Ruiz Iron Works did an outstanding job fabricating & installing our new handrails! I highly…read morerecommend them & I will definitely call on them again in the future!

I wanted a custom-sized steel gate for my driveway. I sent them a few drawings and they were able…read moreto fabricate just like the drawings. They did quality work and there was very good communication during the fabrication and installation process.

Got an immediate response and a reasonable estimate the next day…read more Promised to deliver in 3 weeks. They came early with a perfect new driveway gate. Ivan and his brother are a pleasure to work with.

Another excellent experience with Real World Iron Works. I had a wooden pedestrian gate that…read moresnapped in two during a windy night. Real World made an exact replica of my original gate in metal based off of an old picture I gave them. The design, measurements, and quality of the gate were spot on. They installed on the exact date they noted on our contract. I'll be using them again without hesitation.

It's refreshing to work directly with the owner of a company and to have him be very responsive to…read moremy questions and transparency with pricing. Paul was able to work with my timeline and was ahead of schedule with the materials being ready. I lagged a bit in the install with the area not being quite ready but the moment we were Paul's team was ready to install. They completed my glass railing installation in half a day and took great care in keeping the work area clean and not causing any damage to the flooring. Very professional throughout the process and clear with when payments were due. I would not hesitate again to reach out to him for the next phase of my project. Extra plus is they manufacture the railings and therefore control the timing and costs whereas some installers I received quotes from send out for material and take can take some extra lead time. He also did not attempt to upsell me when I inquired about thicker glass than what the industry standard calls for. It's rare to find honest companies at times like these. Thank you Bay Area Railing!

Paul was great to work with through the long process of city permitting and engineering reviews for…read moreour non-standard install. The railing looks great and Paul was very patient while the process dragged on. Very professional and the pricing was fair. Thank you and Nick so much!

I believe this is the same business at Deck Rails. See my review there -- contractor with delayed…read moreresponse and unwilling to even look at my request for a quote on new deck rails. If you're not accepting new business, say so on your web site.

If you are looking for an amazing anodized aluminum flat rail system , look no further. We did a…read morebeautiful customized color for our deck, that Sean pulled out when I didn't like the basic silver or dark grey. Everything from the installation (thanks to Mark and his associate) and the final result were beyond beautiful. A living work of art, that changes with the colors of the day. A great team, right in Emeryville, so you can pop over to Chez Panisse after you are done selecting your railing. Not the least expensive option, but definitely one that will define and enhance your space.

During our renovation, we had to take out some old, fake ceiling beams and demo our kitchen's…read morehardwood floor. Upon looking under the old hardwood, our hardwood installer showed us two layers of glued vinyl and requested we have it tested for asbestos - which we did and found asbestos. We separately tested the cottage cheese we found under one beam, which also had asbestos (old cottage cheese ceiling underneath) We contacted MES and one other company. The other company had some communication issues (phone) and did not follow-up , so we never got a price. MSE was fast to respond and price seemed in-line with what our hardwood installer thought it may cost. Their work included demoing the hardwood floors and beams and then the asbestos removal. It was a two day process and we stayed in the house during the abatement. The rooms were completely sealed off, a negative pressure was created and they did their work. Once done, the rooms looked completely clean of any work. Their demo work was great. There was no real evidence of left over glue on the subfloor (the old vinyl floors were glues). They removed all hardwood including where it met or edged under the kitchen cabinets so we had very clean lines to but against or slip under the cabinets. And they removed all the asbestos. The rooms were left clean and no sign of any dust or debris. Very highly recommend. Also, very quick responses to any questions during the bid and work process.

I needed asbestos removed from my bathroom for a complete remodel and MSE Environmental did an…read moreamazing job! Parth was my contact and head estimator. He was very prompt, professional, friendly, and did a great job explaining the job that was going to be done. The workers did an incredible job in the bathroom and did an excellent job cleaning up after the work was done. They were mindful of both our in-apartment flooring as well as the complex carpets in the common areas. I will be recommending MSE Environmental to anyone who needs their services.

Lupe is a nice person, but he set expectations that were not met. Due to this, we now have $4k in…read moreadditional work that needs to be done. Lupe came to our home in June (2024) and told us the railings would be completed in 3 weeks. We decided to do this project in the summer so there would not be an issue with rain damaging our front steps/landing before we could get them sealed and painted (once the railings were completed). Unfortunately, every time we spoke to Lupe, the project was 'on it's way to the powder coater' or other excuses. The railing was not completed until October, over 4 months from when he told us it would be done. Shortly after the final installation of the railings and just before we could get the painters in (which we had to push back many, many times), we experienced heavy rain which severely damaged our stairs, which now have to be replaced. Lupe is a really nice person, but not $4k in additional work nice. If you want a nice person but have zero levels of urgency with your project, then go for it. Otherwise, we don't recommend Castaneda Iron Works.

I found Castenada iron works in the Home Concepts magazine and ordered a railing for my steps last…read moreJuly. I got a quote and Lupe came out to measure for it. He never delivered on his agreement to make the railing. Every time I would call, he assured me it was "being manufactured." Now, three months later I still don't have the railing, so I cancelled the order. I don't think this is a real company.

Sol is an awesome company to work with. As a contractor we love working with Sol because they are…read moreextremely responsive and always willing to discuss a project or situation so that the client is taken care of. We recommend their services for all types of environmental projects and could say enough good things about their staff! Great people and a great company!!

Needed our floors tested for asbestos. Service was quick and friendly. We are satisfied.read more

There are no words to describe how delighted we are with the new iron railing that was created by…read moreJamie Vaida, but we'll give it a try... We had been looking to add a gate to our front yard and replace the tired 1950's iron railing for years. The plan was to replace it with a wood fence and I was constantly scouting for wood fences that I liked but could never find the perfect one. First, wood fences seem to age quickly. And second, I couldn't visualize lining the driveway with a wood fence. It seemed like it'd be too alley-like. So after 6 years of debating wood fences, we decided to explore iron railings and started meeting with cast iron fence companies. All the companies we met with do an off-the-shelf railing--you just pick the rails and finials you like, they order the parts and they'll install it--and then you have an iron railing that looks like everyone else's. That wasn't what we wanted. We wanted something that was creative, hand-forged, and didn't look like it came from a big manufacturer. I dug into Pinterest, found some unique hand-forged railings as inspiration, and discovered Jamie Vaida on Yelp. In meeting with Jamie, we shared our Pinterest inspiration, gave him our budget, and he quickly came back with a uniquely beautiful design that we fell in love with. And he had an efficient solution for continuing the design in our stair railing without replacing the whole thing. After 6 years of debating the right railing, we easily pulled the trigger to start work with Jamie. Over the next few weeks, Jamie would stop by each week to show us progress, making sure we were on board with the heft of the rails, the thickness of the top railing, and the swirls and curls that he was hand forging. We loved every bit of it, and supported Jamie's recommendation to be as crazy with each railing as he wanted. Jamie put a lot of thought into making sure the railing was a mix of being organically hand crafted yet perfectly balanced, and he had a system in his head for the placement of different types of swirled rails. The railing was installed by Jamie and his crew on site in a matter of days and as it was coming to life, Jamie continued to bring new ideas to us, like adding a wrap to the gate that would incorporate it into our brick wall, without ever increasing the fixed bid. Jamie checked in with us constantly to make sure we loved every bit of it, and the end result is our new favorite part of the house. We love it so much we're trying to come up with other projects that could use Jamie's talents. This might go without saying, but we give Jamie our highest recommendation. He's creative, talented, a perfectionist, really fun to work with, and throughout the process he never stopped coming up with new ideas to make our railing even better than we ever imagined. We're delighted that we found him.

We met with Jamie yesterday having a small issue and he fixed it right on the spot. He was very…read morehelpful and does excellent work. His pieces of showcased work are beautiful. Can't wait to use him on another project.