no, they cannot do that and we have to schedule a…read moresite visit even with the measurements and picture I provide. This makes no sense because we just want to get a ballpark to see if it's even make sense to continue. But anyway, on the date of the site visit, the guy come without any tool for measurements and for note taking. The guy just spent like 20 mins walking around the house and said he will get back to us with a quote. But I never hear back from them since. I think the company is very picky on clients and like to see if they have enough money to pay for their service. If they think we cannot afford it, they will just cut all the communications. This is also mentioned by other 1 star reviews.

Bumble Bee Construction-Joe is your friendly neighborhood contractor to go to! He took on most of…read morethe siding job on his own till the rest of the crew could join. From there completion time sped up. Very knowledgeable, able to explain process in simple way and also flexible with my hectic schedule.

Joe did an amazing job redoing our back porch. He made sure to pick out the best redwood and worked…read moreefficiently. We are happy to have a beautiful porch that will last for years to come. We highly recommend him and look forward to bringing him in for future projects!

I hired Prime to renovate my kitchen - countertops, backsplash, cabinets, electrical, freezer, etc…read more They also helped install a new bidet toilet for me. Overall the experience was very good; Elijah and Bryan were super friendly and responsive. Eli was very patient and accommodating as we discussed several different potential change orders, from new windows to painting, to other misc. things that popped up. Bryan Luna was especially a pleasure to work with. His attention to detail and proactivity to solve any little thing I mentioned was definitely the highlight of working with Prime. Their contracted electrician, Hector, was great as well. I also think they did a great job building out a cabinet to fit our freezer next to the matching fridge. Their master carpenter managed to salvage our existing wood to make it match perfectly. Definitely better than what I'd expect from even a carpentry specialty contractor. I will mention that it wasn't without some snags. Prime deals in volume so they're very busy. I think because I had delays in sourcing a freezer I ended up not getting a dedicated project manager for some time. We had timeline issues made worse with holidays. This caused cascading delays which inevitably pushed back my move in date a few weeks. When I finally did get a new project manager, they ghosted me (later on I found out they had a family emergency). Eli had to step in again to help. Another thing is that their pricing is quite opaque. The estimate will break down prices by milestones, but they repeated told me that it's not a valuation of the milestone itself. This made it nigh impossible to understand if I wanted to contract out specific pieces of the project (e.g. flooring). Design was OK. I felt that the designer was very busy. Sometimes very responsive (5min replies), sometimes not responsive at all (no reply). I wish I had a better, more thorough back-and-forth session about the intricacies of the design. But we made do. Ultimately, the designer made a render and helped point us to some vendors, but from there we had to make our own selection alone (cabinets, handles, pendant lights, faucets, etc.). I did appreciate her presence when we picked out countertops, though. All in all, I think this was a 4.5 star job, but I'm rounding to 5 because of Eli and Bryan :)

We hired Prime Design for a home remodel project, but unfortunately the experience has been very…read moredisappointing. There have been multiple unresolved issues with the quality of work and follow-through. One example is an LED light that continues to flicker. It has been more than six months, with many calls and text messages, but the issue still has not been fixed. Another example is damage to our garage cabinet, where a hole was created during the work. We are still waiting for this to be repaired as well. Overall, the lack of timely resolution and poor communication after the project has been extremely frustrating.

I want to give a shout out to Edwin who came and did an inspection for me. I had to fire a…read morecontractor for bad work and Edwin came to provide a written evaluation. He went over industry standards with me. He was professional, gave great advice and is truly human-centered. I can see he has a lot of integrity and pride in his work, business, and community. Thanks Edwin!

Edwin is very professional and is very responsive. While we did not end up using him for this job,…read morewe will definitely be in touch for future structural work because we really liked chatting with him and his work looks terrific.

We hired LB Construction & Remodeling for a major remodel of roughly half our 1951…read morehome--reconfiguring walls, adding a brand-new bathroom, and completely redesigning an old one. Owning an older home comes with inevitable surprises, so we wanted a team who could problem-solve creatively. That's where Liran shined. We brought some ideas to the table, and he offered alternative solutions that made far more sense for how we live--solutions we loved. Designers were brought in to prepare plans and permits, and the work began. Our project manager, Adi, was one of the kindest, most attentive people I've ever worked with. He stayed in constant contact, visited the site frequently, and ensured every detail met extremely high standards. It became a running joke between us about changing their slogan to "quality you can afford"--he humored me, and it perfectly captures the team's approach. The craftsmanship from Flavio, the lead contractor, was exceptional. We didn't pick the easiest designs, but the finished primary bathroom shower tile is genuinely a work of art--everyone who sees it comments on it. We also can't forget "Muscle Memo", who handled all the heavy lifting--climbing through dusty attics, crawling under grimy crawl spaces, and tackling the toughest physical work. His effort made the project run smoothly and safely. Adding to the charm, the team brought their own portable bathroom, which hilariously became a little local attraction--neighbors and passersby would sometimes "need to go," and we all shared a laugh over it. LB went above and beyond by addressing problem areas that weren't part of the original scope, with no extra charge, just to ensure the house looked perfect. They even brought in a professional cleaning crew, leaving our home cleaner than when the project started--a rare and deeply appreciated touch. We are thrilled with the entire LB team and highly recommend them. They hit that sweet spot: exceptional craftsmanship, thoughtful problem-solving, genuine care, a sense of humor, and high quality at a price we could afford. Truly impressive from start to finish.

LB did a fantastic job for us. We hired them for a major remodeling project and they delivered…read morehigh-quality work, on budget and on time.