We were becoming totally frustrated in our search for an architect and a general contractor to…read moreguide an extensive remodel of our home. What we needed and seemingly could not find was an honest estimate of costs, an architect who could help us design our project and drive the permit process, and a contractor to build the project. Finally we happened upon STEL Builders. Cory, a walking advertisement for why you need to contract with STEL, jumped on our project and quickly gave us a realistic idea of costs. He introduced us to Frank, who is an awesome person and STEL's in-house architect. Frank gave us three options of drawings to choose from. Each option met our basic requirements and also outlined possible upgrades. Based on our budget, we committed to a plan. Within two months we had permits and construction began. We were assigned a dedicated project manager with whom we met weekly to assess progress in demo and ultimately new construction. Even before demo began, we met our design angel in Ivette. She guided us through selection of fixtures, cabinetry, tile, wall coverings, flooring; all the aspects of a remodel that keeps novices like us up at night. Her calm demeanor combined with her creative ideas made this an amazingly pleasurable experience! Ivette led us to our dream design outcome, and all within the budget we worked out with savant Cory in the beginning. STEL has great relationships with all the best subcontractors & receives priority on their projects, keeping the downtime in construction to a minimum. Midway through construction, our project manager left STEL. They hired a super pro replacement in Roberto. His many years of experience enabled us to stay on track for completion and enhanced the quality of the final product. Roberto is already a tremendous asset to STEL! And all along, even as he continued to take on new projects, Cory stayed in touch and treated us as if we were his only client. No question or inquiry we had was too small or insignificant for him to address nearly as quickly as it was expressed. We moved back into our home after six months and felt like every dream we had dreamt for our forever home had come true. The outcome has exceeded our very high expectations. In Cory's introduction, he touted STEL as a small, family oriented and local Design & Build Company. He was right about that. However, we think he understated how committed to these values Seth Larson and STEL Builders really are. They get it! For people like us, this is the largest and last big expenditure we'll ever make. They treated us with respect, congeniality, honesty and integrity. Our lives and our home from now on are forever enhanced from having met and worked with Cory, Frank, Ivette and Roberto. Thank you Seth Larson for the team you've built. Thank you STEL Builders, our new extended family!

After carefully rsearching the best design-build firms, we picked Stel Builders because they are a…read morelocal, right-sized, family-owned company who could personalize a design just for us. Jason and Frank patiently created the perfect building plans, and Brian expertly managed the project. We are very pleased with our newly remodeled home.

Updating the review…read more Why? Treeium folks helped in making a change on my countertop after I asked for a cut as the design was blocking my kitchen path. They did it without any costs and I appreciate that! I will still be very specific about my requirements and conditions with them next time and probably could get a bigger discount, but I am happy with there follow up in this case and how they did it professionally. I would recommend them!

[Original review was at 3.5 stars rounded down to 3 stars. However, I received some VERY unpleasant…read morecommunication from the "branch manager", Eran Chan, subsequent to my review post. He demanded that I provide my identifying information, ignored my request for privacy based on the review, and made accusations that I used a fake contractor. It was irksome enough to remove an additional star. Remainder of review remains in tact.] As first time homeowners, we discovered that the market for construction/ remodel help is difficult to find in San Diego. It's hard to filter out the reliable reviews from those who are associated to the business owners. This is heavily prevalent on Yelp and exceptionally so for service providers: it's important to notice how many of those 5 star reviewers have (1) no yelp activity, (2) no yelp friends, and (3) created the yelp account close in time to the date the review was placed. You should be cautious of the veracity of these reviews. With Treeium, you'll find a that there are some valid reviews and some questionable. I lend mine as one backed by evidence. To date I am the only Yelp Elite reviewer. I'd be happy to pass along my complete sentiments privately. I selected Treeium from -- you guessed it-- yelp. My husband, who's the more calm and friendly individual between us two, was the one to receive the initial marketing pitch from the company (we'll leave identification of individuals private). Overall, I would say they do a great pitch. The representative that they send is friendly, knowledgeable, and conveys a strong level of confidence in how the project will go, etc. The individual came back a second time to talk to me with my husband.. and even I was thoroughly convinced by the pitch. Once you sign the paper, that's where the rollercoaster ride starts. The first guys that came in were kind enough to lay down carpet covers to avoid stomping around in our Asian household (read: NO SHOES INSIDE) and on our brand new carpet. Subsequent contractors were less respectful and didn't bring shoe covers. We had to lay down our own carpet covers. Thankfully I wasn't present for most of the process because I'm sure I would have raised hell through each phase. They were relatively timely on the breakdown and removal. There were strong initial attempts to protect our property and minimize the construction mess. But once the actual work started, it seemed like there was just problem after problem. There were many pros and cons.. pros are evident by the final bathroom being done (finally).. My biggest qualms however were: (1) PRICE: we had to pay for a lot of additional things after the quote that just kept getting tacked on the original quote. It was frustrating to find out that certain tiles or things that we wanted were unavailable or could not be incorporated. We had to settle on several aspects. There is a payment plan option to make it more palatable. In retrospect, I think the project was on the higher end of what we could have found elsewhere. (2) FAILURE TO MEET TIMELINE: this is the MOST irksome part. We were told 4-6 weeks.. it took almost three months. With the various contractors that are required in any one job, I understand that the more parties there are.. the more likely there will be scheduling problems. But the timeline was edging on unreasonable. (3) AVERAGE COSMETIC JOB: I have never heard a contractor tell me your wall is crooked, therefore, there will be a gap between tile and wall in order have a straight tile surface. It's a minor aspect but gap bothers me every day like an itch in a spot you can't reach. Also, the white tiles that were chosen were shaved at the corners, leaving ugly brown rounded corners amidst the white tiles. Another itch. Also, we opted to keep the bathtub. They cracked the bathtub with removing the old parts around the tub. Rather than fix the tub, we were told we could pay more for someone to fix the cracked porcelain or go buy our own fix it kit. After all the extra costs, we opted for the fix it kit.. which i think is ridiculous. Oh but by the time we got around to it, the tub started to rust in the places where they damaged it. When you step back and look at the overall reno, it does look better than what we had. We're generally happy with the final product (my husband more than I)... and it is definitely an improvement. We did refer Treeium to another group of friends who did an even bigger project, but they had the exact same complaints we did so I feel that our comments are valid and verified. Prior to the unpleasant communications received from Eran Chan, I would have been happy to share that Treeium is *capable* of doing a good job and that we might return. With his harassment, I don't foresee our return or further referral.

Working with the Andersons was a breeze. They were accommodating and patient with our requests…read more They worked with us on a design before we even committed to going with them. They were half the price of the big companies and the result is just as gorgeous - and actually happened twice as fast. It is only two of them working for the most part, bringing in subcontractors when needed. All were reliable and did a nice job. Mark is extremely conscientious in his work. Work was finished on time. Really good experience working with them.

After meeting over a handful of design & remodeling groups, Anderson Design and Remodeling (ADR)…read morewas the best fit to do the remodel. My husband and I had a layout in mind, they understood our needs of organization/function, worked with our wants and were cognizant of the budget/timeline. *Remodel: Entry, Kitchen, Downstairs entertainment/guest room, bathroom and closet *Timeline: Planning Phase: Aug-Sept 2017, Construction: End of Oct. -Weekend before Christmas 2017 Cathy is very knowledgeable with design and is talented in seeing the whole picture before the project is done. She will explain the "why" with design elements if something may or may not work and she is very honest, which I really appreciated. Mark and Doug are very skilled and have great craftsmanship. They were able to create a panel to match the exact cabinet doors (which are very detailed) instead of using the plain panel to go above our refrigerators. As others have mentioned, they tidy up at the end of the day when done and ensure that if you need to use areas during the reno, that it is accessible. Cathy, Mark and Doug are also very mindful and great around kids and pets. My kiddo enjoyed seeing them before heading off to daycare. The team takes pride in their work and it shows. We are beyond happy and grateful with the end results and will be using them for the other half of the house when we are ready to do the bedrooms and bathrooms. I would definitely recommend Anderson Design & Remodeling.

Amazing work. Jason designed and installed our custom stair railing, replaced our carpet with tile…read morein two rooms, built a closet under our stairs, built custom cabinets in our tv/entertainment niche and closed off our open loft to make it a private home office. Can't find a better person with this much skill and work ethic. Highly recommend.

We hired Palatine Building to do an extension of our house and the service provided by Jason, the…read moreowner has been outstanding. We were very impressed with his planning and work. Jason is very honest and professional. He always tried to find the best solution at a reasonable price. We strongly recommend him for any construction projects!

It was amazing working with Elena and Elka Interiors. I found the company thru a community FB…read moregroup reccomendation. I reached out to her back in November, she came out the next day to to give us a quote on our bathroom remodel. She made the entire process so easy. She ordered EVERYTHING for us, complete gut job, removing drywall and replacing everything in our bathroom. The entire remodel took 2 weeks. Elena was so easy to work with and even though I was nervous (you never know what you will find when you open up walls) she assured me, regardless what we find, we can fix it. The workers were great, they worked a full day and we could see the quality and value of their work. I am extremely grateful and so happy with our new bathroom. I would absolutely recommend Elka Interiors and Elena. Thank you for our beautiful bathroom.

Are you kidding me? Only five stars ? Can I give this company 10 stars ??…read more So here is my reason for my 10 star review. We started off with a little farmhouse about 1700 ft.². It had 3 bedrooms and about five different living Spaces. It was old & beat up but the land was about an acre and a half. We turn this little dump into a jewel of Bonita. Huge open layout , 1500 square feet of deck , indoor outdoor living , a kitchen to die for , bathrooms so cozy you'd want to sleep in . With the guidance, vision and help of Elena our designer this became the house of our dreams. Unfortunately it also became the house of someone else's dreams as soon as we were done ! Soon enough , even though we got an offer we couldn't refuse ! A huge pay day ! This little project home because of Elka interiors became a huge profiting flip of a home which was our steppingstone to bigger and better things to come. Not only did you make this experience and easy and amazing one but you made it a profitable one !!! Thanks for all of you insight and patience !

We found Fred Franke through our architects, after we had a poor experience with the contractor we…read morehad originally planned to work with. Our architects, who are very discerning, both said that if they ever need a contractor for their own homes, this is who they would choose. We are so grateful for this recommendation. We did a massive remodel, down to studs, on our 1939 historic home. I cannot imagine having gone through this with our original contractor, or really anyone else. Fred gave us an accurate and honest estimate of costs and timeline, he made sure to keep us updated throughout the process, and welcomed all of our questions. Whenever we thought there might be a problem or something was overlooked, he was always way ahead of us, aware of it and with answers. He is extremely knowledgeable, able to provide solutions to the inevitable problems that arise when working on an old home. His team of guys are very skilled and helpful, and he subcontracts with the best, so the quality of the finished work is excellent. I do not recommend using a contractor who does all the work themselves. You want someone who works with other true experts in their respective fields. Fred has been doing this a long time in San Diego and has relationships with the best. He is also skilled at working with the city and getting permits and things through. And he really went above and beyond for us to coordinate with the other folks we hired to complete the project (pool company, landscape company, and even Tesla for installing home batteries and car chargers). Beyond all the work, he became a friend through the process. He is honest, funny, and kind. He would always take time to chat with our neighbors and our families. We are looking forward to having him and his family over for dinner in our new home. We have now been in the house for a year and he just checked in with us a couple weeks ago to make sure there were no issues that had arisen. This review is honestly hard to write because it is hard to put into words how grateful we were to have worked with him. We have recommended him to friends and colleagues for their work and do so without reservation. If you are looking for a contractor, I hope for your sake that you get to work with Fred.

To say we had a great experience with Fred and his crew is an understatement. Franke Contracting is…read moreAMAZING!!! Fred is at the top of his field bringing a level of professionalism that we simply did not find in any other contractor. Fred oversaw every aspect of our extensive home rennovation, provided a weekly schedule, walk through with client, and frequently provided updated financials. We knew exactly what was happening each and every day. Fred and his deep bench of experts brought a level of service and knowledge we could have only dreamed of. Each craftsmen meticulously ensured quality and consistency for their respective trades. Fred treated our home as if it was his own, his suggestions and problem solving only lead to a project that exceeded our expectations. Undertaking a complete home renovation is a daunting and expensive task - Fred made it the BEST experience, and we recommend him a thousand times over. He turned our 1920's bungalow, into our California dream home. Fred became a trusted friend, and our neighborhood misses him!! There aren't enough stars to truly rate the Franke team!

TLDR: poor communication and lack of follow through…read more We contacted Standard West because we knew they did previous renovations to our home before we moved in. We thought it would be great to keep the relationship going since they did a good job. Initially, Andy was very responsive when we were considering a large ADU project. However, when we decided it wasn't the direction we wanted to go and had a few smaller projects, he completely stopped answering. I wonder since it wasn't an expensive project like an ADU did he just feel he could brush us off because the money wasn't as enticing? He did say he would be busy last Fall 2022 and that he most likely can start in Jan 2023 but he never responded to my multiple emails inquiring about it. We were also supposed to set up time with their glass contact and he did not follow through. Truly disappointed in this company.

Andy was great to work with! His team was reliable, personable, and demonstrated a level of care…read moreas if it were their own! We were very happy with the end result of our project. Our house grew from 1,000 sf to a 2,700 sf home! We were so pleased with Andy, that we rehired him to remodel our ADU! We highly recommend Andy for any project!

T7 Architecture was great to work with! Their architectural style was very compatible with…read moreours--contemporary with lots of clean lines and natural materials. We always enjoyed our meetings with them. They got excited about our ideas and inspirational pictures and designed spaces that reflected what we needed and wanted. They are also practical and let us know if something we liked might push the cost of our project up a lot. They have a strong understanding of building codes, and work very well with City staff. They also worked really well with our contractor, who appreciated that their plans were implementable. We found T7's services to be a great value and are very happy with how our addition turned out!

T7 was amazing to work with! Andrew Crocker and his team worked with us to make our house exactly…read morehow we envisioned. They are very responsive and helped throughout the project when we had questions. Highly recommended!