Constraction reviews in Oakland, California

Jim was super easy to work with and schedule a first consultation! His blog had so much information to help us understand what we were interested in. Then when he came for the consult, he was very honest and helpful, walking us through why our idea wasn't worth the cost. He's honest and trustworthy and we're sorry we won't get to work with him, but so thankful for his professional advice! He even helped us identify a different issue we need to address. Thanks Jim!

Jim Gardner Constructuon did an amazing job replacing the foundation under our porch. They worked through the worst of the storms and completed the work on time. Thanks!

I saw the reviews of him snubbing small projects and thought I'd still try. Pretty funny to see how fast he snubbed me. His response was fast but didn't even give me the time of day to talk over the project. I get it, they're pretty busy with the market right now. Like everything else, this market won't last forever.

Although a 100% 5-star record made me scratch my head, I reached out to them based on the reviews. But they proved to be pretty stingy/inflexible about where they work, regardless of the type of project or actual distance to the location compared to the predefined list of cities they serve. That is, even a location within the same radius from their office as the locations in their predefined list of cities served, is a location they refused to consider. And jurisdiction is no excuse, as my community is unincorporated and other unincorporated cities in my county (i.e., same permit procedures, etc.) are in their predefined list.

Such inflexibility leaves a bad taste.

Working with Jim is easy and he gives an honest quote. Would absolutely call again for any structural/drainage issues

I contacted Jim Gardner Construction to look at a drainage/sump problem I was having. He came out promptly and diagnosed the root cause of the problem. He made several recommendations which are now being implemented. I am confident that the problem will be solved.

Jim zeroed in on my problem right away. He offered solutions for my drainage problem. I ended up not using him because I didn’t need to.
However, I wouldn’t hesitate to hire him

I contacted Jim about building a concrete retaining wall. Not only did he respond promptly, he spent a lot of time answering my questions and helping me figure out what I needed for this project. He was kind, knowledgeable, and extremely helpful.

Had an easy experience with Jim Gardener. He was clear and concise in communication, respectful (hard to believe a lot of service professionals still dismiss women), and honest. We had moisture appearing on back wall of garage. On the other side is a dirt, unfinished hillside underneath the house. Original call was about potential french drain install. He went into the crawlspace to inspect and said there were a few other steps we should take before considering a costly drainage project. 1) he found a leaky pipe behind the wall with water collected up against garage wall, but rest of landside above was dry (meaning water was not likely coming from back yard). He suggested we call a plumber to fix it, let it dry out, then wait for rain again to see if water still building up in that area. and see if moisture still was intruding into garage. 2) get a handyman to ensure outside drainage pipes are connected properly (they were not) to ensure water isnt flowing into crawlspace. 3) If neither of those correct the problem, install a sump pump where water accumulating ($2-3K). All this before he would installing what would be a costly french drainage system (~$20k). I very much appreciate the honesty, and trust Jim fully with any future needs. Call him!

Jim is fantastic. He is incredibly knowledgeable and does great work.

Call Jim with the jobs where you want to be 100% certain they get it right. We worked with him to solve drainage problems at our house only after we'd worked with several other people who got it wrong. Jim understood the problem immediately, scheduled the work within a month of our conversation, the crew was on time, very communicative and helpful, quick and neat. My favorite part, other than FINALLY having a functional drainage and pump system, was that the crew leader rescued a stepping stone from the rubble of the path that was to be replaced, and put it back in the new concrete path that was poured. The stone had been made by my son when he was little (he's now an adult) and it made my day to find it there, especially since I assumed it had been thrown out.

Jim and his guys are great.

At the time of service I would have given Jim 5 stars. However, his work has given us a few issues many years later. 1) He left in some of the foundation form wood in one spot and we had termite damage in that location later. It was a tough spot to remove the form wood, but he could have used treated wood or another material that wouldn't attract termites if he had to leave it in place. 2) A section of stucco on a rebuilt porch has degraded. Sky facing stucco is tough to make last, but the 100 year old stucco right next to the section he did has held up. He used non galvanized nails that corroded once water infiltrated the area. 3) He stepped down the foundation to below grade at the back of the property. That created problems for drainage.

When I tried to contact him about these issues, be said not my problem or was unresponsive. I get that it is annoying to be contacted by a customer from years back, but I expected the foundation work to last for more than 9 years problem free.

Honest! I called Jim Gardner to inspect my foundation, fully expecting to have to make expensive repairs (or risk getting taken). Jim responded quickly and looked around carefully. He pointed out what the previous owners had done right to guard against water damage and determined that the issues I'd been concerned about were not structural. No repairs necessary. The honest evaluation was much appreciated. Thank you.

I contacted Jim Gardner Construction in regards to a retaining wall. Jim came out, spent time with us looking at our wall, and helped us make a decision to wait until the wall needs replacement and not to try and patch it now. I appreciated the honesty and desire to help us do the project right at the right time, not throwing on a bandaid that won't really fix the problem, in order to make a quick buck.

Jim Gardner and his crew solved a long time water seepage problem with our downstairs living area. He installed a state-of-the-art drainage system complete with an industrial sump pump. The crew was amazing. They were prompt, courteous and incredibly hard-working. The work site was cleaned at the end each day. The job was completed on time and on budget. The quality of the work exceptional. Our downstairs is now dry and we have our livable space back. We give Jim Gardner Construction our highest recommendation.

I called Jim for a new foundation based on stellar Yelp reviews. His quote was highly competitive. He worked with my schedule, and his crew was qualified and efficient. Quality of work was excellent and service great. When I noticed some of our doors weren't shutting quite right due to the house shift, he sent folks back immediately and took care of it. Highly recommend.

Jim Gardener just replaced the landing at the top of our front stairway. We were extremely impressed with Jim's knowledge, his professionalism, and his crew. The job entailed removing the original 90-year-old brick landing, the columns, and building a cement support wall underneath: the job was complicated. The work was completed quickly, even though we had rain almost every day. The crew made sure the worksite was tidy at the end of each day. Jim went above and beyond what we expected and had the crew repaint all surfaces of our front porch. It's stunning work and I highly recommend Jim Gardener. I hope to use him again.

Jim’s work, and the experience of working with him, was absolutely outstanding from start to finish.

The assessment of our project was spot on, the cost was competitive, the communication was excellent, and the quality and delivery of the work exceeded our expectations.

We recently moved into a 1920s home that had significant foundation issues, along with some framing that had apparently degraded and been patched repeatedly over the years. Between pest and foundation, we had received extremely pricey quotes.

Jim provided us with an extremely thorough inspection of our foundation and subfloor (others just gave it a few minutes’ glance) and was able to propose a solution that repaired existing damage while installing permanent drainage to help prevent future degradation.

Of all the contractors we spoke to, only Jim was able to diagnose the underlying issue, and provide an economical solution that would actually solve the problem long-term.

Permitting and scheduling were a breeze (Jim handled everything) and work began promptly after we accepted the bid.

Jim’s crew was a pleasure to work with, and were scrupulously respectful of our neighbors. The job site was clean throughout, and the crew made it easy for us to go about our normal routine during the day. Additionally, they went above-and-beyond to keep the project moving on schedule — even though patches of rain.

Through the entire process, Jim’s communication was fast and thorough. We had a lot of questions, and Jim was kind enough to walk us through his team’s process every step of the way.

The finished result is excellent. The subfloor is in great condition, the new drainage works wonderfully, and the team did a beautiful job matching the texture and color of our stucco.

We couldn’t have asked for greater ease, transparency, and quality on what we assumed would be a daunting project.

We did not end up hiring Jim for a large project because he was honest about the fact that we could afford not to do it. He did not even try to come up with something small we "needed" to do. He instead spent a good ~30 minutes with me, looking at things in close detail (including things I hadn't asked about!) and explaining his assessment in detail to make sure I understood. I'll absolutely be saving his info for whatever project comes up next.

P.S. The reason we reached out is because he did gorgeous work at our neighbor's house--an entire front yard/front porch overhaul that looked awesome. She highly recommended the whole team.

Jim came by less than 24 hours after we contacted him. He was very patient and thorough with his inspection. He provided careful guidance with solving our problem which gave us peace of mind. Highly recommend!

Jim and his crew - particularly Luis, the foreman on my job - were absolutely fantastic throughout the seven weeks of my foundation project. They were never anything less than prompt, professional, punctual, and responsive.

Replacing a foundation is a *huge* task but Jim's crew made it as smooth as possible even as I continued working from home. Jim and his crew handled everything, from the engineering drawings and permitting to dealing with a very persnickety city inspector to get the city to sign off on everything at the end. That was one reason we went with Jim Gardiner Construction - his bid included *everything*, including removing and reinstalling driveway pavers, repainting the bottom 20 percent of the house, and even repairing a damaged washing machine drain line that they discovered. Other contractors were going to leave the permits to us, and make us hire another contractor to handle the pavers. Jim's crew made it all a breeze.

I recommend Jim Gardiner construction without reservation for any drainage, foundation, or general construction job you may be considering. He'll be my first call next time I need a general contractor.