It's rare to find someone who balances meticulous attention to detail with a clear vision of the big picture -- but Andrew does exactly that. His background as an architect, combined with his aesthetic sensibility and deep technical knowledge, makes him exceptional. He knows the best approaches, materials, and craftsmen for any project and offers complete transparency on everything. He lays out your options clearly, helping you balance quality with budget considerations. I hired Andrew to convert my garage into a studio and perform roof maintenance on my main house. During the roof work, his expert roofer spotted a serious issue that had been missed in the home inspection -- catching something that could have caused significant problems down the road. Andrew also counseled me on other renovation priorities, helping me understand what needed immediate attention and what could wait until I had the funds. If you want a project done right the first time, with someone who truly has your best interests in mind, I wholeheartedly recommend Andrew. read more

An update to my earlier review of Blue Dog. Since my first engagement with Andrew and crew, he has constructed a deck on our north Berkeley home. What a *GREAT* job his team did for us. We have a relatively small house so the deck has virtually added a new living space. And we could not be happier with its build, the elegant beauty. Andrew designed the deck for us, recommended the wood materials and well, we love it! We hired Blue Dog again to rebuild our daughter's house in Albany. Again, he has taken the lead on design and rebuild. And once again, we couldn't be happier. Many thanks to Blue Dog and Andrew and his team. read more

Blue Dog Construction & Renovation - Our new deck - General Contractors Near Me - Lafayette, California

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We had an excellent experience working with Andrew, Jason, and the whole Blue Dog team. We wanted to turn our bottom floor into a usable multipurpose space. It turned out to be a much more complicated project than we anticipated, for several reasons. For one, there were iron posts that looked like scaffolding in the middle of the bottom level. It turns out they ran up two floors to support a 6-ton brick fireplace on our top floor. If we wanted to take out the posts to make use of the space on the bottom level, we had to demolish the fireplace. And although our architect and engineer thought we could reuse the subfloors and joists on the bottom level, that was not the case. Fortunately, because Andrew is an experienced architect and contractor, he handled some pretty unfortunate surprises in creative ways that made this expensive project manageable for us. We didn't even know we could demolish the giant fireplace that cut across the middle of our living room/kitchen area. We're so happy we did. Now our living space upstairs is much more open, usable, and beautiful (with a much smaller gas fireplace as a focal point). And we love how the middle and bottom floors turned out. We're so happy with the project and would definitely hire Blue Dog again. read more

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Andrew and the Blue Dog crew converted our rotting, moldy, lead-paint-laden 2nd story enclosed porch into a beautiful new, well-insulated proper indoor space -- a multi-purpose laundry / studio / guest room ringed with windows which is now our favorite room of the house. Bid was reasonable, communication was excellent throughout, workmanship high quality and everyone was super professional and kind to each other and to us. Blue Dog even identified an engineering issue with the design and came up with a creative fix. It rained a lot that winter but they still managed to finish with minimal delays. Stayed on budget overall. Separately, when our retaining wall began to fail, Andrew designed a new one and helped us subcontract a concrete guy in a pinch, and even negotiated the price down for us. Super happy, would hire again in an instant. read more

Andrew and the crew at Blue Dog did a fantastic job replacing our very old single-paned bay windows, and repairing leaky patches in the stucco. His initial consultation and quote for pricing and timing were straightforward and clear, and his workers were extremely competent and reliable. Many thanks for a job well done. We will be happy to hire Blue Dog again when in need. read more

These guys are great! Couldn't recommend them more highly. They know what they're doing and are attentive to client preferences and needs. Well-priced, too. Five stars for sure. read more

A tricky contracting job- updating part of the master bathroom but not a "to the studs" remodel. Andrew and his team were fantastic and did the job within the time and budget limits. He even offered to absorb the cost of expedited shipping for the tile because the company no longer kept it in stock. They kept the work site immacuate and were able to schedule around several house guests during the job. Would definitely hire BlueDog for any future renovations. read more

We had a complex roof in need of replacement. Andrew gave us a fair price and did a great job in a reasonable amount of time. We are very happy with the roof and have no problems even after 12 years. And the fire department looked at it as part of a home hardening visit for fire resistance. They pointed out the positive features of their work! I am all the more pleased. read more

We never could have imagined our old, dumpy, small 1920's kitchen being transformed into a beautiful, functional kitchen. The final results exceeds our dream and doesn't scream "trendy remodel". My partner and I have never done any remodel projects. The entire process was new and scary at first. We had saved for years to redo our kitchen and staying in our budget was a priority. At the same time, the quality of the work mattered as much as affordability. Searching for a talented contractor with a skilled team who has integrity and real attention to detail seemed impossible. Until we met Andrew. We had interviewed several other contractors, and even received estimates that were lower. While Andrew's estimate may have been slighter higher than the others, we realized that some contractors low ball and then charge for extra, "unanticipated" costs. Andrew doesn't do that. He gives an estimate of what he thinks it will cost, but only charges actuals which at times came in less than the itemized estimate. And, if work went above the estimate in any area, because there are always surprises when you remove walls of homes that are 90 years old, we weren't charged. Beyond his calming presence, genuine care, and integrity, Andrew is very creative and committed to enacting our vision for our project. He enhanced our design plan by suggesting some warm elements we hadn't considered, including a beautiful, thick walnut slab for our island top and solatubes for additional, natural light. Andrew's extensive knowledge in architecture ensured our new kitchen would honor the craftsman style and period in which our home was built. He is communicative, talented, kind, and just an all-around good human. Andrew's team is equally exceptional- Ricardo and Ignacio would greet us each morning with a smile, always so gracious and professional. The entire team was super skilled at every aspect of the project from demo to finish and always so considerate of our space. We have two dogs and other dogs visit regularly, and the team was so fastidious about cleaning the site every day- carefully checking for nails, sweeping every bit of dust, stacking tools and equipment in the side yard out of the way, and removing debris. And they wanted to make sure we were satisfied with every decision along the way- matching the new trim with the old school trim width for example, or choosing the right stain for the new French door. As far as clients go, one might say I'm "particular" (read picky and kind of demanding at times). Can you blame me? It's overwhelming jumping into a huge, expensive project with so many decision points. And, yet, we totally trusted Andrew and the Blue Dog team and truly didn't have to agonize over every detail. They led with our vision and best interests, didn't cut corners, communicated consistently, and were respectful, skilled professionals throughout the entire project. My partner and I have such profound appreciation and respect for Andrew and his team, and whole-heartedly recommend them for anybody's renovation needs! read more

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Andrew and his team are the best. He is creative, smart, kind, easy to work with and most importantly a great contractor. I live in a Berkeley bungalow and wanted to remove a wall to create an open kitchen. Andrew helped me think it through and come up with a beautiful cost-efficient way to make it happen. He has an engineering perspective so I was able to feel confident about the structural integrity. What a way to transform my home. read more

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Andrew has worked on big and small jobs and each time I'm awed by the combination of artistic and contracting skills. He's a gem that is hard to come by. My kitchen was small and falling apart. Its now worthy of awards. He raised the roof, put in skylights helped me make choices that I had been stressing about for years. He is excellent, reasonable and I haven't put this review up before because I was concerned that he would be so busy he would never have time for me. I highly recommend him. Josephine Gerrard, Gerrard Law Offices read more

Andrew and his team did an absolutely perfect job on our new deck, fence and walkway. The finished product was better than I could have ever imagined. It was a challenging project with a steep downward grade, but they expertly designed and built with no issues. Andrew was creative along the way and helped us at various decision points to weigh our options along with budget considerations. The team showed great attention to detail and are highly skilled in their craft. It was an absolute privilege having them work at our home during the past few months. We fully intend to work with Blue Dog Construction and Renovation on our next project! Well done guys and thank you!!!! read more

Blue Dog Construction & Renovation - Deck, fence and walkway - General Contractors Near Me - Lafayette, California

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I created a Yelp account just so I could write my first-ever review, for Andrew and Blue Dog Construction and Renovation. Andrew was truly a life-saver for me. I know that's a cliché, but here it's not an understatement. Last fall I was in a terrible mess, with a partially demolished deck and yard resulting from the abandoned work of a prior contractor that had to be fired for reasons I won't go into here, and I was also in the midst of some serious personal difficulties. Other contractors who visited my site didn't seem to want to get involved, but Andrew could see the difficulties I was facing and stepped up to help me out. Because of my prior bad experiences with the work in my yard, I had a lot of questions at first and must have seemed overly worried, but Andrew was patient with me and consistently eased my concerns. When the work began, his crew came early every morning and worked diligently. They were always extremely polite, and were clearly very experienced and proficient in every aspect of the work that they did. The rebuilding of the deck was a complex task, due to some existing constraints they had to work around, but they managed to engineer and rebuild the deck with precision, making it even better than before. They also added much-needed drainage all around my home, flawlessly built and repaired retaining walls, and reconstructed a nice new gate to replace the previously damaged one. Andrew and his crew communicated with me throughout, often stopping to ask me questions about my specific desires, which I often just left to their best judgment. The project came in under the originally estimated cost, and because of Andrew, I had one less thing to worry about during a very difficult time for me. I am so happy that I met Andrew when I did. He is not only a great contractor, he is also a great guy, and he obviously cares about his clients. I will definitely be having him back for Phase 2 of my project. read more

Andrew is a very charming person who really knows how to bring people together when he feels like it. He can also be a big time jerk who deserves to have his rear end handed to him on a platter. He followed me across facebook trying to smear me with my friends (a tactic that lasted all of one hour). My house is a poster child for a poorly run job. You can tell that from the sidewalk. Oh, and the reason he worked another week after I told him to stop? And then insisted he stop? So he could threaten me with a mechanic's lien if I didn't like the way he drained my bank account without finishing ANYTHING he started. Apparently it's a well known trick among some unscrupulous contractors. My house is such a disaster that no bank will touch it. He created a disaster, blamed me for it, ran away from it, and left me with blight that I have very slowly been able to make habitable one room at a time. He's probably fine with a small bungalow, even rebuilding the bungalow from the ground up as long as you just leave him to it and don't get involved. But I hired him for a couple of reasons and he was great in the beginning. He got the grumpy foundation guy back to work. Andrew comes from a European tradition of building (buildings that breathe, very atypical) and he understands this type of building which is somewhat rare. And his detail guy was great. But when Tim quit, Andrew was caught short in many different ways. Not only did he simply not believe he'd actually quit (three weeks later he was still telling me that Tim would be back) but he himself did not know how to run a job as complicated as this one, or maybe he just couldn't be bothered. He would walk through and give his guys about 5 minutes of direction and leave for the day. He wouldn't even check up at the end of the day. I would come by at 3:55 and discover not a dust particle in the air, the place perfectly clean, and utterly empty. Since I was paying them T&M to work till 4:30 they were stealing from me, not him. Same thing next day. When I asked his guys what time they were supposed to leave, they said 4:30. When I asked why they didn't stay till then, explained that I had been by and they weren't here, they insisted they were. So his guys lie. When I went to Andrew with this, he did nothing about it including even checking for himself since he would rather be through the tunnel to Pleasant Hill where he lives before the traffic backs up. Instead of babysitting his guys, he decided to simply credit me for the time. And then complained that he must be the only contractor who can lose money on a time and materials job as if I am supposed to feel guilty because he wouldn't/can't/doesn't run his own crew responsibly. I caught him (that would be Andrew himself) trying to steal my own rather spendy canvas drop cloths that I bought. For real! He had them tucked under his arm as he walked out of the house and I had to call out after him. What a sheepish jerk. One of his guys stole my Milwaukee Hole Hog and replaced it with a silly little drill in exactly the same spot I had my drill hidden. His plumber defrauded me of $10,000.00 dollars and the only reason I found out about that was he was in the hospital and I tried to track down the radiant supplies he supposedly bought with my money and whadya know, he never bought them! He put that money in his pocket, ran off to another job FOR MONTHS, had a very nice Christmas at Disneyland while I was sick in bed with no heat, and was shocked, Shocked! when he got out of the hospital to discover that I was not happy about this. Harold is just another charmer with a great smile. And Andrew's support. Btw, Julio and Ricardo are standup guys. They never lied to me or stole from me. I would hire either of them (w/o Andrew) in a heartbeat. Andrew hasn't done me any favors, he's fixed (only) the small stuff he ruined and he didn't even completely fix that as the picture I've included proves. Btw, you can only see this from out in the middle of the street or from the third floor of the apt building next door which is why I didn't catch it until so late. The corner gutter is sitting in my backyard still waiting to replace the home-made thing that directs water at the inch and half gap between the walls. And yes, I had to blackmail him to get him to do half the gutter job that he should've done the first time his guys were up there months before I kicked him off the job. I should not have to pay someone to finish up after his guys who never finish what they start because he couldn't manage them on his own, would not acknowledge that his business depended on someone else to run it for him, and simply refused to find someone else to take up the slack. It's simply not my fault his ego is so delicate. I am, however, stuck with the sad result while he continues to lie about me in the most charming fashion. The house speaks for itself read more

Blue Dog Construction & Renovation - Notice the missing gutter corner? That's After he sent his guys 5 times. ghttp://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/blue-dog-cons - General Contractors Near Me - Lafayette, California

Andrew Gregor and his Blue Dog crew replaced eight widows in the upper story of my 1954 home. It was a big job with big windows (one was 5' x 12' and weighed more than 600 lbs), requiring demolition, careful stucco breaking and patching, and fine interior casing and finishing. The crew was a pleasure to have in our home from start to finish and their work was very good to excellent in all facets of the job. I was especially impressed with the rigorous flashing method around the new windows. After very carefully scoring and chipping back the stucco, they tied into my existing vapor barrier with a layered combination of metal flashing and flexible flashing membrane, and then caulked the seams before patching with new stucco. I was nervous about leaks before the work began. But after observing their meticulous process, I am confident that my vapor barrier is intact and these windows will not leak. Andrew was very attentive to our needs, working with us to arrive at the best aesthetic and functional decisions. He is a thoughtful, knowledgeable, and experienced contractor who genuinely cares. And he's honest. Our job came in $2K under the estimate because the stucco patching took less than time than expected. He passed the savings on to us. When does that ever happen? Almost never. Usually, the surprises are in the other direction. My wife and I really could not be happier with the windows. When we need more work done on our home, Andrew and Blue Dog will be the first -- perhaps only -- call I'll make. Highly recommended! read more

Andrew just completed a major project at our house--a total replacement of a huge redwood deck, including structural supports. We're thrilled with the result. His eye for aesthetics, attention to detail, and work habits were all exemplary. His crew is professional, courteous, and skilled. (My son still talks about Mario!) He also took our safety concerns seriously, and helped keep the jobsite safe for our toddler-aged son. Add to all of this that the project came in on-bid, plus Andrew's willingness to communicate and be responsive to our suggestions re: materials and design...in short, we can't wait to work with him again! read more

Decided to do a kitchen remodel and knew Andrew had been an architect prior to becoming a contractor. Hiring him turned out to be a smart move. He was able to assess and design things for the kitchen that made it much more serviceable than it would have been. His ideas paid off for us. Blue Dog also has a reliable team of other tradesmen so they really can cover whatever needs to be done. Also, Andrew is a very good listener. He's committed to getting the work done in a way that both satisfies the client and is good for the house. read more

Top notch deck work and communication from Gordon, Andrew, and their crews, especially the brothers who did the bulk of the work on the deck. I had a relatively complex steel-framed deck above the garage with some very specific setback rules (to fit City guidelines) to fit in my backyard, and they navigated the complications skillfully. Communication from Gordon, the project lead, was very good, and he solved a few little unforeseen problems with the project with creativity and lots of feedback. We had a delay from a separate stair fabricator that slowed part of the project down, but they were able to work around it very well. Fit and finish of the deck are aesthetically pleasing and you can tell they sweat the details and have pride in craftsmanship. Final price came very close to the original estimate, and slight problem-solving changes were handled at a fair price. No one likes nasty surprises when it comes to cost, and there were none with my project. I'd love to work with Andrew, Gordon, and their crews in the future - if you're looking for a deck contractor, look no further, and if their other work is at the same level as their deck work, you won't be disappointed! read more

I worked with Andrew on renovating a small inherited house with quite a lot of deferred maintenance. Some of it was immediately obvious and some was revealed during the process. It wound up needing an entirely new kitchen, a new heating system, floor refinishing, major plumbing work and dry rot repairs in addition to ordinary painting. Through it all I found Andrew and his employees responsive and reliable. When there was a problem with the kitchen cabinets he went out of his way to find a solution. His estimates were reliable and he was open about options with work and their effect on pricing. I found him to be personable and a pleasure to work with. I recommend him without hesitation. I would hire him again if I needed more work done. read more

This is my first attempt to write a yelp review, so forgive me if I miss the proper protocol. Anyways, last April I was cleaning out the closet of my downstairs room office in our Albany home, and came across mushrooms growing in the carpet along the seam where the wall met the floor. My wife had seen a truck in our neighborhood with a Blue Dog Construction decal, and as we had just got a new puppy she was drawn to give them a call. Andrew came over, took a look, and we began working out what we might do. Right away I could see he was good at understanding and reconciling two entirely different perceptions coming at him, my wife being the more bold creative visionary, me being more attached to practical (fearful is probably more accurate!) money matters, with a few sparks flying here and there, as marriage can be. As the project progressed, not surprisingly more issues were revealed, turned out for us to be a major but clearly necessary overhaul. Throughout it all, from start to finish, Andrew was clear, available, fair, and consistent with making sure the work was done properly and progressed in a timely way. The many workers brought onboard to do the various specialty tasks were invariably hard working, on time, respectful highly skilled professionals. Maybe most important for me was Andrew's forthright transparent handling of the money part, instilled a trust that is not easy to place when on such a big scale as this certainly was for our situation. We both have much gratitude to him and would highly recommend BDC as a top choice for getting the job done right. read more

I'm afraid that we had a different experience (in the context of renovating a home we purchased this spring). While Andrew Gregor is certainly a nice guy, there were far too many easily avoidable errors, poor craftsmanship, and collateral damage to the home and possessions within it. Now, we're having to repaint many surfaces because his painters sprayed an all-too-thin coat of paint onto unsanded/unprimed existing paint. Now, we're having to look at a wall that doesn't line up with the one to which it's attached. Now, we're having to cook on a stove that's not level -- and which we can't level because it's now grouted into the surrounding wall. During the job, multiple weeks went by during which Andrew failed to respond to requests to pick up job-related debris. Without any notice or inquiry, he helped himself to one of our ladders and took it home with him (which he subsequently returned upon request), simply saying that he thought we didn't want it. In a possibly related incident, a very valuable wristwatch coincidentally disappeared after Andrew and a subcontractor of his (whom Andrew vouched for and whom we trust and continue to use) -- and no one else -- were given access to our locked master bedroom. As our renovation work has continued, we have had great luck with other general contractors (Brian Wehrman at Accu-Built Construction) and other specialty trades (Tony Diaz at Century Roof & Solar and Eric Williams at Bay Area Paving and Landscape). However, reiterating my prior comments about too many avoidable, substantive issues, we cannot in good conscience recommend Blue Dog Construction to others. read more

A neighbor of ours once told my husband an excellent trait to look for in a contractor, "ask yourself if you want this person in your house, around your family, because that is where they will be." Andrew Gregor, and Blue Dog Construction, fit this bill perfectly, being reliable and personable, as well as doing great work and having integrity as a businessman. My husband and I hired Blue Dog Construction to fix plumbing and water damage issues discovered under our bathroom. Blue Dog was reliable and reasonably priced, especially considering the excellent quality of the work that they did. Andrew started the job a little early and finished on time to get the work done while we were on vacation, sometimes working until 9 pm at night. This allowed us to be out of town so we did not have to deal with dust and noise while our baby was trying to sleep at home. He communicated well with my sister who was available for him to run through any last minute questions while the work was being done. She found, as we did, that he is an excellent communicator and enjoyable to do business with. He managed to find ways to save us money on materials and the work he did without compromising the quality of the workmanship. We found him to be honest and fair. He did something that many other contractors don't do--he protected us from making expensive mistakes by keeping us informed. Definitely the best contractor we have ever dealt with. All of the sub contractors he worked with were fine choices too, even though sometimes he had to find them last-minute. We will use him again. read more

First thing to say about Andrew: roughly 4 years ago, I was trying to get a sense for how we could expand our house. I wasn't looking for any big plans but more just a rough sense for what was possible. I called quite a few contractors and all of them told me I'd have to get plans from an architect before they'd come out. Andrew was the only person who was willing to come out and just talk over options with me (at no cost as well). He came out probably four more times before we even committed to using him and several more on top of that before we paid him anything. The project was incredibly complicated: adding a second story addition and installing stairs in one of the first level bedrooms without taking out our wood floors and doing some serious foundation reinforcement with a crawl space probably two to three feet tall in most spots. The project definitely took a long time from inception to completion (mostly due to inspections and permits) but it is absolutely gorgeous now. The quality of the work was just superb and Andrew's crew were the definition of professional. After comparing what we paid with friends also considering doing serious renovation, it sounds like we got off with a very fair price for the quality of the work. Andrew has also been willing to send his crew when there were a few things needing touching up. If you want beautiful work, definitely use Blue Dog. read more

Andrew recently did a renovation to our deck and stairs, which was amazing. He was incredibly professional, and gave us a realistic quote and did not nickel and dime us. His workers were professional and he also communicated well with our neighbors as they stopped by, which is important because all you need is a disgruntled neighbor to mess things up in the permitting process. The structure he build was very solid and he made many recommendations to make the structure more useful, solid, and asthetically pleasing. I mean, our concrete piers were 4 feet deep, and I think the code was only 2 feet deep. He made sure to do things extra so that we didnt have problems in the future. I am hoping that he can do more projects at our house soon! read more

Andrew and his crew recently doubled our deck in Oakland. There were no down days even though it rained for close to a week. The men put up a tarp and worked anyway. Andrew's conception of the job and the materials he used were beautiful and the work perfect. Our deck is now quite large and luxurious and I think has really added to the value of our home, not that we have any intentions of leaving it of course. We've worked with many contractors over the years and this was the best experience yet. read more

We recently purchased a lovely home in Walnut Creek (yay), that turned out to need a ton of work (Not yay), including what threatened to be a total and very expensive deck replacement. After several bids and visits by various contractors, Andrew at Blue Dog showed up. He came up with a cost-effective solution for us to repair the deck so we could take a few years and save up what we would need to really do a replacement right later on down the road. Andrew did a fantastic job with the deck repair. He replaced key upright posts, cement piers and bracket hardware with piers that are literally five times deeper than the originals, and the hardware and wood he used are all best-in-class. The workmanship is top shelf - it makes the remaining parts of the deck look like the hack job that it was when it was first built. We can't wait to replace the whole thing with more of Andrew's excellent workmanship. And to top it all off, Andrew's pricing was more than fair, so we got the highest quality workmanship/materials, at pretty much the lowest cost, compared to the other bids we had received. Andrew is a real pleasure to work with, too. He is reasonable, rational, and understood perfectly our situation, working with us to find a solution that would keep our deck safe/usable for now, and keeping us within our admittedly tight budget. Andrew also put us in touch with a first-rate tile guy to help us repair our profoundly leaky shower - Tom Katona of Katona Tile - and he also turned out to be an excellent craftsman and also very fair in his pricing. Like the deck, we had a tight budget with the shower fix and Andrew worked with Tom to come up with a repair (versus complete tear-out) solution that worked very well for us. It's rare to find a person of integrity and highest quality workmanship these days, Andrew is one of these rare finds - we hope to use him again in the future! read more

I met Andrew a few years ago. He is a great contractor with a crew and subs that are a joy to work with. Caveat: i have done a few door jobs for Andrew, but, he did not know, nor ask me to write this review read more

I chose Andrew McGregor of Blue Dog Construction for a large window and door replacement job in my Piedmont home. He was able to navigate the bldg permit process and obtain approval from the city. (Piedmont) The estimate and work progress reports were timely and on track. He kept me informed throughout the project and the results are beautiful. Photos of the windows in the kitchen and bedrooms at 426Pala.com He also replaced the sliding doors in the master BR and second BR with gorgeous Marvin French Doors. His crew is tidy, polite and dependable. read more

I chose Blue Dog Construction for the teardown and replacement of the front stairway to our house in El Cerrito, which was settling and slowly pulling away from the structure. I got quotes from Andrew of Blue Dog, as well as three other contractors, and am delighted that we chose him to do the work. He has also done work for a friend, and came highly recommended. Andrew was very patient as over a year before we actually began the work, I met with him several times, then decided to delay the project due to layoffs at work. I did the plans for the project myself to save money, and he helped me through that process with the city, and had many suggestions for the design along the way that really improved the final result. His estimate was close to the final cost, which only went up due to some issues with the City and what they wanted for the structure, and one or two issues that cropped up along the way -- par for the course when you start opening up walls and such. I highly recommend Andrew and his team, and are already planning our next job with him. You can view the project from start to finish here: http://tinyurl.com/27le3el read more

Andrew Gregor, the owner of Blue Dog, is a true professional in the best sense of the word! His standards are incredibly high (in itself, hard to find in the building trades), he is easy to work with, he actually encourages communication, so he can address any problem, no matter how small, before it becomes a headache, and his prices (at least for the roof replacement & skylight installation i had done) are still well within the range of other even less highly recommended builders. Even though i did not seek the benefit of his full renovation services, & thus the work was done by someone who works for him as his roofing specialist, it was obvious that Andrew uses people who do excellent work and themselves have high standards. And Andrew remains always available, and easy to deal with. (And unlike so many contractors, he's courteous and professional even after the end of the bidding process. Indeed, he even did not bill me extra for a component that cost him more than he'd anticipated, while the parts that were needed beyond the basic work specified in the bid were, again contrary to the way so many contractors operate, amazingly small added charges on his final bill.) Additionally, when there was just a bare question of whether a coincidental problem (with my water heater) might possibly be related to the work his crew was doing, he got someone out here to check it within a day, agreeing that he too is wary of "coincidences." And finally, when i pointed out a part of the finishing work that was ever so slightly noticeable, he immediately insisted on having it corrected, as part of the amount billed, not for an extra charge. He is one of those rare building contractors who is perhaps a perfectionist, and in any event is obviously proud of his work and desires to ensure customer satisfaction. Amazing! Oh yes, and the work was started far sooner than others were willing to do, knowing that i was nervous about the rainy season being upon us. While i had a relatively small and discrete job done, i did see a major renovation job he had done (the person who recommended him to me), and while i didn't look for details, the overall impression was ...well, impressive. In any event, it is readily apparent that Andrew would be well worth hiring for most any job. It's the way he approaches his work, the quality of his work, and how easy it is to work with him. If you've ever had the usual nightmares of so many building contractors, Blue Dog is the antidote. read more

Our interior design firm hired Blue Dog Construction for some complicated cabinetry and customized door installation work in a high end San Francisco home. Our client was extremely happy with the professionalism, high skill level and level of communication that they brought to the project. read more

Blue Dog Renovation fixed a leaky roof for a property that I manage. Their workers are courteous and efficient. My tenant was ecstatic with their quick turnaround. Blue Dog's owner, Andrew Gregor, kept me in the loop at every turn and was on budget to boot! I would not hesitate to use Blue Dog renovation again and would trust them for any size job. For now on, all my property management work is going to Blue Dog Construction & Renovation. read more

Andrew and his crew just finished tearing out my 28 year-old deck and building a new one. His crew was very polite and conscientious about everything. I was looking for someone to design a new deck that was very different from my old one which had a cramped feeling to it. Andrew came up with a very nice design, using horizontal cables under each railing which made the space feel light and airy. I also appreciated his efforts to design something that would be within my budget. I hightly recommend Andrew and his company. Sandy B. read more

Andrew Gregor and Blue Dog Construction did an excellent job building our beautiful redwood deck. This was not an easy task. A critical issue was avoiding harm to our large redwood tree, which was only a few feet from a long-existing smaller deck. Andrew's team hand-dug the holes for the concrete piers (which no other contractor had been willing to do) to ensure large roots were not cut. His team efficiently broke down our old deck and constructed the new deck, including managing a large steel beam that the structural engineer found necessary to span piers away from the tree. Andrew also managed around errors in the structural drawings, including missing stair footings and a post misplaced inside the house wall. We are very happy with our new deck and enthusiastically recommend Blue Dog and Andrew. read more

Blue Dog Construction is the enterprise of Andrew Gregor who is a great guy to work with and has the talent to do your project from the design to finished product. It is such a bonus to have a builder with the education to be able to draw up plans and get them through the permit process with out a hitch. As a painting contractor I have had to pleasure of recommending him to my best clients,listen to him engage with them and hear from them on how they loved his work. I have also seen how detailed he is with things that the client would never know to have even been aware of. Priceless! read more

So I emailed Andrew, and we made a specific appointment (he selected the day and time) to look at my project, admittedly a small one. He was a no-show, not even a call or email to say he couldn't make it. Bummer, I took off work! Maybe his work is OK, but I wouldn't know; however, my experience is that the first impression is usually a valid one. Watch out. read more

I recently did a master bathroom remodel with Andrew at Blue Dog Construction. He did an Amazing job! He showed up on time or called if he was going to be late. Andrew also helped design the bathroom and was excellent at that, too. He has a lot of experience and was absolutely wonderful to work with. His men were polite, efficient and conscientious about keeping the rest of my house in good order while they were doing their job. He will always be the person I call for anything, big or small, because he has such a great crew and he is such a responsible contractor. read more

We have been working with Andrew off and on since September 2013 and will continue to work with him until our fixer-upper becomes our dream home. Andrew's creative problem solving has proven invaluable for the improvements done to date, and he is hard working, knowledgeable and honest. Renovation of existing structures brings with it a myriad of unexpected circumstances. Andrew has approached each little homeowner's nightmare uncovered with professionalism, calm charisma and a level head that is much appreciated. He consistently has worked around our sometimes ridiculous schedules and requests and has helped us out of more than one sticky situation. Recommend! read more

I had a great experience with Blue Dog Construction. I had a really tough, messy project that Andrew helped advise me through back in 2012: remodeling a crumbling disaster of a basement into a useable room. I had never done any sort of renovations on a house before, and wasn't sure what to expect. I found it very difficult to find a contractor who would even call me back or deliver a proposal on time, but Andrew almost always answered his phone right away, and when he didn't he called me back quickly, and always took the time to answer my questions. He really cares about doing the project right. I needed just about everything: plumbing, electrical work, concrete work, wall building, drywall, insulation. All of the people brought in to do these jobs were local professionals who did fantastic work. I'm still very pleased with the result 2 years later. read more