Thank you Mark for everything you did to get our property ready for sale. I very much appreciate the skill and quality of Mark's work. He came up with some very innovative problem solving for some difficult issues saving us additional hassle, and the quality of his work was excellent mo matter whether he was doing electrical, plumbing, carpentry, repairs, installation or other jobs to ready our house for sale. I would definitely use his services again. read more

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If you don't care that he may waste your time then contact him. I thought I had someone to install an appliance for me. He indicated he didn't care that it was a small job, later requested pictures which I sent. Rather than push for a confirmation I waited a few days then texted. Week later still no reply. He is so busy can't send a one sentence text. This is not a good characteristic of someone you intend to hire. read more

Mark to the rescue! Back in December during the rainstorms our roof started leaking in different areas. That also resulted in plaster peeling off and just hanging off the ceiling. (See picture) In January we got a roofer to come in and fix the exterior but we still needed the interior fixed. After speaking to several folks, some quoting us prices that were out of our budget, and some that flat out refused the job due to our high ceilings, we got Mark. My husband handled all the communication so I can't review that. But, I can review the day of work. He came on a Friday morning, as scheduled, and as a one-man show prepped the entire house and got the job done in one day. After he left, it didn't even look like he was there. He did a great job cleaning after himself. Our ceiling looks so great now. Mark is a great guy to work with. He was super friendly, even having little convos with my son. He literally whistled while he worked. Lol. I highly recommend Mark for your household needs. read more

Tavares Associates Construction - Before and after pic - Drywall Installation & Repair Near Me

Mark was great! We had been accumulating a few needed household repairs and Mark was able to handle them all: minor plumbing, electrical, and carpentry. He was friendly, professional, communicative, and efficient. He was genuinely excited about one of the projects - creating a hot tub screen arm off of our back porch - he invented the design and built the contraption. We would highly recommend Mark for other handyman jobs and will certainly be inviting him back again as soon as we have another needed repair. read more

Fast, quality repairs, managed to fit me in on a tight schedule. Not ridiculously overpriced for Santa Cruz. Did good work

We're are very pleased with the patchwork, texture & paint job completed by Mark. He was prompt to reply to our search, address questions and, more so, to work on our hole in the wall. Price was reasonable. Here are a couple of before and after pics of the golf ball size hole in our wall which was an every day eye-sore (at least for me) by where it was located at entrance of our staircase. No more hole in the wall!!!! Thank you for everything - your flexibility, professionalism & promptness. read more

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The quality of Mark's work is exceptional. He is deeply knowledgeable, has smart ideas, is adaptive, communicates well and solicits feedback on every important decision. I hire Mark's services with full confidence that the results will be perfect. Past large projects include removing a built-in fireplace, repairing and painting level 5 drywall, assembling a complicated murphy bed / desk hybrid. Most recently, Mark assembled and wall-mounted six media cabinets (picture attached). Very happy with all results. read more

Tavares Associates Construction - Drywall Installation & Repair Near Me

I had the best experience today with Mark my Handyman. Mark is professional, knowledgeable, experienced, works clean and most of all answers your calls and schedule you fast. Mikamoa read more

This review is long overdue Oct, 2019. Mark did a fantastic job with removing old paneling and replacing with new sheetrock and texture. That was the easy part.. It was after he removed the ceiling paneling when he found there had been rodents living in the attic, but that didn't stop Mark. He removed all the debris, put new insulation and sheetrock in two bedrooms after we found the problem and then textured it all. Then we had an area in the living room that needed new sheetrock on the ceiling. It was a job that required blending/matching the old texture with the new.. Wow, excellent job and you can't tell it's been repaired. Mark is awesome and I would highly recommend his work. P.S. I reached out this December to see if he'd be willing to paint our house! His response was, it's not the best time to paint. Honesty and Quality, that's Mark. Look forward to working with him again! read more

Update on my initial review of Mark way overdue. After several attempts at contacting him with no reply, I received a call back from him to learn that he was on vacation. He apologized for not returning my call and came over my house a few days later to provide me a quote to repair hairline cracks to my ceiling. I thought his quote was high and did not hire him (reason for my 4 star rating). Present day: cracks have not been fixed. I am considering contacting Mark to renegotiate a price that we can both agree on. read more

What can I say about Mark. He is the absolute best! He helped us so much and is very detailed oriented. I love his work ethic and appreciated the time he gave us on such a short notice. Also, such a smart fellow! He recognized the problem and comes up with creative solutions that are works and are cost-effective. I would recommend him to everyone who wants good, reliable work done. Nowadays, you need a good handyman on a regular basis, Mark is your guy :) read more

April 2021, After reading reviews and decided to go with Mark. Like all the reviews he received, I couldn't say more and happy with his service, that he is knowledgeable, humbled, on time, detail & efficient. He replaced my old toilet with new one, and upgraded the wax ring with his (brought for well prepared) for better use. I would definitely call him for my next home project. read more

Tavares Associates Construction - New replacement toilet - Drywall Installation & Repair Near Me

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Mark installed a chandelier in a high ceiling at our home. He did an excellent job overall. We have an 18 foot ceiling - all I had to do to get a quote was send a text message with the chandelier I was going to install and the fact that my ceiling was 18 feet high. Mark showed up on schedule and set up the scaffolding. Our chandelier was boxed up - so, he walked through the instructions and thoughtfully came up with a plan on how to install the chandelier. He installed the chandelier taking enough care, given it was fragile and all along had a smiling face on his job. Highly recommend his service. Given he comes by himself, he might need a helping hand from you if your project needs it. read more

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We're not sure what happened to Mark and hope he's ok. We originally contacted Mark mid-April to scope our project. Our bathroom did not have a door and we needed to frame a door in and wanted to use a barndoor we purchased. He came over 4/17 to scope the job and provided a quote we agreed to the next day. A few days later, I confirmed that he would be able to start on 5/9. He said we're on the calendar. 5/6: my husband texts mark in the morning confirming he's coming on 5/9 and asks if he can provide any materials like the wood header we'll need. Mark did not reply. Then I texted at 2pm the same day and did not receive a reply. 5/7: we call Mark mid-morning and leave a voicemail asking the same things. Did not hear back. 5/9: did not show up, still haven't heard from Mark 5/10: today, still nothing and writing this to let others know in case they're trying to reach him but also hope he's ok read more

First, I'd like to address the elephant in the room: the five-star review. Really? FIVE STARS???!!! I've never met Mark before, all I knew of him was his yelp reviews. In this day and age reviews are questionable at best. Nonetheless, I can say I only write reviews when I want to. I don't even write reviews when I am nicely asked to. None of my reviews are paid for in money or products. Let's get started. Am I saying Mark is to handymen as Disneyland is to theme parks? Yes. Listen, Universal Studios is alright, Disney World is way too hot and expansive, Disney Sea is cute but creepy, Sea World just sucks, etc. etc. The point is I've been to many many theme parks all over the world because I have kids. Likewise, I've hired so many handymen because I've been a home owner for over 30 years and lived in several houses in need of repair. I've use big companies and contractors, I've hired specialists, I've hired teams, I've hired friends, I've hired my friend's friends, I hired family members who are supposed to care about your stuff and so on. None of those people did great jobs. A great job to me means: you arrive on time, you have all the tools you need available onsite, you don't break my stuff, you don't destroy my grass with paint, you don't hose off your equipment and leave remnants all over my yard, you fix what I paid you to fix, I don't feel swindled by the pricing, it doesn't look like you were all up in my house with your dirty shoes because you clean up after yourself, you pick up your trash, you don't do less than what we agreed to, you don't do a half-baked job, when you leave the house it looks like you were never there and the repairs left my home better than it was, I don't have to touch up your work when you leave, you are professional and courteous. Mark did a great job. I hired him to fix somewhat large cracks in my ceiling and walls. It required removing existing issues, mending, patching, refinishing, and painting. I'm definitely going to hire him for more jobs. You should hire him too, if you need a handyman. You won't regret it. If you do, it probably had nothing to do with Mark. read more

Tavares Associates Construction - Kitchen ceiling dry wall repair - Drywall Installation & Repair Near Me

I came across Mark on Yelp and he was one of a handful of people I called to change three reach in closets to non-reach in ones and replace a number of interior doors. This project required demolition of partial walls, some reframing, dry wall installation, door and moulding installation, and painting. I chose Mark because he was responsive, personable, patient, professional, and thorough in his assessment of the work I wanted done. He walked me through some concerns i had about whether some of the walls I had were load bearing and took the time to crawl under the house and peek up into the attic to ensure the work we were doing wasn't going to result in unwarranted surprises. Mark's workmanship is fantastic and I could not be more pleased with how the project turned out. It's pretty difficult to find someone who can match drywall texture to a home built in the 50s, but Mark matched it exactly (my previous contractor really struggled with that). I had what felt like a hundred questions for Mark throughout the project and he was patient and responded to each and everyone. He was flexible with taking on additional scope that I forgot to originally ask him for and he completed it all with diligence and a great attitude. He is definitely going to be my go to for any future projects I have. I definitely recommend Mark for any construction work you need done. read more

Called Mark to explain my project. He said he will stop by later at the eventing but no call no show. I saw similar reviews from others as well. read more

Great guy. Showed up promptly on time, called me if he had any questions, explained what he was gonna do, and did it to a T. Mark let me test everything in front of him, and he was straightforward about pricing: Hourly rate, plus materials. I had five small jobs for him, and he got them all done in a timely manner. I highly recommend Mark, he's a professional. read more

This is the new wave of drywall guys. Mark Tavares has no fear or hesitation in taking on any type of drywall task. His dad was a well-known drywall master and he's been involved with it ever since he was a kid. Whether it's movement of walls, framing, electrical and plumbing punch through, he has a way of framing and drywalling around it. Popcorn ceiling removal, no problem. Bullnose corners around the residence, no problem. Varied texture throughout the house, no problem. Mark is also available for small jobs that most contractors will either overcharge for or completely ignore....I've come across both and that's why I call on Mark. Top-quality and fast service. read more

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Mark came over to help me mount a bike rack in my garage. He did great work, showed up on time, and was generally a pleasure to work with. Thanks Mark! read more

Simply the best experience I have ever had with any Handiman or contractor. Mark is the best and is extremely reasonable with his pricing. I needed help installing a toilet urgently for my tenet and not only did mark make time on his Saturday evening he even got me the most reasonable quote and got the job done expediently. Couldn't be any more satisfied. If you are looking for a Handiman or a contractor call Mark, you will not regret it. He is now my go to for any household problems and kitchen upgrades. Thank you Mark for the amazing service! read more

Made date and time, and never showed up or called or texted. If you want a bunch of minor problems fixed probably best to go somewhere else. read more

I was disappointed in my contact with Mark. He responded quickly to my request for information and an estimate but he did not respond to two follow up email outreaches to contact me so we could arrange an appointment. I am not sure what happened given all the glowing reviews but for me, this was not a good experience. I am still looking for someone. read more

Didn't show up for the appointment and had a ridiculous excuse. What happened was he dropped the ball.

Thank you for a job well done, Great Work! I highly recommend Mark for any project you may have, large or small. We originally hired Mark to assist us with some framing work as we were turning a cargo trailer into a tiny house. The final product has been donated to a person in need. Our plan was to hire different people for each aspect of the build based on their skills; framing, siding, flooring, plumbing, etc. However, as Mark was executing on the framing I hired him for, I began asking questions regarding other aspects of the build. It quickly became clear that Mark was skilled in all aspects of construction. Not only did he work efficiently and pay close attention to details, but he also had a cunning ability to problem-solve the various issues we ran into, and for this project there were several. The task of turning a cargo trailer into Tiny Home required a lot of flexibility and "outside the box" thinking. The end result was amazing. Thanks again for all your help. We will definitely want to hire you again for our next project. * Check out the before and after photos. read more

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We found Mark through yelp and he was very responsive and got right back to us. Mark ended up doing multiple jobs for us and I have referred him to all of my neighbors who have raved about his amazing work! Mark cares about his clients, is very knowledgeable and easy to communicate with. I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a trustworthy and honest handyman who cares about the quality of his craft. Thank you Mark for all of your work! read more

Mark is AMAZING! We have used him twice over that last few years. The first time for a very complicated Sheetrock job in an attic/loft space. This time for prep for wainscot in our dining room... also complicated. Mark shows up on time, does a great job and is a pleasure to work with. We will use him again for another upcoming project. Can't recommend him enough!! I'll post pictures as soon as it's complete. read more

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Mark is absolutely great! He's done several projects for us and all have turned out great! The biggest project he did for us was transforming our garage. He installed drywalls and painted the whole garage (including ceilings). He installed a garage door opener and an attic door in the ceiling. He also installed the garage door for us. Mark makes any project look easy, he does a good job and his prices are fair! I highly recommend Mark for any projects you have around the house. read more

12/2019 Update: Mark did the dry wall and finish work for our fireplace with a Roman clay finish and he did a fantastic job! We've now had him back to do 3 separate jobs in our home and he's done detailed and efficient work for fair prices. read more

Tavares Associates Construction - Fireplace progress, Roman Clay finish by Mark - Drywall Installation & Repair Near Me

Mark is great. He is easy to communicate with, does great drywall work, and is an honest guy. Highly recommend.

Mark did a great job installing a couple of garage overhead storage racks. Came prepared and most importantly was wearing a mask. Seems to have a lot of experience with other tasks and will be calling him back for some other work around the house. Thanks Mark ! read more

Mark was excellent when I called him to make some long-needed repairs to an apartment in our 4-plex! Very detailed, careful and spot-on! Also quite reasonable in his charges! Will be calling him in the future when projects arise whether large or small! read more

Mark did a great job on the walls and ceiling for my salon. Mark also responded back very quickly when I called for a quote, and finished the work on time and was very neat and clean through the process. Thanks Mark! Great work and I'll be calling next time I need a handyman or any wall issues repaired! Btw I know he does bigger jobs usually but it's worth the time if you have a smaller job to call him because it's so hard to find someone, and he was willing to help out and get my smaller job done soon, which was what I needed. Super great, highly recommend! read more

Tavares Associates Construction - Mark drywalling the walls and ceiling - Drywall Installation & Repair Near Me

We moved into our new house recently and needed some work done around the house, and I gotta say Mark is great! He was punctual, friendly, and his prices were very reasonable. I'm sure we will be calling him again! Thanks Mark! read more

So far Mark has 5 stars from me. I texted him on Sunday morning after seeing his perfect reviews on yelp. Within a short time he came out to see my project and to provide a quote. He starts on Tuesday. Will update once project is done. Hopefully my follow up will still be 5 stars. I am hopeful! So far so good. read more

Mark was great. He was on time, diagnosed the problem, and finished the work quick and clean. He could explain the plan and options. We had a problem with a pocket door and got fixed. It was super complicated but we'll have him back for other projects. As a single job we paid a flat fee. Seemed fair and reasonable for the work. We have several rental properties so I get the help of various handymen over the years. I'd recommend Mark read more

Mark is fantastic! I had a drywall repair job that I wanted done quickly. He came by my house the day I first contacted him to assess the project and give me a quote. We set-up a time a week later to have him complete the project. Mark was on time, courteous, and very clean. The repair work looks exactly like the rest of the drywall. I would gladly hire Mark again for a drywalling project. read more

Tavares Associates Construction - Before - Drywall Installation & Repair Near Me

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Mark has been absolutely incredible to work with! We just moved into a new home and Mark has helped us with so many project even in the first month of being here and we will absolutely be calling him for all of our future needs. The first project we needed help on was a plaster repair. Mark came super quickly and repaired it beautifully - the texture matches perfectly and the wall looks great! We also were having some issues with the lights that evening but it was no issue for Mark - he was totally prepared with his head lamp and was able to finish the job flawlessly! The next job we had Mark do was to install smart switches throughout our entire house. This was a HUGE job and involved more than 50 switches, but Mark handled it no problem. He was able to install all of the switches and faceplates super quickly and we're so happy with them! The latest project we had him do was install a water dispenser in our sink. He needed a new drill and he immediately went and got it to get the job done. As part of this project, he helped us to fix an error from the previous owner on the water hoses so that our sink was set up properly. Mark is great to work with and super friendly! He's always easy to talk to and answers any questions we have and makes things easy to understand. I'd recommend him to anyone looking for a handyman! read more

Mark did an excellent job installing hardwood stairs and hardwood in the living room. He is an artist, perfectionist and a problem solver. The job took a little longer than I expected because he is basically a one-man show. It was so worth it though! He specializes in drywall but he can do absolutely anything. I highly recommend him for any job you might have, large or small. read more

Mark is a honest, on-time, and easy to communicate with contractor. He takes care to seal workspace and protect the surrounding furniture / floor. Most importantly, his drywall work is top notch. We had a leak upstairs that resulted in a stain in our ceiling. After going through a couple estimates and quotes, Mark offered a very reasonable price and his suggestions was on the mark on what I thought needed to be done. While some suggested to just paint over it and seal it, Mark suggested to remove/replace the drywall to check for interior damage and other problems. We had paid Mark extra to clean up if there were any mold in the ceiling, but Mark said there wasn't any and he took it off the bill. We weren't there to see it as he worked quite fast but he could have easily just added it to the bill. This is honesty that's very much appreciated, especially during these hard times. We took the chance to put some recessed lights in as well, so there were many holes (10+) to patch from the wiring that was done by the electrician. But Mark patched / textured them all up very professionally, I couldn't tell they were there in the first place. I'd definitely hire Mark again for any drywall related work as he is not only an expert in the trade but also because his professionalism and honesty with his prices. read more

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