I had worked with Expert Design Builders back in 2018 for a small project. The work was well done, well managed and Zach always communicated well with us. When we decided to proceed with a bigger project: a fence, automatic gate and deck we had no doubt EDB's team would do the work well, and they did ! For the Fence/Gate, We really did not know what we wanted. Zach was able to provide us various options and examples of other jobs he did in the area which we were able to check out. For the deck, we had a good idea of the size and shape, but he was able to provide us some advices for a whole bunch of details which we had not thought about (stairs shape, wood choice, lighting etc ...). He warned us in advance about potential additional work that might be needed (retaining wall) so that we would not run into a surprise in the middle of the project. After signing the contract, work started on time. His team members were always considerate with us and our neighbors (since we were working from home, they would warn us in advance when they would make loud noise etc ...) Throughout the course of the work, Zach would communicate with us providing progress, status and what would come up next. He would also make himself available for questions we would have. The result was beyond our expectations. The result and design of both the fence and deck is great. read more

Expert Design Builders - a deck with stairs and railings - General Contractors Near Me - Emeryville, California

See all

These guys did a great job rebuilding our deck. Prices were fair and progress moved fast so that we could enjoy our new trex deck with cable rails this summer! read more

If you have any experience hiring contractors for house projects you know that even the basics can be a challenge: Answering emails, showing up to estimate the job, delivering a bid, showing up to work, finishing the job, cleaning up. Zach and his crew distinguish themselves by meeting not only these painfully obvious benchmarks as a matter of course, but by going on to do an excellent job start to finish. I give them my highest recommendation for service and craftsmanship. Our project was a modest day job: installing bathroom ventilation fans in a newly remodeled Oakland Craftsman. I put out four queries to contractor leads: Zach answered my email, came to the house to inspect the job, and emailed back a reasonable bid before 8pm the same day. That kind of responsiveness won him the gig. In fact, the job was complete before I heard back from some of the contractors I reached out to. We're perfectly happy with the end results and hope to work with Zach again on future, larger projects. Thanks, Zach! read more

Expert Design Builders - Flawless installation of a nearly-silent, motion-sensor bathroom fan. - General Contractors Near Me - Emeryville, California

Expert Design Builders is a great company. Zach is always looking out for the well being of the customer, and makes sure to complete what he says when he says and within budget. Anyone that knows construction know there is going to be unseen delays. Zach is very good about working around these and staying in communication with you about the solution. Using EDB was one of the best decisions when it came to using a contractor in the bay area. Zach is very detailed and takes the time to use quality products. There is a big difference of when a job is just finished with any materials available, and when Zach and EDB use top quality products. I have an 1880's victorian that has original detail wood trim and flooring. We expanded a half bathroom into a full and added stairs into the basement. The job was large and completed on time and perfectly within our budget! Zach matched the finish work so well that people cannot tell where the new additions are. The proof is in the finished product! Having people in awe of the finished product is a perfect sign we will use EDB for all future projects. read more

See all

My husband and I are so happy to have found Zach Dawn, a contractor who actually provides the "magic three" -- great quality, reasonable cost, AND speedy work. A rare find! We recently moved to Berkeley after purchasing a new (built in 2013) home and wanted to have some floating shelves installed in the dining room and some storage shelves in the garage. After meeting with one contractor who gave us an outrageous $$$ estimate (who also said that we would need to tear down the entire drywall and sheetrock), and then another who said that our proposed project was "too difficult," we got lucky when a neighbor on NextDoor.com recommended Zach at Expert Design Builders. Throughout the whole process, Zach was courteous, friendly, and easy to communicate with. We were immediately impressed by his knowledge and confidence. He called me back the same day, then came out that weekend to do an estimate, and by the next week he was starting work on our house. He listened to what we wanted and made some really good suggestions. He even provided a computer-generated image of what our garage shelves would look like so we could make any changes if we wanted to. As an added bonus, he and his team always left a neat and tidy work space after each visit. We ended up adding a few extra projects (some smaller floating shelves in the baby's room, and a fix for our busted front and back gates), and he adjusted our estimate and got the work done quickly without any trouble. Might I add that we got all this work done for LESS than the estimate the first contractor gave us for just the floating shelves. And, unlike some contractors, he didn't destroy our house in the process! If you are looking for someone to do high-quality, professional work at a reasonable price, Zach is your man. We highly recommend him and would definitely work with him again for future projects. read more

Expert Design Builders - Custom floating maple shelves in our dining room nook. - General Contractors Near Me - Emeryville, California

See all

Zach and his crew at Expert Design Builders did an incredible job on our house. Our project started as a deck project. (Emphasis there on the word 'started' ;) We wanted to strip our cantilevered decks down to the joists to check for rot, replace/shore up any joists showing rot, then rebuild the decks with a wood/style more to our liking. But Zach was so timely and detailed in his contract for the decks that we decided - what the heck! - let's ask for a quote for the fence out front. Then we asked about the patio stairs. And the next thing you know, Expert Design Builders is redoing our decks, fencing, stairs, and painting the entire exterior of our house because of how comfortable and confident we felt in Zach and his team. Here are some things that stood out to us during the project: 1) Quality: Zach wants his work to look great. Twice, his crew turned away a wood delivery because the product wasn't up to their standard. They had me come out and look at the wood and showed me why they were sending it back. As a result, our fences and decks look phenomenal. We know his profit on the project took a hit because of those decisions and are grateful he cared enough to do so. 2) Communication: We interviewed multiple companies before going with Zach and while other contractors followed up their trips out here for an estimate with "It'll cost about this much" emails, with no details as to why/what will 'cost this much', Zach continually broke things down so that we could understand. If a part of the project was going to take longer than initially expected, he explained why. If we wanted to change a detail, but doing so would cost more, he gave us options to choose from. And if something was going to be cheaper for us to buy ourselves and then have his crew install, he told us where to get it. Were there times when something didn't turn out as we'd hoped and we had to have a difficult conversation about fixing it? Of course. That's a part of any remodel! But Zach was always willing to talk things out and brainstorm solutions, which we really appreciated, because in the end it led to us getting exactly what we wanted. 3) Respect: Zach and his crew were at our house for almost three months and treated us, our house, and our neighbors extremely well for the entirety of the project. They cleaned up at the end of every day. They paused sanding/drilling when I needed it quiet for a work call. They put down Ram Board where they were walking inside of our house, so as not to damage our floors. We even got comments from our neighbors about how friendly the crew was and how if they ever needed a car moved, the guys were happy to oblige. Needless to say, if you're looking for a contractor in the San Francisco/Oakland area, I highly recommend Zach and Expert Design Builders. I visited a few of their work sites before deciding to go with them and the houses looked just as great as our house does now. If/when we need more work done (which hopefully won't be for a long while!) we'd hire him again in a heartbeat. read more

See all

Zach stuck with us through a tumultuous 5 years of planning, permitting, winter storms and then COVID, helping us build our dream house within our very limited budget. read more

I'm amazed at the number of 5 star reviews here, which ultimately led me to using Expert Design Builders. Quick version: Zach left the job without finishing all of the work, but with all of it paid for. Lots of rework, and lack of accountability on his end. ----- I had 3 contractors come and give me bids for work on my mother's house. This included a downstairs kitchen, an upstairs kitchen, a bathroom, repainting the upstairs interior, repainting the entire exterior of the home, installing a heater, waterproofing the entry stairs from leaks, re-routing a gutter, and some canned lights in the downstairs kitchen. Of the 3 contractors, Zach was my 2nd choice since my first choice was not available during the timeline I needed. Zach struck me as a very calm, grounded and professional individual. He communicated well at first, and made a very concerted effort to understand what we wanted, and what was a maybe - some items that may take us out of our budget. Overall, the pricing was fair. He started work on our front stairs, using an epoxy-based deep penetrating wood sealer in order to mitigate the water damage on the wood under the stair structure, and then using a stair tread adhesive to waterproof the stairs over the entire surface, including the edges. The sealant was a 3-step process. However, after the 3 coats, rain came, and it leaked again. Zach went ahead and poured more sealant. Weeks later, it leaked yet again, and Zach informed me that he would not warranty the work on the stairs unless he used sealant to cover the glass blocks that were under each step; only charming element of these stairs. When I went to the house to examine the stairs, I noticed that the sealant didn't cover the bottom side of each step, so the water was just curling around the edge of each stair and penetrating where there was no sealant. He ended up correcting it after I suggested a solution for him, so no covering the glass blocks. But I don't think he will stand by his labor warranty since he no longer answers my calls. He installed a heater upstairs. He had problems with his plumber not coming back to finish his work, so when he finally got it installed, the electrical outlet was misaligned with the heater. Oops. I didn't give him a hard time for it, but it's worth noting. The scary part is that he left the gas line, on the exterior of the house, completely unstrapped to the house. That's about 40 feet of gas conduit unstrapped, clanging against the side of the house in high windows, god forbid there be a seismic event. 4 weeks after the install, his helper (Gilbert was great, btw) came over and ended up adding a couple of conduit straps. Now, it was definitely not done to code. The gas line stub coming out of the house goes too far, so he couldn't strap it to the top side of the house unless he strapped it to strut, like any reasonable contractor would do. So the gas line isn't strapped where the conduit exits the house, and not for another 15 feet. The kicker was the interior painting in the upstairs kitchen. In all fairness to Zach, I don't think that these were the guys that Zach typically uses. But, Zach being the GC, he really wasn't on top of managing these guys, and it led to rework. When they painted the kitchen cabinets the first time, the paint got tacky and didn't adhere correctly. Zach begrudgingly got a guy to strip the paint and repaint, but did a crappy single coat. He ended up refunding us $200 so my brother would paint it himself (although he originally offered us $1000 to do the work, he had to pay the guy for doing shit work). Also, they forgot to primer a significant portion of the upstairs kitchen, so that peeled off real quick. They also left paint on the cabinet hinges, cause the painters did not know how to prep correctly. Yelp won't even allow the number of characters I need to describe all of the grievances. ----- To be fair, Zach did a lot of things right. And some things I know he really went above and beyond on. If he finished everything, even weeks beyond the original construction timeline, I am understanding and would have given him 4 stars, despite the rework, stress and time it took on our end. But because he: 1) Basically didn't check his own work, needed me to leave punchlists for him that he wouldn't finish 2) Still hasn't provided receipts for the appliances he purchased 3) Charged us a late fee even though he completed the work late 4) Kept making himself out to be the victim, talking about "I'm losing money already on this job" when it was his own undoing, 5) Decided to stop answering phone calls and never finished the work, and 6) Had a conversation about "trust" with me right before he took the rest of his pay, then didn't finish the long punchlist I trusted him to finish, I can only give him 2 stars. And I feel that I am generous with that. His contractor labor warranty now means nothing. So I will be reporting him to the BBB and California State License Board. read more

See all

Swapped emails and permit drawings with Zach, he said he was interested in the job, proposed a time to do a walk-through of my house, he emailed me to re-confirmed the walk-through time in the morning, and then.... never showed up. An hour after our scheduled time I call him to see what happened, and no apology, just "Oh yeah, I forgot". So, can't speak to the quality of his carpentry skills, but doesn't instill confidence. read more

The salesman was a good salesman in that he had the wool pulled over our eyes very good - high pressure sales that I tried to see through and all the promises he gave us I did catch one of which he said we were or go buy the plants that we wanted for the projects. I told him that was what we were hiring him for and that was to be included in the high price. He quoted $6,475 to do two small sections of front yard (very high) but my wife wanted it done so I settled on $6,100. we filled out papers and he did not leave proper papers with us ( left us with contractors page) and din not leave paperwork explaining our rights to cancel -just had us put check we got them. his designer never showed up and he calls to cancel the contract of which declined, I am filling a complaint with Ca. licenses board and BBB. read more

It all started with a step... We were looking for someone to put in a couple of small interior steps a few years ago and stumbled across Zach, who conveniently lives in our Glenview neighborhood. From that, he and his team at Expert Design Builders have now completed four interior projects on our home and recently replaced a 96 feet of fence. They pay attention to detail and always clean up their work. They even poured a few concrete steps for free when we contracted them to put in a custom gate. The added bonus is that he's a great guy and our daughter loves it when he comes over -- partly because she is just curious -- and partly because he's such a nice guy. read more

Zach and his crew took a rough, working warehouse and turned it into a designers haven. The ~$600k project involved refurbishing pretty much every surface in the building with significant structural work, sheer walls, foundations, exterior wall modification, new windows, tie downs, a new artistic custom welded metal and concrete staircase, completely new electric and data wiring, HVAC, kitchen, appliance installs, two bathrooms, polished concrete floor, new wood floor, living space, two work spaces and offices. Basically a full re-model. Zach was the GC and involved in every aspect of construction. His initial bid on the project had by far the most detail, he called out areas that were not well defined and added appropriate placeholders so we could nail down detail and cost as the plans progressed. Working with the architect, he was responsible for adherence to all codes, making sure work received the appropriate sign-offs throughout. This was particularly detailed during the structural and staircase work. He proposed a number of very useful touches to the design such an extra door way to get the right flow, artistic elements such as highlighting industrial piping and generally making sure the place was both interesting and livable. Over 80 individuals were involved during the 8 month build, Zach kept everything moving ensuring all the balls stayed in the air and dependencies did not block the next round of work. To provide full transparency he had everything in a Google calendar so I could easily see how the different teams were progressing and what decisions I needed to deal with in order to not slow down construction. The project was completed on time, we moved in and are very happy with the result. Also worth noting that Zach made himself available for touch-ups on minor things post completion to make sure it's just how we wanted it. Great work. read more

See all

Zach is a real considerate guy, was a pleasure having him around. I needed some big updates in my newly purchased old house. He gave a reasonable quote, the project progressed at a good pace. The final cost was close to the quote, plus some add-ons I of course made after the start, which he had the courtesy to give good prices on as well. All windows of the house were replaced and look great. The house needed all the electrical replaced, was original knob and tube. I asked for some nit picky light fixture and outlet placements which Zach obliged. The kitchen received a nice remodel, new cabinets and a sink, added an island with another prep sink. Re-located the gas line and nice old Wedgewood stove that I rebuilt. Bathroom torn back to studs and new plumbing there too. Again Zach worked with some older pieces I had resourced and wanted put in, tub, sink and light fixture. Some new cabinet woodwork in the bedrooms. Then everything painted. It's amazing the difference these improvements have made, it feels like a quality new house but with the old charm retained. I wanted to keep the old character of the house and Zach worked with me diligently and patiently. Thank you! read more

Zach is a good honest guy. I hired him to renovate a business space and he went beyond my expectations. He has the ability to anticipate the needs of a space before I even thought of it. I had no idea how much I would appreciate having a water faucet in my workout space until well after the job. This guy knows how to anticipate the needs of a space and work within a budget. Next time I need my space renovated, I will call Zach first. read more

I've hired Zach to add a bathroom to our outdoor studio space. We are doing it in two phases and he has completed phase 1 which was a new floor and all the rough plumbing. I plan to hire Zach for phase 2 which will be starting soon which is all the finish work. Obviously I wouldn't be hiring him for phase 2 if I wasn't satisfied with his work done thus far. He and his team did a good job with phase 1 and I feel like they did quality work and were conscientious about details. He was very cooperative with our budgetary constraints and helped us keep costs down wherever possible. I hope and expect to come back and enhance my review with another kudos for phase 2 which will likely be done in April. Thanks expert design builders! read more

My mother lives in Emeryville and used Expert Design Builders for a major project on her house and was completely satisfied. I had the opportunity to speak with Zack about what he was doing, his remodel philosophy, and his estimates and I was very comfortable. The project was completed ahead of schedule and on budget. read more

Expert Design Builders made major repairs of my deck and also completed retrofits to a section of my house to make it more resistant to earthquakes. The work quality was high and work was completed in a timely manner. The owner, Zach, is honest, very knowledgeable, and committed to high quality. read more

Zach runs a professional and speedy company. The individuals he hires take there time to do a quality job. I worked with one of his carpenters and he did a great job. Zach was constantly checking in to make sure the work was up to his standards. The tile guy he hired to work on our bathroom took pride in his work and was driven to do the best job he could do, not the quickest job he could do. I was doing some of the work myself and Zach took the time to give me some hints and tips on how to do the project right. Zach was on time and efficient about getting the job done. This company gives quality work, fast, at very affordable prices. I will be calling Zach back for our next project. read more

I had a great experience working with Zach and his crew. It's refreshing to work with professional and honest builders - he was on time, on budget with his work, gave very straightforward cost estimates, the clean up was thorough after the job too. I know there is always the temptation to use very low-budget/low skilled labor, but I really glad that I went with Zach and his team. I would definitely recommend his work - and already have for two of my friends. read more

I hired Zach for a bathroom remodel, and he and his team did a great job. It's been about a year since then, and everything has help up nicely. What separated Zach from the other contractors I considered was his combination of transparency, professionalism, and attention to detail. Zach also has an eye for design and functionality, and gave me solid advice throughout the remodel. read more

Expert Design Builders helped us to update our 1916 Craftsman in Hayward. I took the day off work when they put in a new electrical box because I was concerned that the whole house might catch on fire. They had planned in advance, so it went smoothly, considering what a mess the wiring was in before. It was frustrating when the inspector didn't come on time, but the owner of the Buliders came out personally to make sure that it went smoothly when we had to reschedule the inspection. Thankfully we passed inspection without a hitch. I plan to use Expert Design Builders for my future projects. read more

Zach just completed his third big job on my old house in Rockridge. The first was to build custom cabinetry for my office. The second was to remodel some interior walls and closets. The most recent was to rebuild some exterior walls and ceiling in which there was substantial water damage. In each case Zach and his crew did a great job, on budget and on time. They are careful and pleasant and they do their best to minimize the disruption due to their work. I can recommend Zach unequivocally. No matter what may come up, I would call Zach first. read more

Zach & team built an Ipe deck for us up in the Oakland hills, severe downhill slope about 30' off the ground. A couple of others wouldn't do the job, they said it was "too hard" due to the size of the beams. Not Zach! No way, he took on the challenge and built the deck with a smile. (well, mostly!) Seriously, if you want a competent, communicative, hard working, detail-oriented, competitively priced contractor who goes the extra mile to make the customers happy: call Zach at Expert Design. read more

We've had Zach of Expert Design Builders do a variety of work in our home - from re-surfacing our bedroom ceiling to installing stairs, doors, and handrails in our home. He's extremely thorough, very detail oriented, and incredibly easy to work with. He takes tremendous pride in his work and always works to ensure 100% customer satisfaction. He's also extremely personable - our three year old loves to watch him doing the work in our house and he's always patient with her. We recommend him highly. read more

I saw the work that had been done by Expert Design Builders and it was artistically done.The team is very likeable and pleasant to work with. The bedroom addition was finished on time and on budget! We would hire them again. read more

We hired Zach to solve a persistent water intrusion problem we had on our concrete deck, which other contractors had tried fixing in the past - unsuccessfully. Zach was the first one to give a clear and detailed explanation of what was happening and gave us a few options we could go with. Ours was a multi-unit condo building built in the 60s, which added it own share of complications, yet Zach knew all about this type of construction and we felt confident about handing him the job. The job was done on time, and within the original estimate, which was very reasonable, btw. Three years on - no sign of the problem reappearing. The only negative I feel I should mention is that not all the workers he hired were as skilled and diligent as he is, and some cosmetic work had to be redone in a few places, which he took care of very quickly. Good experience, honest and knowledgeable guys - we'll bring our business to him again any time. read more