Mason was very good in the beginning but you will know that they dont know what they are doing. how…read morecan a SFH with 4 kitchen? thats ridiculous. then after paying him everything and working for 3 years, he suddenly stop my project for no reason at all, be very careful dealing with him.

Very underwhelmed. Got outrageous bid with NO understanding of project!…read moreClearly a lack of interest in understanding and frankly the language.

I had the best experience working with the Roberts Boché Associates team! I reached out to them for…read morehelp designing my home office during the COVID-19 "shelter at home" period. They were able to meet with me virtually and really listened to everything that I was looking for in my new office space. They provided multiple schemes that included everything that I was looking for, perfectly captured my personality and the aesthetic that I had in mind, and best of all they were able to work within my requested budget! I LOVE my new space, and I can't recommend RBA enough. They will be my go-to for any and all future interior design needs!

Joanne and Sydney from the RBA team recently helped me redesign my corporate office space. They…read morewere great at communicating with me and understood exactly what I was looking for. They were able to produce a space plan very quickly and offered strategic design solutions to help me maximize the space in my cramped office. My new office is perfect and, now that RBA offers residential design services, I can't wait to use this company again for projects in my home!

Made an appointment for a structural engineer evaluation of a single-family home. Rachel (office…read moreman.) verified the appointment for 10/16/20. She then called me back about a week later and said Gwen Bertolami was really busy etc., etc. and wasn't sure if she could do the job. Rachel also said she'd keep my appointment and let me know if anything changed. It's been another week and I just received an email today (9/30/20) saying they wouldn't be able to do the job. REALLY? No phone call or explanation, just an email. I find this to be really unprofessional and a poor reflection of Bertolami Engineering as a reliable business. They shouldn't make an appointment in the first place if they're not willing to keep it. I also never was able to speak with Gwen Bertolami. In summary, I would not recommend this flaky company!

I have used Bertolami Engineering and Gwen on multiple projects large and small and they do…read moreexcellent work. They might not be able to accommodate a rush, but I don't know of any engineers that can these days. If you have a project coming up get on their schedule and you will not be disappointed!

Wafaa did an amazing job. She was super-responsive to my initial request. She came in, saw the…read morespace, and immediately had great ideas and vision for how to transform it. She really listened to what I was looking for. She did the drawings fast and made requested modifications in a day!

Wafa was very responsive to my call inquiry about a new property I acquired in Sonoma County. She…read morewas generous in giving me her time on a zoom call to go over the scope of the project. Though I elected to forgo my plan to redesign the roofline, if I had decided to go through with it, I would absolutely have gone with Wafa. Her knowledge and experience is strong and she was very easy and pleasant to talk with. We elected to keep the house roof line as it is, and focus on interior upgrades and improvements. Thank you Wafa, for being so kind and amazing. We will definitely choose to use her services in the future when a new architectural need arises. Recommend.

i cannot say enough about what a good job the crew that did my work was. They were kind curtious…read morepromp and very professiona. I work in Real Estate and would advise my clients with Foundation issues to use this company. NorCal Foundation did a fantastic job. Sincerely

I contracted Norcal Foundation Support in July 2025 for what was supposed to be a two-week, $52,130…read morefoundation stabilization project at my hillside home. What followed was nearly a year of mismanagement, broken commitments, and financial consequences I'm still dealing with. They no-showed on the agreed start date. I called them at 10am to find out why -- they told me they were stuck on another job. No warning, no proactive communication. It only got worse from there. The job stretched into months of sporadic work. Midway through, they told me they needed a subcontractor for core drilling -- something that should have been identified during scoping -- then let months pass without scheduling one. My property sat in a hazardous state the entire time: open holes covered only by wood boards, piles of excavated dirt, debris, and equipment surrounded by caution tape. My homeowner's insurance company conducted a routine inspection, found the condition of my property unacceptable, threatened to drop my policy, and ultimately imposed a $2,000 surcharge. Resolving that took significant time and effort. Faced with no resolution in sight, I was pressured into accepting a reduced scope of work -- specifically, no tiebacks. Tiebacks were explicitly included in my signed contract and shown on the job drawing. Without them, there is no guarantee my home will remain stable on the hillside. I paid $52,130 for a project that does not solve my problem. After agreeing to the reduced plan, it took more months to redraw plans and pull permits, then more weeks to schedule the final visit to seal holes and reconnect drainage. On that scheduled day, they no-showed. Again. When they arrived the next day, they left without finishing. Their excuse: my gardener had told them not to proceed. My gardener -- someone I know well and trust -- told me he said no such thing. Norcal did not just take direction from someone with no authority over my contract. They fabricated an excuse to walk off the job. This company demonstrated the same pattern of behavior from the very first day to the very last: no communication, no accountability, and no follow-through.

I hired Ali again a second time. A few years ago he helped me to understand and manage a…read morecomplicated and expensive job of installing underpinning to my foundation. My home is 100 years old. Then this month, I had concerns about another area after seeing cracks in the stucco. I got two bids from foundation contractors. They were very different and one was lacking in detail. So I called Ali again for his opinion. He let me know what is actually needed and it's a lot less work than these contractors had said. I am grateful that he is honest and helps me evaluate and understand whats best for my house and my budget.

Ali Mahalat Engineering is the best engineering firm in all of our area. They are our company's…read morefirst choice whenever we need any engineering expertise. Ali Mahalat is not only really good at what he does but his pricing is reasonable as well. He is the best of the best! 5 Star Rating

We used East bay retrofit construction for re-framing my house structure in Montclair, Oakland,…read morebecause the house got unfortunate building structural damages by termite and Dry rot. The Construction work includes replacing wood beams & joists, concrete work with new French drain, stucco, exterior painting, and many others. Martin and his team did outstanding professional work with honest fair price. Their fee was best among 5 other contractors. Multiple professional staffs had worked over 3 weeks on a great amount of work. I surprised they work extremely efficient and beautifully. Even they were willing to take care of fixing unforeseen undesired condition. Their hard work and knowledge of what they are doing is outstanding. Martin is a great communicator and extremely reliable. I can not be happier the result what Martin and his team brought to us. I've recommended the Martin and his team to all my friends. You will be pleased if you get to work with them. Wishing all the best to Martin and his team. Sincerely, Yuji N

Martin and team are the unicorns of the construction world. They're top notch in every particular:…read morequality, communication, and speed from start to finish. Not only do they do absolutely fantastic work - fast but never rushed, thorough but never onerous - but they also excel at communication. Martin responded clearly and quickly throughout the project. We could not be happier with their work. The team was also cheerful - a surefire sign of a healthy work environment. The price was very competitive, and we are extremely satisfied. Our project included raising an entire section of our house, and installing a new foundation below it, with a retaining wall and piers. They also did a full retrofit on the new foundation. I wish we could hire Martin and his team for every project!

Working with Sam was one of the best decisions we made for our project. He's the rare designer who…read morebalances creativity with genuine care. He listened closely to what we wanted, then brought thoughtful suggestions that made the final result even better than we imagined. He also helped us find and communicate with contractors, which saved us so much stress as it was our first renovation. Sam is kind, patient, and truly invested in his clients' happiness while also being so gifted creatively. We're grateful for his work and would recommend him without hesitation.

I had the pleasure of working with SDL Residential Design for a custom Tubbs Fire rebuild in Sonoma…read moreCounty. Overall it was a very positive experience. Sam produced a great site feasibility document and we spent several months working on a design for the project. I had an initial vision, but Sam really helped me articulate exactly what I had in mind and created an amazing design for my project. He took the time to meet with me on site multiple times and the beautiful design really integrated well with the site and local conditions and would have greatly enhanced my property. He also helped me get in touch with several local builders and solicited initial estimates for the project. Those estimates ended up being above my budget and I decided to delay the build. However, my initial work with SDL was extremely positive and laid the groundwork for me to be ready when the time comes for my project to continue. I highly recommend SDL for your custom home project.