Full range of top skills. We had a fairly major challenge. Remove a two ton stone fireplace. Its…read moreheavy chimney on two flooors. Refinish all walls and install a window and frame into the exterior wall. A challenge many did not qualify for Joe took it on . Not only doing fantastic work but also provided expert guidance throughout the process. The best we have worked with.

Fantastic work ethics , trustworthy, professional and reasonably priced!…read moreI hired Joe to rebuild my patio deck, replace the garage to back yard door, remove / install a new roof, paint the back half of my house amongst other misc items. He accomplished all the above in a timely manner resulting in a very satisfied customer! Now I want to hire Joe again to renovate my downstairs bathroom. NOTHING SAYS SATISFACTION AS DOES A "REPEAT CUSTOMER!"

I am taking the time to write this because there are a few things you need to know before you hire…read moreTappan Builders to remodel your house. These are things we wish we had known before we hired them. First, the bid. Don't believe it. Tappan low balled his bid, leaving out dozens of items that came up later as "suggested" change orders. Our project had 21 change orders! Some of these were due to real changes in scope. But too many were items that could have and should have been part of the original bid. Some change order examples (these are increases from the amount in the bid): -Electrical: Change order for $6600 -Windows: We did add about 30% more new windows, but the price went up by 90%, from $18,000 to $34,000 -Interior Painting: $12,800 -Flooring: $11,500 -Heating Ducts: $1500 -Bathroom Vanities: $4000 -Wood Trims: $3900 -Door Hardware: $2300 Secondly, read the contract slowly and carefully, and consider having a lawyer read it. Here's what we learned the hard way: We decided to have the exterior painted by a wonderful company, Contreras Painting, who has painted many homes in our neighborhood. Their bid was about the same as the bid from Tappan's painter, but we knew the quality of Contreras' prep work and painting was extraordinary. What we discovered about the contract was that when we got our allowance credited back, it did not include the 22% that Tappan tacks on to all sub-contracted work or materials that he buys. That is, he kept over $1200 in profit and fees on work that was not even performed by his crew or subs. When asked about this, he referred us to the paragraph in the contract that allows him to do this. Buyer beware. Third issue: Several times we were told that plumbing or electrical items we wanted were not available. These were toilets, faucets, fixtures, etc., that we had spent time researching and deciding upon. His answer: pick something else. When we did a bit of Goggling online, they all turned out to be fully available. We had to prove to him that he was wrong, and in some cases, purchase the items ourselves. Then, when we bought them ourselves, he informed us that neither he nor his subcontractor would warranty them. Fourth issue: Tappan suggested a very expensive, but supposedly quieter, fan for the bathroom (Fantech). When the bathroom reached the stage where it was useable, we discovered that the fan was no quieter than any cheap generic model. After complaining that this fan was not living up to its reputation, Tappan suggested that we "put some screws" into the duct work. After reading the installation instructions online for myself, I discovered that he had virtually ignored the manufacturer's recommendations: that is, the material for the duct work and the ducting length were both wrong. It took almost a dozen emails before Tappan finally had his crew take a look. Indeed they were able to fix it, and they didn't charge extra for this, but the aggravation it caused was simply unnecessary. Fifth issue: His electrical contractor tries to cut corners. When asked specifically to install Lutron switches and plates, he substituted Leviton, in a mix-and-match manner, and the colors did not match. This was eventually corrected, but it took time, energy, and a bunch of emails before it was done. Sixth issue: Schedule. From the start, we asked for some sort of schedule for this project. It was clear that this was not going to be done in the three months of his original estimate. But we were never able to pin him down about the overall timing, nor could we even get a rolling estimate of upcoming decisions and dates. We would get comments like "decide on the tile by next Tuesday" when they were nowhere near ready to move ahead on tile work for weeks thereafter. On about a week's notice, we even worked out a place to stay so that the floors could be finished. When the day came, that very day, we were told that the plan had changed, and we would have to work out our accommodations for a later date. Seventh issue: Double charging. In at least three instances, invoices had to be revised by Tappan as a result of overcharges by his billing department. One of these was for over $800, and the others were smaller. But be vigilant. You need to check their work. Eighth and last issue: He loves to look around your house and diss other work you have had done by others. He, of course, insists that you correct everything with his contractors. With his 22% tacked on to all work by sub-contractors, you would be far better off to get your own bids. His "oversight" of other professionals is simply not worth it. When it was needed, say with the electrical work described above, it was not done. Having said all of the above, Tappan Builders does do high quality work. Our crew was competent and friendly. If you can get past everything described above, you may still want to hire them. Good Luck!

I recently had Steve Tappan do another job for us. He turned roughly 400 square feet of unusable…read moredirt space underneath our home into a 200 square foot storage area, 100 square foot utility area, and 100 square foot laundry room. This job was fully permitted, done within budget, and completed ahead of schedule. Throughout the process my wife and I were worried about dust and debris as we were still living in our home. Steve and his crew took precautions to safeguard our home and possessions and little to no dust made it into our home.

We worked with Baywood for an extensive down-to-the-studs whole house remodel of our 125 year old…read morehome and couldn't be more pleased with the process and outcome. Robert and his team are kind, communicative, creative but grounded, accountable and just an overall delight to work with. The quality of their work definitely shined through after completion and since we've been living in the house for a couple of years. I can't recommend Robert and the rest of the Baywood team enough.

Baywood has been a contractor for me for 40 years. I first met Robet Malone, the owner of Baywood,…read moreafter purchasing my first house in Berkeley where they performed extensive renovations. 5 years later, I hired him and his team to construct a small office building and help remodel an existing office building on the same lot. And 15 years later, my wife and I purchased another home in Berkeley where we enlisted Baywood to convert a garage into a stunning guest room. Baywood is not inexpensive, but I found that they perform their operations with care, integrity and uncanny expertise.

There's a level of not only quality but values that separates the best companies and workers, and I…read moreput Bay renovation and construction at the top of the list. They bring integrity, excellent listening, and a collaborative approach in values. We had some work done on our home, including flooring, indoor painting, some renovation of different areas of the house as well as electrical. First and foremost, Paul, the owner and his industry partners work together to create solutions and mapped out everything prior to talking about cost. This made me feel very secure so that I knew what I would be getting, but also that I had input. He's an excellent listener and not only is very flexible but also has great ideas. The partners that he brought in to take care of the electrical work exceptional as well for me, I wanted someone to work on my house that had top level connections that worked hard and we're also ethical and that's exactly what I got. I've had a decent amount of work done on the house prior and this was by far the most transparent and aligned work that's been done. I highly suggest this company.

I've hired Paul for numerous projects, and his work has always been excellent. He is prompt on…read moreworkdays, does a great job and everything has been completed in a very reasonable amount of time. I highly recommend him.

Gary was hired to repair water damage to a basement bedroom and kitchen ceiling. His estimate for…read morethe bedroom took 2 weeks; he inspected the kitchen twice and never provided an estimate. Gary's drywall work seems solid, and his suggestion that we add more outlets while we had the walls open was great. In 5 working days, he only arrived as schedule twice, texting me in the morning to change his mind about the other 3 days. He left the room half-painted with a partially disassembled and broken closet door frame. He wanted more money to finish the painting but never provided an estimate for that, either. He also left a trash bag as big as my garbage bin that will take several weeks to throw out with my usual trash. After he saw my poor review, he reiterated that he didn't think he was obligated to finish the painting, but offered to anyway. This was the 4th time he said he'd paint it. By then I had lost faith in Gary, and was working with another painter.

Gary and crew were highly recommended by a friend who said "best contractor I've ever worked with",…read moreand did not disappoint. They helped us replace ceiling drywall after mold remediation, which they completed quickly and quietly (we just arrived home from the hospital with a newborn the day before!) Gary was super helpful and gave me lots of advice on other small things I've wanted to do at the house, including a bedroom closet modification which they just took care of right away. They were all friendly, always on time, communicated well and all pricing discussion was clear and upfront. Can't recommend them highly enough. We'll certainly be asking them to help us with additional work in the future.

I can not recommend JBM Construction highly enough! Can I give him ten stars?! I want to. John…read morebuilt our espresso bar on time and on budget. I would have been utterly satisfied...nay, thrilled, had that been all there was to praise about JBM. It's not. John also turns out to be a very thorough, communicative, resourceful contractor. His many years of experience have earned him a sizable network of reliable subs, who are also a pleasure to work with. And in the rare instance when they're not, don't worry, John has you covered. He will handle it and you will not feel the pain. John will take care of your project and you'll feel that he's taking care of you, too. Now to the work itself, it's exactly what I wanted except better. Perfect execution. A couple of things needed adjusting once the project finished and John totally took care of them, no problem. People come into my space on a daily basis and compliment how awesome it looks. Many inquiries about who did the work. Seriously, a few times a week! If that weren't all enough, John is a joy to work with. It really makes me happy to see him walk onto the project cause he's just such a GOOD GUY. Reliable, trustworthy, big-picture minded, experienced, easy--going. You will not be sorry you hired JBM.

I can't believe I am the first person to review this business! I was fortunate to have had a friend…read morerecommend the contractor services of John Mora. Over the past year, John and his crew have done several projects for us including: repairing external and internal rot caused by leaking downspouts; installing beautiful new windows and repairing rot caused by water that leaked through the old ones; opening up (and later closing and refinishing) the ceiling to put in insulation and recessed lighting; and other little stuff, too, like hanging a new interior glass door. In addition to his excellent work and reliable team, John provides genuine caring and calmness to every project. He helped us stay within our budget by telling us what we could do ourselves. John and his crew truly care about getting the job done right, and obviously take a lot of pride in their workmanship. John is just a truly lovely person and great to work with. For another testimonial of sorts, check out the reviews for the cafe Local 123 in Berkeley. Notice how many people praise the space. John and his crew are responsible for that work, too. He had mentioned that he had done a job there and I checked it out for myself. It really is well done. I feel very fortunate to have had John and his crew work on my house.

I own a tiny condo and just wanted to remodel my bathroom and kitchen cabinets. Almost all…read morecontractors I contacted showed little interests in taking the job, either because the project was too small or the HOA had too many rules. Andy is the only exception with a reasonable price. Even though the project seemed simple but there were several unforeseen issues during the construction. Andy's friendly team was able to get them resolved in timely fashion. I'd recommend this business.

I had an extremely complex project, a flood on two floors from a plumbing leak, covered by…read moreinsurance. Laminate and linoleum flooring, baseboards, drywall, blistered paint, kitchen cabinets, and soaked acoustical ceiling tiles had to be replaced. One contractor gave an estimate that was accepted by the insurance company, but then that contractor backed out, saying he was moving to Sacramento. Andy, head of Archeon, agreed to abide by the prior contractor's estimate. Although there were the usual delays and timing miscommunications common to every construction job, Andy and his team did an outstanding job, very high quality and within budget. His team also handled unexpected electrical and plumbing problems. They can do it all! I'm super happy with the results and highly recommend them for any size project.

I can say that Matt Bailey and his team were very professional, reliable, clean, and finished the…read morework that they promised both on time and with quality work. Matt is not the least expensive contractor out there but he is really good. You get what you pay for. I mention that because often times, people want good work but don't take into account that the cost also reflects the fact that people like Matt are licensed, bonded, handle all the logistics, and back up their work. There is a peace of mind that comes with that. That is why I am taking the time to write this review because I feel fortunate to have been referred to Matt from my neighbor. Matt came through and completed the work exactly as we wanted. Matt oversees everything, he is on-site as needed, he personally manages and inspects and oversees all work, he listens to you, he keeps you informed, and he keeps his word. He gave us options each step of the way along with his recommendations. For example, do you want this paint or that one etc. I also trusted him with my neighbor's keys b/c he needed to enter there in order to set up scaffolding. I had no concerns about Matt's team having access. As my neighbor reported, they were quiet, clean and professional which gave me peace of mind since I like good neighbors. After personally meeting with Matt onsite, we felt that we would not only get good work but that we would not be over billed. Our job was somewhat extensive in that he repaired lots of dry rot, leaking and resealing areas in a two-story Victorian which required scaffolding for the work. Once again, I think there is peace of mind that comes from working with a good, honest and hardworking contractor which Matt is. We are so happy to have been referred to Matt. I highly recommend Matt Bailey Construction. I think Matt and his employees are trustworthy, talented and reliable. He also happens to be a pleasant and personable person which makes it easier to communicate with regarding questions, concerns and the scope of the work. I genuinely felt that Matt worked hard to accommodate our budget while also explaining to us what would be important to replace/repair in order to ensure no future leaking or damage to the building. Again it comes down to trust. I just feel so appreciative of his good work. Thank you Matt for taking such good care of our home and making sure that it is protected for years to come.

Bailey General Contracting was responsible for carrying out the city-mandated seismic-upgrade on…read moreour building, a century old, three story wooden structure. Following a set of city-approved engineering plans drawn up by an independent engineering firm, BGC did an excellent, high-quality, and cost efficient job throughout the four month project. Matt Bailey, CEO, was always available to field questions on the work ahead and to provide weekly, on-site updates and reviews of the project. Budget monitoring was provided throughout the project and change-order, pre-approval procedures were always followed. When presented with the quirky problems one inevitably finds in older buildings, Matt was able to find effective, imaginative solutions. The BGC crew did an excellent job, arriving early every morning, ready to work, always respectful of residents' needs and ready to accommodate any special requests if possible. The foremen, Juan and Amando, were very knowledgeable and able and willing to offer on-demand updates and explanations of the on-going work. On the communications front, Mariela in the front office was always available to handle any and all administrative matters from answering billing questions, scheduling meetings, and third party matters. Finally, should the need for similar work arise in the future, we would not hesitate to hire BGC again.