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.

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.

We have used Casey for everything we have done to our house in 7 years. Big and small jobs - he is…read moreEXCELLENT. I have also recommended him whenever anyone needs a contractor and he has never disappointed. He is smart, timely, a great communicator, honest, conscientious, and just a great person too. I cannot recommend him more enthusiastically. Specific examples- years ago I wanted a Mr Steam installed when we redid our master bath. His ingenuity impressed me as he installed the complicated electronics and made everything look beautiful. When I converted a carport to a Gym during COVID - his resourcefulness to find materials in stock made the project happen when I wanted it. Honestly, I could cite examples for hours. Trust me. Casey is the BEST.

We can't speak highly enough of Casey, Matt and team. They are honest, fast and do excellent work -…read morethese three things are not often found in a single company. We used Casey and Matt to remodel some of our home and have had them back for additional projects and have recommended them to neighbors and friends who have also been pleased with their work. At this point these guys are family and we highly recommend!

Apptek Coachella has performed stucco for Card Construction on a handful of projects. As a…read moresubcontractor, we love working with a GC who is both knowledgeable and fair. Card Construction is both of those! Our employees are treated with respect and each project has run very smoothly. David is a top notch GC who relates well to both owners and subcontractors!

David and his crew are top notch. Their attention to detail is like no other company that you can…read morefind. We have had many projects built by DAVID and have worked with DAVID on a number of other projects. Whether it be a simple remodel or a complete new house or just a concrete driveway you cannot find a better company.

Amazing work! Very affordable and reliable. I had them remodel my kitchen and I definitely…read moreRecommend them! Ask for Nick and he will take care of you.

Mike & Juan remodeled a bathroom of ours and did an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING job!!I could not be happier…read moreand am thrilled every time I look at my gorgeous new shower. Thank you so much Mike!! I would highly recommend them, and of course use them again in the future.

Our small shower looks grand, and our remolded vanity. Mike has over thirty years experience and…read morewas patient with my many questions while providing us with several ideas. We vetted three companies (bids) and are pleased with the outcome. New lighting, shower hardware, grab bars, seating in shower, niche, and the beautiful shower doors are over 6ft! The vanity and backsplash compliment the shower area perfectly. A new mirror and vanity lighting were also upgraded. I felt comfortable asking questions about the time frame, products, touch ups...with a final walk through with Mike. Pricing was reasonable for all the work that was done. Looking forward to having our kitchen done next. Photos attached are in random order.

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!

Jorge and his team did a total remodel of our 1940's home, all the way to the studs, including new…read moreelectrical and plumbing. The project was daunting, so much so that flippers wouldn't even submit offers on this home pre-remodel. The design was ours, but the work was 90% done by his team or subs (except the roof, retaining walls, and some tile work). We would do it again with Jorge! He listened to my wife and I equally. He fixed mistakes they made, even if just misunderstandings. He made counter-recommendations to help us manage costs. His primary team Jose and David were always helpful and their cleanup was exemplary. It is important to be fair and communicate that he takes on too many projects, so the timelines proposed were not nearly close. As they say, "Good, Fast, Cheap; Pick two." He was Good and Cheap(ish).

We couldn't be happier with our experience working with Jorge and the entire Tierra Nexus Team!…read moreThey go above and beyond to ensure everything is done right--not just during the project but even after it's completed. Anytime we need help, they are there for us, always willing to fix things and make sure we're satisfied. The only challenge is getting enough time with them (which speaks to how in demand they are!), but when they're on-site, they give 110%. Great people, exceptional craftsmanship, and a truly reliable team. We remodeled our entire home with Tierra Nexus and highly recommend them!