Montclair Construction

After 3 years in the making, Montclair Construction helped rebuild our retaining walls in the backyard. Not only were they ahead of schedule as soon as the permits were through, they helped us understand the permitting process. They were incredibly flexible in either sourcing surprise resources on their side or working with the referrals I found for structural engineering, surveying and more. To top it off they finished a final item after I'd written the last check -- a rare commitment to professionalism.

Overall, my experience with Montclair Construction was a good one. I wish I had more frequent communication with my project manager about when the project would get started--I was the one to prompt him to find out where we were in the permitting process. I also wanted more communication with Tom, the foreman. He came by the house frequently but I didn't get much information from him until I asked. (Also, a simple introduction to who he is would have been appreciated. I had to ask him his name about the 4th or 5th time he came by.) As for Misael, the lead contractor, I really like his work. He seems very knowledgeable and fast. I would have appreciated if he and his team wore shoe covers and put down dropcloths without me prompting or putting down dropcloths of my own. I also found it odd that, one morning, the team let themselves into my house through a window. I wasn't home that morning and I understand the urgency, but a text to notify me that they were coming in is absolutely necess

In 2021 I noticed that our rear deck in the East Bay hills seemed to be leaning away from the house and two of the supports appeared to have been weakened by age or insects. I called a firm that advertised they did many hillside deck repairs in the East Bay Area. After some negotiation, we entered a contract for reinforcement of the existing deck. As time went on, we became increasingly uncomfortable with the lack of clear information from the contractor and hired a young engineer to help explain things about the construction and to interface with the firm. The contractor then suggested we find another firm to work with as they did not want to deal with a third party. We had already paid them several thousand dollars for structural design and permit fees, but they then refused to return phone calls or respond to emails. It was an unpleasant and costly experience. Friends recommended Montclair Construction. They gave it high marks for competence and excellent staff. At our first