From a design stand point, I found them unimaginative. And their business process/business ethics…read morenot transparent. After 1/2 hr initial meeting for full home redesign and ADU addition, Stewart Mayer insisted on walking off with printed drawings. Within days, in good faith I sent him electronic version to help him with design. Even though the other architects did not ask for drawings to take home in order to come up with some prelim costs. He came back with 2 scribbled ideas I shared with him from another architect. When asked if I could talk to some references, his response - "our policy with these requests is to facilitate those calls with the understanding from the potential client that they are prepared to retain our firm contingent upon a favorable conversation. Hopefully that is the case for you, and if so we'd be happy to put you in touch with one of our current clients who has been through design and permitting phases and is now under construction". Shocked someone would ask for that commitment after finding him on yelp. An experienced architect who has no previous references happy to share experience of his work? An architect who thinks asking for references if not a norm in the process? The process of vetting out architects could take months. He was insistent on needing my plans for redesign discussion purposes but he scribbled 2 ideas from another architect. Watch out this guy had no good ideas while taking plans to generate ideas. Violating copy right law is a federal offense. thank you Yelp for having a platform to share experiences

Esther YELP…read more SM-designbuild was referred to me by a friend that had great success working with Stew and his company on their home remodel. As a single woman I was a bit nervous about renovating my condo as I'd heard so many scary stories about how things can go wrong with contractors, but my experience with SM-designbuild was great. The design phase was fun and painless; they listened closely to my needs and came up with great ideas I hadn't even considered. They priced the project early on in the design phase and I was relieved to find that the initial estimate was very close to the final cost. The quality of their work was excellent and I'm happy to report that they finished the job ahead of schedule! You can't go wrong with SM-designbuild. I would use them again in a heart beat and would refer them to all my friends.

I was introduced to Deborah through a friend for a new construction project that we were…read moreconsidering. We were hiring her to work with us on our architectural plans for twin homes in the Cardiff beach community. I have to say, Deborah is such an amazing architect with a very detailed eye. We came in with a wish list of how we wanted this project to turn out and she put together to most amazing plans that not only met my expectations but exceeded them. Her extraordinary suggestions & ideas to maximize the space and usage of the floor plan was appreciated and made it exciting to visualize the possibilities of this home. Deborah's knowledge of the city's permitting & building process was extremely helpful too. She is very educated on the building & planning requirements and created our plans to the inch of what was allowed. Not only am I a client, but I am also a Realtor® and have referred clients to Deborah because I personally know that they are in the best hands when it comes to a building project. I would highly recommend Deborah Shewaga's services. Her guidance, knowledge and vision are definitely top notch. If you are looking for an architect to bring your vision to life, Deborah is your person!

It was a pleasure to work with Deborah Shewaga. She listened to our concepts, made excellent…read moresuggestions and helped us accomplish what we set out to do -- update our home yet maintain the existing style. I especially appreciated Deborah's quick response to all our questions and her professionalism. I highly recommend Deborah for architectural services. The Wands of Carlsbad

There are many reasons to work with Casita ADU Company. The most important ones in this business…read moreare, the integrity, reliability, and professionalism. I have been in this industry for over 16 years and have experienced many ADU companies, contractors, and services. I have not worked with or met an ADU company that truly listens and cares about their clients as much as Casita ADU. I've seen many of their projects and can confirm they are very professional with the details their clients are asking for. I'm extremely particular about referring clients to just anyone, and I know I can trust Casita ADU to take good care and treat my clients like they were family.

We went with Casita ADU for our garage conversion to an ADU for my mother. Winston was a referral…read moreby a neighbor of mine who knew someone going through a similar project and was very satisfied with the work. Winston is very responsive and after I reached out to him, he was quick to respond and show us some of his ongoing projects in various stages so we can see his work ourselves. Our project took about 3 months to complete and we are very happy with the results! My husband and I had been getting bids from other contractors and ADU companies and could not afford anyone for almost a year of searching. Winston has his own set of builders he works with, and one was within our budget. Winston was there the entire time to answer any calls I had concerning the project or builder and stepped in wherever needed. I can't recommend him enough!

I would like to give a big Thank you to Peter and his team at Genexsis. He has help me immensely…read morewith my plans of my JADU project. This was special because my parents are now living very happy with their new mother-in-law suite. Going through the rigorous back and forth to make sure things look the way I had expected it to be was worth the time and effort Pete and I put in for this to happen. I'd have to say although the vision I had in my head in the beginning looked good, but once Pete put my vision on a plan it helped alot. Pete made it even more clear and understandable to what I had imagined. Pete worked well and his communication was always professional with the me and the contractors. Thanks Pete, its been a great pleasure working with you, and highly recommend service.

Working with Genexsis was one of the best decisions I have made. The design was perfect and the…read morepermit process was professional delivered. I would highly recommend to anyone in need of design and permits services.

We were in a position to have some plans drawn up for a simple kitchen remodel. Having no…read moreexperience or knowledge in this area we reached out to Lovelace Engineering who suggested many draftsman and architects for us to choose from. I made several calls one day, some people answered and couldn't help me, some were too expensive, some didn't answer but Jim did answer and he was knowledgeable, affordable and could see us within 24 hours. We were on a time crunch since our entire new kitchen was in our garage but we couldn't move forward without these plans. Jim came over the following day, took all our information and within 3 days had plans for us. When we took the plans to the county for our permit there were some simple corrections that needed to be done. Jim took care of the corrections and within 24 hours he had then completed and sent back to me. Thank you Jim for your hard work, prompt attention to our needs and willingness to help out to ensure we received our permit. If you are need of a professional design and draftsman Jim is your guy!!!!

I had such a great experience working with Rudy and Jehu. I hired them for a cool couple of design…read moreprojects and they were very professional. I recommend this architect firm for any of your residential and commercial projects.

Beware!! Overprice, under-qualified and very unimpressive. They WILL keep your retainer even if you…read moredon't proceed, so avoid putting money down they will justify it with a single hour visit. $850 for a single 1 hour visit, no joke. They will literally rob you of your retainer and then ignore your emails. Unfortunately I hired Erin from Design Group which required a retainer of $850 to come have a consultation. Yup you read that right. Just to get them to come out, you have to put down a retainer for the job. Well didn't seem that bad at first since I was going to use them anyways. However, upon arrival it became very clear that Erin was just full of buzzwords and not at all used to social queues or ability to read the room. She was pushing her way or no way for how we would layout the barn. I really wanted my land to be used the way it was, but she was insistent that the only option was to put the barn part way into my driveway. What a horrible suggestion. I have 2.5 acres of land with adequate room. Yes there is a creek that runs through a portion of it and some leeways that are about 60 ft around the fence line but there are plenty of options to work with. Unfortunately Erin wasn't kind enough to discuss those options, she just kept pushing that we build it several feet into my driveway and just reroute the driveway if needed. I continued to let her know this is not how I want it as this is my home and I want it done nicely, not just to make it fit where it's most easy for land moving. She continued to talk at my general contractor and myself for another 30 minutes about her opinions and refusing to discuss other options until finally she left. We decided not to move forward with Engineering Design Group due to their narrow vision and inability to think outside the box or even communicate effectively. I wish that was where the story ends. Erin had spent a little less than an hour at my property of which I have Nest Cameras showing her arrival and departure. I asked for a refund of the retainer minus her 1 hour consultation and the proceeded to keep $475 of the retainer because she had to answer the phone a couple of times to set up the consultation and did the site visit. I reached out and said I'm fine with up to $250 for that one hour, but anymore then that is just getting to be price gauging and they should really reconsider this. They pushed back and said I'm sorry you weren't happy with the consultation fee. Then proceeded to ignore me after that. I've never dealt with such an unprofessional company. I'm so disappointed in this place. I can't imagine how they could possibly stay in business with practices like this.

Very nice people but it is not BBB affiliated, and the person sent to do the inspection of the…read morestructural integrity of my condo was actually not licensed! The final report was vague and made no conclusions. The only recommendation was for another type of inspection. Disappointing.

NO STARS. Rick did not supervise the construction at all, put in the wrong kind of windows, was…read moreincredibly difficult to reach by phone even during construction, and is unwilling to fix the problems.