We've had a great experience working with Mike Pourzand of Gehl Design / Build. Our original project was to replace a dilapidated shed in the backyard of our North Berkeley home with.a completely new structure having an identical footprint. Mike was very attentive and responsive to our objectives, and he developed a number of innovative and cost-effective design ideas to address our needs. We were often impressed by the way Mike's design ideas built on his extensive engineering and construction knowledge -- and vice versa. We also appreciated his efforts to anticipate and navigate city permitting requirements. Based on our very positive experience during the design phase, we elected to engage Gehl Design /Build to oversee the construction of the new shed, as well as to design and manage several additional projects (including a new and expanded driveway, new fences and gates). As part of this second phase, Mike identified and secured bids from qualified contractors he had vetted and worked with previously. His recommendation -- which we ended up going with -- proved excellent. On several occasions, Mike helped explain elements of our plans with our neighbors. He was very respectful and straightforward in his approach, helping to secure their support and goodwill. What made us feel that we were in excellent hands with Gehl Design / Build was not only Mike's extensive experience and his impressive knowledge and skill set. His dedication, patience, responsiveness, and integrity are all exemplary -- and made working with him a true pleasure. read more

The guys at Gehl design team helped design, build and implement a 300 sq ft design Artist studio space from start to finish, as well as build a small detached storage shed, that also looked contemporary in design. Mike and his team helped with every aspect of this project, from initial brainstorming, conception and design, to implementation -- I can't recommend them enough!! read more

Renovating a home can be stressful, but it doesn't have to be! Gehl Design Build made our El Cerrito fixer-upper transformation seamless. From their initial brainstorming, creative design ideas, expert consulting, to their budget-friendly construction solutions transformed it into a beautiful, functional home, on time and within budget. It turned our Oakland departure into a smooth and enjoyable experience. We highly recommend Mike and his team! read more

Mike came up with an inventive and creative design for renovating and expanding our home to serve our complex needs (aging parent and expected baby). Patient, thoughtful, considerate, and creative were the characteristics demonstrated on day 1 (and throughout). We were sold, and took the plunge on a very complicated project. We had originally paid for another architect's plans, but quickly those plans went into the recycling bin, as Mike's ideas were practicable and vastly more imaginative. We then went into a 10 month long extensive build and renovation process. There were occasional glitches, but every step was met with honesty, effort, and diligence. The end project was completed on-time, despite its complexities. We thoroughly recommend Gehl Design/Build for your project. You will get a team that brings honesty and integrity to their work and quality results that you will enjoy. read more

See all

Our family has worked with Mike Pourzand on more than one home projects over the years and with each project he's been trustworthy and meticulous about his work. Several years ago, Mike did the architecture designs for a major remodel to our house where we doubled the square footage. He worked with us to understand our needs and came up with a beautiful architectural design for our home, which we still love. We recently hired his company, Geld Design Build, to replace two old wooden decks and retaining walls. Mike provided plans, estimates for construction, and completed the retaining walls and decks, which look amazing. What I love about working with Mike is that he's honest and cares about the quality of his work. Mike ran the project on time and is communicative -- always available to answer my questions. Also, he was able to soothe my neighbors who has some concerns about the construction. We would definitely hire Mike again to handle other projects on our home. We so appreciate the quality and beauty of his work and most importantly we trust him. read more

After we had Gehl Design remodel and create our bathrooms, we knew we wanted to have them back to update our kitchen. Mike creates designs that really work for the individual family, and will keep coming up with plans until the client is completely satisfied. We are loving our new kitchen (especially in these Covid times being home so much), and it's completely changed how we use our home. Gehl also redid our deck, and the results were amazing. One special aspect of Mike's work is that he won't just gloss over issues that arise. For example, in updating our furnace, he realized that our earthquake retrofit wasn't completely bolted. Many contractors would turn a blind eye to work outside their scope, but Mike fixed the issue. I appreciate Mike and his crew so much for being artful and careful in our home, and creating spaces that are so usable and beautiful. If we ever find ourselves remodeling again, we will return to Gehl Design & Build without hesitation. *I added a bathroom picture because I wasn't able to upload in my last review. Please see kitchen pic too. read more

Mike and his crew were extremely professional and fair. We love our new kitchen and bathroom. Our house is an old victorian and Mike has transferred the inside into modern and roomy modern space but with keeping the old charm and characteristics of the original house. I highly recommend Gehl design. read more

I find that it is difficult to find a contractor that is actually able to do what he says and follows through, but I think I have finally found one! My husband and I have had Gehl Design Build do two projects for us. The first of which was to reconstruct the supports for our front steps (when we moved in they were totally unsupported), and let me tell you that if a tornado ever hits Berkeley, I am going under those steps! Seriously, they did a fantastic job. The work is clean, and skillfully done. They used high end materials, and most importantly... Mike Pourzand and his crew were so respectful of being in our home to do the work. And... they listened to us, and did not make us feel silly for our questions and concerns. They did such a good job we decided to have them back to brace the foundation, earthquake retrofit, and repair some main support beams of our home. This was a much bigger job, and we had a similar experience. The crew were kind, respectful, and hard working. I have two small children, and they were very cautious around them, and kept the construction junk, tools, etc. well clear of them. All in all, they did solid work, (and we are not that easy to please) and they did it on schedule. We are so appreciative. I really feel they went out of their way to make sure we were pleased with their job. I would hire them again. read more

Gehl Design Build was a pleasure to work with! Mike designed my Oakland house impeccably to nestle on a lot full of mature live oak trees. I even have a large tree growing right up through my living room... As an architect, Mike Pourzand is highly skilled, has great taste, draws on many years of experience, and has integrity (rare in this business). I interviewed several architects and builders, he wasn't the cheapest, but he had the vision and the creative spark I was looking for. He helped navigate the permit maze (ugh) and spent many hours refining multiple iterations of the plans with me. Mike was an excellent problem-solver and communicator throughout the process. He had other projects going on as well as mine, but I always felt mine was his top priority. As a builder, Mike is very hands-on, he has a very experienced, hard-working crew that impressed me daily. I think I was much more involved on-site than the typical client and Mike and his guys were always more than happy to answer questions and took an obvious pride in their work. Mike also has a stable of tried and true subcontractors that always came through. It is obvious that Mike loves his work and his guys love & respect him and go above & beyond to meet his exacting standards. Nothing slap-dash or corner-cutting about this team. Probably the best testament I can give is that after the permit hoops were all jumped through, the myriad problems solved (this was not an easy or straightforward build), after my lovely house was completed, and all the bills paid (few surprises, thankfully); Mike and I are still good friends, which in the contracting business is quite rare I think. read more

Mike and his crew just finished a project at our house that we have been dreaming about for years and we could not be more pleased with the result. They were efficient, professional, and meticulous with their work. We were amazed at how fast the project was completed without sacrificing quality. They successfully converted our old and dumpy garage into a modern, clean and beautiful office space that significantly improves our quality of life. Additionally, Mike is always available for questions or concerns we have both while our project was being completed and now that it is finished. We cannot recommend Gehl Design highly enough! read more

I bought a home in Niorth Oakland that needed extensive remodeling work done it. Mike Pourzand of Gehl Design Build was recommended to me by a family friend. Once he started working on my house, I could see why he was recommended. He has an elegantly refined artistic eye. He came up with ideas that turned my newly bought run down albeit very nice home, into a home that blew away guests that have been to my home. My home has a very warm, homey, and elegant feel to it. I wanted my home to have an open and airy feel to it, with as few walls as possible. He came up with a design that blended the kitchen to the dining room and then to the living room. This design that Mike created had a continuity to it with few walls that made my place look very large, and at the same comfortable and very elegant. Mike also picked out a color pattern for the interior and the exterior of the house that gives my house a very warm, comfortable and very spring-like look to the house. If I had an idea for the house that Mike didn't think would add anything or even take away from the house, he would first ask me what I was going for, then if he thought my idea did not work, he would explain to me why he did not think that my idea would not work. Then he would come up with an idea that would accomplish what I was trying to accomplish. Mike never spoke in any other tone other than extremely respectful. He never said my idea is not a good idea. He would explain to me why my idea would attain the desired result, then he would come up with an alternative suggestion that accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. When everything was said and done, he was right. I even recommended Mike to my parents and he has done some remodeling work on my parents home as well here in Oakland. read more

I had the unfortunate situation of a failing retaining wall. Gehl Design Build saved the day. The team were prompt, courteous, quiet, clean, professional, and had the job taken care of quickly and painlessly. I highly recommend their services if you are in need of any sort of contractor/design work. The wall is completely repaired and looks better than ever. Thank you Gehl Design Build! read more

He was very professional. He cared more about getting the job done right over rushing through it. I was very satisfied with him and the work he has done for me. I will continue to contact him for future projects. He will be the one person that comes to my mind every time I want the job done right. I highly recommend him, to friends and family. read more

I have been introduced to Mike by a friend of mine to assist me as advisory person in buying a house that needed lots of work. Mike is very intelligent and knowledgeable about codes and regulation as well as practical process of remodeling and bringing back an old place to present codes and regulations. He helped me a lot to check houses and give his professional feedback in to what it is possible and what it is not. Through his consultation, I have bought my house and I have asked him to be the person for the remodeling job. He is brave, and his artistic talent in design, made an old house that was about to go to demolish, got back to its feet again. Many of my friends when they come over to visit enjoy the beauty of the design. R.B read more

We are so very thankful we worked with Mike for our house remodel and addition! His build-design approach works great, because he is a very talented architect and also brings his practical building knowledge as a GC too. Mike was always a pleasure to work with, and super responsive. He was patient with all our questions and amazingly available, which was so important to us given our challenging work schedules and because we were not living locally at the time of the project. At the beginning he walked us through several options for the project, and clearly put a lot of thoughtful work into each design possibility. We appreciated that he was upfront with us at the start about realistic costs and timeline for the project. As with any house project, we did run into a few unexpected changes, but he was also very consistent in communicating these to use and providing change order estimates. One thing we can't stress enough is that Mike clearly loves his work and takes a lot of care and pride in it. There are several aspects of our house where he and his team went above and beyond the initial plans (without even adding on costs) because Mike saw an opportunity for an improved design or use of space, and we really love the ways this work has enhanced our home. The other thing that impressed us was how Mike was able to deliver the work in the timeframe he gave us at the start. He clearly is very knowledgable about his work, as well as the local permit/inspection processes, and has good relations with his subcontractors. And on top of all that, Mike is a very friendly and kind person, with a good sense of humor, so it was fun for us to talk and meet with him over the course of the project. We certainly understand that there may have been some contractors with slightly lower bids for our project, but we can't imagine any of them would have delivered the quality of work, communication, speed, design, and availability that we found working with Mike. We've heard a lot of nightmare stories from friends who worked with unreliable contractors, and we're so grateful we put our trust in Mike because he never let us down. read more

I hired GEHL design to remodel my house in El Cerrito hills. My house was three bedroom 1 1/2 bath and we did a major remodeling and turned the house into 4 bedroom 3 bath house. Gehl design were great in helping me through the process . Mike the architect is a great communicator and listener. He helped us choosing material, solving building problems and redesigning things. I really recommend Gehl design read more

This review speaks to the pre-construction phase, as we have not yet gone into construction. Mike Pourzand came into our home, listened to our objectives, and went off to draw three options for an upstairs master suite addition for us. He put all of his designs into CAD drawings and came back to talk us through the options. He did all of this work at NO CHARGE. Most architects/design firms will meet with you for an initial consultation, but they will not do any drawings or give you a good idea of budget without charging a pretty hefty up-front fee. Since we are really trying to determine our options based on finances, it was extremely useful for us to have expert input at the early stages and at no charge. We are now going to ask Mike back to do a scaled-down plan for us, but we know he can use the drawings he has already made. We cannot yet comment on the quality of his construction workmanship, but his client service and kindness so far have been stellar in the pre-construction phase. Thank you, Gehl Design Build! read more