Fahan Construction, quite simply, did an incredible job. That's the long and short of it. They impressed, whether it was with the handling of inspections and inspectors, the transparency with financials, or the simply trade itself, John Shaw and his team were always on top of our renovation. Professional, respectful, and highly communicative, he was always there whenever we needed him, by text, phone, or in person, if we needed reassurance, advice or progress reports he always seemed to be right on the ball. It's hard to communicate just how important this is to keep the blood pressure down while undertaking something as life altering as a major home renovation, but we always felt Fahan had it under control. Our project was completed on schedule, 7 months to do a new kitchen, master bath, staircase installation, family room and deck, plus electrical and lots of small detail work around the house. Seven months is really something considering how easily big renovations like ours can go off the rails. Horror stories abound, and we, quite literally, had none. What a huge relief. In terms of costs, Fahan was transparent and upfront with us. They estimated and invoiced all expected and unexpected costs up front, and clearly stated any potential overruns. There were some, but none that we felt were from left field, and for each one we were given options to keep in line with what we were comfortable with. We understood and signed off on everything before anything moved forward, with a comforting degree of transparency. The only downside we could see was that the pricing tended to be high. It's not entirely clear however if this was due to the current economic conditions of '22-'23 or if it's just what quality work and workmanship costs. But as they say, you get what you pay for. Overall, we felt well-taken care of throughout the process, like there was an insider who knew the business, the pitfalls and the tricks. "I trust them", were words we uttered more than once. Most of the time we weren't even at the house, only catching up on the progress on weekends, but we always knew that the work would get done and with little to no issues along the way. THe house turned out amazing. We really couldn't be happier with the work they did. Fahan's just a quality outfit, contractors and subs, that you should trust with your house too. Just top-shelf all the way. Two thumbs up. read more

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Highly recommend Fahan Construction (John and his crew) -- they were absolutely perfect and you will be extremely satisfied with their services too! We hired Fahan for a number of projects at our home in the Outer Sunset of San Francisco: building a new deck, extending power and plumbing to the back yard, replacing our leaky roof, providing access to the new deck from our bedroom and a number of other misc projects inside our home. All of these projects were completed on time and with superb quality. John was incredibly friendly, professional and responsive throughout the whole process. He was extremely thorough: from working with the architect to co-ordinating with all the inspectors, to introducing us to all the members on his team and what we could expect from them on a regular basis. He managed the whole project effectively by providing us with timely quotes, invoices and being diligent about addressing any follow up questions we had. If there were any unforeseen issues with the weather or supply chain issues, John kept us informed and worked around each of these issues while keeping the project on time. Every single day, his team would show up on time and work diligently while keeping us posted if they needed anything. When we wanted something updated or changed, they obliged us immediately. What was particularly impressive is that they pulled off a number of different projects working across 3-4 different groups of people! I will definitely miss them around our home. And will reach out to them we need anything built or fixed moving forward. read more

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Highly recommend John and the Fahan Construction team for remodeling work. I hired them to do all the walls and ceiling for a major rewiring work, and a few other projects. They did a terrific job and were very communicative. I will definitely hire them for future remodeling projects. read more

John helped fix a leak in our home that had done some damage to our daughter's bedroom and WOW - he and his team did an outstanding job. The work was top notch, the communication was excellent, and everyone that came into our home was friendly, clean, and respectful. I would recommend Fahan Construction to anyone looking for general contracting services. You will not be disappointed. read more

Saved for years to have my dream small kitchen and bathroom. John worked with sub-contractors and vendors to keep within my budget. He kept me informed every step of the way and even finished quickly. I love my new rooms and will and have recommend(ed) Fahan to friends. read more

We had some water intrusion issues in our building. John and his team were amazing to work with. Professional, responsive, trustworthy and excellent to work with. I would hire them again in a heartbeat. read more

John and his team just completed a complete kitchen renovation in my home. As a banker who oversees construction lending, I've seen just about everything that can go wrong on other people's projects: way over budget, twice as long, people not showing up, poor communication, etc. Prepared for it all, I was almost disappointed LOL because everything about my renovation went RIGHT! Done on time (even with appliance supply chain delays), on budget, great friendly staff who were punctual, did amazing work with minimal disruption while I was living in the house and working from home. They were like part of the family and I was actually sad to see them go, but I love my beautiful new kitchen. I plan to build a new deck in the spring and I will use Fahan Construction again. I highly recommend this amazing team! read more

Fahan Construction - a kitchen with black cabinets and white countertops - General Contractors Near Me - San Francisco, California

We worked with John Shaw and his team for our recent home remodel. We were overall very pleased. We know the adage that renovation projects typically go "twice as long, twice as expensive." However, we really felt that John did his best to stay as close to budget and time estimate as he had originally proposed/estimated. Our overages on time/budget were 95% our fault, not his. We highly respect him for this. He's an honest guy, seems to love what he does, and he and his guys do great work. A few things that really stood out-- the guys are highly skilled and they do incredible carpentry. Our house is an old Victorian and they made the molding/trim match perfectly to the existing. Details like the curved ceiling that I still don't know how they did, they mastered it perfectly. We felt like our house was in excellent hands and they were careful and professional in every way, treating it like their own home. They were extremely pleasant to interact with whenever I had to make visits to the house to answer this or that question that came up. They were very accommodating to our decisions even when we requested things be done a very specific (and maybe more challenging) way. I was less thrilled with a couple of John's subs, particularly the tiler. The tiler's nasty attitude was unacceptable, and, he was also inexperienced with some very basic tile types-- he had only done penny tile once, for example. We ended up selecting a different tiler mid-way through the project who was AMAZING, but, it added an extra 1.5 months onto the project and an extra $15K... (I recommend you ask to work with Martin Alvarez for tiling instead of John's typical go-to tiler, so you can probably avoid the extra $/time problem from the start). I would also advise to meet with his purchaser/designer, Robert of CornerStone in South San Francisco, before signing the contract with John. For various reasons, we did not "click" with Robert, which meant that we were entirely on our own with selecting and ordering our materials (vanities, tile, stone, brick, cabinets, etc.) It was extremely challenging and time-consuming, and it also made it a lot harder for John to project manage and keep things on schedule. So, just meet with the guy Robert before you sign on with John as it may impact how the project will unfold. I hope John finds an alternate solution for design/purchasing because I did not enjoy doing all of that extra work myself, but Robert wasn't the answer for us, either. Again, overall, we were very happy with John Shaw and his team at Fahan Construction and highly recommend hiring them. read more

Two things: 1) excellent work, 2) took waaaaaay too long! I took off a star for how long the work took. My contractor, John Shaw, did a bathroom/kitchen/hallway reno for me and I have zero complaints about the work. It's really top notch and they stuck with me until all issues, big and small, were resolved and I was happy with the result. It looks great, everything works great, I have no complaints about the work. I gotta say, I'm especially pleased with the floor in the kitchen. They matched and extended the original (1909) floorboards in the kitchen out to the now-enclosed laundry porch and you can't tell where the old floor ends and the new one begins. Everything is beautiful! Also, really excellent paint job in the hallway; I've hired painters before and there are so many ways this can go wrong. Love my new skylight ... just everything is great! However, they estimated 3 months to get the work done; I assumed 5 months; it took EIGHT MONTHS. I was out of my house for EIGHT MONTHS. Mice moved in while I was gone (because the walls were open, but half the apartment was furnished and unoccupied.) Part of the delay was the cabinet-maker they farmed the work out to: Cornerstone in San Mateo (I will also be leaving a review there.) Cornerstone also did a fantastic job with the custom kitchen and bathroom cabinets, but their designer took THREE AND A HALF MONTHS to complete the design. Really. He talked with me, and a month later I got a draft. I made changes, and a month later he called me in to approve the changes. I made more changes, assuming that was it, and a month later he called me in to approve the new changes. Two weeks later he called me in to approve the finishes, AFTER which he put the design in for construction, which then took two months. Each time the designer called me in, I thought that was the last time. I didn't know to ask. So yes, definitely hire Fahan, you won't be sorry about the quality of the work. BUT. Get a detailed work schedule from them, including when they will need which to-be-ordered items and, if you possibly can, order the items yourself in advance and store them in your basement. If you're referred to Cornerstone, get a schedule from them as well and make it clear that a month in between each draft is unacceptable. Keep calling and nagging to get the design done quickly. Be smarter than me! read more

I hired John to build a deck 3 months ago. He helped me through the design process and got me in touch with some good engineers and designers. John helped me fine tune the design so the execution was cost effective. I would highly recommend him in the future to anyone. read more

Great workmanship, reliable, on-time, on-budget, respectful, and responsive. John and his team made our master bath remodel easy and we would work with them again. After some challenges with past contractors on other major and minor remodels, it was a great pleasure to find a team that did wonderful work, were conscientious, considerate, and listened. They kept dust contained and access areas clean. They showed up regularly, planned well, and worked hard. Most importantly, the completed work was well-done and beautiful. If any questions or concerns arose during the process, John responded and met our expectations. With any projects, things will come up after work is completed, like noticing a crack, scratch or a drawer not aligned or closing properly, John took care of it in a timely and convenient manner. We love our new master bathroom! read more

Fahan Construction - SF Master Bath remodel - General Contractors Near Me - San Francisco, California

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John and his crew just finished remodeling a 1926 condo for us in the city. We purchased the unit last year knowing that it was a complete gut and redo. We obtained several bids and liked John for several reasons, including 1) his pricing was competitive, 2) he brought his subs (electrical, plumbing, painting, etc) to the site for the bid walk-thru which gave me an opportunity to meet them and 3) he provided a detailed quote which was clear about what would be included in the cost. This was a big job which took several months - a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom unit measuring 1,500 sq feet that needed everything - new electrical including lots of recessed lighting, new plumbing, new wood floors, new kitchen, new bathrooms, hanging new doors, replacing some windows and moving radiators. John managed all the permits and I was impressed with how he passed each inspection smoothly. John and his crew are all talented, smart, hard working and all around nice guys. Working on the 6th floor of a large condo building with one old elevator has its stresses - both in logistics and in keeping peace with the neighbors who had to live through our commotion. John did an outstanding job in being considerate to neighbors, cleaning up the common areas every night and following the buildings rules. We received many compliments about John from the neighbors. John and crew finished the job "on time". I use that term loosely only because I am the one who delayed the process with numerous change orders. There was lots on this job that could have stressed John out many times, but his response to everything was always, "all good". I've done many remodels and to come to the end, and be thrilled with the quality of the work and still like your contractor is a huge success and that's how I'd rate working with Fahan Construction. read more

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We hired John and his crew to do a complete studs-out kitchen remodel. At our initial meeting John recommended a kitchen designer who turned out to be fantastic as well. Between the two of them they made the entire process very easy and seamless for us. We decided to have the remodel done while we were traveling overseas, not without some hesitation. A contractor friend of mine told me we were crazy to have the job going when we were not there to check on it, but we decided to take a chance. As it turned out, it worked out great--John kept the job moving along and sent us pictures of the progress, and we returned to an almost-finished kitchen. The quality of the work and attention to detail was excellent. The team was conscientious about confirming the details with us before each portion of the job, making sure that each decision was agreed upon, and were clearly careful in their work. John's crew and subcontractors were friendly and pleasant to have in our home. We decided last-minute to refinish all the floors in the house during the project, and asked John if he could book movers as we were overseas. Rather than hire movers John's crew packed up our entire house themselves, moved it to the garage, then moved it back (just in time for our return!). I thought for sure something would get broken but everything made it back upstairs in perfect condition. They even set out my son's toys for him to find when we got home--which was much appreciated by a jet-lagged preschooler. It was a small thing but showed the care and respect the crew have for their clients. I would not hesitate to use Fahan again or to recommend them to anyone. read more

I manage an apartment building in the city and we needed to replace our exterior stairs. John's bid was very reasonable and we hired him. That was nothing short of a great decision. John worked his tail off, was super pleasant to deal with and the work came out beautifully! He takes pride in his work, from the selection of materials, to the finishing details. He was consistently curteous to all the building tenants, even if it meant that he'd have to take on little extras to ensure everyone's comfort and satisfaction with the job. The building owners were thrilled with the finished product and we already have recommended him to others for future work. Any future work that I need done around here, I'm asking John if he's available first. If he's not....I may just wait. read more

Sorry John for my late review due to my crazy traveling in the last few months. John and his team finished the major remodeling of my 1920s condo in Pac Height. The job involved major structural changes to the kitchen and bathroom, including removing walls... It took longer and cost more than we had anticipated because of some unforeseen other issues. It all worked well and we were very pleased with the beautiful results. John and his team were efficient and reasonable and he also helped me dealing with our condo Board, which sometimes could be frustrating. I would strongly recommend Fahan for any renovation!! read more

Fahan Construction - General Contractors Near Me - San Francisco, California

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My sisters and I cannot say enough about Fahan Construction and how pleased we are with their work. John and his crew, Sam and Carlos were hired to do some repairs on our almost 100 year old rental house in San Francisco. Not living in San Francisco we wanted someone in the city who knew all the codes and requirements. John fit the bill. His initial quote was quite reasonable and when extensive wood rot was discovered during demolition he just worked it into his schedule no problem. He was great in letting us know what was going on and what was needed to get it fixed. He immediately got us an additional estimate, lined up the sub-contractor and got those all-important permits! No problem passing inspection at all. The job site was kept neat and clean and Sam and Carlos were respectful of our tenants needs (a major plus). The workmanship was exceptional and they all worked quickly without compromising quality. The repairs are seamless; how they perfectly matched 40 year old paint was incredible! John himself has a great "can do" attitude and does not make you feel pressured at all. He is very laid back, but gets the job done! Since we could only get to the job site once a week it was imperative to find someone we and our tenants trusted. We felt comfortable with him immediately and all three were a pleasure to work with. John is now on speed dial for all our future needs. Carole L. read more

Fahan Construction - General Contractors Near Me - San Francisco, California

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We hired John Shaw as the general contractor to remodel our kitchen and install hardwood floors throughout the house. He was very reasonably priced, and did exactly what you want a general contractor to do: he did his part of the work while wrangling his subcontractors to get their work done on schedule, even working around us living in the house with a new baby. (He took precautions to make sure that demo and construction dust didn't get into the room we were living in, which of course had to move during the process.) He pushed and coordinated everyone to make sure the job was done on time, before our relatives came to visit from out of town. He and his assistant did the kitchen installation, while he hired subcontractors for the plumbing, electrical, and flooring. His care and attention to detail were fantastic. The finished kitchen is everything we were hoping it would be. His plumbing contractor was very good, and the electrician Ronan and his team did extraordinary work with our electrical system. We absolutely love it. The flooring contractor was a bit more difficult to work with, but fortunately for us, that was John's problem. The end result of John's insistence that the job be done right was a beautiful hardwood floor (at no additional cost to us, even though the flooring contractor insisted on being paid more to fix his own mistake). I understand John has a new flooring subcontractor that he plans to work with in the future. John is personable, a pleasure to deal with, and a real craftsman. We will definitely hire him again and recommend him for friends for other house projects. read more

I now have a brand new kitchen thanks to Fahan Construction! My kitchen remodel was my very first project and had a million questions, trepidations, and revisions. John was very patient, and carefully explained the pro and cons to each of my "what if we do this or that" questions. Yikes. I sound like a nightmare client. To sum up, John persuaded me to make efficient and less costly decisions to keep the project within my budget, and the workers were on time, attentive, and cleaned up after each day's work. Thanks Fahan. I'm looking forward to cooking in my new kitchen. read more

i reached out to John for an estimate. Out of all the contractors, John was the most responsive, professional and knowledgeable. Ultimately, I decided to go be a little more self service with doing the apartment in tiny phases, but if you want your project to be in good hands and scoped thoroughly, John and Fahan are definitely worth a look. read more

We added one bathroom and renovated two other bathrooms. John and his team did a fabulous job. We live in a 1920's house and I couldn't believe how dust free and tidy he kept the site. The entire team was very personable and a pleasure to have around. Very happy with the final result. Thanks John et all! Update: Year later, the work still looks brand new. Couldn't be happier. read more

I was new to the process of receiving bids for a renovation. John Shaw not only had by far the best bid, he made me feel so comfortable about the entire process. He was great with communication, top-notch work, and he finished the job ahead of schedule. I know you will be over-the-moon if you choose Fahan Construction. John has a great eye for design and craftsmanship I am so happy that I called him, and will do it again. read more

My wife and I recently purchased a home and needed some closet work done that required knocking down a wall. We had some things done by another contractor who did a good enough job, but let enough to be desired that we thought we'd try someone new. With great reviews here we thought we'd give Fahan a call. We were also keen to support a neighborhood business. Turns out it was the right thing to do. From the very beginning and throughout the whole process, John was easy to work with, super accommodating, and it should be said, rather patient. Our work started late October and due to our family's hectic schedule, seasonal holidays and illnesses, and some indecision on our part, the job spanned many more weeks. I know this must have put a strain on John's resources, but he always found time and tools to commit, and he did it with charm, grace, and good humor. The guy is ALWAYS smiling! I'm getting to an age where I don't have time to mess around. John respected that with fair prices and prompt quotes. When the scope of the job changed he was clear about the impact, financially and schedule wise. His crew was as courteous as they were skilled, and they put in full day; when they came to work, they came to WORK. I was at home a few full days and those guys barely stopped moving to take a bathroom break! Even the flooring subcontractor, Chan, did such an amazing job you can't tell where the 80 year old floorboard stops, and the 2 week old floorboard starts! All work passed inspection with no issues, and meets all our needs, even as they evolved from where we started. We're planning on living in this house for 40 years. If anything wasn't perfect if be staring at it "forever", so we had a pretty high bar. John leaped right over it. It is such a relief to know that I have "my contractor". There is no question we'll need more work done, and there's only one call I'll make. Thanks John! read more

I had a bathroom remodel done by Fahan construction, and it turned into a complete nightmare. Apart from the usual delays - which I could live with - where a 2-3 week job turned into over 2 months (partly because the electrician was out of the country, partly because John and his crew were working on several other constructions), things became annoying when John started to charge extra. An extra $1000 for the plumber, and extra $1000 for the electrician, and an extra $2000 for himself..... But that wasn't the worst.. Things became ugly when John was threatening to put a lien on my house to receive the final payment (I already payed over $20,000 for a job bid that was 21k originally, and 2k were missing) BEFORE the job was completed and BEFORE the job card was signed!!!!!! Yes, true. The grouting in the bathroom was not done, and the job card was not signed (even though John initially told me that the job card was signed, so I guess that counts as LYING). Not what you want someone to do, who spends a lot of time in your home. read more

I dealt with John and he was a no show. Scheduled an 8am meet time and he was late. Eventually I reached him and he said he had somewhere else to be. While I can't speak for his work I can speak for his professionalism. Pretty lame read more

John is the best. You won't find a more honest and skilled contractor/construction guy. He's knowledgeable, dedicated and totally responsible. The things I liked most about working with Fahan was that they always did what they said they would do, they were always on the job and they were easy to work with. Their work is top notch and I would highly recommend them no matter the size of the job. They did an outstanding job completely remodeling my 100 year old garage in Noe Valley. The garage was franky a mess - exposed beams, dangling electirical wires and pipes, cracked cement floor, etc. In about a month,they completely gutted the garage and remodeled it - reinforced the foundation by adding shearing to the walls, insulated the entire garage, completely rewired all the electical conduits, sheetrocked and painted everything. It's now a showcase garage. We love everything they did. John and his crew did a great job. You won't go wrong using them. read more

John Shaw was great to work with. He was very responsive and easy to get a hold of, came in on the budget and time frame he proposed, and best of all honest. When a sub made an error that required a re-do, he voluntarily covered the materials and labor for a speedy repair. Most telling of all, my designer gave him high praise and client referrals ! read more

Best construction experience! The quote was laid out and easy to understand. I received 3 quotes for the project. Every quote was around the same number, but this was the only construction company that laid out the work to fit the budget. This made me very optimistic that we would stay on budget and we did! John and his team are extremely professional. Everyone did a great job! This was my first construction project and John was very helpful to recommend places to go for materials and set reasonable expectations. The end result is quality work that looks amazing. Our neighbors cannot help but come by to compliment the work. I would use John and his team again for any other project we may choose to do in the future. read more

We just completed a kitchen remodel with Fahan Construction and we couldn't be happier! Communications with John Shaw were always professional, timely and friendly. We trusted his expertise and knowledge and always felt like we were in good hands. His guys were also friendly and professional and did an excellent job on the remodel. We will definitely use them again for our next project and I can highly recommend them to anyone looking to find a competent and trustworthy contractor. read more

Awesome! John and his workers did a great job! I'm very impress. On my to go to call list for everything now. Great work!

My company had a gym shower with some mold on the wall so after looking at John's reviews here, I called him. He said he could come the next day to look at our problem and give an estimate. When he came the following day, he told me the problem was very minimal and that the wall just needed a paint job. Basically, the wall was not as bad as I thought. He still told me what needed to be done. I appreciated that even though we didn't end up using him, he was very friendly and helpful. read more

John and his extended team did a full kitchen rip-and-replace for us including demo, moving plumbing and electrical and handling three permits. We managed cabinets and countertop separately. Kitchen turned out smashing and at a good value. The crew was always pleasant and kept the place clean and worked within the constraints of our HOA, which can be difficult. There were some minor delays trying to arrange schedules between John and subs' travel and aligning different parts of the project but not unusual with such a project. Definitely recommend John and team. read more

Can't recommend working with these guys enough - professional, communicative, speedy. Thanks John, Sam and team.

I would recommend John for any residential carpentry or general contractor type work. At our place, he built a three-story exterior staircase at our place to replace one that was rotting away (this also fixed a leak in the first floor apartment). The craftsmanship was top-notch, as well as the selection of building materials. Along with the stairs, he also hung a new door in an off-square old jam (including reshaping the door to fit, and repaired an old and rotting set of French doors (one of which had been nonfunctional for years). His price was reasonable and he finished ahead of schedule (despite the terrible weather). read more

I highly recommend John Shaw and his crew. John was quick to respond to provide an estimate for the work to be done and he provided a very competitive bid. We decided to go with Fahan Construction after getting bids from two other contractors. John was a very good communicator and he kept in regular contact throughout the project. Our three-story building needed siding repair, dry-rot repair and painting (almost the whole building). There was also a set of exterior wooden stairs which needed significant repairs and painting. John's crew did a very thorough job. We were impressed with how much prep-work was done on the building before painting started. There some instances when extra work had to be done. In some cases, these additional work items were taken care of without any additional cost. In other cases, John clearly communicated how much the additional work would cost and give us the option to proceed with work. After the building work was completed, John's crew did a very good job of cleaning up. Overall, the building owners were very satisfied with the quality of the work. read more

I got bids from several highly-rated contractors I found on Yelp. John's was among the most reasonable and sensible, so I hired him. Everything the reviews have been saying are true. He didn't sell me a bill of goods and his crew did excellent, fast work. In fact, the building inspector complimented the work they did. The job came in below his bid, and now I've hired him to do other stuff at my house. For me, there's no one else I will hire. Much thanks, John, Samuel and Carlos. read more

John was quick and efficient with a door frame fix . Clearly experienced in his field. Definitely recommended.

John Shaw just finished building a gorgeous set of bookshelves to frame the fireplace in my living room. I live in a house built in 1912 with lovely Edwardian details, and I knew I wanted something that would echo the style and look of the existing woodwork in the house, but I didn't have a drawing or specific plan. John was so helpful in designing the shelves for me, making sure that they were what I wanted, then constructing them to fit with the rest of the details in the home. The fireplace next to the bookcases is made of an unusual vertical wood grain, and he went to the trouble of finding wood-grain to match for the bookshelves. John is honest, has an eye for detail, easy to work with, and a truly skilled craftsman. I can't recommend him enough! read more

When you find a contractor you can trust, hang onto him! The first thing that impressed me about John Shaw was his approach to the job -- he came up with a better solution to my dryrot problem than the other two contractors who bid, and he saved me a substantial amount of time and money. I was also very impressed by his crew -- he put two highly-skilled carpenters on my job, and they seemed to know exactly how to do the job right. The finished product looks excellent, and I am confident that it will last. Even the clean-up was great. John managed the permit process, and worked with me on price and I was satisfied with the final invoice. I am looking forward to working with John Shaw again! read more

I hired John Shaw to fix substantial water damage that occurred to my house in the outer Richmond when a drainpipe leaked. John and his crew were totally professional, and did a wonderful job, which required scaffolding on the street, re-stucco and painting, in addition to taking out the rot and re-framing the front facade. The price was very fair, in fact I was quite pleased how reasonable it was for such a large job. They were awesome, and I would highly reccomend Fahan Construction for all your construction needs! read more

Another great job By Fahan! Roof needed replacement, got the job done quickly and reasonably priced as well! We will call Jon Shaw whenever we need any type of construction work done. read more