Update on our Canyon Design Build remodel experience: We hired Canyon Design Build for a major residential renovation in Moraga. Canyon held itself out as an experienced, high-end design-build firm and charged a premium for project supervision and management. The construction contract was approximately $1.17 million, Canyon invoiced approximately $1.29 million, and we paid approximately $1.18 million. Despite approximately seventeen months of construction and near-full payment, our experience has continued to be deeply disappointing. After turnover, we discovered significant unresolved issues, including widespread cabinetry defects, failed remediation efforts, rat contamination in the crawlspace/garage area, unresolved billing issues, and continuing problems obtaining required lien releases for amounts paid. **The cabinetry (costing $200K) had systemic issues related to finish quality, color consistency, alignment, interiors, and functionality. Canyon and its cabinet subcontractor acknowledged significant problems, but the remediation process was unsuccessful. We ultimately terminated the cabinetry portion of the contract for cause and are proceeding with an independent finisher. Based on estimates received, cabinetry remediation is expected to be substantial. **We also incurred more than $10,000 in professional cleanup costs for rat contamination. Canyon previously agreed in writing to offset/reimburse those cleanup costs, but that reimbursement has still not been made. **In addition, we have disputed billing issues, including retroactive/unapproved change orders, allowance items treated as change orders with additional markups, unsupported supervision charges, billing for defective work, and failure to provide all required unconditional lien releases for amounts already paid. We have filed a complaint with the California Contractors State License Board, and that process is moving forward. At this stage, I would not hire Canyon Design Build again. I would strongly advise other homeowners considering Canyon for a large-scale residential remodel to be careful: require detailed written change orders before work is performed, insist on documentation for supervision costs and unconditional lien releases for payments made, independently inspect major scopes before move-in, and do not make near-final payment until major defects are resolved. read more

We hired CDB to renovate the kitchen and bathroom in our 1920s bungalow. I'm giving them 5 stars for two key reasons: 1. The work was completed on time and I was able to move back into my house on the schedule we laid out at the start. This was incredibly important to me, I told the team so, and they made it happen. 2. We are so happy with how everything turned out. Our spaces are massively improved, beautiful, and functional. If I could I would probably give them 4.5 stars because their pricing is on the high range and we did have a few snafus during construction -- all of which were resolved -- but overall I think the work they've done deserve the round up to 5. read more

Most of the rooms in my house were touched or rebuilt by Canyon Design Build. High-quality workmanship that ran on time and (surprisingly) under budget. They listened and guided me through the design process, permitting and construction. They even moved the entire schedule up a month to get me back into my house before the holidays when I became pregnant. It's a family-run company, that understands the needs of a growing family. I will use them again on the next house! read more

We had a terrific experience with Canyon's designers, project manager and foreman. I am picky and quirky, and as a couple with demanding careers, we really needed to hand the project over to a firm we could trust to manage it all. They met us at convenient hours for the design phase and project check-ins, quickly got what mattered to us and kept everything on time and on budget with our priorities in mind. Initially the project seemed overly expensive; but, after some reasonable cost engineering, CDB worked with us to get it 15% down and in budget. There were others who were a little less than CDB and many who were way over in their bids. After reference checking and the prospect of having to spend a lot of time coordinating with the low bid contractors, we went with CDB. It was a great choice and in hindsight, well worth the difference. Our whole back of the house is a 3-story sheer wall now. I LOVE our new kitchen and den! It's now THE best part of our home. Everyone wants to be there for homework, cooking, entertaining, watching a show, etc. It's everything we hoped for... a true gathering space, light, airy, solid and quality-made. The only reason I didn't provide a 5-star is because it seemed like momentum waned after the inspector passed the job so the final punch list and outdoor clean up was slower -by a week- than we would have liked. We would definitely use Canyon again for bathrooms or another house renovation someday. Good luck. read more

These people are as good as it gets! WONDERFUL. We have not even jumped on board as we are still in the fact finding stages but having said that they actually could not be more helpful. The are super patient, detailed oriented like crazy which is super helpful to us as newbies and are really helpful with examples of how they work through the design through completion stage. They answered all our questions and then some. No question is to little or big. We are so very thankful to have found them. I would absolutely recommend them in a heart beat! read more

We used them for a large remodel project on our home. We were not happy at all with the process and communication. Had high turn over in personnel which led to multiple communication issues and issues with plan and design. When issues them arose during the project, the team could not resolve anything because they were not part of the planning phase. We had multiple issues that were discussed as part of our scope but when came to the plans they were not included or the plans were not up to code so the scope changed. The foreman was great, but the design team and management were awful and difficult at best to deal with. I would never recommend this company to anyone. read more

Caveat emptor! We had perhaps the most clichéd bad experience one could have with this contractor. After contracting for project development with Canyon Design Build (CDB) to perform a substantial remodel of our home - raise it 4.5 feet, replace the foundation, add new windows, build new front stairs and rear deck, apply new stucco, do some new downstairs room framing, etc. - CDB then recommended we complete the project with Canyon Construction, a sister firm of CDB. Note that both firms have the same principal, Chris Avant, and CDB personnel continued to be involved in our project once construction began with Canyon Construction. CDB personnel also procured the general project permit. While the construction contract itself was signed with Canyon Construction, there was an intermingling of staff from both firms on our project. Approximately 1/3 the way through our construction in working with CDB and Canyon Construction, with the house now stripped of its protective stucco, with all of its mechanical systems gone, and with no stairs to the property and the house in an entirely unlivable state, Chris Avant - again, the principal for both Canyon Construction and CDB - made the decision to close Canyon Construction. That is, he closed one of his two contractor firms, a business that, prior to his management, had been active for over 40 years. More importantly to us, he stopped construction on our home, provided no redress in putting our house back together, and defaulted on payment to many project subcontractors. With our house left in its vulnerable state, we had no choice but to proceed with finishing the construction on our own while pursuing legal action against Canyon Construction and Chris Avant. With Chris Avant clearly in breach of our contract, we contacted the Contractor State License Board (CSLB) and a lawyer. After we assembled a binder full of evidence - photos, invoices, statements from previous staff in Chris Avant's employ - the CSLB agreed that Mr. Avant was in breach of contract and that we'd also clearly overpaid for the service that was provided. The CSLB offered to pay for mandatory arbitration with Mr. Avant. In preparation for arbitration, we spent many hours preparing a coherent case log for the arbitrator and for Chris to review. Mr. Avant failed to attend the arbitration hearing, so we drove a copy of the case binder to his PO box in Moraga (please note the growing level of effort applied in trying to resolve our case). Mr. Avant provided no substantial defense of his behavior or this case, only following up with an email response to the arbitrator sent minutes before the filing deadline. The arbitrator explained that she would take a week or so to render a judgment. Our evidence was very compelling and a judgment in our favor was likely. To our surprise, Mr. Avant then (nearly immediately) filed for bankruptcy, "staying" all or our further efforts to collect on our losses. All that documentation and legal work was for naught. We were in a limbo now, where the arbitrator was legally bound to discontinue deciding our case and where Mr. Avant's debts to us might be erased. When I attended the bankruptcy creditor hearing at the federal building in Downtown Oakland. Chris Avant was deposed about his property and businesses. When asked about the health of Canyon Design Build (his remaining open business), he replied to the court, "Struggling." Does that inspire confidence to you? By all means, do your research. I've done my best to provide an honest accounting of our experience, and our story can be verified in online research - at least the business ownership and bankruptcy details. If you do choose to work with Canyon Design Build, I might recommend the following insurance against Chris Avant closing this business in the middle of your project as he closed Canyon Construction in the middle of our project: 1. Consider paying the premium to get a "performance bond" for your project, essentially insurance to finish the project should Chris Avant default on his responsibilities again. 2. Scrutinize your invoices very carefully to ensure that you've not paid any money toward work not completed. 3. Consider only doing the design work with CDB, while shopping the actual construction around to more financially-solvent firms. 4. Have a contingency plan 5. Good luck. This experience was very difficult for us. Financially stressful, difficult for our young daughter who spent months as a vagabond before being able to move home, and personally very stressful as we had to continue on in our jobs and lives while managing all the day-to-day details of our remodel without the help of a general contractor. We're still owed a considerable amount of money by Chris Avant, so please be wary in working with him or any of his businesses. read more

Canyon Design Build came highly recommended to me by a close realtor friend and my initial interaction with the Design Development Director was easy, friendly and with un-pressured. I immediately liked the idea of working with a single company for both design and construction. This was my first experience with a remodel and the process was easier than I had imagined. Once I decided to move forward with the company's design services, I found their process very simple and straight forward and everything was thoroughly laid out in manageable chunks. The team of designers got to know my personal tastes, likes and dislikes so that design decisions that might have been unclear in the beginning started to gel, thanks in a big part to CDB's Design Director, Veronika Rathert who was very calm and able to focus on the project's core objectives and my design aesthetic. What was really helpful during the design phase was how the team gave me three tiers of design scope, (small, medium and large) for me to choose from and then backed each option up with a very detailed budget to explain the differences in costs. They even shared their overhead and profit margin with me so that I was aware of any markups. At the start of construction it was nice to know that the Foreman on site was already familiar with my project and was prepared. His follow through, attention to detail and customer service made the day-to-day work of construction much more enjoyable. Whenever there was a problem he/they solved it right away. They even set up a temporary "kitchen" in the garage while our new kitchen was being built, to make our day-to-day living easier. After the project was completed, I discovered a few small issues; the team responded quickly and has fixed every single one of them to my satisfaction. I get compliments on my new kitchen and two bathrooms all the time now. Making meals in my dream kitchen brings a smile to my face every day. Canyon Design Build was a great company to work with and I have recommended them to several friends since they completed the work on my home. read more

We had the pleasure of working with Canyon on a project that included our kitchen, master bathroom, and guest bathroom. We made it clear to Canyon that time was of the essence as we were not sure how long we would be living in California and wanted to enjoy our home to its fullest. While there are many stories of projects like these going both over budget and over projected time lines, our story is the exact opposite. The team at Canyon was highly professional and thoughtful about our goals. Two highlights were our designer Yuri Gonzales and foreman Eddy Martinez. Yuri clearly understood our aesthetic and provided great ideas and choices to allow us to make quick decisions while keeping us on budget. His work ethic and dedication to our project was simply second to none. A pleasure to work with him! Eddy was there each and every day to ensure the project stayed on target and that there were no details spared from a quality perspective. These two gentleman simply represent their company and their trade incredibly well. We would absolutely recommend them and choose to work with them again. read more