The Great (+2 stars) ==========…read more * The structural work: Our home is on a great, new, solid foundation (with shear walls), so we feel as safe as we can be in our home for an earthquake! * Our basement is also now more usable. * Drainage: There is now drainage around the foundation and under the basement slab, so we are no longer worried about our basement flooding! * The working crew were very friendly and considerate. The Bad (-1 star): ========== * The electrical subcontractor was quite bad. The electricians didn't install the dryer outlet properly (one conductor came loose before I first used it), most outlets they installed are loose (they give when pushing in a plug), and they installed a used, old (not LED compatible) dimmer for the LED lights they installed. Also, the owner yelled at his team a lot. * The plumbing subcontractor was bad, too. They misdrilled several holes, damaging the interior of the home. They didn't seal around exterior penetrations into the house. They didn't put a cover over the branch of a wye that was no longer needed. They wouldn't do anything about the loss of hot water pressure in a bathroom faucet that occurred after they moved some plumbing around (I ended up having to disconnect and disassemble the hot water valve myself and I found a piece of silicone clogged in there). They over-glued the drain of the laundry supply box making it nearly impossible to remove the cap, and they lost the o-rings on my faucet aerator. The Ugly (-2 stars): ========== * They overlooked details in the plans about where walls and doors should go, and denied responsibility since they weren't in the structural engineer's plans, which they opted to not have updated with the revisions I told them about. This lead to a sewer pipe being installed in an inconvenient location (it went through the foundation, so it can't be moved), a structural wall that was almost built in the wrong place (I caught it while they were digging the footing), and a room that was built with no doorway (they had to cut some framing to make the opening). * The pricing/scope was negligent at best, but I'd put it closer to misleading or deceptive. During the initial visits, they talked about all the things they would do (including putting up framing, drywall, and insulation), and then sent over an estimate that I accepted. I didn't realize until halfway through the project that the estimate didn't include many of the things they talked about (including the framing, drywall, and insulation); those apparently would be part of "Phase 2," not included in the price of the first estimate. I had chosen E&F over another estimate that was less expensive even though it did explicitly contain the "additional" scope. I was also surprised that the electrical and plumbing (most of which was necessary to get them out of the way for the structural work) was billed separately; i.e., an unexpected additional expense. * They chose to rebuild a segment of stairs (rather than just adding two steps at the bottom, per the plans), which ended up having insufficient clearance with an overhang halfway down. They tried to convince me there was no new problem because they built them the same as before (but the run of the new stairs was one inch longer, causing the 4th step down to be 4 inches closer to the overhang) and resisted remedying the issue. They just ended up taking a sawzall to trim the overhang -- a joist -- which I just have to hope doesn't compromise any structural integrity! Further, they didn't even finish the stairs (sand and seal); "Test your staining skills," they said. * They ghosted before Phase 2. As the structural work was reaching completion, we were going back and forth on scope for Phase 2. However, when the structural work was actually completed, they just stopped communicating, left dirt and demo debris they left on our driveway for a month, then disappeared. There were lots of things they removed to get out of the way (like several segments of fence) but didn't put back. I could easily add 3x more issues and details, but this review is already too long.

We used E&F for a foundation replacement as well as seismic retrofit, including brace and bolt…read more They finished on time and under-budget, with good communication from both the owner and site foreman. I'm definitely planning to have them quote the next phase of our remodel!

I happened upon Kevin by word of mouth at the perfect time! I was visiting my sister and the water…read moredamage in her bathroom was well beyond my ability to cope with. He also dealt with some rot around her windows and managed to fix her deck that had been a hazard for far too long.

Kevin is great! I had him come and install an oddly-positioned custom gate in my backyard and the…read morequality was top-notch! Kevin not only does great work, but he is easy to communicate with and has an excellent customer service orientation. I was so impressed with all his work, that he is now my go-to handyman for all jobs in Berkeley. He is also very reasonable and fair in pricing. I highly recommend Kevin for any projects that you may have around the house.

Posted this on Google reviews and it got hidden to the public. I think it's important folks know…read moreabout this experience so see below: ______________________ I had such a bad experience with Mission Home which I know will look bonkers given the 5 star reviews. I was definitely persuaded by these reviews - and now will question every business that has 5 star reviews. Do your homework and don't be fooled. Project took much longer than what it should have because they were disorganized and would forget certain things (the foreman would even admit that the PM should have told me certain things!) that I would have imagined a contractor had down pat in terms of sequencing. They use some subcontractors and you are at the mercy of their schedules. They just are not organized (you will do a lot of the reminding, checking in, following up, and certain things still may not happen). They failed inspections meaning more cost (it is their job to pass these! It says this in any contract!) If it seemed as though I was questioning something, the PM got defensive and sometimes unprofessional, gaslighting me in a very aggressive manner. I saved the communication, in fact. The people I worked with directly were young and it showed in the almost-too-casual style of communication and lack of professionalism. I surrendered towards the end and just wanted the project done and everyone gone. I feel completely foolish that I went with the significantly higher estimate thinking it would offer a smooth, superior experience. The actual people who did the work worked hard though and did nice work - hence the two stars. But at the end of the day, it's actually hard to enjoy the work as I am reminded by the months of bad experiences - up to the very end. You can find more experienced contractors out there for equal quality of workmanship and for a more competitive price. I am using a different contractor now for other work at the property - it's a 180 degree difference - they have a dedicated team for my project, meaning time to completion is more accurate and on time; they have a dedicated person to procure the finishes and fixtures, not myself; they are way more organized and even provided me a timeline of what to expect and communicate with me what time they are showing up and what progress was made that day (!!); they are bringing a truly expert eye with attention to detail that ELEVATES the space and are teaching me to ask things I didn't even know I should KNOW to ask; and most importantly, I feel truly comfortable asking questions without defensiveness and aggressive steamrolling in their answers. I received none of this level of care or expertise with MHR, and I want you to know that you should expect these things!!!

Try to get some basic quote range but they say no, they cannot do that and we have to schedule a…read moresite visit even with the measurements and picture I provide. This makes no sense because we just want to get a ballpark to see if it's even make sense to continue. But anyway, on the date of the site visit, the guy come without any tool for measurements and for note taking. The guy just spent like 20 mins walking around the house and said he will get back to us with a quote. But I never hear back from them since. I think the company is very picky on clients and like to see if they have enough money to pay for their service. If they think we cannot afford it, they will just cut all the communications. This is also mentioned by other 1 star reviews.

Bumble Bee Construction-Joe is your friendly neighborhood contractor to go to! He took on most of…read morethe siding job on his own till the rest of the crew could join. From there completion time sped up. Very knowledgeable, able to explain process in simple way and also flexible with my hectic schedule.

My experience started off well. Joe was responsive, communicated clearly, and provided a fair…read morequote. Unfortunately, after a miscommunication about part of the project, which I thought we had resolved amicably (I compensated him for the materials he had already used), he later admitted he was upset and had been purposely avoiding my follow up communication. He left the original job on Friday saying he would return the following week to finish a few remaining items. After that, I spent over a month trying to get a response, with little to no communication and no explanation for this treatment. When I finally expressed my frustration, he admitted he had intentionally been ignoring me because of the earlier misunderstanding and offered to send someone to finish the outstanding tasks, "if that's what I was upset about." That level of unprofessionalism was far more disappointing than the few remaining tasks on the project. Misunderstandings happen, but they shouldn't result in giving a customer the silent treatment and leaving a job unfinished. I cannot recommend someone who responds to conflict by avoiding communication completely.

We hired Prime Design for a home remodel project, but unfortunately the experience has been very…read moredisappointing. There have been multiple unresolved issues with the quality of work and follow-through. One example is an LED light that continues to flicker. It has been more than six months, with many calls and text messages, but the issue still has not been fixed. Another example is damage to our garage cabinet, where a hole was created during the work. We are still waiting for this to be repaired as well. Overall, the lack of timely resolution and poor communication after the project has been extremely frustrating.

We contracted Prime Design & Build to remodel two bathrooms, a laundry room, a staircase, and to…read moreinstall hardwood flooring. Overall, the project went well, and we're happy with the final results. Bryan, our foreman, was a strong asset to the project. Even though he was managing multiple jobs at the same time, his responsiveness and willingness to go out of his way to address our concerns made a big difference. Because we were home throughout the process, we were able to catch issues early and communicate them directly to Bryan, who consistently followed through to resolve them. What Went Well: * The tile and flooring subcontractors were excellent - their craftsmanship and attention to detail truly stood out. * Bryan, our foreman, was responsive to texts and phone calls, listened to our concerns, and made sure they were addressed. He even designed a bi-fold closet door for us, and helped pick up all the material to build it. * Bryan also took the initiative to handle several unfinished items himself, which we really appreciated. * The post-build cleaners were top-notch and left the space in pristine condition. * Throughout the project, everyone we interacted with was professional, courteous, and conscientious. There were no conflicts or issues, which made the experience comfortable for us. Areas for Improvement: * The timeline was a pain point. While we were originally told the project would take 6-8 weeks, it ended up stretching to 12 weeks. * The design process fell short of expectations. Because Prime's in-house designers weren't available, our design work was outsourced. We only received a full design package for the master bathroom. As a result, we ended up creating our own renderings for the other rooms to help communicate our vision to the team. That said, we were very happy with the design and material selections for the master bathroom they did complete. We just wish the same level of attention and design support had been provided for the rest of the project. * At times, resource availability was limited, likely due to workers being assigned to multiple jobs. This led to workflow inefficiencies and delays. Toward the end of our renovation, our foreman Bryan had to personally step in to complete several tasks, such as installing faucets, shelving, and baseboards. He managed to get it done in between site visits and meetings, which we appreciated, but it also highlighted a lack of available crew to close out the project. Despite these few challenges, the quality of the work met our expectations. We appreciated the team's effort and the final outcome.

Edwin is a very experienced builder. He was able to diagnose our years-long water infiltration…read moreissue in a brief visit. His team started work in the next week and the whole job was professionally done after four days. He knows every aspect of residential construction and can come up with creative solutions for whatever issues you're having. He handled three issues on our property--a back-up sump pump, a downspout that was bringing water back into our house instead of to the street, and some washout from underneath one corner of our foundation from years of rainwater running where it shouldn't. He also repaired a mudsill that was damage by rats. My family is very pleased with Edwin's work and are feeling confident that future rains won't lead to more interior damage in the future.

Edwin was great. Super responsive, super pro. He installed a french drain for us and did some high…read morequality work. I was not in town for the project and Edwin made it really easy for me to track progress. Really happy with the overall work and experience with Edwin!

We had a leak in our office from the roof/deck above that I had been dreading fixing for a long…read moretime. Don't be like me and make sure you get those things fixed before they get worse. I know hiring a contractor is scary. There's a lot involved and they'll be in your house for an indeterminate amount of time which makes it really important to hire someone you can trust. Tom came out to provide an estimate for our project. He was the only one of the contractors I called that really investigated the existing condtions and repair based on what he could see and his own knowledge. He spent over an hour at the initial call making sure he didn't miss anything and talked through the potential issues and repair. This was his time spent not knowing whether or not we'd hire him. He was also the only contractor to tell me he would only do the work with a permit. Whether or not you think one is needed, just knowing that he wasn't afraid of the permitting or inspection process was a big plus to me. Always ask about permits during the interview process. He then went to his car, drafted an estimate and came back to talk to me about it. I was really impressed at this point. There wasn't any pressure from him to sign on and he encouraged me to ask questions. The estimate was well defined and a bit higher than another bid, but from what I saw I thought it would be worth it. After we signed on, he gave a rough schedule and starting time and said they stay on the job until it's done. We had a list of items to buy and he helped us out there too. He was in constant communications and always responded, even on weekends. Before the work begins, it is pretty easy to promise things to the client while telling your crew something else. When the work actually started, Jesus was our foreman and true to their word, he stayed on the project until completed. They were extremely respectful of our home, carefully protected things and kept the work area clean. During demolition, they found some unforseen things, but took care of it without issue. There were times when they could've easily walked through our house to talk to us, but instead opted to ring the door bell to respect our space. The construction went smoothly and Tom would visit and communicate frequently. He took care of the inspections as well without issue and some other things without charging us, which I appreciated. At the end of the project, we had some concern about the slope of our deck above the office. Tom and his crew came out and fixed it and didn't even mention the final payment until we were happy. Our remodelled office looks amazing. I'd gladly recommend LB Construction for anyone looking for a contractor and will contact them again in the future.

LB Construction did a great job on our front stairs. They were on time, worked steadily all day and…read morewere very friendly. We were very pleased with the results. Friends even complemented us on the work. Highly recommend them!

Harvey and his team did an excellent job stabilizing and repairing our outdoor stairs. The stairs…read morewere in really poor shape and felt like they were ready to fall down, so we needed the work done immediately. Harvey was extremely responsive and his crew started quickly. He communicated clearly about what was possible and was honest when the stairs turned out to be in worse condition than first assessed. The team replaced the unsalvageable parts and stabilized the rest, and the workmanship on the parts they replaced looks solid. All-in-all there was only so much they could do given the stairs were built incorrectly and were in very bad condition, but they pulled through and got everything into a safe, workable state. Harvey was also a really nice guy to talk with. Professional, personable, and easy to work with. He kept us informed when the timeline shifted, worked efficiently, and left the area tidy when they finished.

It is so rare to find a contractor who is willing to take on a range of tasks from small to large…read moreand do excellent work on every task. Harvey Varga took on a whole list of things that we needed done--from building a 150-foot fence, building a sidewalk and concrete pad, rebuilding kitchen cabinets to install a dishwasher, putting in a new vent fan, fixing an improperly installed dryer vent, etc. He was very responsive to our initial request for work and had a crew with a couple of days. Each task was given detailed attention and done with perfection. His crews were efficient, competent, thoughtful, and quiet. They were respectful of us, our property, our neighbors, and our dogs, and cleaned up at the end of each day. It was a pleasure to work with Harvey Varga and his crews. We give him and them our highest recommendation particularly for someone who has a mix of small and large jobs. Tom & Virginia