Mario Espinoza is an excellent, expert painter & even layed the pad & carpet. He's multipli-…read moretalented, and he's able to judge what looks good. He's very reasonable, and made my dad's house look like new. I was very impressed how he was dependable, has good communication skills, and feels free to recommend ideas to improve the space so that it looks the best. He took extra time & effort. He removed the wall to wall paneling, had to take down crown molding & paint. He had to texturize some walls. He then had to replace crown molding. He paid attention to brown outlet, and recommended painting to match the wall. That was a good call. He went above & beyond. Painted this ugly door and made it beautiful. He takes pictures & communicates very well. He saw something that didn't look right, so he painted the ceiling involved. The house looks beautiful. My sister in-law & I highly recommend Mario. I'm happy I found our painter who we'll use for the outside of our house.

This company is now called Roofline. They are helpful and friendly. I had spent two days searching…read morefor replacement Spanish roof tiles for repairs to our roof. Every other company in the Bay Area only sold big lots. Roofline had the tile I needed, and it was only $2.45! I thought I had to drive to Concord for a four hour trip, but this place in South San Francisco saved me.

I called Valentin based on these reviews and had him come by and take a look at our back yard…read more Although we had a little bit of a challenge communicating, through simple words and amid much gesticulating, I could see that he immediately grasped my vision and even improved upon it. His quote was definitely far more reasonable than any of the 3 other companies we asked to quote. My next step was to contact fellow Yelper and reviewer of Valentin and get more in depth info regarding the work habits of the crew, ability to communicate etc. (Thanks Penny!) Everything was looking positive, so I figured, "Why not?" I chose a week when I was working from home so I could check in and out of their progress. This was a good thing as there were a couple of things which required input that was much easier to do being right there. Even amid some scope creep, and more materials being required than originally thought, Valentin kept true to his quote and endeavored to deliver exactly what I wanted. We are really happy with the outcome (defined a space in the backyard with a retaining wall, laid flagstone patio, added gravel perimeter around the deck). -1 star for communication +1 star for price, effort, and standing behind the original estimate

Word of advice when you get people to do your garden. get a…read morepicture drawn or sketched and have each area that you need done signed by the landscaper. also make sure you label all work that needs to be done clearly and make sure both of you understand what is going on. for this guy, i believe the best thing you should do is follow every step above. his guys are really hard working, it's just the communication problem that would piss you off and get things messed up. my 1 star still stands. job has not been completed --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- update May 24, 2008 his answer and response for the 500 dollar labor and material for chicken wire is that he has to use his time to drive to home depot to buy material. the other part is his labor. I HIGHLY DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS GUY FOR HIS COST. IF YOU WERE TO FIND ANOTHER LANDSCAPER YOUR BETTER OFF PAYING MORE WITH A GUY THAT HAD A LICENSE. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- update :May 23 dropping the rating because i feel he's lying to me. (i hate people that lies) i did a quick calculation of material and labor. i believe he's overcharging. retaining wall made by roughly 125 interlocking retaining wall stones. sprinkler system with 2 valves and a timer + new sod and grass. remove 2x 20ft small pine trees and roots and bush. trim 2 trees. cement wall that's 2 ft high. a pathway layed by stone slabs. remove excessive soil. all in all, with a package price he quoted 6k. we thought, hey 6k that sounds good since the first quote we got from someone else was 13k for relative similar work. when i did my research for the price of the interlocking retaining wall stones. i was like WOW. they run about 1.52 to 2 bucks. so assuming it's 2 bucks multiply by 125 = $250. how in the world does 2 bucks a piece going to get anywhere to the price of 6k. These labor must be crazy. the material honestly does not cost that much at all. i think he wants $50/hr for labor since his crew of 2 who works 12 hrs a day. 7 day project due for completion would cost $4200 in labor alone. this would be the only conclusion i have for the quote of 6k the reason i started to check on price was because he notified me this morning in regards to adding chicken wire for my lawn to protect for gophers. it sounded like a good idea, so i asked how much. he said it was 500 bucks. i went online, did some research, found out that 3ftx25ft chicken wire @ homedepot only cost 15.99. i only need like 5 sets which would equal to 80. even if i askd them to do 2 layers of that wire for better protection, it should be only 160. labor dos not cost anywhere near 400 bucks to do this job since all he needs to do is lay the wire while the soil is all flipped because he's doing the sprinklers. i'll talk to him tomorrow to see what's his point of view and how he would explain his quote. he told me that those chicken wire cost him 450 to purchase. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Awesome price quote. the guy was nice. it was a little difficult to communicate but we got everything clear after 2 hrs of discussion. i will update this review when the complete job is done. hopefully yelpers are correct about his job! project starts tomorrow and probably ends in 2 weeks 5stars

I was sceptical at first with all the people I contacted if I would find a solid Landscaping…read morecompany here in Oakland. Nir and The Giving Gardens came to the rescue. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but he really me breakdown the components, understand, develop and execute a solid plan. We have transformed the backyard from a scary place you wouldn't want to walk by, to a very inviting space. Nir is straight forward and simple to communicate with, he inspires confidence in knowing that will get done and get done right. I actually looking forward to our next project to make the yard even better.

Hands down hiring Nir was the best decision I made to irrigate my front and back garden's. Nir's…read moreKnowledge, expertise and love of plants and water is unmatchable!! Nir did an Amazing job with both his work quality and his communication. I have established gardens and We had to dig under concert to get from one location to the other to get everything irrigated. He took extra care when digging out plants and then replanted them, they all survived:) He know about all my plants and how much water they should be getting right off the back. He also encouraged me to get a rain sensor to save on time and water, best idea ever... He is thoughtful and checked in with me along the way about placements of control box, water line location etc. which I truly appreciate! He even came back twice after job was done to help me navigate the electrical timer. If your looking for any sort of irrigation or gray water system I highly recommend Nir. You will be happy you did.

Needed a long overdue bathroom remodel. Researched a bunch of contractors, landed on Arturo (owner)…read moreat Bay Area Spartans Construction. I wasn't disappointed. Right from the start, Arturo was a complete pro. He's a fantastic craftsman; an expert at the complete mix (construction, electric, plumbing, tiling, paint); perfectionist, professional and fast. Can't recommend him any higher. I'm embarrassed to show the before pics, but look how it turned out! ... ;)

We highly recommend hiring Arturo Lares for any construction or remodeling in your home. We had…read moreanother construction contractor hired to remodel our 1960 bathroom in our 1940 home. This company hired Arturo as a subconstruction worker to do our bathroom remodeling. He has an amazing personality and was so professional in doing it all himself. We couldn't be happier. He did the complete teardown, all the carpentry of rebuilding the walls, installing new windows/ headers, new insulation, the plumbing, tiling, and all the electrical work himself. It was wonderful not having a dozen different individuals coming and going into our home for long periods of time. Arturo did this all in a few short weeks, all the while we were entertaining house guests. He always took time to explain everything he was doing and always consulted us on the placements of grab bars, shelving and special trimmings. Our tiling job was complex, but he tackled it to a perfection and always with a smile. Arturo was always very neat and cleaned up everything everyday, so we could continue to use our attached bedroom. We wanted heated floors and it was tricky issue for this bathroom layout. Arturo took the time to read the manuals and to install this heating system. Our bathroom is wonderful and beautiful, and we will be able to age in place with it. A huge thanks to Arturo's excellent job. We will hire him for future projects.

If I could give more than 5 stars, I would! Mr. Le and his team at First Choice Landscape and…read moreDesign absolutely blew us away with the transformation of our backyard. What used to be an overgrown, unusable jungle (check out the 7 ft tall weeds in the before picture) is now a beautiful, functional space that we're proud to call our own. From day one, Mr. Le impressed us with his extreme attention to detail and no-shortcuts attitude. He's not the kind of contractor who supervises from afar--he's hands-on, working right alongside his crew, tackling even the toughest parts of the job himself. No task was too big or too back-breaking for him if it meant getting the job done right. You can tell Mr. Le takes deep pride in his work. His years of experience show in the little things from achieving the perfect slope for proper water management to the linear design in space efficiency. He genuinely cares about delivering the best for his clients and will use his expertise to guide you through difficult decisions along the way. Without a doubt, it shows in the final result. Thanks to Mr. Le, we now have a backyard where we can relax, entertain, and most importantly, make wonderful memories as a family. We're so grateful we chose First Choice Landscape and Design--there's truly no one better out there.

Honestly, I'd give 6/5 stars for the work and service and experience of working with Khang for our…read moreextensive backyard renovation. We had what I thought was a hopeless backyard and the first quote we received was extremely expensive (and didn't even touch upon all our concerns like the drainage issue). We discovered Khang and transformed our backyard into a safe, functional, and beautiful space for our family and friends to enjoy! This included addition of composite decking, pavers, artificial turf, decomposed granite, steps, retaining walls/ planters and the invisible work of correcting our major drainage issues. I can certainly tell he takes personal pride in his work and is organized and clean about his work (we have used various other services and I'm never surprised to find trash or a mess to clean up afterwards). I hope he does not retire too soon because we will be in need of more of his services soon!

Our contractor Uwe Wiggenhauser just finished our kitchen, bathroom and family room remodel. Uwe is…read morea highly skilled carpenter, pays careful attention to detail and is responsive and honest. (He even set up a complete temporary kitchen with working dishwasher, stove and oven on the main floor!) Uwe has many years of experience working in Piedmont independently and when he was with a larger construction firm (Saddle). Please don't hesitate to contact him directly: Wiggenhauser Construction 510-303-1360 cell/text or wiggenhausercon@aol.com.

Recently, we wanted to remodel our North Oakland kitchen and bathroom. Besides marble and granite…read morecounter tops for both rooms, we wanted a new kitchen island with a full size sink. Having seen the wonderfully extensive and complicated addition work Wiggenhauser Construction had completed for our next neighbors a year earlier, we did not hesitate to hire the company. Our project turned out extremely well, too, for the following reasons: As an experienced and highly skilled carpenter, Uwe (Uva) Wiggenhauser gives fair bids and stays well within budget. He has a strong sense of responsibility and provides quality workmanship. He selects a network of suppliers and trades people with similar work ethics to work for him on the projects. He sees to it that the job site is kept neat and clean at the end of the day. Even after construction has been completed, our neighbors and other former clients in the Oakland Piedmont areas have requested Uwe back on many occasions to work on other projects for them. For busy and mobile clients, Uwe is a responsive and savvy user of modern communications, such as emails and smart phones.

I hired this guy based on 5 stars. Maybe the good reviews are real, maybe they're not…read more Well, here's a real review, and the the deal on a $1000.00 ONE day cleanup job. THE SHORT: Juan Cardona does his job, but not as agreed, and the value gets lost in his unprofessional mismanagement. He doesn't write quotes, and does not report at agreed times, with the crew he promises. He charges based on the number of men he brings, and doesn't bring them. He seems cool, but is not gracious, and speaks to customers like he's doing them favors. In the end, I felt I hired the wrong guy. THE LONG: This job was for a property my 80 year old mother lives in. I flew from NY to meet with Juan, the owner. Despite our walk-through and agreement on scope of work, Juan did not follow through on his promise to report with his team, at the agreed time. Day one, he arrived 6 hours late with half the team he outlined in his promise. He worked 2.5 hours. He reported the next day to work more. He chose to not show up to work on two appointments occasions. The worse part of all of this was hearing from him that he "worked too hard" on my job. He said "the money wasn't good enough"... he hassled me about getting paid. The job was to be completed 9/11/23. It was mostly done on 9/12/23 The job was completed 9/27/23 As much as I resented all of this, I still tried to work with him on a schedule, but he wanted to work year round, including winter months for $400 a month, after a $50 discount. This property has no lawn, just hedges & ground cover, so this just seemed like a retainer, since there's no growth in the winter months. I sincerely hope Juan gets better in his time management, and admin; but that comes with humility, time, and experience. Would I hire Juan again, maybe. Would I recommend him, not at this time.

Hired for regular monthly maintenance of small yard (11 ft x 15 ft approx). Great price,…read morecommunicative and service oriented. Friendly too! I usually text him for scheduling and other questions and he responds quickly.