A real estate agent highly recommended Dirk Setchko when I was looking for a deck contractor. 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! read more

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About 5 years ago we heard the sound of water dripping...inside a wall. Seemed like it was the window 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 :) read more

Dirk is a GREAT contractor ... and that's an understatement. Last winter we had water issues in our basement and couldn't get to the bottom of it until we started working with Dirk. We had a variety of contractors come out who all said we needed a french drain in upwards of $20-120k based on the varying quotes we got. Dirk came and took a different approach, communicated with us honestly and discovered the issue was something much less than what all of the other contractors were telling us. Needless to say, Dirk's approach worked and we haven't had a drop of water intrusion in our basement since ... and for a small fraction of the quotes we'd received for ill-informed french drains. Having been a homeowner for several years now, it has become clear that honesty is a rare commodity in the building trade and Dirk definitely shows that he is honest to the core and will do what needs to be done without praying on your fear or lack of knowledge about construction (which is so easy to do). I would recommend Dirk highly without hesitation and hope to work with him again on future projects. read more

I called Dirk and he camed by to look at our project. He seemed like a competent and knowledgable person. But he never came through with a bid. When I followed up with him, he apologized and promised to get a bid to me. He never did. It's better to just say "I'm too busy to bid on your job." read more

I contacted Dirk in late August for a bid on an earthquake retrofit of my house. He came out a week later and I gave him a copy of a real estate appraisal drawing of the house, so he wouldn't have to measure it. I also told him what the first bidder proposed, so he didn't even look under the house. We chatted a bit, nice guy, and he told me he would sent an estimate in a few days. Two weeks go buy, and I email him asking if he had time to work on my estimate. Coincidently he emails me back staying he is working on the numbers "right now" and will send it when he is done. Another two weeks go buy, still no estimate, no call, nothing. I email him again on a Monday asking if he had the estimate for me. He responded same day saying he would "send it Wednesday". I replied back telling him an issue that a different contractor pointed out, so that he was aware (he never went under the house) and wouldn't have any surprises. On Thursday (today) he sends me an email saying he is he really busy, and "since I seem to already have several bidders (I have one) he is going to pass on my project. This guy basically dragged his feet on my time and lied about putting together the estimate. I understand people get busy, but have the respect to contact them and let them know. Sending an email a month later is weak, and disrespectful. Now I have to find contact another contractor to get am estimate, getting one would be foolish. I guess believing this guy was foolish too. read more

Dirk Setchko is a great contractor: conscientious, responsive, creative, skillful, thorough, efficient, and reliable---and on top of that, fun to have around! (How many contractors can you say that about?) He has been in the business for 30 years, and has assembled a crackerjack crew of artisan tradespeople: electrician, plumber, cabinetmaker, tilesetter, painter (and probably more; those have been the ones we needed, and they were all great). Dirk has done several jobs for us over the last few years--most recently a fairly major job on our kitchen--and we continue to be really happy with his work. He helped us to see what needed to be replaced and what didn't, and since we have a nice old house, how to make the old stuff and the new fit together and look cohesive. And then he executed it all! He also made lots of small changes as we went along, some at our request and some that he suggested, so that we were really happy at how it all came out. We will definitely use Dirk again, and recommend that you do, too! read more

Dirk Setchko and his crew are top notch! They have done big and small jobs for us - the big was seismically retrofitting our foundation, the small was walling up a door. Dirk knows his stuff, is fun to talk to, and has great ideas. His crew is skilled, considerate, and thorough. He has been doing this work for 25 years and has great references. And to boot, my 4 year old son loves them. I highly recommend Dirk for any home construction project. read more

Dirk is a Pro's pro. He has tremendous experience as a contractor and works with the client to carve out a coherent plan to get the job done. He has an equally formidable crew who are also top notch professionals. To top it all off, Dirk is sincere, jovial, and trustworthy. We have contracted him for several projects around our house including a big bathroom remodel, a tricky kitchen vent installation, master bedroom restructure, and so forth. The only complaint we have is that others have discovered his talent and professionalism which naturally make him so darn busy! read more

We used Dirk for a bathroom and closet remodel that came out wonderfully. Like many remodels, it wasn't without complications once the demolition was done and we saw what we were up against. But Dirk's flexibility and creativity was wonderful to work with throughout the project. A good contractor with a good attitude is priceless. And the subs he brought into the picture -- tile professional, electrician, and plumbing -- were all equally great to work with. The tile work was exceptionally careful and fabulous. The electrical work was great and we had thrown several odd things into the mix (custom 12v lighting and a heated mirror system). And the plumber came up with a winning idea for how to relocate the toilet without compromising the floor structure. We ended up using an in-wall toilet system that saved space and kept us from having to cut into floor joists. All were equally great to work with and we'll write separate reviews for each of them. The end result was perfect. Each time we use the bathroom, it's a treat. Highly recommend Dirk. This is a bit of a conflict of interest for us since we don't want him to get so busy that we can't use him again... :-) read more

I chose Dirk after interviewing a number of contractors and he was a "goldilocks" choice: "just right." After being overwhelmed by a contractor who came in and wanted to expand my project by 100% and another one that was barely interested in doing the minimum, I was very pleased with Dirk's mix of expertise and customer service. He listened to what I wanted, was flexible enough to offer options but never pushed me into doing anything I felt was unreasonable or out of my budget. We did two projects with Dirk: a small bathroom remodel and then an extensive kitchen and dining room remodel. With both projects, he was extremely mindful that we were living as a family of four (with a dog) in a construction zone. For the kitchen remodel, he made sure we had a working washer and dryer for the maximum amount of time (a huge bonus for us), and outfitted a temporary working kitchen complete with sink, dishwasher, stove, refrigerator, and cabinets that many people thought was our permanent kitchen! It made the months of serious construction more than just bearable. I have already recommended Dirk for other projects. read more

Dirk is a true example of you get what you pay for. We are new homeowners so we've been testing out different contractors and Dirk is by far our favorite guy to work with. He has years of experience so he really knows what he's doing, he's a pleasure to talk to, he's professional and able to set clear expectations. read more

The recent earthquake reminded me to get to writing a review for Dirk. A couple of years ago he put in a foundation on my home built in 1919 and I felt so happy that he did. Working with him was easy, his crew was excellent, efficient, and clean. As a female homeowner, I felt respected and safe. After negotiating the foundation work, I decided to have Dirk remodel my laundry room, which he helped me design. I would recommend him without reservation. read more

Dirk stands by his work, even years later. His company did an earthquake retrofitting of my house in the year 2000, and also did a major repair of dry rot that same year. Years later, on two different occasions, I needed certification letters from Dirk regarding my earthquake repairs, in order to obtain a discount on my earthquake insurance. In both cases he responded quickly and provided me the signed forms I needed, even 16 years after last having work done by him. That is a sign of a reliable contractor who stands by his work and will help you out even years later when he's not currently being paid by you for anything. read more

I've had Dirk do two major jobs so far (shingling our house, and a seismic retrofit), and he's great. He's very easy to work with, he's friendly, and he's pretty communicative. He does quality work at prices that in each case were as good or better than others we talked to. And on a couple things where he wasn't able to do the job himself, he recommended other contractors that we liked -- and hired. All of this is why we're going to have him do at least two more jobs on our house. I definitely recommend Dirk and his guys. read more

We had major and minor alterations and additions made to our condo in the East Bay. Dirk was always there for us, either in-person or by text or 'phone call. He communicated well what we needed to do in order to accomplish our goals, and took care that our needs were met. Dirk pulled all of the City permits and generally handled the paperwork that needed to be filed with various bodies. The final inspection was passed without a hitch. He also worked with our Home Owners' Association to be sure that all of their rules and regulations were complied with. He also documented what had been done to date, and supplied an invoice/bill in a timely manner for work completed. If he needed our approval for some part of the project, Dirk asked for it. He did not wait on the rest of the project before hearing back from us; there very little down-time during the four month-long project. All of Dirk's subcontractors were professional, adhered to good safety practices, and left the site clean at the end of the day. For example, granite counters and hardwood floors were always protected when work was done and the entire area was left clean. Dirk has high expectations of his workers. He monitors them closely to be sure that those expectations are met. We highly recommend Dirk Setchko Construction for all of your construction needs. We would go as far as to say: don't bother to look further. If Dirk Setchko cannot have the work done to your satisfaction, there is a good chance that no one else can either. Our neighbors said that our finished house is spectacular! read more

I was scanning Yelp and noticed a review for Setchko Construction. I realized that I've never written a review for them--even though Dirk and his crew have done several major projects for me over a 15 year period. These include: full home re-model (bathrooms, LR, kitchen, bedrooms); retrofitting the entire house for earthquakes; building storage units in crawl spaces under the house; and building decks and new external stairs around the house. Never a problem with any of the work. All was done well and within budget. I heartily recommend Dirk Setchko for just about any major or minor project you may be undertaking. read more

Dirk was recommended to me by another contractor and he was great. I asked him to pour a slab for a building He was responsive (returned all my phone calls), knowledgeable, reasonable and did the job in a timely manner. He also was willing to work with me to reduce costs. The job turned out very nice and I highly recommend Dirk and would use him for any other projects I might have. read more

Dirk and his team really helped us with a project. We had a variety of small + medium sized work that needed to be done fairly quickly and economically. Dirk understood the tradeoffs we were looking for, did great work, was reasonable (not "cheap" but good value) and great quality. He worked with a changing list of "oh yeah, how about..." and got it all done with cheer and on time. I'll definitely call Dirk again next time I have a project -- he's on my short list! read more

I have hired Dirk on two residential and one commercial job. In all cases he has been great to work with. He is trustworthy and highly competent . His guys are can be relied on to do good work. His prices are competitive and his subcontractors are of the highest quality and price competitive too. In fact, we now use his heating and air conditioning sub for work in our home. Simply stated, when I have another construction project come up I will hire Dirk. read more

I found Dirk after scouring the neighborhood for a fence similar to what I had in mind. After doing my research I encountered something similar to what I wanted and then found that he had done the project. Dirk met with me in a timely manner, was open to my ideas and willing to look at the pictures that I had for references. We are very pleased with the fence and plan to use Dirk in the future for a kitchen remodel. read more

We had Dirk and his crew do extensive drainage work to our place, as well as fix some serious foundation issues that arose from the water and soil issues that came with our lack of drainage. Dirk isn't the least expensive contractor out there, but in my experience, he's the best. It's well worth the extra money vs. some cheaper outfit. He's extremely professional, always punctual, and works quickly. His crew is polite and professional as well. Highest recommendation. read more