We've had a great experience working with Mike Pourzand of Gehl Design / Build…read more 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.

The guys at Gehl design team helped design, build and implement a 300 sq ft design Artist studio…read morespace 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!!

A real estate agent highly recommended Dirk Setchko when I was looking for a deck contractor…read more Dirk's bid was reasonable and I was lucky that his crew was able to squeeze me in between a couple projects so I didn't have to wait months as other contractors were making me do. The crew was very respectful and they built me a beautiful, redwood deck (per approved drawings) and then he also gave me a reasonable last-minute bid to add a roof over the porch of our ADU and some railings along the ramp and stairs leading up to the ADU. There were a couple minor things I needed them to address after the project completed and these were very quickly addressed. Overall this was one of the best experiences I've had with a contractor!

About 5 years ago we heard the sound of water dripping...inside a wall. Seemed like it was the…read morewindow and so I called Setchko (Dirk) to come take a look at it. He gave me a good quote, was up front about scheduling and other issues and started the job. If you open a wall, do you know what you find? Problems. First rule of home repair, you're going to find problems. And we did. Dirk walked us through our options, we repaired a good bit of rot, got the new window in, it looks great, Dirk took a bit of extra time to add some extra trim touches that really sealed the deal. We've since used him to do earthquake retrofit, new foundations, windows, insulation etc. He's got a excellent book of subcontractors and has the sort of in depth skill and knowledge to know how to get the job parceled out and done to cost and time using his crews and subcontractors. He's trustworthy, reasonable, does excellent work and is a pleasure to communicate with. He's not bad with a joke as well :)

I contacted John Ferguson after trying, unsuccessfully, to get a response from several contractors,…read morefor a relatively small job (by contractor standards). The communication between John, his foreman Raoul, and everyone else I worked with on the team was a breath of fresh air. They are very clear and very interested in the customers concerns, and full of helpful suggestions. I was sent a model of the project to review beforehand as well as a detailed breakdown of the work and costs. We discovered extensive dry rot that was not in the original scope of the project, but which was remediated within the given schedule. All the individuals who did the work were top notch craftsmen and pleasant to work with. Whereas previously the back yard was a dark depressing place, I now have a lovely aesthetic space in which I want to spend time. Thank you John, Raoul, and team.

In 2016, we used John Fergusson and More Than A Carpenter to complete a significant addition to our…read morehome in El Cerrito, expanding our house from a 1 bathroom, 2 bedroom home to 2 bathrooms and 3 bedrooms, and doubling the square footage. As you can imagine, this was a large project, and we as homeowners were nervous about budget, schedule, and quality. We had also heard horror stories about contractors going way over their budgets and schedules, and struggling with quality. It was therefore amazing to see what great work John has done. He brought the project in on time, budget, and quality, but more than that, he put his whole heart into the project. John is a unique individual who not only gets the work done, but is constantly looking for ways to improve the experience. Throughout the project, John was not only receptive to our ideas, but deeply thoughtful about new ideas. A number of the improvements he made have really been life changing for us -- an additional butcher block counter top that functions as an extension of our kitchen for example. Finally, I would say that John does his design not just off a drawing or a checklist of features, but really seeks to see what you're trying to achieve, what you like about your current home, and how you want it to feel when everything's finished. That's rare in a contractor. I am therefore pleased to recommend John and More than a Carpenter without reservation. Our work with him has been a joy from start to finish!

We've used HDR for about 5 years now for all sorts of projects: Bathroom remodel, range hood…read moreinstallation, sump pump installation and maintenance, they even helped us find a roofer when we needed a new one. Essentially, they are our go-to people for everything house. I don't know what we'd do with out them! Philip and Jim are the seriously the best, and the rest of their team is incredibly professional and talented. Chris has been especially amazing with all of the projects we've used them for.

We used HDR Remodeling to redo one of our bathrooms, as well as do a conversion of the downstairs…read morefloor of our house. While there were a few delays in the construction schedule, they were very professional in handling everything and the work was high quality. We're very happy with the result!

We are very happy we used Tinka Construction to remodel our small bathroom and update our kitchen…read more George and his crew are super friendly, clean, and creative at solving transitions between spaces. His team is resourceful and they did not generate excessive work to add cost. For our kitchen / laundry facelift, we updated the flooring, backsplash, lighting, and reconfigured our laundry area. George's crew helped to side vent the dryer which the big box store was unable to do. George gave valuable input on our bathroom design to optimize the small space. He had suggestions for an in-wall toilet, a corner sink, window ledge niche, and talked us out of a doorless shower (thank you!). He knows small spaces very well and was able to place the fixtures in their best locations. George would give us a heads up on our requests that were going to cost more than ~1k. He had some subcontractors come in to help with varying degrees of quality and cleanliness. We are glad he managed the plumbing contractor who had to come back 3 times. His paint jobs varied quite a bit in consistency depending on who was painting. The best part of working with George was that we were expecting our first child, and he worked very hard to complete the project before her due date. To our surprise and delight he totally finished it before she arrived!

George helped us with a complete remodel for our home in Berkeley. He and his crew (Oni, Enrique,…read moreMarvin, Wuillian) are extremely smart, honest, professional and creative. His pricing is also reasonable and transparent. We started with an awkward layout (even no room for fridge in the kitchen!) and ended with a tastefully transformed home: open, modern and feels much more spacious than before. George is patient, transparent, detail oriented (with a special eye for safety!) and always a clever problem solver on behalf of his clients. What he did for our project was too much to list, but I'm attaching a few photos where the end results can speak for itself! Contractors like George is hard to come by and highly sought after in the current environment, we would recommend him to any one who values craftsmanship and quality!

Can't recommend Aaron Hale enough. He built me a deck with a custom bilco door (hatch) and it's…read morebeautiful and sturdy. Working with him was such a good experience that I choose to have him build me an ADU / backyard office. The office turned out great, and Aaron was a big help managing contractors who did the cement foundation, the electrical, and the painting/drywall.

Aaron replaced our decaying front yard fence in Oakland with a sleek and sturdy redesign. We love…read moreit and even received compliments from the neighbors. Working with Aaron was a treat. We only provided some basic design inspiration and he took care of the rest. His initial quote was very reasonable and accurate. His attention to detail and problem solving skills a joy to behold.

This is an extremely long overdue review from work that was done two Summers ago. My deck had…read moredeteriorated to the point where it didn't make sense to just replace certain boards. It was also getting a bit wobbly and there was concern about it being attached to the house, which is on a hillside. Enter Oren of MyWorkshed. He figured out how to cost-effectively disassemble and salvage MUCH of the original pressure-treated structure. He also upgraded the design to meet current standards for structural support/integrity. I was worried about this undertaking because it was such a big deck (yes, yes, so many deck jokes ) and the whole operation was taking place on a hillside, but everything turned out perfectly and it didn't break the bank, which I though it would. MANY THANKS, OREN!!!

Oren and his crew worked on our fixer-upper house for 4 days in April. We had a disappointing…read moreexperience and would caution using him for anything larger than a very small, fixed-bid project. We were doing a lot of DIY work on the house, with everything fully permitted (by owner/us), but wanted a carpenter (preferably one with a contractor's license) to do the particularly skilled work like framing and installing windows. When we first spoke with Oren, he talked about having a crew of 2, himself and Greg. The day before he was to start, he said he had a crew of 4, including his son, who seemed unskilled in construction but happened to be in town visiting, and cost an additional $50/hour. (At this point, right before he started, we didn't feel in a position to dictate the composition of his crew.) They didn't do the work we asked them to do, did work we did not ask them to do, and then quit when they were no longer interested. We asked them to start with 4 tasks, including measuring window openings to order new windows. They did 3 of these, plus removing and re-framing a wall/header which we didn't want them to do until much later, and pulled up floor boards, which we wanted to do ourselves to save money. When I asked them to stop this demolition work, Oren got upset, saying I had "taken the wind out of their sails." After 4 days, they had still not measured the windows, which we had clearly communicated was a high priority. When I asked him about it, he jokingly handed me a measuring tape. Then he said he would come back to do that. I followed up several times, but he never came back. They charge hourly, ($70 each for the skilled carpenters), which might be fine if they worked at a good pace, but they were extremely slow. For example, it took Oren and his son 4 hours ($500) to level a drop-in tub in an already-built frame, using spray foam which is much simpler than mortar. We told him at the beginning that we did not want a "ledge" on the tub frame - we wanted the tub skirt flush with the tub lip, as the manufacturer advertised it. He disregarded this spec, adding a 3" lip on the sides, and then insisted (after it was too late, and contrary to the manufacturer's instructions) that it was the only sturdy way to do it. We had originally planned for Oren to be involved for longer, including to install the windows. But there was never clarity on how much time he intended to commit, and he never asked about our budget. He did not want to sign a contract, and even a few days before he started, we didn't know for sure if he was coming at all. After it was clear he wasn't coming back, we lost several weeks scrambling to find a replacement. His contractor's license was not a benefit, either: the only contract-like term I insisted on was a commitment that he would do everything to code. But the header they installed did not have the required number of nails, and I had to add more to pass inspection. His hit-and-run style also meant the work had no continuity: they installed a $200+ cedar sill for a window, without knowing what kind of windows we were getting and with no plan to waterproof it (we ended up removing the sill); and he covered the window frame with OSB (from the inside) and disappeared, so when it rained, the wall (which had rotted from water) got all soaked again.

I've hired him a few times for general tasks/repairs throughout the years and have never been…read moredisappointed. He's a strong, dedicated worker with quick, creative problem solving skills. Flexible and understanding when it comes to budget and time constraints. Bluebird Fixit- Friendly and efficient!

My neighbor insisted on these guys. They quoted lower than it cost in the end. They ignored the…read morephotos I gave them of what I wanted. The installed a completely different sized wood. They bought the roughest ugliest boards. They didn't cut them to size so the boards are not lines up. When I complained early on in the project, they said that they can't cut the wood. So if you hire these guys to make you a fence they will literally take whatever they get from the yard and nail it together in two days and you are left with whatever that looks like forever. Nothing is even. Plus, they charged us an extra $500 for one more section of fence and because they didn't want to dig the dirt away in the planter, we were left to complete the fence on our own. If I could afford to tear it down and start over, I would.