I've been trying to contact this company for two weeks now to get an estimate on a new foundation. There was major water down below with all the rain, and it smells like mildew. I went to the website, I filled out the form, I tried emailing and it bounced. I called and left VM. They don't appear to have any staff to answer the phone. I don't understand all the glowing reviews when I can't get through at all. Would have liked to use them. Guess they have too much work right now. read more

Jim came out for a free estimate to our new home purchase. We live on a slope and had concern regarding the drainage. Jim made an appointment to come out, was right on time, inspected anything we requested and most importantly, was very honest. We had a lot of concern regarding the drainage issue. While Jim could of sold us on an expensive drainage system, instead he reassured us our current system was effective. His transparency not only saved us money but has developed trust if we need his expertise in the future. read more

I have hired Jim directly and have referred him to countless real estate clients. The quality of work that he and his crew provide will mean that your structural and/or drainage problems are solved for good. Jim provides top-notch work, performed on-time and on budget for a fair price with no surprises. He's the first person I think of whenever I get that oft-posed question "Do you know a good foundation guy?" Yes... yes, I do. read more

I met with Jim several days ago to discuss possible foundation work on my house in the Oakland hills. Jim listened attentively and took a fair amount of time to make careful observations of the house and its settling. He was clear and thorough in his explanation of what he felt needed to be done. I was impressed by the clarity of his explanation and by the care with which he dispelled some of my commonly held misconceptions. Our meeting lasted a little under an hour but the impressions I came away with were of honesty and integrity. read more

In early October Jim's crew installed a french drain around two sides of our home in an effort to solve water issues (the result of errors made by two other contractors) in our basement. After several early season rains I am delighted to report that our basement is completely dry! Not even a hint of moisture. The presence of water in our basement was pretty unsettling, but Jim really put our minds at ease with a clear path to a solution. He stayed on time (actually was a couple of days ahead of schedule) and within budget. His crew had to take apart and then replace our stone walkway in the front of the house. It actually looks better now than it did before :) There were a couple of minor issues with the crew - but Jim more than made up for it with very prompt, professional responses. I'd hire this guy again, in a minute. read more

Recently we had concerns about foundation and drainage issues with our older home. Upon the recommendation of a friend we called Jim Gardner Construction. Jim was very prompt in responding and came to our house and provided a very complete and informative evaluation. We found him to be very professional in every way. In fact he suggested we monitor what was a minor concern rather then take on an expensive and unnecessary fix. Needless to say I was very impressed with the honesty and integrity of his company. Should the time come when we may need foundation work Jim Gardner Construction will be the first call I make. read more

Jim's work on a difficult foundation wall was excellent. He is fair, honest, and knowledgeable. He fixed a garage door that was damaged in the process, and I am 100% happy with the work. Highly recommended--excellent work. read more

We had the best experience with Gardner Construction Inc. Jim & his crew did an excellent job on rebuilding a two story staircase, reconstructing our slanted driveway, re-working a concrete patio to fit a brick wall onto it,, re-doing our drainage system and much more...The company is very professional and completed the work when they said they would. They were always on time & cleaned up at the end of the day.. Jim and crew did a job that other contractors wouldn't touch or simply couldn't do. He gave us accurate estimates and got us through our city inspections. We highly recommend them and would use them again !! read more

I called Jim for a new foundation based on stellar reviews. His quote was highly competitive. He worked with my schedule, and his crew was qualified and efficient. Quality of work was excellent and service great. When I noticed some of our doors weren't shutting quite right due to the house shift, he sent folks back immediately and took care of it. Highly recommend. read more

Jim is an excellent contractor. He always listens and can be quite creative drawing on his decades of experience to suggest a creative solution. He works and stays with any budget and can recommend alternatives to get the most from your money. It was a pleasure to work with him. I highly recommend him. read more

I have a detached building that was originally constructed as a garage, then crudely converted (by previous owners) to living quarters about 40 years ago. By 2009, the structure had deteriorated to near-collapse and I hired a contractor to renovate all but the slab. The first winter after completing that work, water seeped in around the slab & thru the section of the original foundation that had not been replaced. A French drain had been installed along the rear and one side of the structure 20 years earlier, but it had not been positioned low enough to be effective. The slab along the rear wall is below grade and the original French drain had been located ABOVE the slab. At that point, I interviewed several contractors to correct the drainage problem - and hired Jim Gardner Construction. Jim struck me as being very knowledgeable. He was willing to discuss the problem & options in great detail, answering all my many questions. He also helped me understand the differences between his bid and that of a competitor. His bid was higher, but I felt more confident that his proposal would be more effective at correcting the problems. Together we nailed down the details, resolving several issues involving where to locate, wire, & drain the new sump pump. The job involved removing/replacing the original slab, installing a French drain with membrane system along 3 sides of this 460 sq ft structure, installing and wiring a sump pump, running a drain pipe from the pump to the street, and removing/replacing a concrete walkway where part of the French drain needed to be located. He subcontracted the concrete slab and walkway installation and finishing to a highly skilled team and also referred me to a stucco contractor whose crew did a wonderful job resurfacing part of the old foundation. When work began, Jim arrived with a large crew that worked steadily and efficiently. They showed up on time and cleaned up at the end of each day, taking care not to damage any plants. They were especially diligent not to damage or disturb parts of the existing irrigation system located where they'd planned to run the pipe from the sump pump to the street. On top of that, the workers were very pleasant and friendly. Quite a few times during the job, a separate crew removed huge piles of accumulated debris. The workers also helped me out by removing the toilet, washer, dryer, and hot water heater (plus many large and small stored items) from the garage before beginning to demo the old slab. They also returned - at my convenience - several months after job completion to move everything back inside. If I ever need more foundation and/or drainage work done, I would definitely hire Jim Gardner Construction again. read more

I hired Jim to build a retaining wall. He is a very honest and straightforward person. He is also very easy to work with. Not a nightmare contractor like I've experienced so many times. He was very responsive with any questions I had and takes pride in his work. It was SO easy to work with him, I wish all contractors were like this. His price is also reasonable and the quality of work is the excellent. I've gotten a lot of compliments from neighbors about how nice the wall looks. I would hire him again. read more

Jim Gardner Construction delivers outstanding and professional service. I had a very difficult crawl space remediation for my house in Oakland that I hired Jim to complete. He and his crew are professional and organized, the communication on status is excellent. Since we didn't know what we would encounter with this 93 year old house, it was critical that my contractor was quickly able to assess, communicate and recommend solutions as they appeared during the course of the work. When Jim's crew encountered issues (leaks, drainage line issues, etc) they immediately mitigated the problem and recommended long-term solutions. They finished on time and on budget-I highly recommend Jim Gardner's team. read more

Jim came, saw, astutely assessed &, with the help of his experienced & considerate crew, conquered our retaining wall problem. If you want a job done right, contact Jim Gardner Construction. Attention to detail was reflected in their work from beginning to end. Looking forward to having Jim & crew in for more jobs. read more

I went to their site and filled out a form for a free estimate, got an e-mail the next day declining my request and told that I lived outside the service area. I was even told to refer back on their website for the listing of service areas but when I checked it, my area is listed. How can I trust a contractor who doesn't even know the area they service, really disappointed with this one. read more

Jim and his crew replaced a large section of our very long concrete driveway on a very steep hill in Orinda. In addition they installed a long closed drain and French drain to alleviate drainage problems. Despite the difficulties of troublesome neighbors and unexpected depths of old concrete, they did a fantastic job. I highly recommend Jim Gardner Construction. read more

Jim was great to work with and met the timelines he promised. His pricing also seemed very fair given the other higher bids we received. One aspect of a larger project didn't wear well and he had people out to fix it right away. read more

My wife and I (Ron S.) had a complicated leak repair and Jim Gardner's team did not let us down. The project manager (Francisco), no matter how busy, got back to us promptly; and in every instance, when we needed our hands held, would visit the job site and calmly walk us through the process until we understood. We were spoiled. read more

Jim Gardner and his crew finished work on our foundation today, and we are extremely happy with the work they did. They arrived on time every day, were polite, efficient, and supremely competent. The estimate they gave us for the work was neither the lowest not the highest we got, and we thought it reasonable for the scope of work. The workers cleaned up every day, and were as unobtrusive as they could possibly have been. One notable incident involved the pilot light in our water heater. The vibration of the house during demolition tripped our earthquake shutoff device, and thus our water heater's pilot light went out, which we discovered on the next day... a Saturday, of course. We tried to relight it but we're unable to do so. We finally phoned Jim who came over within about 15 minutes and got the pilot light working. That, we thought, was truly exceptional service. To sum up, Jim and his crew were highly professional, even beyond the call of duty, and we can recommend them most highly and with no reservations. read more

On time, on budget, the crew always made a point of cleaning up well every night - all very professional. I would definitely use them again. read more

Jim Gardner is one of a kind! You don't see contractors like this anymore. He is a man of his word, does amazing work and honors his commitments to his clients. We had water leaking from our bridge driveway into the storage area underneath leading to dry rot in several of the wooden beams. Jim and his team worked under extremely limited time constraints due to the shortage of parking on our narrow street to get the waterproofing and repair done on time, which he did. In terms of bids, he wasn't the highest or the lowest bid and gave us a bid that was in between the other two. It was reasonable and fair bid and based on the end result worth it! Finally, Jim on his own initiative circled back with us after we had a few episodes of rain to inspect their work to ensure that the work was done properly and at his own cost took care of some minor items that needed to be adjusted. I cannot say enough what an honest, decent and professional contractor Jim Gardner is. It is rare to see a man of honor like this these days and I highly recommend him! read more

Jim Gardener Construction installed drainage around the entire perimeter of my foundation, completed earthquake retrofitting of the foundation and replaced the damaged sidewalk in front of my house. I could not be happier with the result. The project was completed on budget and on schedule and when they were done they left the place so neat and clean you never would have known they were there! It was the first major work I've had done on my house and I was very anxious going into the project. Jim does all the estimates himself and he did a very thorough inspection of my property and gave me a detailed estimate for the work. His was not the cheapest estimate, but it was the most detailed and that's why I selected him for the project. Jim also kept in close communication with me throughout the project, answering all of my questions promptly. Luis, the project foreman was fantastic and kept the job running on schedule. The crew arrived promptly at 8 every morning and got straight to work. Some of the work required that they work in my neighbors' driveway and the crew was very respectful of my neighbors' property and communicated with them before and during the work to address their concerns. Jim came by after the project was completed to check the work and answer my few remaining questions. All in all a very positive experience. I highly recommend Jim Gardener Construction. read more