We are very happy we used Tinka Construction to remodel our small bathroom and update our kitchen. 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! read more

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George helped us with a complete remodel for our home in Berkeley. He and his crew (Oni, Enrique, Marvin, 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! read more

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We are very happy to have chosen Tinka Construction to remodel our bathroom. The result is exceptional. George was always quick to respond to any of my texts and emails no matter what the news may be. Our bathroom needed a complete teardown to expanding one wall out an additional foot. His crew was outstanding whether it be reconstruction of a wall, plumbing, electrical, painting or cleanliness. And to complement George's crew, he uses highly skilled third-party specialty contractors, such as, for our custom shower install. What amaze us most was how the work was all done as seamless as possible by being creative and resourceful at solving any potential obstacles or issues. We are looking to hiring George and his crew again on another project. read more

George demo'd and replaced 1400 square feet of plank flooring and did a full kitchen remodel for me. New cabinets, countertops, floors, sink, etc. He completed the job way ahead of his promised schedule with no surprises (change orders or additional expenses). He was an excellent communicator and never left me in the dark. All promises made were kept. Would recommend. read more

Tinka Construction - New kitchen done by George and his team @ Tinka - General Contractors Near Me - Berkeley, California

All of my house remodeling and construction projects will always go through George at Tinka Construction. He and his teams are exceptionally good at ensuring projects are completed to excellent standards. George always makes sure that all work is done with great detail and can always be counted on to deliver! I just had brand new driveway constructed. We even had a hiccup where a pipe got exposed and would have been in the way of the new driveway. His team was experienced and knew that a plumber had to replace the old pipe. They dug everything out and made arrangements to wait on the plumbing to be completed correctly in order to complete the project. The guys are honest and absolutely great to work with. If you want an honest and fair pricing with excellent craftsmanship in your remodel or build, George is your guy! read more

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George remodeled my whole house. He put in new floors, baseboards, drywall, doors, countertops, backsplash, dog door and completely redid my two bathrooms. The result is for the most part quite lovely and his prices were very competitive. He worked well with my insurance company and was patient with their delayed checks. His floor guys were probably the people I am most impressed with. They did a phenomenal job and we're very methodical. The reason I didn't give him a full 5 stars was because he went out of the country for a few weeks in the middle of my project and his crew did not always show. I was living in a hotel, so as you can imagine time lost was frustrating. I also wasn't very happy with the painting his guys did. There are paint spots on my bathroom floor, in my black grout, on my schluter and clumps of dried paint in my office. George was always really great about fixing things as I brought them up, but the paint is unresolved. One of my baseboards is also popping up near the fireplace, but this is trivial and an easy fix. In addition, his guys left trash all over the place each day. They were quite messy. If I were to do it all over again, I'd still hire George. I would be sure to include progress dates into my contract and I would hire a separate company for painting. EDIT: I should also add that George was very responsive to my questions. He did include a few things for free just to help me out, which was very wonderful. He came out to look every time I had an issue with something and worked with me on change orders. I gave him 4 stars because the painting, although everything else is very beautifully done. He did reach out to me after my review to let me know that he fired two of his painters after my project, so I don't imagine that will be an issue for any future clients. read more

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Amazing kitchen renovation and experience working with Tinka Construction. George and his team truly transformed my vision to reality. They madd my kitchen a little beauty! I highly recommend them for home remodeling! read more

Tinka Construction - Kitchen - General Contractors Near Me - Berkeley, California

I had the pleasure working with George and his crew to complete a major renovation to my home in Berkeley including full kitchen, and the construction of a new bathroom, with structural upgrades. George was great to work with from the initial meeting to the last inspection, he was always upfront, honest and kept the project moving. Issues always come up with any remodel but George was great to work with in solving them. I have a few more projects in mind, and George will be my choice going forward. Stephen B read more

George and his crew are terrific. They fully gutted my house and remodeled it with new beams, new flooring, new insulation, new electrical, new appliances, and added one new bathroom and a completely new kitchen. They were professional, responsive, thorough, and fair, and I'm thrilled with the results. I highly recommend them! read more

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I bought a new home and I didn't hesitate to contact George again to remodel my whole condo this time. In less than 3 months he was able to finish everything, which includes a new kitchen and living room, 2 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, one laundry room and one walk-in closet. The estimation I got from other contractors was more than double the time! George was very nice to help with getting the San Francisco permits and all the materials I needed to buy. This was my first time doing such a major work and he was there at every step consulting and helping with everything. My new home was a complete disaster so it was needed to do everything from scratch, all the plumbing and electrical. I still can't believe he was able to finish everything so fast! Everything is looking so gorgeous now and I'm getting so many compliments! read more

Tinka Construction - Kitchen island - General Contractors Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Tina gave the best quote and great value for the money professional team, on time delivery good quality work read more

5 stars to George and his team. We had been waiting many years to finish this bathroom remodel after another contractor completed the demo. We had no problem working with George and his team as they understood our needs, worked with our time frame and made an easy to follow payment schedule based on project milestones. His price was fair, and he explained every facet of the costs to us. In the end this bathroom is now the envy of the house and we will certainly have his Tinka back to work on other projects in our home. read more

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Very poor at communicating. I called, left two voicemails, sent an email, AND inquired about getting a consultation/quote for a bid on Yelp...I only got one short and insufficient response on Yelp. Clearly I will not be seeking their services further as I would DREAD communicating with them throughout a project if this is how inattentive they are off the jump. Good luck! read more

I worked with George on an extensive remodeling of 2 units that spanned a year and a half. The scope of our work included kitchen & bath remodeling, flooring, painting, and structural work. George and his guys are always very friendly, helpful, and solution-oriented. I look forward to working with George and his team on more projects in the future. read more

George and the Tinka Crew came through with flying colors for our recent kitchen remodel. Professional business acumen coupled with superb craftsmanship provide a great experience and beautiful remodel. Highly recommend. See before and after photos. read more

Tinka Construction - Before. : ( - General Contractors Near Me - Berkeley, California

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George and his team did a great job turning our small laundry room into a half bath. George is friendly and professional, and executed our plan perfectly. He was the only contractor we contacted who did not try to change our layout and plan for the room to make the work easier. The final cost matched the estimate given, and we love the end result. It's no wonder these guys are so busy, definitely plan for a bit of a wait since they have a lot of projects, but I highly recommend working with Tinka Construction. read more

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George Catalin is a great contractor and a good man, skilled where it counts and it shows in the results of his work. When hardly any other contractors would even respond to my emails as we looked for bids to remodel three of our bathrooms, George responded immediately and let me know his availability, even though it wasn't for a few months. After that time, he was more than happy to listen to everything we had envisioned in the remodel and respectfully put in input based on his knowledge and expertise. He was honest every step of the way and leveled with me even if it wasn't necessarily to his advantage. That type of personality is invaluable to us when dealing with important and personal work in our home. George and his team were flexible when needed and courteous when in our home. George, Oni, Omar and the rest of the team were a pleasure to see during the project, and were happy to oblige when we needed some extra odds and ends done in our projects that weren't listed in our original contract. They had no reservations when asked to work later in the day or come back the next day to finish one of the stages a little earlier than planned in order to better fit our schedule. I would recommend Tinka Construction and George to anyone who is looking for a general contractor who is knowledgeable, honest, skilled and, simply put, has left us very satisfied with how our projects have turned out. We're excited to see our new bathrooms whenever we walk inside, and will call George when it's time for the next project on our home. read more

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George (the owner of Tinka Construction) is honest, takes tremendous pride in his work, and builds long term relationships with his clients. If you become his client, he will treat you as part of his family, and will do whatever he can to try to ensure that you are more than satisfied with his work product. I'm very detail-oriented and particular, and George was always patient and never made me feel like I was overbearing and asking for too much. He took the time to explain things to me and to make sure everything met my expectations. George and his team transformed our kitchen and bathrooms within several months. Given our tight schedule, the team would often start early and stay late to ensure the project was moving along. They also always acted with utmost respect and kindness to my husband, my dog and me, and kept the areas as clean after a day's work. George, Oni, Omar and team were a pleasure to be around. In addition, George has a keen eye for design. George would from time to time give us suggestions on areas that he would improve and gave us zero pressure to engage him on the additional work. As our project progressed and we became increasingly comfortable and confident with his team's work product, we added several additional projects outside of our initial scope of work, such as installation of recessed LED lights and widening our front steps, all of which were completed well and at a fair and reasonable price. We recommend George and Tinka Construction for any work that needs to be done on your home! read more

We had a great experience working with Tinka Construction to renovate our 1920's home in Berkeley. George and his team did an excellent job on multiple updates, including rewiring the entire house, installing new plumbing throughout, renovating 2 1/2 bathrooms, reconfiguring an unused space into a reading/hangout nook, and updating the kitchen with custom cabinetry after we relocated the refrigerator for improved flow. George is very easy to work with, flexible and conscientious. He takes pride in his work and is very detail oriented, managing a crew to deliver to his same standards, even down to details such as a thorough clean-up at the end of each day (which we appreciated). George is a creative problem solver and seamlessly blended the old and the new - the renovations look like they were a part of the original design! We love our 100-year-old "new" house and highly recommend George and Tinka Construction. George recommended Chen + Ruiz Architecture and Consulting (www.crarchconsulting.com) for the architectural design; Alex Chen and Daniel Ruiz, whom we also highly recommend, gave us many great ideas and managed the permitting process. Thank you George and the Tinka Construction Team! read more

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George and his crew of plumbers, electricians, glass and window experts did a great job on our bathroom remodel. We had a fairly extensive remodel (6 weeks in total), where all the plumbing and electrical was changed around in order to accommodate a tub and double vanity (where we orig. had just a single sink and shower stall). George was on top of pulling City permits and scheduling all of the inspections. I had 3 contractors bid on the project and felt that George had the most reasonable price and also responded in the most timely manner. The project was never left sitting; there was someone working on the bathroom in some way every single day. That was important to me as I know some contractors are so busy they will leave smaller projects hanging. He also went above and beyond the scope by making sure the floors were level and adding a niche to the shower wall without charging us extra for it. He clearly cares about his work. read more

We remodeled our kitchen. I am glad I found Tinka Construction. George is a nice and pleasant man to work with. He is knowledgeable and gave me good suggestions to choose materials. He even went to the store with me. His team is very professional. I am very happy with the kitchen cabinet they installed. It is beautiful and functional. We improved to work around the cabinet - easy to use and easy to clean. The quote was reasonable and accurate and didn't add other than we requested extra work. Only one concern is that their workers didn't wear masks in the house in this epidemic time. I am planning for another bathroom project with them. I sincerely hope they will do a good job next time, too. read more

Tinka Construction - General Contractors Near Me - Berkeley, California

I HAD a small shower in disrepair. Was never properly built and had some serious water damage over the years. George came in a designed a custom shower with a nice half wall to make the room look more spacious. Not only does the new shower look great with the wonderful tiling he laid, he expertly pulled any evidence of damage, and re-built the surrounding area so that this won't happen again in the future. I had a relatively tight deadline for this to be completed, and George was able to pull it together while seamlessly coordinating with my schedule. It was a pleasure to have George work on the space, frankly, it's never looked this good and the process was a breeze. read more

Tinka Construction - General Contractors Near Me - Berkeley, California

We couldn't be more pleased with the results of this bathroom remodel. The people George brought in were friendly, professional, and did excellent work. We mostly designed it ourselves, and tweaked a few things with their expert advice. They weren't pushy in the advice, just speaking from experience, and listening to them paid off. George is very chill, and ultimately the work he accomplished left us with a gorgeous space. We might just hang out in there all quarantine. read more

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I highly recommend Tinka Construction. George was pleasant and easy to deal with and his workers were very professional too. The contract was to install new siding. Dry rots and termites were discovered when the old ones were removed that require some new stud and frame replacement. Both windows had to be taken out and installed back. The internal drywall was torn down due to water damage. Garage door frame was also replaced. Everything came out beautiful when it was all done. read more

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We worked with George to do a major remodeling project in our historic 1890 Victorian house in Alameda. This was a fairly complicated project that involved (among other things) creating 2 full bathrooms out of a split bathroom by moving a wall, adding a new doorway, and absorbing some hallway space. The results were great! We finished 2 months ago and I am still amazed at how nicely it came out. George paid a lot of attention to detail and managed to make the new walls and doors match the original style. He really takes pride in his work and it is important to him that the job is done well. He and his crew were polite, friendly, and helpful and his pricing was very reasonable. He also made some suggestions for further improvements that we hadn't considered (that we went ahead with). We are really happy we chose him for our project and highly recommend him. read more

I used Tinka Construction for a major remodel I did of my kitchen and bathroom last year (as well as painting, new electrical, and refinished wood floors). George was friendly and and professional throughout the process and the work he delivered was reasonably priced and well executed. I have to say that it was probably a bigger job then anticipated. My home is very old and hadn't had a major remodel in 40 years or so. We had a lot of expectations and were fairly picky about the how the job got done. George was great and worked with us throughout the whole project to get us the kitchen and bathroom remodel of our dreams! read more

Tinka Construction - General Contractors Near Me - Berkeley, California

They remodeled a bathroom and kitchen for us and did a great job. George and his crew are easy to deal with and he is an excellent communicator. I would use them again in a heartbeat. read more

After purchasing the house, I needed to remodel my kitchen and dining area, and Tinka construction with George gave us a very competitive price with even better ideas how we should do it than we had in mind. He and his team was so attentive to each request and working so professionally. Before doing something George will always run the changes to us for our approval! With the little space for dining area that was available, they made it look so big and spacious with just turning a window into a sliding doors that was going to our porch! He also helped with choosing the cabinets and giving great recommendations for which appliances to get. We are very pleased with their professionalism and knowledge. Will highly recommend to all my friends who live in the area! P.S. Have to mention that they also finished everything in the time frame George game me at our first meeting! read more

George and his team worked on an extensive residential renovation project with us including transforming our basement into a second, separate living unit (ADU). He took our (very) rough design and brought it to life, although we did end up having to create drawings and manage the permitting process. The project included major non-structural changes, a renovated kitchen, all new flooring throughout, interior/exterior doors, all new electrical throughout, coordination with other trades (HVAC, roofers, and solar), tree trimming/landscaping, new lighting, a bathroom renovation, and new insulation and drywall. George was very knowledgeable about the inspection process and passed every inspection. His crew also left a clean job site each day, something I see as a mark of a crew that really cares about their work. Their attention to detail is also impressive, with good craftsmanship apparent in the final result. Overall we are very happy with George's work and would absolutely hire him again. He is a genuinely good person and provided fair prices, even throwing in some additions along the way. Check out the photos I posted of his work on the Google review page! read more

I am the de-facto property manager for a friend's home. It's a beautiful place, but has needed some upgrades from its mid-century construction. George's work is beautiful. In fact, my neighbor has hired George to renovate her bathrooms, and he is installing a beautiful deck in her back yard. People have been impressed with how the bathrooms turned out in my place, and I've had a stream of neighbors ask if they could please come see my bathrooms, and get George's number. George was thoughtful, responsive, and kind. This may not be the first thing you want in a contractor, but for me, it is essential! Being without my bathroom for a few months was stressful enough. The last thing I wanted was some guy coming in here and mansplaining at me. In fact, I immediately disqualified one GC because he didn't listen to me, and kept interrupting me when I was speaking. If someone's going to be in my home, if I'm going to have to give them a key, I need to be confident they value our relationship. George does. As George is still working next door, he's helped us out with some emergencies, too. I value my relationship with him and look forward to contracting him for more work. Hire him! read more

We hired George/Tinka construction to complete a shower. The area had dry wall, a shower bed & pipes behind a wall but no tile. George is completely professional, friendly and a pleasure to work with. He has a team of guys that show up on time, clean up after themselves & do beautiful work. The plumber, tile guys & electrician were all very skilled at their jobs & cheerful. I drew crazy diagrams for the placement of my tiles & they followed my plan completely. I highly recommend Tinka. We are very happy with the work & now have a shower with a whisper quiet fan & a Grohe rain shower head & spray nozzle. It looks lovely. Photos are in the photo area. read more

While remodeling our kitchen we removed the countertop and backsplash. Removing the backsplash damaged the drywall. I contacted George to repair the drywall and tile the backsplash wall. Initially he thought his tile guys would be able to repair the drywall but they couldn't. Therefore. we lost a day of the project. To his credit George was able to send a drywall person the next day. After the drywall was repaired the tile guys returned. They were very courteous and polite. I had to make a couple of trips to Home Depot for grout which wasn't a big deal but I assumed they would have all the supplies. Thankfully, I was home. The install went fairly smoothly and we're happy with the end result. I would rate the overall experience a 5 but during the job communication could have been more timely and the grout in a seam about an inch long needed to be redone. All things considered I will contact George for any projects in the future read more

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I chose Tinka on the basis of the beautiful work George Catalin did remodeling a neighbor's bathroom. What a good decision! George remodeled a bathroom, built a tiled patio requiring some excavation, incorporated an Ikea glass-doored cabinet in place of a 1960's sliding door type clothes closet such that it is totally built-in, and fixed all the small annoyances throughout the house, such as crooked toilet roll holders, stiff sliding doors. George listened carefully to what I wanted and made suggestions to improve my choices. For example, the direction of the tiles and the type of edging. Without his suggestions, my house would look vastly improved, but his suggestions made it stunning. He patiently changed course every time I changed my mind, which was often. The fact that I did not keep pace with consequent changes in cost was my fault as I was not paying attention to this. He has the best subcontractors available. For example, I had given up on finding wood flooring to match our old floors when I made an addition. They all told me that it is no longer available. George brought in a wood floor expert who matched the floor exactly. Also, his carpet person pieced together our no-pile type wool carpet seamlessly, which is virtually impossible. As with all home remodeling work, it is best to watch the progress carefully so that you are sure that what you asked for is interpreted correctly. This saves on redos. read more

Tinka Construction - General Contractors Near Me - Berkeley, California

George was great to work with and his team did a great job on sanding and staining our floors - they look like new floors. George was always available and followed up quickly via phone or text. Highly recommend him. read more

Excellent customer service, prompt attention and reasonable prices made us feel very happy that we found them. George and his crew are excellent at what they do. Thank you so much for everything! We look forward to working with you more in the near future. read more

Tinka Construction did a great job on my bathroom remodel. George had great advice about details like door knobs that really helped the overall appearance of the bathroom. They did great tiling work, and overall the bathroom is much improved. read more

Tinka Construction - General Contractors Near Me - Berkeley, California

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George remodeled my two bathrooms and installed hardwood floor in my condo and helped with permits. I would highly recommend his team! He was very communicative with anything that is going well or taking longer than expected. There were no surprises, he is very transparent in the process. He will make what you are looking to do in construction come true and with ease. read more

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George has done two projects with us. The most extensive was the creation of a new bathroom out of part of an existing garage. The project was not easy because there was no water on that side of the house. The project turned out beautifully. Although we had an architect draw up plans, George had really good design and features advice along the way. He also helped us negotiate the complicated Berkeley permit and inspection procedures. The people working for him were always courteous and very efficient. We are so happy with how the project turned out. (George also helped us repair part of a deck which was in danger of crumbling.). The cost for both projects was reasonable -- in line with two other estimates we had received and much lower than a fourth. We will definitely look to him for projects in the future. read more

Purchased a new home and wanted to have my kitchen remodeled. I was referred to this great company by a friend and I am definitely happy I used them. They did a wonderful job and i am really happy with quality of work and the professional staff. Thank you guys!!! read more

Tinka Construction - General Contractors Near Me - Berkeley, California

George and his team helped us with a down to the studs renovation of a full bath and few other projects in our Edwardian condo in San Francisco. From procuring city permits, demo, and the remodel work George's team did an amazing job of creating a fabulous modern bathroom. They also helped us with removing the gas pipes in the ceiling (which is normal for homes in San Francisco) and install new lighting fixtures and few other small projects. George is creative in solving problems along the way and takes full ownership of the work. He helped us buy materials and was very patient in working through this project. George is very approachable and fun to work with. We recommend George for any small or big projects and looking forward to our next project with Tinka! read more