Reviews of local pros in Gualala, California

We hired Oscar for a comprehensive waterproofing overhaul of our 1983 Don Jacobs Sea Ranch home, and his performance has been outstanding.

When we acquired our home in the summer of 2024, it was plagued with numerous issues, including water trapped in the flat roof, deteriorated Redwood siding, and leaking windows. Oscar and his team adeptly tackled these challenges by installing new Boral Board and Batten Siding atop fresh plywood and waterproofing layers, replacing the compromised windows/sliders with new Marvin fiberglass models, and adding a new roof. Our home stayed dry and leak-free since.

Following the exterior work, we shifted focus to the interior.

Oscar's collaboration with the original architect, Don Jacobs, has infused the project with an additional layer of authenticity and precision. They are currently rejuvenating the interior, the front screening/storage area, and the previously rotten rear deck, adhering faithfully to the original designs and specs. The renovation includes freshened up touches such as new clear cedar interiors, smoothed drywall, Mid-Century Plycraft built-ins, window seats, and Vertical Grain Douglas Fir details/reveals, all enhancing the distinctive Sea Ranch style while feeling original.

Oscar's team exemplifies meticulous attention to detail, adding thoughtful finishes like copper flashing above windows with slight reveals and a copper roof over the electrical panel, which significantly enhances the craftsmanship. The experience of working with him has been seamless and exceptionally rewarding.

Edit - 4/7/25:

Stage 2 Complete - Interior just finished today, uploaded a video showing the interior finish work and details. Oscar and his crew really made this well-worn, water-stained interior feel brand new, clean, and very Sea Ranchy.

Edit - 3/23/26:

Stage 3 Completed a few months ago - Colin Construction built us a brand-new deck with a continuous concrete foundation, per Don Jacob's plan to keep the skunks out. The deck and rails are a mix of Redwood, Trex, Copper, Aggregate Concrete, and Bronze hardware - Oscar's team made sure everything was beautiful and built to withstand TSR elements.

They built us all new fencing with Boral and a new trash enclosure with a concrete pad that is both raccoon and gopher-proof.

In the courtyard, they installed my flagstone with living grout(all local natives).

They also moved our driveway. Installed a new Apron. New Sea Ranch brown gravel and redwood sheep fence.

Oscar Colin and his crew closed in an outdoor room for us. The space was taken down to the studs and built back up into a beautiful finished room. Stairs, fireplace, fir wood vaulted ceiling, huge windows…. There was excellent communication all along the way,. The team displayed the highest degree of professionalism and respect, showing up every day at the agreed upon time, cleaning up at the end of the day. Absolutely no complaints. Great company to work with.

We recently hired Colin Construction to install new cedar siding on the South and West sides of our home and install nine new windows.

After speaking with several contractors, the choice was clear to us. We chose Colin Construction because we found Oscar to be extremely knowledgeable and a great communicator along with being a problem solver and, as we discovered, a perfectionist. For example, our garage door needed siding, a project that required exceptional skill to get it right. Oscar took on the project himself. Talk about attention to detail. Many cuts, many exact measurements. The garage door’s appearance improved immensely; it looks stunning.

The crew at Colin Construction (particularly Romero and Arturo) showed up on time every morning and did superior work every day until the project was completed.

These projects can be stressful for the homeowner. We always felt like we were Colin Construction’s top priority. That was very reassuring.

Honesty, integrity, professionalism and quality are what Oscar and his crew bring to the job every day. If you seek a skilled contractor and crew you can rely on, contact Oscar at Colin Construction. You’ll be glad you did.

Oscar is a gem! He and his crew do top notch work and he is a delight to work with! Oscar has done exterior and interior jobs for us including re-siding parts of our house, window and door replacement and a full kitchen remodel. We could not be more pleased with the kitchen! In particular, his tile work is impeccable and his cabinet makers are equally skilled.

Oscar is meticulous and thorough in everything he does and is responsive and addresses any concerns quickly and seamlessly. Oscar and his team are tidy and respectful of your home and easy to have around. In addition, his fees are reasonable given the quality of work he provides. We are embarking on additional remodeling projects and only want Oscar and his crew to do the work!

Great work, communicative and helpful!

Nice team. Fixed my problem.

Bailed me out in a semi emergency when I had to replace a water heater. Even though they didn't explicitly work with my appliance insurance, they went out of their way to help me file a claim.

Extremely prompt and efficient fixing an urgent problem with the toilet in our new Sea Ranch home. Thank you.

Tom's is so professional and responsive! Really great! They come right away, fix the problem, are reasonably priced, and super nice.

Prompt and efficient response to my plumbing issue! I highly recommend this SME!

All the Gentleman that work for Rick at Tom's plumbing are really nice and they are very thorough.... including Rick. He is a man of his word which is a rare thing these days.

Always prompt and good value for the service.

Rude bookkeeper answers calls, mgr never there, a worker came and dug holes in my yard without letting me know he was there and without a proper work order or a prior PGE inspection of corroded gasoline pipe needing repair. They are the most incompetent and unprofessional outfit it has been my misfortune to reach out for what was potentially an emergency service.

Service call was made by Augie and he was on time, thorough, and knowledgeable about the plumbing problem in the house. He was very efficient and didn't waste any time fixing the problem and explaining what he was doing. I felt the $150 charge was very reasonable.

Came right out and replaced the outdoor faucet head. Took the guy about 3 minutes. Said they'd send the bill.

$170.00.

Tom's plumbing knows your options are limited, and they exploit it. That cynicism and lack of regard for customers is worse than the blatant gouging. Really disappointing to see this in a wonderful community like Gualala.

We had an emergency plumbing need. At 9 pm our toilets were plugged and the shower was backing up. Tom’s had an emergency number which I contacted and received a response by 5 am. They arrived at 8 am and fixed the issue. Pricing is average for plumbing (which is high for a trade job).

They overcharged us, saying we owed for 1.5 hrs. of work (@$150/hr.) when the plumber who came did no more than 1 hr. of work. He lacked a supply item and had to leave to go back to their shop to retrieve it and came back 20 minutes later. When done, he sat out in our driveway for 10 minutes and didn't leave until my husband walked out and saw him still there (doing what we're unsure). When asked to review the bill, we were told they use "GPS tracking" and charge "portal-to-portal" meaning from the moment their driver leaves the shop until the job is completed, including time to write up job summary, etc. I've never been charged for drive-time to a job by any tradesperson. When asked how they can justify this given the possibility of needing to go get gas, stop for a bathroom break, slow vs. fast drivers on road, etc., got no answer. Not happy with this first experience and judging by other reviews here mentioning over-billing, it seems there's a well-established pattern.

Plumbers were prompt in response and efficient at finding and repairing a leak and a hot water heater. The guys were easy to work with and even cleaned up after themselves, thank you!

Justin did an outstanding job analyzing the issue and correcting it. Quick and on time and knowlegeable!

I am satisfied with the services provided from the business. I called in the morning and got the tech to come by 1pm and finish the repaired. The plumber was professional,courteous. This is the cost of living out here so no complaints about the cost. I am more diplomatic- the company have to paid employees every second on the clock,they can’t just said” I am not paying for their worker when he or she walk from the truck to the premise or when they drive from their garage to premise etc..” the company have expenses too ,heath insurance,business insurances and so on.

Prompt, did what they said they would, informed us of every step along the way and the two guys were very considerate and overall great service