Please note: this page contains reviews and opinions sent in by Berkeley Parents Net subscribers. Your own experience may be different. Please always check references before hiring!

2008 Recommendations

Re: Contractor for Entry Door Issues - El Sobrante
I highly recommend Macrae Builders for any type of home remodel. Brian and Lilly MacRae, the husband and wife team who run this full-service contacting business, oversaw all aspects of our 6-month home renovation in 2007. From the bidding process through the final inspection, the MacRae Builders were clear, honest and timely. (And the stakes were high, because at the time of our remodel I was pregnant with our second child and needed to know that the agreed upon time line was realistic in order to finish before the baby arrived!). It was a real pleasure to work with them. And all of the work was completed with care and attention to detail. The work that their crew did, as well as the work of all the “subs” they hired, was great. And we really appreciated that they were able to “trouble shoot” or come up with creative solutions when the challenges of melding existing construction with new construction proved tricky. We love our new and improved home, and are always getting comments from friend and family about how great it is. MacRae Builders can be reached at 510-604-3661 or on the web at www.macraebuilders.com. Anna F.

Can anyone recommend a reliable contractor for a major remodel/addition we are planning for our older home (1912)? We would like to work with someone who understands the craftsmanship and design of older Berkeley homes, and hope to find someone who is honest, straight-forward and has a pleasant crew. Thank you. Stephanie

All of the work was completed as agreed upon and was done with the highest level of quality with great attention to detail. Dan’s many years of experience in the industry (design and construction, both interior and exterior) along with his perfectionism make for a completed project that looks beautiful. Not only is Dan highly skilled, but he is also a pleasure to work with – he adds so much to the project in terms of design and brainstorming; not to mention his wonderful sense of humor…and believe me, when you’re spending that much money a good laugh here and there is SO important! Additionally, his crew is polite, safe, quiet and all qualified. Jennifer

I'm looking for an experienced, licensed contractor to help redesign part of my garage and create a small extra sleeping area on a smaller budget. There is a half-bath and I might want to add a small shower as well. So, there would be some creative design features as well.

I am looking for a contractor to build a porch and stairs into our backyard from my second story. We live in Richmond Annex, and I really want to work with someone who has experience with our planning dept. Any reccomendations? Anon

We have a crawlspace under our 1922 N. Berkeley bungalow that we would like to have expanded into a cellar area with a concrete floor for storage. There is already a small door leading under the house. We don't need it to be legal height, but at least five and a half feet. If you have had this kind of work done and can recommend someone for the job, that would be great. We are hoping to do this without redoing our entire foundation. Feel free to e-mail me directly. Thanks! sarah

Hi. I live in the Oakland-San Leandro area and I think I am in need of a contractor. We bought our little bungalow about 4 years ago knowing it had dry rot in one area but have done nothing about it. Well, with the recent rain we're seeing water coming in through that area. I would like to find a trustworthy contractor with reasonable prices (if that even exists!). Thanks for your help! anon

We need a good contractor for a kitchen and bath in our house in Oakland. Somebody local in the oakland area that can possibly do both projects at the same time. Ingrid

I live in Moraga and had two projects with Kari. Both experiences were wonderful. My last project involved a major remodeling of my house due to the water damage. Kari would spend time to explain different options and to take me to different stores and help select materials (appliances, faucets, cabinets, tiles..etc). Kari would work within the budget the homeowners want to spend, and she was very creative in coming up with ways to save money. Although this project was complicated due to the involvement of my insurance company, Kari was very helpful and stood by me from the beginning of the process all the way to the end.

In my opinion, Kari did so much more than a normal contractor would have, and she has made my awful experience of going through this water damage less painful.

Kari is talented, creative, resourceful, and most importantly honest and produces high quality work. Also, despite her busy schedule, she is always very responsive and very pleasant to work with.

My recommendation of working with Kari Grosz is without reservation.

2007 Recommendations

We have a interior wood staircase that needs replacing. We would like to find someone who could design and build a custom staircase. The steps themselves are fine, but the handrails, balusters, etc are loose and we want to replace them with wood in a design that suits the craftsman style of our home. Any suggestions/ advice on who could do this type of project? Sarah

We bought a fixer in the Elmwood part of Berkeley and would appreciate recommendations for a licensed contractor for a number of smallish projects (windows, garage repairs, deck repairs, etc.). Thanks! -anon

Hi, we are berkeley homeowners with a large beautiful older house -- circa 1916. We are in need of a pretty thorough remodel: kitchen, bathrooms, rooms rearranged etc. windows and exterior work. Does anyone have any recommendations on contractors who can handle this type of job and are fairly practical/efficient. My spouse and I have a limited amount of time and are looking for someone who does quality work is trustworthy and has a get it done attitude. Thanks anon

We are thinking about building an addition on to our small Berkeley Bungalow. We are at the very beginning of this project and are trying to figure out what we can afford, best financing options, who to hire, what to do ourselves, etc. We are wondering if there is such a thing as a consultant or advisor you can meet with prior to getting a project underway to help you figure out the answers to these questions and more and who does not have a vested interest in what you decide to do? If there isn't -- seems like a good idea, doesn't it! thanks for any recommendations... 2 bdrm & 1 bth and hoping for more

I can highly recommend a licensed general contractor we've been working with, Luca Adamache. Luca has done a wonderful job on our project. He and his crew are polite, careful, efficient, and thorough. They arrive every morning at the appointed time and get right to work; we have been amazed at how quickly the project has moved forward. Luca is respectful and very easy to talk to; he asks before doing anything that might cause damage or inconvenience (e.g. taking out a plant), answers all of our questions clearly, and strives to be sure we are completely satisfied with the work. When things need correcting he does it promptly and graciously, and he is always easy to get on the phone if he's not on site. Luca is Romanian and has lived in the U.S. for many years; he speaks English flawlessly. His prices are very reasonable and spelled out clearly with no surprises; he carefully prepares the initial estimate, schedule of payments, invoices, and any change orders that need to be done as things are added. Luca is a great contractor and a lovely person. We will certainly hire him for any future projects and recommend him to anyone. Luca Adamache can be reached on his cell phone at (510) 427-0585 or by e-mail at lucasbuilding[at]comcast.net. He also has a website, www.lucasbuilding.net.
Satisfied Customer

I would like to offer this unsolicited recommendation of Amir Sharabi of Aviv Construction; amirsharabi[at]yahoo.com; 510 541 1357. I have worked with Amir on both office space projects as well as renovations on my home. I have also referred him to family and friends who've used him in the past. His work is of very good quality and his prices are reasonable. He is responsive and respectful. His workers are clean, conscientious and courteous. Most importantly, he is honest and trustworthy. I am happy to answer specific questions about Amir by email. Howie

I want to recommend Steve Maffin for any large or small general contractor needs. We have used him over the years to rebuild our garage that was full of dry rot, install a dishwasher, and repair a wall with dry rot. All jobs were completed efficiently and professionally. Steve is also very pleasant, always on time, always returns my phone calls even when he is out of town. He is also a really good problem-solver because most of our issues have required thinking ''out of the box''. Currently, we are working with him on a stalled kitchen and bath remodel. He has shown me examples of kitchens he has done, which are outstanding, especially the tilework. And, he is an artist, long-time Berkeleyan, and eco-friendly. Steve Maffin, 510-882-5050 e-mail: maffin.com[at]comcast.net
shauna

I am looking for recommendations for a general contractor. I need someone who can build walls, even out flooring, do interior painting, and do some basic plumbing and electric. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Mo

We are looking to expand our house in Berkeley and wondered if anyone had recommendations/disrecommendations for Designer/Builders. We were looking at Federal Building Company, Levitch, BWG Baileyworks Group, Distinctive Builders, McCutcheon, and More Than Construction. I would love to hear from anyone who has information on these companies or others. Thank you!! Vicki

Aaron DeMuynck is a highly skilled licensed contractor who has done wonderful work for my family. He specializes in granite work and I consider him a true artist at this. He is fair, timely and can turn what looks rundown into a showcase! His phone # is 510-566-1141 beevs

When the kitchen and bath were complete, there were many projects that presented new challenges which we turned over to them. In each case Marius priced the job reasonably, kept to the agreed schedule, and went above and beyond many times.

Marius and his crew are recent immigrants from Romania and are well qualified in the many aspects of home remodeling - inside and out. If you have any questions or would like further details, we are happy to respond via e-mail. You can reach Marius at 510-828-6551. mountainpoole

I highly recommend Marius Construction for remodeling and additions. Marius Adamache is an incredibly fair and honest contractor. His crew arrived every day on time and they were always very conscious of keeping the disruption to our family at a minimum during construction. He came in on budget every time and was very helpful and willing to address additional requests. Marius and his crew built a stairway, a new bedroom and did some plumbing work in our basement. They did a great job on all and we were very pleased with their work. I would use Marius Construction again with no reservations whatsoever. We are lucky to have found them! You can reach Marius at Marius Construction 510-828-6551.
Mary E

We are ready and hoping to begin work on our house this spring/summer and would love recommendations for reliable and preferably affordable (of course) contractors to do some exterior structural work and interior renovations. The structural involves removing stucco, repairing old termite damage, hopefully some earthquake retrofitting, and new stucco. Interior work would be removing windows and adding french doors, ripping out and old bathroom and replacing it, and possibly other work if we can afford it. My husband is incredibly handy and construction-smart, but limited on time and manpower, so we would love to hire someone willing to allow my hubby some involvement (even if only verbal planning and no hands on). We are in the east Oakland foothills. Thanks for any recommendations and input! wants the house to be done!

We would like to add our names to the list of happy Berkeley Parents who have highly recommended Ron Masters. After getting his name off the BPN, my husband and I engaged him and his assistant, Dan, to design and build a deck in our back yard, which was a difficult space to engineer. What they built is the most beautiful deck I have ever seen! They gave us an estimate for the project, then finished it a week early and under budget, so we put them to work finishing up our kitchen, a project my husband and I began ten years ago. They finished up our kitchen and took it to a level of professionalism we hadn't dreamed we could afford. We are so pleased with all their work - all we can say is that the Bay Area is lucky to have these two artisans who are so skilled, generous, and honest. Ron can be reached at H 510-352-8763, And C 415-377-8400. zoe

David, even though he had a number of big jobs going, had one of his crew come over to take direction from me. He painted, fixed, completed. I kept him working a few days longer than I expected, yet David was very flexible and accommodating, even though he needed his worker for a different job. I was completely happy with the beautiful work that was done, and surprised that a couple of fix-up jobs turned out better than I expected.

In the past David has fixed an outside deck railing, laid a cement pad for a hot tub, etc., etc. I've always been happy with his work.

I would like to highly recommend David Ruiz and his crew for any contractor work you might have, his number is 368-0177. I'll give rec'ds, too. April

2006 Recommendations

I am looking for a contractor to repair or rebuild my wooden front staircase of about 8 steps. I am in the North Berkeley area. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much! Jane

I used a contractor recently who had advertised his services on berkeley parents a few months ago. The leap of faith paid off and now I wanted to post a positive review of Larry Guillot, who is fairly new to the bay area. He handled the following for us: two bathroom remodels (one partial, one full), installation of a new heating system and new piping/plumbing and a few other smaller home projects. I found Larry to be very responsive (replied to calls and emails in a timely manner, gave me a comprehensive, detailed bid) and I was pleased with the final outcome of all the work. Larry's prices were reasonable and fair. Just a side note, Larry oversees all the projects but does not do the work himself. He has an experienced group of guys who work with him. Larry and his team do mostly small and medium projects, but he has a lot of experience with large things too (new constuction, additions). Larry can be reached as follows: 510-558-3299 or on email at larry[at]quakeprepare.com Happy Oakland Homeowner

I am thinking of having an addition ( new bathroom/bathroom/deck ) done by Lorick Design and Construction. Does anybody have any good or bad experiences to relate about them. Gigi seems great but I would like some additional feedback if any one has used them for their house projects. Thank you
Homeowner

I am so pleased with the results of my bathroom remodel, I wanted to share the name of my contractor - Luke 510-618-1228. Or his cell 510-918-8336. He did it all - plumbing, electrical, beautiful tile work, sheetrock, etc., in my totally gutted bathroon. Would be happy to show my new bathroom (I'm in central Berkeley). Luke made great suggestions throughout the construction. Luke is Asian, and I had a little trouble understanding him on the phone, but in person there was no problem at all. Great guy, talented, experienced and knowledgeable at all builing trades. Tell him Cassandra in Berkeley recommended him. Luke lives in San Leandro Cassandra

I've called all of the contractor recommendations listed in the archives (most recent posts are over a year old) and gotten a call back from ONE. Perhaps some are out of business, etc, but I was wondering if anyone out there can recommend someone they've used more recently? We are doing a ''sort-of'' kitchen remodel - no structural changes, but we're replacing all the the cabinets, adding a dishwasher, copper plumbing, disposal, countertop. Much Thanks! Catherine

My family and I will soon be moving into a duplex unit that we now own. The previous owners rented and the place is trashed, dirty, broken, mismatched. We need to fix-up/re-model the kitchen, improve on the bathrooms, replace broken/ corroding windows, and do work on the now shabby finished basement including replacing the flooring down there. This in addition to the basic cleaning, floor work and painting. I'm new at this. Where do we start? Do we call an architect? a designer? who? We want to make the place nice but not extravagant and money is an issue! Advice and recommendations are appreciated! Overwhelmed

I have had two projects with Kari, and my current one involves a major remodeling for more than half of my house due to water damage. Both experiences with Kari have been wonderful. She would spend time to explain different options and to take me to different stores and help select materials (appliances, faucets, cabinets, tiles..etc). In my opinion, Kari has done so much more than a normal contractor would have, and she makes my experience of going through this water damage less painful.

Kari is very talented, very resourceful, and most importantly, she can work with any budget the homeowners want to spend. Also, despite her busy schedule, she is always very responsive and nice to work with. My recommendation of working with Kari is without reservation

We have just completed an extensive kitchen remodel and I would like to wholeheartedly recommend our licensed contractor Marius Construction 510 828-6551. Marius's crew was very expedient and produced high quality results for a fraction of the cost that we were quoted by others. We lived in our house with our two young children and the crew was very considerate of our space. They consulted with us on a regular basis about the process, stuck to the budget, and if something needed to be changed they were very accomodating. Marius made the entire experience perfectly manageable and I would recommend him for any job. mandk

I'm a structural engineer and have worked with Ersch Construction on several projects over the last several years - the first of which was my own home. On my own project and others, I"ve found that Eron Ersch's technical expertise and the skills of his crew are top notch. Eron also has the communication skills necessary to make a project run smoothly for his clients. In large part, this often means making a job run smoothly at the permit end, with the City. This is no small task. Eron's crew was considerate and respectful. When you put it all together, this company is a pleasure to work with.

We are about to go out to bid on our 700+ sq ft N. Berkeley home addition project (2-stories) and were hoping to get some good recommendations on local licensed contractors who may have done similar work for you. We have a toddler and will be living in the exisitng 1100 sq ft house during the construction, so someone who is sensitive to these special needs and also a great communicator would be ideal. The recommendations listed on the site are all over a year old. Thank you so much for your time and help. Holly

When the plans were all done and the details nailed down, we had four contractors bid on the job. A contractor who bumped out two stories of my mother's house across the street the year previous, a contractor who did a really nice job on a house in Albany down the street, a neighbor's recommended contractor, and one from Service Magic (an Internet referral service for contractors). In the end we went with the contractor who worked on my mother's house. Incidentally, he was originally found by my mother on UC Parents Network. His name is Mircea Ilie (pronounced meer-cha e-lee).

Mircea and his extensive crew was great. The most notable thing was how fast the job got done; it was started the last week of September 2005 and we were back in the middle of February 2006. Just five and a half months. Considering that it rained almost as much that year as it did last winter, that was a feat in and of itself, but when you factor in the extent of the work, it was really incredible. Our house was taken down to the studs almost everywhere and in some places even those were replaced. The roof was taken off and the back wall removed. You could literally look right trough the whole house from the sidewalk and see the backyard. I think the job went so fast because Mircea has a massive number of guys on his crew. At times I would be walking through the house and see framers, electricians, plumbers, and tilers all crawling over each other in a frenzy of activity. I counted more than 13 people on site one day. My family moved into my Mom's house across the street during the work, because it was too extensive to occupy the home, so the speed at getting us back into the house was really appreciated. We turned my Mom's garage into a bedroom and slept there with our 3 month old son while our 2 year old son slept in another bedroom.

Mircea's bid came in the lowest of the four we got at about $25k under the next lowest bid. Sure the costs went up the standard 20% over the course of the project, but that would have happened with any one of the contractors, so I'm glad we started at a lower estimate from the get-go. Mircea was very communicative during the project and his foreman on site had great attention to detail; often calling out potential layout issues and getting feedback from us on aesthetic issues which may not have been considered. Issues were quickly addressed, so that inspections could move along at a rapid clip and the end result was very good. Mircea's team installed all our new kitchen cabinets and readied them for the counter-top subcontractors I hired. The counter-top guys remarked and the exceptional installation job of the cabinets and the level surfaces. At the end of the project I hired a subset of Mircea's crew on an hourly basis to paint the interior and add more crown moulding and baseboards to the entire house. They did a really good job and cost me a lot less than what you would normally pay for this type of work.

Mircea's crew also took care to not trash our backyard (although the stucco subcontractor did a number on the front yard, but that's kind of to be expected), and removed construction debris on a very regular basis during the project.

So, to sum up, Mircea did a great job on our house and my Mom's as well. He was fast, provided quality work, and was less expensive than the other folks I looked at. I would definitely use him again for a remodel. His contact information is: Mircea Ilie Construction, (510)459-5502, http://www.mircea-construction.com/ Gunther

I would like to recommend Jeff Miles. He is an excellent contractor. He and his crew of two replaced my steps and porch recently. They did a terrific job. He is pleasant to deal with. He follows through. His price is fair, but not inexpensive. He has done work for me in the past as well. I highly recommend him if you need a great contractor. His cell phone is:(510) 815-5692 Rob

I would like to recommend a contractor I used on a bathroom remodel. His name is Jim Tyler. Hems a licensed contractor that will work closely with you on small jobs and also has the expertise to work on large remodels, additions or new construction. I didn't use a designer or architect on my job and he was extremely helpful, patient and his tile work is beautiful. He has strong communication skills is very reasonably priced and his work is top quality. Jim can be reached at 510-672-4031
morgan

We recently used a great builder for our remodeling job. Goran came highly recommended from a friend and certainly lived up to the recommendation. He is a pleasure to work with, communicative, detail-oriented, and friendly. On our job he did almost all the work himself, including structural and drainage as well as interior finishing. We're first-time homeowners, and Goran made our remodel seem easy! He does smaller jobs, as well. Goran's cell: 510-913-2739 Jeff

I wanted to pass on a name of an excellent contractor, Brent Murray of JB Building Systems. He is extremely competent, reliable, and hardworking. He used to have a partner and they are going seperate ways and he is looking to build his client base in Oakland. He redid our kitchen, turned our old run down garage into a cute backhouse/playroom, and many small miscellanious items here and there. Any problems I had he always listened and fixed it immediately. In short, he is a good honest guy who gets the job done and done well.His work number is 510 575-7273. kathy

I am speaking from personal experience. These guys have not only worked on my home. They were amazing and respectful of our need for space and quiet. But now, they are helping to renovate a commercial building. Every week another weird twist emerges. Will showed up in the pouring rain to hop on a ladder and jump on the roof to figure out where the leaks were coming from. Howie popped by to figure out how to reroute some wiring and create "moveable walls." These guys are great to work with. They are funny, smart and great folks. I recommend them highly. Tell them Molly sent you! Centerline Construction:530-5515 Molly

Great Contractor for bathrooms
Would like to recommend a contractor we found on your website, Rebecca Fulton. She and her crew did a bathroom remodel for us this past fall, we are extremely happy with the results. The tile work turned out really beautiful, and we love the shampoo areas they installed into the wall. Her phone number is 390-0616, also she has a website, which helped us in the beginning to make our decision on which contractor to hire. it's ParagonRemodel.com Thanks, Kim

Marius has been great to work with because he works at or below budget, he passed each inspection the first time, he is fast (while paying attention to detail) and he has an excellent work ethic. Moreover, Marius is personable, dependable, reliable, patient, respectful and understanding. We probably would not have bought our second home without the confidence of knowing that Marius would be our contractor.

You can email him at adamache[at]comcast.net or call him at 510-828-6551. Jamila

Hello -

I wanted to pass on a glowing recommendation for my contractor, Marius Adamache and his brother (electrician, Josif, the latter has been written up on these posts before.

Marius is everything a contractor has never been for me - under budget, on time, respectful, has a sense of humor, has kept our house spotless in the non-construction areas and says what he tells me he is going to do, etc... This is in addition to the fine work they have been doing.

It has been very reassuring having them work on our project - which is large remodel/addition that took about 4 months in length (just a few weeks left). We added 3 bathrooms, a bedroom; closets - with substantial detail work.

You can email him at adamache[at]comcast.net or call him at 510-828-6551. He can reach his brother if needed, and Josif's # is elsewhere on these pages. Jason, Berkeley

2005 Recommendations

I would like to recommend our contractor, SORIN FERARU, who finished a difficult job in our house. We had to remove 800 sq ft from our house, pour a new foundation and rebuild the family room, the kitchen and a bathroom. Sorin and his crew did a fantastic job, they worked very fast, excellent quality, very pleasant and courteous. The job was finished on time and in the budget that we agreed on. We had a couple of change-orders for which we paid a fair price. Bottom line - we are more than happy to recommend Sorin.His phone number is (510) 228-7366. P.S. Thank you, Susan, for posting his name on this site - it was very helpful. Cindy.

RE: Design/Build Contractor - Modern/Contemporary Home
I recommend James Carpenter. His office is in Oakland, and his cell phone number is 510-325-9704. He and his workers are just now finishing up a major remodel of my family room and entryway. (More than "down to the studs," they actually completely removed and re-built the walls.) The house is a 1959 structure that was poorly built in the past, and we've been gradually making it more mid-century modern. Although we had a wonderful architect to draw up plans for improvements (I recommend them too: Envelope Architecture and Design), James also has an excellent eye for modern design as well as the skill to pull it off. In addition to heavy-duty building, they did some beautiful clean-lined finish work. (He doesn't need to hide his work behind big hunks of crown moulding!) Also, he's trustworthy, tidy, polite, and a good communicator. Please feel free to email me as a reference. Nicole

I have an English Tudor style home built in 1928 and Mircea was able to duplicate all moldings, trims and details exactly. His attention to detail was wonderful. He and his crew have and old world, European work ethic and displayed a sincere desire to deliver a quality product. I am thrilled with my home. Mircea Ilie (510)459-5502. Please feel free to contact me for more details. Rhea

I would be very curious to compare the work of the other high-end craftsmen with the work Dee has accomplished. I am a big booster for him – in addition to the quality work, he has made good suggestions about design which made the project better, and the process became more interesting and fun. Also, for my friends, he has built a porch, and a new bathroom, their names are below for references.

As Dee is not a licensed contractor, I saved a great deal of money. However, he knows how to build, from rebar to shingles, learned from 30 years experience,. Take a look at his site and you can see how talented he is. His preference is for finish work, but he can do it all. Dee’s email is dee[at]berkeleymastercarpenter.com and tel is 510-234-4069. paul

My husband and I would like to recommend Sorin Feraru, our contractor,from "Feraru & Associates", for any addition or remodeling you might have. He's working on adding a deck to our house, here in Berkeley. He also remodeled our bathroom a few months ago, including wall demolition, moving the sink and toilet on another wall, replacing the tiles, paint,appliances,etc. He and his crew are almost done with the deck and it looks just great so far, plus he didn't increase the price as the job progresse - I heard that's what other contractors use to do .We're very happy with his workers, with him, with the price and the time of completion. His phone number is (510)228-7366 or (775)232-3819. Berkeley home owners

We are nearing the end of an extensive remodel/addition to our small Albany house, and would like to recommend our contractor, James McCarthy, with no reservations. He is great to work with. I think he normally specializes in Kitchen/bath remodels, and has done everyting from building a new deck and fence for us, to window replacements (and an in-law unit for my mom) over the past 10 years.

If you are looking for a productive, efficient, creative contractor/master carpenter (plumber, electrician), I suggest George Woodward. I bought a former crack house in N. Oakland. I asked George for his assistance, having seen some of his work in the home of a close friend. Here's what I found: George looks for an economical, but nonetheless "perfectionist" solution to all issues, whether questions of design or structure. I am happy to send people before and after pictures, and the changes to this now happy, bright, colorful home. In good part, thanks to George Woodward. You can reach him at: badger[at]nature.berkeley.edu or 510-547-2307 elizabeth

Great Independent Carpenter/Contractor
If you're looking for a super capable independent carpenter I cannot recommend a woman named Dixie Briggs highly enough. I worked with her for years in the trades and now that I have left the trades she is the person we hire. Her work is amazing. Dixie has over 13 years experience available with everything from small to large jobs. Her background includes remodels, kitchens, framing, interior/exterior trim, restoration, decks, fences... Residential and commercial. You name it, pretty much.

She's really sweet, efficient, organized, has an unbelievable attention to detail, and amazing abilities executing just about anything having to do with wood (and other construction materials for that matter).

Dixie's Cell # is 510-604-3765 Her email is dlb_ablaze[at]yahoo.com

I don't post my email but I can speak with you in more detail as a reference if you're interested. Just ask Dixie for my number. Bill

I'm writing to give a glowing recommendation to Guillaume Canivet, who has done much of the remodeling in my parents home (most recently two bathrooms), some work in my home and at my business. He's a contractor who does excellent finish carpentry, plumbing, electrical--almost anything. He'll tell you if it's beyond his scope. He is top-notch; his prices are reasonable; he's completely reliable and honest, and he's a super-friendly, wonderful guy to boot. At the moment he's doing a kitchen remodel in a spectacular Joseph Esherick home on Marin just above Grizzly Peak. If you are contemplating doing some work around your house--large or small--or just have something that needs to be done that you've been putting off--I highly recommend that you call him: 915-3225. Francesca

Hi, can anyone provide a referral for Mircea Ilie on recent work he has done? The last postings for him are somewhat dated. Thanks in advance. Ken

Mircea did a lot of designing as well as building to renovate the main floor of my Oakland hills home. The work included adding a full bath, installing exterior wood French doors, laying a beatiful Brazilian cherry floor, refinishing ceilings walls and adding crown molding and wainscotting, finding interior French doors to match existing ones, installing a new hood after moving the range to a better location, installing a skylight, adding many recessed halogen lights, gutting and remodeling an old bathroom with honed marble and new fixtures...

I could say more, but will conclude by saying that Mircea has been the most aesthetically aware and detail oriented of any contractor I have encountered in many years of remodeling. He is always available for questions and responsive to any concerns, and will make changes without a quibble. His workers are polite as well as skilled, but amazingly will work weekends and evenings to get the job done. He arranged to install two toilets in my daughter's home on a Sunday. He is obviously a man of great integrity who is proud of his work. And, as orther contributors to the Berkeley Parents' Network have said, his fees are extremely reasonable. My husband, who is an engineer, is delighted with Mircea's work, too. Marion

We had also been quite taken by the number of previous positive reviews (look at them carefully though; about three are from the same person), and were surprised and disappointed to have such a negative experience. Only one previously posted review of Mircea's work has been negative; possibly because a negative review is so much harder to put out. However, we noted were two, maybe three, jobs going on at the same time as ours that were also having problems of some sort w/ Mircea's work. Our suggestion would be to look/ask around a bit more for another contractor, and not to use Mircea.
Unhappy w/ contractor Mircea Ilie

I would like to recommend my contractor, Sorin Feraru. He is a young Romanian trained, very talented, hardworking and meticulous. He does kitchen and bathroom remodels as well as small jobs. He works with his father and another man. They work very hard, clean up, respect your property, ask questions and do a very high quality of work. He did a remodel of my bathroom in a record time of two weeks. (775) 232-3819 Susan

High recommedatiom for Jim Davenport who recently constructed our common house and unit on top in our cohousing community in the Temescal. He is thorough, communicative and has a sense of humor. Great subcontractors. Finished job on schedule and on budget--how often do you hear that?? And we LOVE the result. Can be reached at 841-6601 Karen

There is a wonderful general contractor named Efton Masters (510) 569-3355 that I would highly recommend for bathroom or kitchen remodels (or anything else that needs to be done in those rooms), and for tiling. He has over 15 years experience and does amazing work. He also has extensive experience in decks and fences. Great work at a great price! caribbeanmommy

2004 Recommendations

Does anyone have any experience of using Jesse C Young (there are 2 Jesse Young's out there apparently). We are thinking of having him bid a kitchen remodel. loraine

I would like to recommend a wonderful contractor Jim Tyler. He just finished a downstairs remodel for me that was turned into a studio/inlaw unit. I found him through months of searching. I had come from a contractor gone bad scenario and interviewed many from this network before finding Jim from the designer that had drawn rough plans for me. Working from these plans he asked many questions, being an east coast transplant added to his eye for details as well as thinking about cost. His communication skills throughout the project were excellent. Jim can be reached at 510.655.9643

We would like to recommend our general contractor Luca Adamache for construction and home repair projects big and small. We first became familiar with Luca’s workmanship and work ethic when he worked as foreman on a second-story addition to our 1920s home – a difficult job on a tricky site, requiring considerable foundation work, a steel moment frame, and complicated framing. Luca did a stellar job and formed excellent working relationships not only with us, but with the architect and structural engineer as well. Later we hired him as our general contractor to handle a number of details around finish work, and he and his crew installed trim, designed and built a window seat and a hand rail for our new staircase, waterproofed and built a mortar bed for our shower, installed plumbing fixtures, handled stucco repair and more. Luca priced his work fairly and was intent on making sure we were 100% satisfied. He can be reached at 510/427-0585. To learn more, visit www.lucasbuilding.net.

I'm pleased to recommend Davenport Builders Company to do remodels, build houses and other contracting jobs. We had Jim Davenport and his crew remodel our Victorian flat last year and we are very pleased with the results. (Work included complete tear-down to bare walls throughout 1100- sq-ft flat, new kitchen in new location, one new/one redone bathroom, new electrical and plumbing, new central heat, on- demand water heater, new plaster, sheetrock, woodwork and cabinetry throughout. Phew!) We worked closely on everything from overall concept to final details (he was a finish carpenter for years, so really knows his stuff when it comes to making new fixtures look great in a 100-year old house!). Jim is responsible, hard-working and has a great crew and local sub-contractors for electrical, plumbing, etc.

Jim also built a ''common house'' for a No. Oakland cohousing complex recently and all six families are pleased with the result. He prefers larger jobs but will also do smaller ones, and is available this fall for the next projects. Call him in Berkeley at 841-6601 or email jim.davenport at comcast.net Nicole

I highly recommend Neil Teixeira of Piedmont Construction (510-658-9938). During the winter of 2003 he reconfigured our upstairs, removed some walls and added some new walls and doors downstairs, remodeled our kitchen and added a half bath. He is reasonable, honest, experienced, and great to work with. Contact me for more specific details about the project or working with him, if needed. Jennifer

We are doing a house addition and remodel and we are using Berkeley Craftsman Builders/Construction and we are thrilled with their work, advice and guidance! Doing an addition or remodel can be an overwhelming experience and it is wonderful to having talented and caring contractors to see you through it. All of their crew and the sub contractors have been skilled, kind and FAST! We highly recommend them! John & Jennifer Marks 526-0420 - for a more detailed reference. Berkeley Craftsman Builders 815-0123 jennifer

Peter was excellent to work with. Terrific workmanship, honest and ethical, and a nice guy! He did a lot of the work himself and his subs were all great. He was there almost all of the time for the 3.5 months that the project was in full gear. He was also flexible with us, letting us take on some parts of the project (ie, demolition, painting..) to avoid his overhead. Change orders were very reasonable.

Before deciding to hire Peter, we also met with a couple of larger companies in Oakland and Berkeley. They both seemed very good but the price would have been considerably higher for us and we're very happy we went with Peter.

I wish we would have hired him for the design part of our project instead of hiring an architect. Dan

Mircea also had really great design ideas, which saved us a lot of money, and were much better solutions in the long run. We had a number of major changes during the construction and I was surprised at how little he charged for these. He gave us great contact information on where to buy flooring, tile and granite. These places were much cheaper than the ones we had researched. His crew worked very fast, showed up on time and left the whole area very clean. In racking my brain for something that went wrong q I would say I spent a lot of time at Home Depot and other stores buying stuff. I donmt know how this could have been avoided, because I doubt any contractor can select your tile, paint or light fixtures for you.

I was 7 months pregnant during the 1 month construction and I could imagine the process being much more stressful than it was. We are very, very happy with their work and the price. If you would like more info please email me. Michelle

I highly recommend All Seasons Construction. Steve Sanchez is the owner and has many years experience with all sorts of building projects. He works a lot with foundation, drainage, dry rot, and construction. 510-685-0046

Re: contractor for addition
I highly recommend Burle Southard. He is nearing retirement and is passing on his work to his able ''right hand man'' Kelly. They did a great job on many projects at our Thousand Oaks 1936 home: adding a bathroom and two rooms with built in bookcases and overhead storage compartments, adding a bay window and window seat to our living room, new walkways, decks, a door from my son's room to the deck. He helped with design, took us to see other similar jobs he had done in the Hills. Everything was done neatly, on time, on budget, with pleasant, courteous workers. Kudos! His number is 707-552-3222, cell 510-685-1186. kathryn

This recommendation is written on behalf of Mircea Ilea, contractor, and his crew. We hired Mr. Ilea to convert our downtrodden garage into a bedroom for our daughter. With vague plans and a tight budget we hired Mr. Ilea and his crew in November 2003 and by the end of January 2004 the project was completed ahead of time and on budget. Mircea accommodated all of our special requests with his trademark comment lno problem, what else?n We also hired him to do a number of additional projects ranging from installing a french drain to removing a wood burning stove to building a new closet. All these tasks were completed quickly and professionally. His crew were extremely hardworking and nice. He seemed to have a crew member able to accomplish any task we could think of. Now that the work is done we are thrilled with the room. It is a beautiful and bright space. We would highly recommend Mircea Ilea and his crew. larry & patty

We are delighted with his knowledge of materials, good building techniques ( I was a GC years ago), and his craftsmanship. He works at the site everyday, or gives you the reason why he will not be there. He and his partner come well-equipped and put in an honest day's work. He is quite reasonably priced, beating my next bid by over 25%.

He works to the finish level that is appropriate for your home. He came recommended to me by an old-home rehabber who does Craftsmen homes and exclusively uses John. But my home is a mixture of poorly done updates, so fine finish work was not my goal. I wanted well-built but fitting to my home. John found the right level of materials, and is doing an excellent job. I will use him for all future work. You can write me if you need additional information. Loni

I would like to recommend Matthew Muchnick, ROC Construction, for remodels or additions. We finished a kitchen remodel and porch on our Berkeley Craftsman home end of last year. Matt does great work and most importantly q he is VERY HONEST. He is also meticulous and thoughtful. As you can imagine, not everything went perfectly but Matt proactively took responsibility for issues on his dime. He knows the codes and is a licensed contractor. He can be reached at 510-638-5284 or hon600F at aol.com. aakinder

In response to the following requests from the last Household Digest, I can happily recommend Glen Larsen without reservation - 510-232-9122 Glen and his crew did extensive work on our house - new windows, electrical, new fences and portico (which he designed), flagstone patio, painting inside and out. Also, Glen has extensive experience with mold - he and his wife have had serious health problems from it.

''Can anyone recommend a carpenter to build a small deck and repair outside stairs and fencing?'' ''Can anyone recommend a good contractor to replace windows?'' ''We are looking for a general handyman to build shelves, remodel a small bathroom, generally do some small projects at our house in Rockridge.'' ''looking for recommendations on builders/contractors to rebuild a deck and the stairs to it.'' ''Help. I had a large flood while out of town for two weeks. Translation: My downstairs rental apartment was under 2 to 4 inches of water for 2 weeks. I need some drywall and baseboards replaced and I have a problem with mold growing down there.'' jessica

Earlier Recommendations

My gifted friend has left his cabinet company for a better and more independent life so I would like to share his talents with everybody out there who is in need of help! First of all, he is a licensed contractor who has over twenty years experience in carpentry, electrical and plumbing, AND he has specialized in consulting designing and installing cabinetry for home offices garages and closets for the last twelve years. If you have limited space and want to design a home office, need to organize storage in the garage or closets, he is the one you should see. He has helped us with foundation and front yard drainage issues, yard landscaping and irrigation system. He is always quick to respond, very friendly and extremely knowledgeable. I highly recommend him for ANY types of house related issues/works. You can reach Clint [at] 510-235- 8575 or email him [at] clintrd at sbcglobal.net

Re: kitchen remodel
I would like to recommend Kim Cobb for any one doing an addition or kitchen remodel. Kim was a pleasure to work with. No nightmare stories to report. Showed up everyday, easy to talk to, beautiful work. Email me for more info on her if you want to. Her number is 569-4508. Karen

Mike and Mark Butler of Berkeley Craftsmen (510/815-0125) created a bathroom, created a organized closet, reframed doors, finished a basement room and built-in shelves in our oakland house. They are all of the above plus they have a very good creative vision and were very helpful in making design decisions.

Greg Kempton 415/771-9629 Did a huge landscaping job with massive retaining walls, drainage, irrigation, railings, concrete steps, a buit-in ourdoor kitchen and more! He created a fantastic multi-purpose yard where once there was just a hill!!!

Also, both companies have very professional and pleasant working styles and crews. I have done a lot of this kind of stuff and I can't stress enough how important it is to have pleasant people around during contruction. alison

I want to recommend my contractor, McCutcheon Construction. Two years ago they remodeled a small bathroom for us, and this summer they have been doing an attic conversion on our 1912 house, which includes seismic reinforcement of interior and exterior walls, as well as a kitchen upgrade. McCutcheon is a large company with many projects going on at once. You have an onsite carpenter/site supervisor who is there all the time, and then a project manager who oversees the whole thing. Our project managers have been very experienced men who keep things running smoothly and worry-free for me. I also like that one of McCutcheon's project managers is a woman. Stuart Fox, our site supervisor guy, is smart, skilled, and artistic - he used to build furniture for Berkeley Mills and he is amazing. I am very picky about details like wood finishing and hardware and Stuart has consistently produced exactly what I envisioned or some- times, something even better. The firm's owner, Michael McCutcheon, is a personable guy who does the preliminary work of talking and discussing and estimating, and has been right on the money in giving us an estimate for a big complicated job. Actually everyone I've worked with at McCutcheon, and all their subs too, are people that you don't mind having around your house, which is good, because they are there every day when you remodel. As to workmanship, I have high expectations and their work has consistently been better than what I expected. They pay attention to details that I don't even notice. They really do take pride in doing good work - these guys are at the top of their art. The subs they use are top notch too. Cost-wise I think they are somewhere in the moderate-to-high range. There are costs associated with a bigger firm that you won't have with a small operation because of the administrative layers. To me it is worth it though because I get a team at my house that works efficiently and quickly with minimal stress for me. They have a lot of experience working with various local sub-contractors which saves me money and stress because they make sure everything is finished and in working order. I feel that their pricing is fair, and they have been great about suggesting creative alternatives when some piece of it has gotten too expensive. I highly recommend them for a small job or a big one. Email me if you want more info. Ginger

Brandon Luce cell: 510-816-0647
Vlado Bradbury cell: 510-816-0653
Fax: 510-769-0985

We are hoping to expand our kitchen and remodel it in the upcoming year. In order to make our kitchen larger, we would like to move the front wall of our house. Consequently, a new roof will need to be put in as well. Can anybody recommend a good general contractor who can take on such a project for us? Kelly

I would like to recommend Mircea Ilie as a general contractor for jobs of all sizes. He recently rebuilt the front terrace of our house in Richmond. This terrace sits directly above our garage, so proper drainage was an issue and it was important that it not leak. The job involved removing the existing tile surface, digging out dry rot that had affected the subfloor, beams, and railing, shoring up exising support, and laying subfloor, waterproof membrane, mortar base, and new tile. Mircea and his crew were very efficient and did excellent work. They were fast (they finished ahead of schedule), they kept the area clean, and they were cheap. Mircea's bid was the lowest of all the contractors we interviewed (some bids were twice as high as his!), despite the fact that he proposed to do a more thorough job than any of the others. In addition to all this, he was friendly (though quiet) and a pleasure to work with. Hans

Re: contractor needed for kitchen remodel

I highly recommend Big Red Construction. It is a women owned business and they do a wonderful job. Kathy's crew is on time, neat and does great work. They are very pleasant and very reliable. The jobsite is left very clean each day. She is just finishing up a job for me now. Her number is 925-210-1953. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. jennifer

I don't know if I can recommend my own family's business on Parent's Network? But my husband and his brother own Berkeley Craftsmen Builders, a contracting company. They job share in order to help care for our 14 month old son, and his 18 month old daughter (also has an 8 year old). One of their carpenters also works part time to care for his baby daughter. They do good work around Berkeley from ground up projects, to foundations, to kitchen and bath remodels. They're busy, but friendly and reliable. Berkeley Craftsmen Builders Mark and Michael Butler 815-0125 Carol

If you are in need of any of these services, we highly recommend Ron Masters. We found his name through the Berkeley Parents Network a few months ago and hired him for a large deck restoration job. Ron was very reliable,conscientious, professional, and friendly. He helped us add a few modifications to the architectms plans that truly enhanced the end result. We have continued working with Ron on other projects around our home such as installing a new bathroom cabinet and sink and building a garage storage system. Ron is open and communicative, making him very easy to collaborate with. He is knowledgeable and value conscious and helps get the most out of ones budget. Also, he always returned our calls in a timely manner. You can contact Ron Masters directly at (415) 398-8496 or (415) 377- 8400. Nancy and John

Re: Contractor/Architect
We used Jamie Carlen as contractor (510-970-7977) and were more than pleased with their work. Good luck on your project. Monica

Re: Remodel of Small Bathroom
I can highly recommend Karl Mulligan, a general contractor, for the remodel of your parents' small bathroom. He does quality work, has reasonable prices and has experience working with the only bathroom in the house. Recommendations are readily available. He lives in Albany. Contact him at: (415) 871-8398. leslie

I know a good contractor for all kinds of projects. I gutted and remodelled a ranch house in Montclair with Cecil Pearson of Pearson Construction as an investment property, sold it and just put a new foundation in a little Bungalow off Hopkins St. I respect Cecil as a builder so much that I've gone to work for him as construction coordinator. He has built everything from bridges to air force bases to custom homes worth millions. He's old- fashioned in that he believes so strongly in doing things well and with integrity. He doesn't cut corners and that means that he's not the lowest bid. But I've accompanied Cecil enough times to look at people's houses that were done cheaply and now they have to be redone... He's respectful of your relationship with neighbors, keeps the worksite clean, never missed a day of work that I saw, and likes to focus on one job at a time (he won't disappear for days at a time with the project in limbo). I am proud to work for him. Evan

I can strongly recommend James Troupe of Troupe & Sons construction for almost any contracting, remmodeling or repair need. He has done two additions on my home, including a one bedroom in-law unit, and adding an attic bedroom. He has also remodeled my kitchen and completed countless other repairs. His bids are fair, he is friendly, knowledgeable and efficeint. He can be reached at troupe AT pacbell.net. jmv

Re: Kitchen remodel
Hi, I'd like to recommend my husband William Walker. He is a licensed contractor / Cabinet maker who specializes in Custom Kitchens that are excellent quality, beautiful craftsmanship and he is amazing with space saving designs; in fact his forte is designing usable, organized, storage solutions for small spaces. He has just finished four beautiful kitchens locally. He also uses certified sustainable harvested wood when possible and the price is hardly affected. He does design work with a computer and presents the project with a full color 3D rendering that shows how the kitchen will look when the project is completed. Estimates are free, however he charges an hourly rate for design time. He has many happy customers. Feel free to contact him for a consultation at SilverWalker Studios 510.215.1266 Liza Silver

Re: Kitchen remodel
In January I had my kitchen remodeled by Mircea Ilie (see www.mircea-construction.com), whom incidentally I found on this list 2 years ago. He did a fabulous job, and is amazingly fast and on budget. Call him at (510) 459-5502. Anushka

In response to the inquires looking for a contractor for a remodel (bathroom) and fence work, my husband is a general contractor in Berkeley (and greater bay area). He has been in the business for 15 years and is currently looking for smaller jobs-decks, fences, room additions, (wants to make time for new baby arriving in February). He is very reliable, does quality work, and will provide references upon request. To contact Michael please call 510-845-2808 or 510-703-1905 or email to elisa_parker AT hotmail.com Elisa

Re: Garage Conversion
I would highly recommend calling Mircea Ilie Construction (510-459-5502). Mircea is very trustworthy and gets things done quickly. He is also very consciencious about doing high quality work (and he won't rip you off). You can learn more about his company at www.mircea- construction.com. Anushka

My husband is a general contractor who also specializes in stairbuilding. He works with Tom Lawerence and Associates, a Berkeley based company. They are wonderful people to work with, and I highly recommend them. They will let you know if they can do the job within your specified budget. They can be reached at 237-3421 or 237-3567. Good luck Geri

We have found a great contractor, Will Hoyt. We have only used him for small handyman type jobs around the house, but he's excellent and very nice and dependable. His phone: 524-8629 Toby

We recently hired Tom Owczarzak, a licensed contractor, to demolish and rebuild a second floor deck off our upstairs bedroom. His price was very good, his work impeccable, and his communication skills excellent. He can be reached at 510-872-0523. I would recommend Tom to anyone. terbot

I recently wrote about winfield contractors and was asked for more specific info. They were 3 months behind schedule on a 5 month job. Their workers were careless, (they left all of our windows wide open when they left work one day), their work, especially the painting was a very low quality and they failed the structural inspection from the City. We had a terrible experience with them and truthfully, they were not very accomodating or pleasant to work with. We really would not recommend them, even if their price is low. ruthy

I am writing to caution anyone contemplating hiring a general building contractor to beware of contracting with Baycraft Construction, owned by Alan Brennan, based in Oakland. I contracted with Baycraft to do an extensive renovation of my home in July 2001, with estimated completion in May 2002. As of 9/26, the job is not finished. It has been necessary to have completed work torn out and redone and in many ways much of the work has been substandard. Although I am scheduled to move very shortly, due to the contractor's delays the utilities meters have not been installed and the house will therefore not have gas (stove, water heater, heating.) Newly installed telephone lines, embedded in the walls, are non-functional and will require rewiring. This is only a short list of the ongoing problems encountered with this contractor. I have found it necessary to retain legal council and strongly caution anyone considering hiring a general building contractor to beware of Baycraft Construction. -Muriel

Re: Contractor / Concrete Person
I noticed in the last Household Digest that two people were looking for recommendations - one for a concrete person/stamper and one for a Contractor (Well I believe this guy does both). The one that worked on my parents house was great. He was a nice guy, did great work, was reasonably priced and cleaned up after himself. My parents originally found him from a recommendation and they weren't disappointed. His name is Roger Bergin, the company is Curragh Construction. You can contact him directly on 415- 640-7963 or 925-957-9047. He works both East Bay and San Francisco. Good Luck! Stephanie

Re: deck
We highly recommend Wilbert Lyons of Lyons Construction to build a deck. We had a large 220 sq ft approx 25 feet off the ground custom redwood deck built. It was custom because it wasn't just a rectangle, it is curved and rounded. Most contractors told us our design was ''unrealistic'', ''would double our labor'', and various other annoying remarks. His response was ''no problem''. His crew was polite and hard working. They cleaned up their mess everyday and at the end of the project. They also built a fence and a beautiful gate for us. Our neighbor is having them do her entire house remodel and she is thrilled with their progress, and I quote her, '' I adore Wilbert''. He specializes in additions, remodels, etc..but we only used him for the deck/fence so far. The best news, his prices are reasonable. He has children and is very conscientious about safety issues while work is being performed. Wilbert Lyons 510-866-8347 Deck-happy

I would highly recommend Ron Masters for any remodeling you may need at a very reasonable price. He is currently booked for the next few weeks on a remodel job where he is installing bathroom tiles and a hardwood floor in an Oakland loft. He can provide you with references. The best way to reach him is on his cell phone. 415-377-8400. Melinda

A few years ago, I had my bathroom totally remodeled. It was done by Federal Building Contractors. Larry Hayden is the owner. They are great. The sub-contractors arrived ON TIME. They were neat. They do beautiful work. My very ugly, old tile was replaced and the smallish space was opened up simply by a few design changes. I would recommend Federal Building Contractors for any type of remodeling. They do large scale remodels and smaller remodels. They have pictures of their past work for ideas. Nora

My husband works for an excellent contractor who has done some lovely remodeling work, both residential and commercial. His name is Lee Grossman and he is reachable at 707-539-5122. I know his website is under construction currently, but he has a portfolio and references. He is honest and does good work. Cassi

We would like to recommend Eric Manou (Manou Restoration and Renovation). He rebuilt two sides of our backyard fence for us in less than 3 days, which was a necessity with two dogs. His price was very reasonable, and he was great to work with. He removed and hauled away the old fence, and cleaned up the area. My husband is a structural engineer and was very pleased with the quality workmanship. His number is 510.597.1790. Patty

We have been working with a super contractor for the last year. He does all levels of remodels, worked well with our budget and is very creative. He redid our basement into a playroom, bathroom and office, added a new outside door to our son's room and is now building a custom bay window with mahogany trim into our living room. His name is Berle Southard, cell 510-685-1186. Klevenson

Re: drainage problem
We had drainage issues in our home due to faulty work of a prior contractor. We hired Karl Kardel to fix it and his company did a great job. His number is (510) 261-4149. If you don't get a reply to your message, call them back. They are very busy but my experience was once they started on the job, they kept at it and finished quickly. Because I was expecting to deliver a baby in December, they also juggled their schedule to do our work before my son was born. They were just terrific.

I have had extensive experience with Rutherford and Singelstad and I can easily recommend them. They are great! Peter Singelstad worked on my old house years ago adding on a Craftsman-style second-story deck and creating a study for me. In our new house, a large Victorian, Rutherford & Singelstad have done a big kitchen/dining/family room remodel for us. They had to move a load-bearing wall, take out a wall, change window placements, remove a fireplace, create trim to match existing and more. They did everything beautifully. Now, we have a wonderful space. I would be happy to share the full experience.

We used Dick Rolander for a major kitchen remodel and were pretty happy with him. He's flexible and reliable and the he didn't go much over his bid. You do have to push sometimes to get him to think outside of the box when problem solving. Also make sure you are really clear on what the subs are providing and their quality. We ran into some problems but Dick did take care of it with no added costs. I guess these things have the potential to happen with any contractor - and Dick handled them amicably and always keeping costs in mind. Lisa

We just had some work done by a great contractor, Will Lopes. He's reliable, kind, funny, reasonably priced.Your basic good human being. He does suffer from a mild case of contractors-calendar disease, where they say they will be done before they are actually done. That said, he did work on the outside of my house in the POURING rain one day just to get finished on time. This guy is good stuff, I never felt like he was ripping me off and I always enjoyed talking with him. He also takes good care of the people who work for him which is important to me. Anyway: his name is Will Lopes and his company is called Centerline Construction. His phone number is: 510-812-5515. Tell him Molly and Chris told you to call. We think you will be happy with him. Good luck!

I am currently working on a project with the nice folks at Baywood Building and Design and cannot recommend them enough. http://www.baywoodbuilding.com/ Contact the owner, Robert Malone at 510-595-4231 or feel free to email me with your specific questions. Kreber-Mapp

Hi. I have an excellent referral for the person looking for a contractor in Pt. Richmond. Anthony Murphy, A.Murphy Construction 510-233-2545. He lives and has his office right there in Pt. Richmond, does excellent work. (I work for him, but have only just started so my recommendation comes from having seen his work and known a good friend of his for several years). Karin

If you are looking for someone to take on the small projects that never seem to get done, you might consider Michael Lehman. He's a licensed contractor and can handle everything from implementing remodels to reconstructing decks. He's even completely remodeled an entire house (plumbing, electrical, staircase, foundation, deck and roof). He turned my garage into a fabulous home office with an new floor, windows, roof and beautiful lighting and ceiling fans. He also managed all the other contractors on our house while it was being fixed up for our move in, including plumbers, electricians and heating and air guys. You can contact him at 510-655-6620. -Susan

I would like to highly recommend Daryl Walker of Walker Construction Co. He remodelled our kitchen in the last year and did a fabulous job, delivering it before the rather fixed deadline of the birth of our baby! He kept the job site clean, was easy and pleasant to work with, did very good work and made the entire process very easy. His contact information is: Daryl Walker, Walker Construction Co., 15921 Wellington Way, San Leandro, CA 94578 Tel: (510) 278-3258 Fax: (510) 317-WALK. His web site is www.walkerconstruction .net. Please feel free to mention my name. -Katrine

I have hesitated to send this in since, after all, he's my husband, but I am so impressed with the work he does, the quality of the work, the long-lasting relationships he builds with his clients, the return business that he receives, and the integrity with which he runs his company, that I thought this was information worth sharing. His office number is (510) 836-5000, email address is silvhamr at earthlink.net; the new Silver Hammer Construction website is www.silverhammerinc.com. Thanks, Deborah

For a general contractor who can help convert a garage to an office, you may try Hector at Build Right Construction, 845 5169. He has been in the Bay Area for almost fifteen years and has excellent references. He is very meticulous and extremely responsible. Good Luck. Lorane (4/00)

We used Construction Effects to do our kitchen. The owner's name is Mitch Filbert. He is a really nice person to work with, and extremely detail-oriented. He does have two or three other people working for him, and while he was redoing our kitchen, he had to take a break a couple times to take care of other jobs. I consider this a normal and understandable part of being a contractor. He was very open about the situation, and we knew that he would check in a couple times during the day to make sure that his people were doing things to his own standards. I know that you explicitly do not want someone who works this way, but let me assure you that in Mitch's case, it's not a problem.

As is usual for renovation projects, there were surprises. Mitch and crew were able to take care of a sagging support beam in the ceiling(!), an electrical problem unrelated to the project, a leak from the bathroom upstairs... Needless to say, this impacted their schedule, but Mitch was very open about explaining that those "extras" had to be charged at a higher rate, and were not covered by his estimate.

For the main body of the work, however, we felt that his estimate (in retrospect) should have been revised as he got into the project. It's my suspicion that he may have lost money on the job. In other words, he didn't charge us enough!

Mitch takes time to make sure he understands what you want. He does NOT try to push his ideas or give you the kind of "free advice" so many others are fond of giving. On the other hand, if he knows (from experience) of a better way, he is not shy about pointing that out. He works with you, especially in the planning phase, to make sure he understands what you want. The Building Inspector was impressed with his work, and caught one little token thing on the whole project: One of the GFI circuits needed a sticker on it saying it's a protected circuit - a three second job ;->

If your project is not the kind of thing he wants to work on (perfectly reasonable) then Mitch will explain that. He is not the kind who just gives an outrageous estimate in order to get rid of you, or who just never calls back.

The only snag in working with Mitch is that he is busy. He may have a lot of work on his hands and so will be unavailable. But he will tell you that, and not give you the run-around.

As I recall, he lives in El Sobrante, and works mostly in Berkeley/Oakland. He has all the right licenses, etc. His people work for him (i.e. are employees, not sub contractors) and they do *everything* themselves so the Mechanic's Lien Law is not an issue.

The info:
     Mitch Filbert
     Construction Effects
     (510) 758-8830      

We used Winfield Construction for another major construction project and can report that while we were delighted to find a contractor that actually returned our phone calls promptly, there was room for improvement in the overall quality of the work [our architectural drawings weren't followed very well (such as the depth of the concrete pour, hard to misread!), and we had language problems with the workers who were actually on-site]. By the way, this is a good forum to extend a warning to all remodelers: Even though the City of Berkeley may initially approve your plans, you may be forced to spend a LOT of money altering the finished product once built. This is because, we were told, "the public wants it this way...it allows projects to begin quickly." Our new front deck conformed to state codes but not to local city codes, and although the plans were approved by Berkeley's planning department, the finished deck failed to pass inspection. Apparently we're supposed to rely on our contractor to point out local code violations (Winfield didn't). So if you don't spend the money on a local architect, be sure your contractor is VERY familiar with local building codes.

We recently hired Michael Reardon and his daughter to build a fence and tool shed in our back yard. Their work is beautiful and they are two of the most ethical and friendly people I've ever met. They far exceeded our expectations. In addition to these two big projects, they have also done odd jobs around the house (aka fixing doors and windows, minor plumbing jobs, etc.) You can call Michael at 510-805-0907.