With a baby on the way, we really needed to undergo a major remodel on our house in preparation for…read moreher arrival. We interviewed 6 different contractors and ultimately decided on Gavan Duffy of Build It Green Contractors (B.I.G.) (license#886570) I won't get into all of the details of our decision, only the key elements which were: 1. Budget, our project came in slightly over budget. Not due to B.I.G, but to a few changes we decided to make and the general nature of working on a house built in the 20s and all the little surprises we found along the way. The important aspect for us was Gavan's clear communication with us regarding our options and the costs associated with each choice. 2. Timing, Gavan has a young child and he understands all of the challenges and changes associated with being expectant parents. He and his crew worked hard to stay within our time frame and still give us plenty of time to get our house in order prior to the baby's arrival. 3. Quality, We could not be happier with the attention to detail that Gavan and crew put into our remodel. Our house is stunning and the work is craftsman-like. 4. Cleanliness, this may not be important to everyone, but construction is messy work and B.I.G. cleaned up after themselves after each day. To me this demonstrated the commitment to quality that Gavan and crew insist on. If you have a remodel scheduled, then I encourage you to discuss it with Gavan Duffy at B.I.G.

Gavan and Build It Green was not the first contractor that I contacted for my leak issue, but he…read morewas the first to promptly organize a time to scope the matter. My plan was to call several contractors, collect quotes and pick from the lowest price and/or best match. But, Gavan made it easy enough, and I trusted his assessment enough that I ended up going with him without much additional due diligence. The leak issue wasn't able to be fully diagnosed without removing the stucco on the outside and dry wall on the inside - so Gavan suggested starting there. He produced a small initial quote for labor - which would allow him to produce a more accurate total quote. From there, he provided an estimate that ended up being within 5% of the final cost. He had a wide ranging team working for him - most notably Omar, a very friendly and extremely capable contractor in his own right, as well as several others. He brought in specialists for the roofing and stucco work, as well. The only issue to raise was that scheduling was sometimes challenging - as Gavan is a pretty busy fellow and who was consistently coordinating so many other parties. Sometimes, schedules were shifted around - which did require some flexibility from my wife and I, but nothing too problematic. At the end of the day, he and his team were trustworthy, were all very polite and friendly, and produced very solid work and cleaned up nicely afterwards. I would recommend Gavan and Build It Green, and in fact - when another small project arose within weeks of the big project - I didn't hesitate to call Gavan again.

We had one of the BEST experiences anyone expects to have when they go through stress of major…read morehouse renovations with this company "Bro Builders Renovations". Anyone hears about our renovation experience with Bro Builders Renovations ; can't believe it and immediately asking for their contact Information!!!! Ben, Anjel and Jose are the leaders of this amazing family business. The factors that make this company one of the best GC company in Bay Area as we experienced it first hand are: 1. The clear communication and follow through 2. Meet the timeline 3. Meet the budget 4. Very HONEST 5. Very thoughtful 6. Very creative 7. Never late to any milestones during the project 8. Amazing customer service They estimated 6months to practically build a new house and in reality they got it done in 5 months considering the rain season. When the house was completed; they were on top of it if ANY follow up visit was required. It felt working with amazing competent family who CARES about you, your budget, your time and your safety. Highly recommended and if you have any further questions email me at imanrph@gamil.com Thanks

Kitchen remodel Bro…read morebuilders did an awesome job for me in renovating the kitchen . Structural work also had to be done and they took care of it and completed the work in a neat way and as per design. They helped completely right from design, to city approvals to completing the work to clean the debris. Thanks bro builders for the awesome work.

Formerly JF Construction - We have been working with the owner Jon for several years now…read more He has done everything from installing doors and windows to baseboards/ trim work, and tile work. He is extremely knowledgeable about construction including floor plans, foundations, plumbing, and electrical. He has a solid network of vendors he works with in flooring, cabinets and more. We trust him and have been very happy with his work. He is reliable and friendly.

My wife and I hired Jon-Michael based on these Yelp reviews and we're happy we did. My only regret…read moreis that I didn't have him supervise and hire all the other subs we needed for the work on our new house. He actually cares about the quality of the work being done and will offer suggestions about how to make it look and work the best. Jon-Michael remodeled our entire bathroom, which involved removing a closet in an adjacent room and expanding the bathroom into it, moving the shower and toilet to the opposite side of the room, installing a pocket door and installing all the plumbing and tiling. He removed and patched our fireplace so you'd never know it was there. Supervised the refinish of the hardwood floors and removal of the old insulation. Hired the electricians, pulled the permits and supervised the upgrade of all the electrical in our house from knob and tube to 2009 code. In short there's really nothing he can't do and if he can't I'm sure he's got a Sub who will do a great job. I could go on for pages about what I appreciated about working with Jon-Michael but to keep it short I think what makes him so good is he sees each job as an opportunity to create a relationship with the customer and he goes out of his way to do whatever it takes to form that relationship. We couldn't be happier and in the future Jon-MIchael will be the first call we make if we need any work done on our house.

Redo spaces did an amazing job remodeling our bathroom on a short timeline…read more Dave, our project manager, set my expectations accurately, and kept me completely informed of the day to day work that was occurring in my home. Dave is great ! He made helpful suggestions that made my project even better than I imagined it from the beginning . The quality of the work that was done is impeccable. The guys who completed the work were professional and hardworking. I have a few more projects around the house, I will contact this company in the future for the kitchen and flooring . Keep doing what you are doing the way you do it now. Don't change

Redo Spaces just completed a bathroom remodeling/New floor for kitchen project for us. I connected…read morewith Ben. He is highly professional, and the day I met him, I connected with him immediately. He gave me good Ideas about the project, and because this was my first remodeling project, he guided where to buy stuff and what is best for the home. His quote was very reasonable as compared to the others. He provided me with the details about the project and its associated pricing. Ben and his team also help me with some other house fixing things. I am delighted with the final result of the project. Ben and his team are easy to work with. I highly recommend working with Ben. And will reach out to him for all my future projects.

This review is long overdue. Michael and his team, including Max and Alberto and the rest of the…read morecrew, were wonderful and easy to work with. We first hired Artifex for our home renovation which included new kitchen, two new baths, new windows and sliders, refinishing existing hardwood floors, insulation throughout, new electrical, and interior and exterior paint. We even removed a wall and installed new support beams. The work was completed in 4 months and that included a pandemic related delay. The entire team is highly skilled and professional. They offer smart suggestions and good alternatives. And I can't say enough about the quality of their finish work - tile and carpentry. We hired Artifex again for our deck and railing replacement project and experienced the same level of professionalism. We would definitely hire them again for any future projects....That is, if they can fit us in :-)

We hired Mike and his team to completely gut and redo our kitchen, master bath, and master bedroom…read more In addition, we asked for a face lift on the guest bath and new hardwoods throughout the house. There literally wasn't a room in the house that we didn't touch. We originally got 4 quotes on the job and Mike's quote was in the middle range but it was the most complete quote, and he also spent a lot of time even before we signed the contract answering our questions and walking us through each line item. For two people who had never gone through a major renovation before this was incredibly helpful. He originally told us it would take 3 - 4 months to complete the job and everyone who we talked to, who had been through a renovation, told us to expect at least double that. True to his word, Mike and his team completed the work in under 4 months and this was after we were delayed by two weeks when they had to fix shotty work that had been done before we moved in. In addition Mike was very conscious of our budget. He helped us pick cost efficient products and often helped us located less expensive alternatives when he knew of a good option. On the other hand, he and his team are very committed to high quality work and would also let us know if it was worth it to spend the extra money on certain items. If there were places where we could save money by doing the work ourselves, Mike worked with us to let us do that which was a huge plus for us. Throughout the process Mike and his head carpenter Luiz were responsive and did a great job of keeping the whole team on task. In addition, either Mike or Luis were on-site monitoring the work almost every day. This is not a company where you never see the general contractor. I also have to say they were both incredibly responsive to our calls and emails. We are both extremely detail oriented people and Mike took the time to answer all of our questions and he responded in a timely manner. The final product couldn't have turned out better. We have had people tell us that our house looks like it came out of a magazine. And, they are right...it turned out amazingly well, on-time, and within budget!! I would recommend Mike, Luiz, and the rest of the team to anyone.

Les is a true craftsman and an all-around great guy. We are very happy with the work he has done…read moreon our kitchen remodel, custom shoe benches and more. We have an old Victorian and often find unwelcome surprises when doing repairs and maintenance. Les is very experienced with older homes and has quite an arsenal of creative solutions for dealing with construction irregularities to make things structurally sound and aesthetically beautiful. He is quick with a good story and we feel we have made a friend, not just a business contact.

If you're looking for a contractor who comes in, quotes rock bottom prices but charges you extra…read morefor every little deviation or snafu that might come up, rushes through the job, and makes you feel like any additional discussion is an imposition, then you're not looking for Les. If, however, you're looking for a contractor who charges reasonable rates, checks with you every step of the project, actively seeks input and feedback, works on every detail until it's pretty much perfect, and even takes care of other little odds & ends around the house without big drama, then you've come to the right place. A few months ago, I decided that my half-bath (aka "powder room") really needed to look less like a contractor's special from the 80's (uneven brown-grouted white tile floor, a toilet that needed a plunger more often than not, an unframed chipped mirror, different textures on different walls, and a vanity that left a 6" gap between it and the wall on one side), and more like a mini-sanctuary for guests. I bought most of the supplies (vanity, sink, faucet, countertop, mirror, toilet, tile, moulding, paint, etc), and was looking for someone to help make the dream a reality. I first turned to Yelp (yay Yelp!), but found that many of the highly rated guys near me were either booked well into the future, weren't that interested in a job this annoying and comparatively small (4x8' room, lots of 1/2-day tasks with wait times for drying, etc), or didn't actually have their contractor's license. If someone's going to be spending 2-3 weeks coming in & out of my house without me around, it's good to know that they have insurance and have to answer to the contractor's board. Enter Les. I met Les in casual carpool (yay Bay Area!), where he mentioned he was going into the city to quote a job. I asked him for a flyer, and decided to see what he had to say. Les was prompt (not just when providing the quote, but for every meeting after that, as well), friendly, courteous, listened to what I had to say, made suggestions and provided input on what would work and what some of the trade-offs might be, and came in a smidge lower, quote-wise, than two of my other quotes (but higher than one, who'd quoted without seeing the space). Our planned start time ended up being delayed a month (he had another job that took a little longer than expected, then the holidays were upon us), but once he got going, he was here every day making progress... and we talked about the project almost every night. For the most part, the project went quite smoothly -- it completed within his estimated timeframe (2-3 weeks). The one snafu -- I came home after he'd finished grouting the new tile. It looked not-great. Not horrible, but not good, either -- and partly probably my fault. I'd bought epoxy grout from Home Depot (never needs sealing), but the stuff apparently just did NOT want to behave properly. Stuck to the tile, wouldn't stay in the grooves, and the end result just didn't look quite right. I gave Les a call, and said "um, about the grout..." and he said "yeah, I don't like it either". The next day, he pulled it all out, and put in the good-old-traditional stuff. Much, much better, and no additional $$$. The last task for the bathroom was to hang the mirror, and he wanted to make sure it went exactly where I wanted it. Rather than expecting me to take a day off work (or arrange to work from home), he came by on a Saturday, and we finished hanging the mirror together. This little bathroom has now become my favorite room in the house.

Mark Drayer is a carpenter that came recommended to us by Jennifer Helms, our interior decorator…read more We've now used him for 3 projects and would highly recommend him. I believe he is based out of Orinda, but all of the work he did for us is at our home in Dublin. To date, he has built and installed custom built-in shelves in our hall and master bathroom, a whole built-in wall unit in our office, and crown molding throughout the entire house. The carpentry work included adjustable shelves, trim work, rolling drawers, etc. With all projects he worked with us on a design that met our needs as well as the style we were looking for. He built everything on site, in our driveway and garage, and then installed himself. He is a one-man crew and works very hard and very efficiently. He is polite and friendly, and also cleaned up any messes inside and outside the house when he was done. We really enjoyed working with Mark and more importantly, are happy with the finished products. The shelves, cabinets, and crown molding make our home (newer construction) look much more custom, and also it's more functional with the additional shelf and storage space. We would definitely use Mark for future carpentry projects.

Collins Remodeling did a great job on my kitchen. Design help was excellent and creative, all…read moreworkers were professional, clean, and permanent employees of the company, so there was total trust and accountability. They did excellent work and if something needed tweaking, Matthew and his team addressed it quickly without question. The work and materials are high quality and I am so happy with the result. Highly recommended!