After contacting multiple contractors to do some general fixups on the house we purchased, I had…read morethe luck of my fiance finding Joel via Yelp. WHAT A BREATH OF FRESH AIR! What does one want in a contractor/handyman? This is what I experienced with Joel: (1) Arrived on time for the initial visit/inspection, on short notice (with his wife and two lovely children). (2) Understood what we were looking for, understood that we had NO IDEA what we really needed, and very professionally walked through the house with us, suggesting improvements with an *amazing* eye for detail. Things like replacing door hinges, changing the grout in tiles, repainting cabinets. (3) Settled on a final work list within a day, with an estimate that was less than half of what the general contractors quoted us for less than half the work. (4) Came with me to home depot, on his own time, and helped me pick out parts for the repair, explaining the process to me in the meantime. He did not charge me for this, even though we spent several hours at Home Depot. (5) Started work on time, the major job being repainting all the cabinets the house. All precautions were taken, including covering the floor and walls. (6) FINISHED WORK ON TIME. On exactly the day he had quoted, he handed the keys back to me and we did the final walkthrough. It came out way, way better than I had expected. (7) BILLED EXACTLY WHAT HE QUOTED. It shouldn't be that hard to do this, but it's rare! I am so happy with Joel's work, and could not write a more glowing review. He's definitely won all my future business.

Im very impressed with Joels work. He estimated a kitchen remodel for one of my properties and…read moreexecuted the completion before the time scheduled. he is very professional , works very hard and worked with our budget . I look forward to working with him on my next remodel project and I highly recommend his services .

Great company and owner Benjamin and team! Very very happy…read morewith the personal attention, care, communication and professionalism that they provide. Several jobs completed, small and big jobs. Highly recommend.

I strongly caution you against hiring Ben. In replacing a door he significantly damaged the frame…read more Amidst a variety of other unprofessionalism that I have added details to below, I requested that the damage be repaired. Within a few hours, he billed me for more than the original estimate and refused to arrange for a time to repair the damage, despite my reasonable offer to reimburse him for out of pocket immediately. He proceeds to invoice me for the original amount and adds a 10% late fee for every month. This finally comes to a head when he sues me in Small Claims Court. Frankly, given Ben's unprofessionalism, I was grateful for the judge to help me manage this issue. So, unless you like settling up bills in small claims court, I would not engage with him. Below are more details: Late January, I connected with ManVan Handyman via Yelp to install rain protection on my backdoor. Benjamin came to my home and gave an estimate of 4 hours + materials. We scheduled the work for the following week. Ahead of the workday, I asked Ben if I needed to prepare anything. He said nothing. Ben arrives late and parks his truck with a dog in it on the sidewalk in front of my house. I am working in my office in the front of the house. I introduce myself and make it clear that I am available should he need anything. Ben makes unprofessional statements about my appearance. After inspecting the area, Ben leaves my apartment, unlocking the front door without my permission, and then goes to purchase supplies. He returns by just walking in the now unlocked front door, without warning. His car is again parked illegally on the sidewalk with a dog in it. Dog starts barking. Ben commences work. He does not lay down a tarp or do any preparation of the location. He proceeds to use a saw and damage the door frame. There is a crack in the trim surrounding the door on the front and back frame and a 1.5 inch gap between the molding and the floor. There is a lot of smudging and dirt and dust everywhere. See photos below. Ben admits that he made a mistake and mismeasured the door and there is additional work needed. Ben has also invited a colleague into the house without my permission. Ben has also brought in his lunch and has created a mess on my kitchen table. His dog is barking from the car in the front of the house. A neighbor rings my doorbell and informs me they will call Animal Welfare if something is not done about the dog barking from the illegally parked car out front. When I tell Ben this, he replies, "you know, that's just the way it's going to be." I tell him he needs to address the issue immediately. He says he will and instructs his colleague to finish. I ask Ben when and how he will complete the job, as there is much damage to the molding surrounding the door. Ben says he can have someone finish the job that week and we should identify a time via text message. Ben leaves to deal with his dog. I have to specify all of the cleanup items for the colleague. Dust is still everywhere. The next day I receive an invoice from ManVan Handyman for $1200 to cover the first day of the work and materials. Note, this work that resulted in damage to my door frame was already above the original estimate. I reply saying the I will gladly reimburse for any out of pocket expenses that they send me receipts for. However, I note, I will not pay for any labor until the project is completed. The person on the text (I believe it is the colleague who came to clean up) replies by saying this is not their policy and they will not send someone to complete the job until the original invoice is paid. I request a phone call, and on that conversation I reiterate my offer to: Reimburse for any out-of-pocket expenses if they can send me copies of receipts To schedule a time for the team to complete the job I note that this job needs to be completed with professionalism as there were multiple issues with the service provided by Ben initially The person on the phone says they will talk to the team. I follow-up a few days later, they say they will not schedule a time to repair the door and that I must pay the entire invoice. They continue to send me invoices for work, and are include a $120 / month late fee. This late fee is far beyond a reasonable amount and represents a 100% annual interest rate on the invoice. In the meantime, I have contacted an alternative contractor to repair the work on the door. Their estimate is $800 for materials and 8 hours of labor at $127.5 / hour. So $1820 to repair the damage they caused.

Benjamin Busby is an excellent Craftsmen. I had him build me a Mantlepiece made of Cherry Hardwood…read morethen from floor to ceiling continued bookshelves coming off each side on fireplace. Ben came onsite beforehand & discussed what options I had in terms of Hardwood..Depth & Style. The finished product is a Masterpiece & I'm still yet to take a photo & post it. His personality & vibe is so easy going & he knows what you want. I highly recommend Benjamin & I fully give him two thumbs up!!

In fact, Ben is a carpenter not a contractor (not an option), but he has done a wide range of…read moreprojects for me from a bicycle parking facility to a laundry facility, to window installation to installing hard wood floors. This guy has excellent skills, quality, and creativity. Best of all, he is among the best values you will find anywhere. I had an electrical contractor charge me $700 for half an hour. Ben might charge that for a few days work. He is super nice, young and ambitious, soft spoken, from New Zealand (complete with accent), and does what he says he will do. Handymen and home service people come and go, but after two years of working with him, I'm going to keep Ben on my short list. BTW: I hope I don't ruin him with this add (he has not yet been discovered).

Disclaimer- I was toms employee but I love this guy so much I had to review him as a boss and…read moreservice provider! Tom is an honest man and I've learned so much from him! His 30 years of experience really show in his work! He does not cut corners and he delivers a great product every time with high integrity and cares for his employees deeply in the process! Thanks Tom!

Tom remodeled our attic space into lovely home office a couple of years ago. The project was on…read morethe smaller side and it was difficult to find a great contractor who wanted this kind of work. A friend recommended Taylors Nailers and it worked out beautifully. Tom paid attention to details, while both honoring our budget and dealing with changes (like, let's do a wall of built in shelves, and let's sound proof the floor for the drummer husband). He rolled with it all. And he dealt with the city of oakland's incessant questions about permitting. The end result is a great space that fits flawlessly with our house and style.

We recently hired Behan Builders to give our small bathroom a facelift, and we couldn't be happier…read morewith the results. From start to finish, the team was professional, communicative, and respectful of our home. They did an excellent job maximizing the limited space, offering smart design suggestions that made a big difference in both functionality and appearance. The quality of the workmanship is outstanding--everything from the tile work to the fixtures was completed with great attention to detail. The project was finished on time and within budget, which we really appreciated. They also kept the work area clean and made the whole process as smooth and stress-free as possible. Our bathroom now feels modern, fresh, and much more comfortable to use. We would absolutely recommend this company to anyone looking for reliable, high-quality renovation work.

We recently hired this team for some door reinforcement work, and the experience was excellent from…read morestart to finish. They were professional, punctual, and clearly knew their craft. The upgrades feel solid and well done. Highly recommend!

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.

Graham does amazing work!!!!…read more Several years back, we used Graham to build a new deck and staircase for our backyard. He did such a great job, we had him come back a few weeks ago to build us a fence! Again superb craftsmanship!! Everything is beautiful, sturdy construction and done quickly and cleaned up!....plus, he's super nice, fun guy to chat with! Can't recommend him enough!!

Graham is reliable and performs amazing work. Not only his quality is unmatched but his speed and…read moreefficiency is unparalleled. He had installed wood moulding for us, installed doors and performed minor flooring repair as well as fabricated a closet to our specifications. Graham truly deserves the title "Craftsman".

Under some extraordinary circumstances, I accidentally went through my door, breaking the wood and…read moreglass. Carlos did custom woodwork, extending the window frame and putting in a larger window than was originally there. He did it for a great price, and it was cheaper than buying a new door. Thanks Carlos!

Carlos and Karla were wonderful. They recently helped us install a washer dryer on the second story…read moreof our apartment. It was no easy job, but they were professional courteous and did a wonderful job. Also they were quick to respond to messages and kept us in the loop on updates. Highly recommend.