I am marveled that Joe Reilly and his team finished not only on time but a WEEK AND A HALF EARLY,…read moreand stayed on budget! My husband is completely type A and anal attentive - Joe was able to respond right away every time proactively. He managed to keep the areas near our neighbors clean and kept good rapport with them as well through our 3 month renovation. There were extra touches (like having the shower glass door that can fold out fully to the wall) that we didn't ask for, but I am SO grateful for. Or the fact that they knew we were expecting twins and mentioned a hot, filtered water faucet at the sink to easily warm up bottles?! (Which I've already fallen in love with for my oatmeals and teas) All the subcontractors he used were professional and I felt comfortable with them whenever I dropped by. If the subcontractors did something wrong, Joe would fix it in a nanosecond. Our house is absolutely stunning, spacious, homey and I couldn't be happier. Thanks Joe and team! * Bonus, my husband and I agreed that the young Irish foreman was quite the looker.

After a few years of having Joe and his crews come out to our house with great results, the last…read moreproject--a full kitchen remodel--showed us he's decided to cut a lot of corners and has basically given up on supervision of his crews. In the past, we've had a great crew for other projects and we saw Joe around almost every day while the work was going on. We felt like he kept the quality of the work at a high level. With our kitchen remodel, Joe seemed nowhere to be found. We had to constantly monitor the crew, correcting blatant sloppiness of the work. As an example, we had to have a painter out 5 times to paint one wall before we finally got it correct. The electrical (done by Kevin, Joe's brother) was passed off to one of his workers. While we did a walk-through on what we needed before the wiring started, none of the information we gave Kevin was passed on to the guy actually doing the work. We had to repeat ourselves constantly to the the man doing the work. Once he had the right info, he did the work adequately, but there was still a lot of re-doing of work throughout the project that should have been common sense: Re-centering a dining room light; placing can lights in kitchen so they're not blocked by cabinets (!!); having to tell them to wire a light already installed in the backyard to the switches in the kitchen (had to tell them 7 times before it happened). The highlight of the whole electrical experience was texting Kevin about an item, then receiving a text (that he obviously thought he was sending to his worker) stating what a "f***ing pain" I was being for asking when he would do something--since he'd stated it would happen two days prior. Other basics had to be repeatedly followed-up on like sealing the front door they installed; getting the door stained and sealed correctly (still never got them to stain around the door knob correctly as they stained around the old lock hardware instead of the new stuff we bought. Was never sure why they didn't stain and seal the door BEFORE the hardware was installed to begin with.); trim around cabinets being installed straight; finishing panels on cabinets being cut straight and without jagged edges; installing cabinet door and drawer handles straight (!!); installing baseboards with some sealant and making them straight with the flooring. During the painting of the entire house interior, they STAPLED floor paper to the hardwood floors. It was 3 months before we think we got the final staple out of the floors. While the floors aren't new, they're not in horrible shape and we weren't replacing them. Staple holes are not an attractive addition to the decor. The painters also re-painted our deck (the one Joe built for us in 2010). Unfortunately, they only scraped the deck, but never power-washed it. The amount of debris and dust from the kitchen remodel on the deck was a lot. After they painted the deck, I had to clean out screws, nails, drywall bits and other debris from between the boards--all of it with sloppy deck paint on it. When I complained, their response was to put another coat on the deck. Less than 6 months later, a good deal of the paint is pealing up since there wasn't a clean base to adhere to. In addition to the painting, we requested Joe replace some boards that were rotting on the deck, as well as closing the back of the stairs for a soon-to-arrive puppy. (We realize this rotting happens living out by the ocean in the Outer Sunset--this is not a reflection of his 2010 build this long afterwards.) He said the boards were fine. Within 3 months after the project, we had to have someone come out to replace the very same boards as they were disintegrating, along with several stair boards. That was an addition $1,300 we had to pay for that. Several of the boards that he installed to close up the stairs are cracked and loose only 6 months later. Again, quality of work was never checked on by him. I think if it had, this type of thing wouldn't happen. I put the review to two stars because the past projects with Joe were great. This one, however, makes us unable to call him again for any project. It's unfortunate. We felt like we were in good hands going into the kitchen remodel. Afterwards, we just hope everything stays together.

Scott recently helped me with interior and exterior color choices for my home in Oakland as well as…read morefurniture, rug, window coverings and fabric decisions for my living room/dining room. With gentle good humor and creativity he transformed an overwhelming experience into an enjoyable one. Scott helped me evaluate my choices and brought interesting ideas and alternatives to the table. He was patient and flexible through the process and provided support as the project progressed. I am thrilled with the end result and appreciate Scott every day!

Scott has worked with us on three projects - color consulting for a ground floor renovation,…read morecomplete living room remodel and color consulting for exterior house painting. In every project, Scott was amazing and essential. He listened carefully and elicited a sense of our desires and aesthetics and then distilled that into a refined set of options. He'd do that again and again through the project until we made final choices and the project was complete. Helping us move from infinite possibility to a concrete plan enabled us to get the job done and enjoy the process. He helped us stay within our budget, an often overlooked part of design. And, so important when these things can be stressful, Scott was fun to work with. We absolutely love everything we've done with Scott.We look forward to hiring him for our next home adventure! Without hesitation, I recommend you work with Scott. You will be so happy that you did.

Kevin helped us draft plans for our attic expansion in Alameda. He helped work through some tricky…read moreissues with the city and found a way to move forward! There is so much problem solving the architect has to do between working with the oddities of each home, understanding your personal style and needs and keeping everything at or above code to make sure your inspections run smoothly. Kevin was detail-oriented, efficient and not quick to say "no" but instead would consider creative ways to make things work. We would definitely work with Kevin again.

My wife and I learned about Kevin through several friends who were working with him on various…read moreremodel / planning efforts. After several months of working with him with our new house purchase, we both are brilliantly happy with his recommendations, his keen (super-keen) detailed planning efforts, and his impeccable design ideas / guidance. We couldn't recommend him more highly -- he's a truly fantastic talent. We bought a fixer with plenty of challenges, and after helping us sort out a detailed set of drawings of our home and a 'master plan' of phased renovations, we are about 1/2 way through our first major effort: a kitchen remodel. Again, Kevin's attention to detail is truly excellent -- and his patience answering questions or validating various scenarios with potential options is next to saint-like (and we ask lots of questions.) Finally, his ability to creatively 'see' solutions to space / access / design challenges always surprises and is usually spot on. He has surprised everyone we've talked to who's worked with him with layout options that are unique and innovative. While Kevin's passions may be on the modern side, our older 1920's house posed some old-school challenges which he effortlessly surveyed with us. And though our end kitchen may be a bit more on the traditional style, he's provided some great fundamentals (maximization of natural light) and design suggestions to keep our kitchen up-to-date and current. Looking back on our decision of which architect to choose for our project(s) -- I can't imagine working better with anyone else. He's a adviser with our complete trust -- and we really look forward to working with Kevin for many future projects to come.

TLDR Corey is trustworthy, dope, and a great agent. If you…read moredon't go with him, I'm judging you (for what it's worth). Experience: I've been looking into a house for a while. I had another real estate agent before with decades of experience. They set up an email filter to email me with options in my price and location, and had me go look myself. I felt dumb throughout that process and they gave me the impression that I was wasting their time. Needless to say, after a year of hunting with them, I gave up. Was convinced that a native SFer could never purchase property without fully selling out or marrying rich. Focused then on food (see other yelp reviews). Fast forward to the end of 2022, I was reintroduced to Corey, whom I met years ago. SF natives FTW. I figured I still have the savings (sans food allocation), so might as well benefit another SF native. I had low to no expectations. Corey exceeded any I could have had and then some. The first time we checked out a place, he took the time to chat with me about the usage, potential, and got to know my thinking about purchasing a property. Instead of making me feel dumb, he talked me through my ideas and listened to me. He then started sending me curated lists of options, and scheduled time to go with me or told me when open houses were. He checked in after each one, got to know my thinking better, and sent me better and better options. At the same time, he connected me with his contacts so I could get the pre-approval and other financial things done in advance. He's also a great person-project manager. He checked in enough to keep me motivated and gave me enough information so I knew what I was doing without being overwhelmed. Within just a few months of working with him, a home came up in a neighborhood I'm familiar with and I could see owning and living in. He walked me through the bidding process, gave me his opinions on the bid, and comparable closing in the area. He also didn't push me to submit a higher bid, even though he gets a cut. To my surprise, the offer was accepted. In a very short amount of time, I achieved the SF native dream of homeownership! If you want to have a real estate agent you can trust, that listens to you, and actively works with you to find what you want AND makes it happen. Corey is your person. If you don't...well, that's your choice, I guess. Bonus. He speaks Cantonese. Immensely helpful when I'm getting family second opinions.

Corey did it again!…read more Before we started our home search, Corey helped us sell our condo, which we thought would be tough given San Francisco's condo market conditions. His strategic approach and market insights made all the difference, and we ended up selling it. This step was crucial in allowing us to move forward with buying our new home. Next step: Househunting. He took the time to really understand what we wanted and provided valuable insights on each house we were interested in, helping us see both the pros and cons. When it came time to make an offer, Corey was incredibly helpful in advising us on how to structure it competitively. Thanks to his guidance, our offer was accepted, and we are now homeowners of our dream home! Corey's professionalism and dedication throughout the entire process made everything smooth and enjoyable. If you're looking to buy or sell, I highly recommend reaching out to him.

My wife and I bought a single family home in San Francisco last year. The home was structurally in…read moregood condition, but required a lot of updating since the same family had lived in it for over 60 years. Once you touch something, you have to bring it up to current building codes, so it was a fairly extensive remodel: roof replacement, addition of a bathroom, revamping of 2 other bathrooms, heating system replacement + asbestos removal, electrical / network re-cabling, movement of some walls, building out a deck, etc. All in, the project took 4-5 months. We invited 3 general contractors to bid, and ended up choosing Custom Construction. From the start, Bryan impressed us as a "can do" person and a straight shooter (someone who does the job well, does not nickel-and-dime you, and is upfront about problems as they arise). I'm glad to say that our early impressions were indeed borne out. Throughout the remodeling project, Custom Construction showed attention to the details, and the construction work was of good quality. On more than one occasion, our neighbors complimented us on the choice of contractors--they said that the workers were always very hardworking (7am-7pm+), kept the exterior clean/tidy after each day, etc. We also liked that Custom Construction was not a large, bureaucratic organization (where everything needs to be signed off in triplicate), but a flexible team to work with. We conducted weekly construction meetings with them and our architect, so adjustments could be made as necessary and on a timely basis. Along the way, some issues were uncovered (electrical inspection required a few more fixes; some extra plumbing work needed to be done that was previously unanticipated). In each case, Custom Construction highlighted the issues early on, we mutually agreed on extra work to be done, and the appropriate charges were fair in my opinion. There was a little bit of slippage at the tail end of the project, but in fairness, Custom Construction was waiting for some backordered materials (tiles, lights, etc.) to be delivered, so this wasn't their fault. The contract that Custom Construction proposed, and we agreed to, was based on completion of milestones, so they had every incentive to get things done efficiently and on time. All in all, I highly recommend Custom Construction to anyone, and would definitely work with them again on future remodeling and construction projects.

3/5 stars (Averaged based on 4/5 for quality and 2/5 for project management and communication)…read more My family has 3 years experience planning and working with Custom as the General Contractor on an Inner Sunset home for additions and a remodel. Overall we're pleased with the results though the project management, process and communication was very difficult and many times unacceptable. The first project was large with the addition of an 1100sqft 3rd-floor, renovation of garage and 2nd-floor electrical, steel-frame structural changes, new hydronic (radiant) heating and renovated plumbing throughout the property. The second project was a small one with the addition of a 300sqft bedroom, closet and bathroom along with the associated structural, plumbing and foundation changes. For each project, the same team was used: Architect: At-Six Architecture, San Francisco Plumber: ROS Plumbing, San Francisco Structural Engineer: Mosswood Engineering, Berkeley The value of the Architect serving as Project Manager became clear mid-way through the first project. The scheduling and communication issues were mostly handled with their oversight. We experienced many more problems serving as our own PM for the smaller addition. I'd recommend to prospective clients of Custom that they be prepared to have a strong and experienced Project Manager with them from the very beginning of discussions to ensure success and limit the problems, regardless of project size. The scope of the 3rd-floor addition required neighborhood notifications and review. Many neighbors have commented on how well the addition matched the styling of the community and some are considering their own similar additions based on our success. For further details, or to view the property, contact me through a Yelp message.

It's rare to find a contractor you can rely on for two decades, but Fai at Level 8 Construction is…read moreexactly that! He's been my go-to guy for 20 years, tackling everything from a rental unit update to two complete home remodels. He even installed a hydronic floor heating system for me 13 years ago-and has helped me maintain it ever since. It's fantastic, energy-efficient, and keeps the floors so cozy. I really appreciate that Fai is always learning about new innovations to give the best advice for whatever I'm trying to do. He's totally upfront about his pricing and keeps me in the loop if anything needs to change. He's incredibly quick to respond and gets the work done fast without sacrificing quality. Fai is a true professional, and honestly, just the nicest guy you could hire.

I needed a Toto Washlet+ toilet installed as soon as possible and Fai was able to squeeze me in on…read moreChristmas Eve. He and his staff was punctual, polite, and worked very cleanly; left no mess after install and respected our home (performed the install with no shoes on, as we have a no shoes inside policy). His prices are very reasonable as well. I highly recommend Level 8 for your Toto needs.

The most flexible and efficient Flooring Services in the Bay Area…read more I manage various properties and Raul & his team always gave us a reasonable price for quick and excellent service. We discussed the options he had available and he was able to match the existing flooring we had. Raul was responsive and gave us the invoices and bids in a timely manner. I will be working with Raul for all of our flooring needs. He helped remodel an office, 1x1's, 2x1's and 3x2's for me. Thanks Raul & Soshy!

I bought carpet and padding from this company a while back but we were renovating the room so we…read morecould not put the carpet in yet. Then Raul, the owner told us to call him back anytime and gave us a quote for installation. He was very cool about it and he said call anytime and we'll come back and finish the job. When we called him back to install the carpet, he gave us a higher quote to install the carpet. Raul said our invoices were no where to be found, he could not remember us and the higher quote is what it will cost us. We decided to go with another company for installation, when they rolled out the padding and carpet, we found that we only had half the padding, Golden State Floors did not give us enough padding and we had already paid for it. I called Raul to let him know that the padding he gave us would not cover our room and he was a JERK about it. He said it was a while ago and he honestly don't know what happen to the padding, what would I do with the padding? I asked for half the padding so the guys can just put in the carpet but he said he was closed, so i asked for a refund on the padding that he was suppose to give us but didn't and he said he was not going to give us a refund because for all he knows, I might had done something with the padding...REALLY dude?? Horrible customer service!!! Never use them....they will reel you in for your business and once you hand over the money, all the customer service goes out the window!!! I also looked up his License # and it was not even found...using false license #...smh!!!

We have used John Schlesinger on multiple occasions over the past 20 years for various improvements…read moreand remodels on our home in the Berkeley hills. Simply put, John is a top-quality, consummate design professional, and I wouldn't trust work on my house to anyone else. John's technical skills as an architect are without question superb, but what I really appreciate most about John are his customer focus and listening skills. Both are really exceptional. A case in point is our most recent remodel - a $300,000 project in which we completely rebuilt about 2/3 of our home's interior. John took the time to really understand how my partner and I lived and what we wanted in our "new" spaces. He then developed a number of design concepts for our review to show different approaches. Once we settled on the core concepts, John went to work producing all the drawings, engineering specs, and permit documents we needed to get our project approved by the city. The work took about six months to complete. Over that time, John was our advocate with our contractor, making sure he followed the plans, built according to specs, addressed our questions about costs, and in a few cases when the unforeseen developments necessitated design changes, he was there on the spot to work with the contractor to come up with alternatives. The best indicator of how a project turns out is the reaction that the finished product garners from family, friends and visitors. Our latest remodel is a masterpiece. Since its completion, it has garnered only rave reviews. The contractor did great work, and he had a fantastic design to start with. The best thing I can say? I wouldn't change a thing. John is a complete joy to work with.

Beware. This architect showed complete disregard for my budget. A year into the project when I…read morediscovered that the design he created resulted in a construction budget more than 60% greater than my budget his answer was that I never told him the budget. Is that crazy or what? When I asked him to then revise his design to fit my budget he indicated it couldn't be done and yet I was able to identify another designer who could design to my budget. Unfortunately I had already paid for a design I couldn't use and he refused to refund any of the fees I had already paid.