Shanta is a con artist - we spent $10s of thousands before we fired him. He did no actual work and delayed our rebuild by several months.

My husband and I hired Shanta. It was a nightmare experience! He dragged the project out necessarily and billed us for work that wasn't complete. Based on a architect friend's instruction, we were able to obtain the building permit by ourselves for $1,800. Shanta tried to charge us $10k for 6 months of work and still didn't get the building permit we needed. We believe he tried to run up the bill for as long as possible without doing the actual work. It's a complete scam. read more

I've worked with Shanta on several projects for the past two years. Shanta has been incredibly helpful. He has leveraged his network to help us solve key problems ranging from carpentry to electrical. Most recently, he's been our go-to contractor for helping us pass inspections in the city in high-visibility downtown locations. His patience and pragmatism in this process is priceless! At a deeper level, he has been deeply loyal, and willing to go the extra mile for us. It's very easy to contact him via phone or email if you'd like to work with him! read more

SHANTA IS A CONMAN!! Save yourself a lot of hassle and please do not use him. I was referred to Shanta by Cole Hardware. Apparently he has been working for Cole Hardware clients for 30 years. There was a small leak and Shanta said that the entire siding of my house needed to be replaced. His quote came in at $150,000!!!! I had two other contractors as well as State Farm insurance come in to tell me what was the issue. For one thing, my gutters were blocked and second a small hole was found in the siding. The contractor I selected cleaned out my gutters and replaced a small section of the siding and insulation behind. The whole job cost $2K and no leaks since. $2k is a BIG DIFFERENCE from $150K. I would also agree with the other reviews that Shanta is very condescending and acts like he knows what is best for you. He gives this dramatic story that other contractors don't know anything and don't do the job right like he does. Well I used Diamond Certified contractors that guarantee their work. Absolute scam artist that has no conscience. read more

Do not use Shanta under any circumstances! He did a small job for me many years ago (repairing some dry rot) that had one of his employees working for a little over a week and charged an outrageous amount of money. He even billed me for eight hours of his own time, though I saw him there only once for about 10 minutes and he never did any work himself. He is also unbelievably condescending toward women --- enough to make you sick. I complained to Cole Hardware about him (where I got his name), but don't think it did any good. The only saving grace was that his employee was a nice guy and seemed to do a reasonably competent job --- hope he was able to find a better position. read more

So we all know how difficult it is to find a good contractor - well, you've found him. Shanta is knowledgeable, diligent, honest and works with integrity. I can't believe Donna C. is referring to the same person, since my wife will attest to how comfortable and respected she felt. We hired Shanta for a major repair job that lasted about 6 months and was both complicated and fraught with uncertainty. While such a process is always stressful, it was made easier by the fact that we had complete trust in Shanta, and that the trust turned out to be well-deserved. We even left the country for an extended period while the project was just beginning! Shanta does not have his own crew, but all the subs who worked with him (including James W.) were excellent. So, with quality inevitably comes price, and I will say that Shanta's services are on the higher end of the scale - but the question is do you want it done cheap or done well and with integrity? If you have a project of any significance, do yourself a favor and call Shanta. I know that if I (god forbid) I had another major repair to do, I would call Shanta again. read more

Based on our experience of Shanta, we must advise not hiring him. We did 12 years ago, at a very premium price, to repair dry rot in the front of our home and replace picture windows with crank-operated wings. He spoke authoritatively and sounded like he knew what he was doing. Once the project started, he did no work himself but used subcontractors and did not monitor their work closely enough to prevent the window installer from making serious mistakes that caused problems later on (leaks and dry rot). Shanta refused to acknowledge this problem, even when presented with photographic proof. Following are the details. Six months ago we found that one window would not latch, and both another general contractor and a window installer to whom Shanta referred us told us the problem was caused by dry rot under the vinyl lining of the window sill, perhaps caused by a design fault in Anderson windows that allows water to get in around the screws. Shanta maintained that the Anderson windows he'd insisted on had no problems and that there was no dry rot. He said the wood under the frame had settled and a longer screw would solve the problem. It didn't, and, when we opened the area beneath the sill and the wall below the window, we found localized dry rot and black mold directly under the sill. The Anderson windows' design flaw might have contributed to this problem, but the primary cause was the window installers' errors: no flashing under the window crank or 3/4 of the distance across the sill; cheap fir beneath the sill rather than dry rot resistant wood like redwood or cedar (which we'd requested and paid for), and torn vinyl sill and jamb lining at the lower. Even if a design flaw admitted water, it would have caused no damage if these installation errors had not been committed. We sent Shanta photos of the negligent installation and its consequences to document this problem, but he would not acknowledge it, saying "we've installed windows this way for decades." He blamed us for not painting the stucco every 3 years. Our painter and another contractor had found no cracks in the stucco and no evidence of dry rot anywhere else, and no other contractor we talked to said that such frequent painting was necessary for properly applied stucco. Shanta suggested putting up 3-story scaffolding and tearing off the front of the house again, even though we could see that the dry rot was confined to the area below the window. If we'd listened to him, we would have spent many thousands of dollars more than necessary to fix a problem caused by his careless and/or incompetent window installation crew. Now, our experience may have been a one-time lapse in the quality of Shanta's service or a more regular occurrence (he did say he'd put in windows in this manner for decades), but would you want to risk your money on a high-priced contractor who, even in the face of photographic evidence, denies a problem caused by a crew he hired? We certainly wish we hadn't used Shanta, and never would again. read more

How fortunate for us to have contracted with Shanta for a 3 story deck to replace the dangerous failing one full of woodrot...our first of many successful projects by him and his crew, inside and out, over at least 30 years. The last a beautiful kitchen redo in our 75 year old home for a reasonable charge. Shanta is professional, easy to deal with. read more

El Nino's Coming... if your home's exterior has cracks, nail holes from random old pipes and cables, or wear-and-tear that could develop a destructive leak in a driving rain, Shanta Bulkin is the leak detection and repair specialist to call. Three years after he repaired and repainted our stucco exterior, it still looks like he finished it yesterday. Leaks can also involve interior repair and remodeling. In our case, Shanta recreated our master bath's shower from the open studs to its gorgeous tile work and teak shower seat. Our original (leaking) shower featured several custom hand-painted tiles that match the floor and custom sink. Shanta's team preserved those art tiles and reused them in the new stall, to retain the room's original design. By the time the work was finished, no one could tell any repair work had been done. We were so impressed with Shanta's work that we rehired him a year later when we discovered we needed work on a different wall visible only from our neighbor's roof. We rehired Shanta because he is dependable, honest, and an open communicator. He analyzed the situation, determined a clear course of action, and kept us well-informed of what we could expect and when we would owe our next installment. There were no unpleasant surprises and work kept apace until it was done. As a homeowner, one of my concerns is whether a contractor will leave you stranded mid-job or slow down progress because they've landed a new project elsewhere. This never happened with Shanta. His team showed up regularly to keep the work rolling through to completion. Our duplex is co-owned by two couples. Of the four of us, I was home the most, so I became the point person for Shanta to communicate with us owners and our neighbors. Shanta was always respectful, well-grounded, and easy to deal with. It never occurred to me to feel uncomfortable as a woman with Shanta or his guys working in my home. My track record with Shanta has been the complete opposite of what Donna C wrote in 2008. More importantly, his work has stood the test of time. With wild storms and fierce winds expected this winter, I am happy we sit tight in a house rebuilt by Shanta. read more

Shanta built an addition onto my home in SF many years ago and it turned out great. He's a skilled and creative builder and is a person of integrity. I wouldn't hesitate to hire him again if I still lived in the area. read more

Shanta is one of the more knowledgeable and trustworthy builders I have met in my 30+ years of contracting experience. He has helped me address many challenging problems, especially in leak detection and dryrot repair situations. Having known him as long as I have, I find it hard to believe anything in the review by "Donna C" from 2008 - he is as fair, honest, and decent as they come. read more

This latest remodel was the second time I've used Shanta's services and once again, it was a fantastic experience. This kitchen remodel lasted 4.5 months and it is absolutely gorgeous. Shanta kept me informed of everything and was always there for me. I totally trust Shanta and his experience and knowledge. His sub-contractors were also great and they were awesome with my cats. I highly recommend Shanta and wish I had more money to do more remodeling. read more

Shanta just finished a job for us and we couldn't be happier with the outcome. We needed a closet added to a room and Shanta and his son Krishna came up with a fabulous design that looks like it was an original part of the house - which is no small feat in a 100 year old home with lots of interior detail. The quality of the work was first rate and perhaps more importantly it was a pleasure to work with both Shanta and Krishna. Communication was excellent and they were always respectful, courteous, and trustworthy. This was especially important to us as my wife works from home most days and was concerned about hiring someone who would be in our house a lot while she was there. We echo the comments of some of the other more recent reviewers in saying that Shanta and his people demonstrated the highest integrity at all times and can't imagine where the comments from Donna C. came from. If you are looking for a contractor who does the highest quality work while maintaining the highest standard of care then Shanta is your guy. read more

I have used Shanta Design/Build since 1997 for repairs on my older San Francisco home. I have always found him to be friendly, knowledgeable, accurate in his monetary and time estimates and very responsive to email and voice communications. He and his crew are the leak masters, and fixed two different leak problems I inherited from a previous owner. I have been disappointed by other contractors and home repair workers during my approximately 20 years here but never by Shanta. I have used his company for minor through major repairs and have always been satisfied. I am a shift worker and sometimes a day sleeper and was particularly impressed with his willingness to work around my schedule. While his bids have been higher priced than other contractors, I have decided that the quality and durability of the workmanship, his judgement and reliability have been worth the investment I made. I recommend him highly. read more