Constraction reviews in Oakland, California

Happy Bay Construction took two of our buildings most neglected (and decrepit) spaces and completely transformed them into functional and attractive rooms. Right on schedule and within budget too. Working with the owner Eshel was easy and productive. We highly recommend Happy Bay Construction.

i've been dealing with a leak in my condo for a few years, and after a few other contractors attempted to fix the issue, it remained. i used to love the rain, until it started to seep into my unit. after connecting with eshel, i was confident that he could finally resolve the issue. his team did an AMAZING professional job that also included working with our neighbors. i am incredibly grateful for the efficiency, great work ethic, and timely communications and updates throughout this project. the work was projected for 5 work days, and they were done in 4! this was 10 star work!!! THANK YOU ESHEL and team!!!

We used Happy Bay Construction to fully renovate our main bathroom, replace a few fixtures and vanity in our half bathroom, and installing new drywall.

Our quest to get the bathroom renovated began over 10 months ago when we reached out to over 15 contractors for estimates. Different contractors brought up different things. The estimates were all over the place. Some were overt in their salesmanship. After talking to a few contractors, we developed a framework for what questions to ask to probe whether they're actually good, see what things they bring up about what would make the project complicated, etc. Eshel and his brother impressed us by bringing up almost everything others mentioned, and being very thorough about taking measurements etc. He provided a fair quote (middle of the pack) and was willing work around our schedule and start the renovation 6 months later.

The renovation itself (demo, plumbing, electrical, drywall, countertop, shower glass installation) all went as planned. The workers were great and respectful. What I appreciated with Eshel is that he was very accommodative and did not nickel+dime us. Screwless wallplates? Of course! Baseboards to match the rest of the house? No problem. Medicine cabinet doesn't fit inside the wall? No worries, we'll build you a wooden frame from scratch. Downstairs bathroom toilet was loose? Let me have my guy bolt it for you for free. Stuff like that.
He provided good feedback on design choices (for e.g., a handle on the shower door will look way better than a towel bar) and tradeoffs we needed to make.

The finishing touches took longer than expected to finish, because there's just so many things to take care of... but it's also because we have a very keen eye for the details. There were a few installation-related issues afterwards, but Eshel sent his guys as many times as was needed (and even paid for a replacement part because of a worker issue) until the bathroom was perfect.

Lastly, Eshel was very responsive over text, including with our custom woodworker, who said "Eshel was a pleasure to work with and despite some scheduling complications, he and his team stayed on top of all the issues".

tl;dr – Eshel and Happy Bay were wonderful to work with, and we're trying to figure out other home projects that they can help us with, just as an excuse to work with Eshel and team again in the future! :)

We used Happy Bay Construction to replace the foundation of our shed and replace the flooring. Working with Happy Bay Construction was such an enjoyable experience and Eshel was great to work with. He was always responsive via phone or email and every day would give us an update on the project. While it was a smaller project, everything ran on time and we are extremely happy with the end result. We would definitely use Eshel and Happy Bay Construction for future projects.

Happy Bay Construction was the perfect choice for our full-gut bathroom reno! We had a strict deadline and budget (baby on the way) and Eshel and his team knocked it out of the park- no unexpected delays or upcharges, reliable crew daily, and they finished 95% of the work in three weeks! We only have one bathroom and the crew was super gracious in putting our toilet back in place as soon as possible, even if they had to take it out again to tile, etc. Eshel did a great job checking in and keeping us updated, as well as being accommodating for small changes. The crew was super respectful and careful to protect the other spaces in our home. Even so, our porch paint took a bit of a beating durning the demo, no problem, unprompted Eshel offered to color match & paint the whole thing. So nice! Not to mention, my bathroom is BEAUTIFUL! I'm obsessed! They did a really great job and the experience was actually smooth and stress free. Do yourself a favor and hire them for your project!

Our experience with Happy Bay was top notch from start to finish. We met with six contractors to bid on our backyard detached office, and Happy Bay was the standout contractor from the beginning. The owner, Eshel, was so friendly and knowledgeable at our first meeting, and we felt that he understood our vision, needs, and constraints immediately. Happy Bay’s bid was complete and competitive, and we were delighted to work with Eshel and his team throughout our project. Eshel was on site everyday, and the crew was professional and efficient from start to finish. When questions arose, Eshel was immediately available with helpful suggestions and solutions. The finished building is gorgeous, and it came together on time and on budget. We will definitely work with Happy Bay for any future projects. A+

Highly recommend Happy Bay Construction! Eshel is excellent to work with. He is thorough in his scoping and extremely diligent in following up to make sure his team has delivered quality work. We've brought them back for many more projects small and large since our first bathroom remodel, always happy customers!

We did a full remodel of multiple bathrooms and kitchen with Happy Bay Construction, and it has been an amazing experience from start to finish. The team delivers high-quality work with great attention to detail. They were incredibly responsive to every question that came up during the project and had excellent recommendations for other specialists — from design to glass and beyond.
Beyond his excellent problem-solving skills, you can tell Eshel genuinely cares about his customers and their happiness. He has always come through for us on every question and request — and coming from two engineers, we had a lot.
Really a fantastic experience all around. We couldn’t recommend Happy Bay Construction more highly.

We had a fantastic experience working with Eshel and Happy Bay team for our recent construction project. Their team, which includes skilled electricians, plumbers, and general construction professionals, demonstrated great attention to detail and a strong commitment to delivering exactly what we needed. The communication throughout the project was clear and consistent, and they went above and beyond to ensure everything was completed to a high standard. Their competitive pricing was an added bonus, and the level of care they provided truly stood out. They came highly recommended to us, and now we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to others. A big thank you to the entire team for their dedication and excellent work!

It felt like we struck gold working with eshel’s team for a bathroom remodel. We were on a tight deadline trying to get the bathroom done before our baby came - and they made it happen. Since that project, we’ve had him come back for smaller home renovations. Eshel communicated clearly and consistently throughout the entire project, offered design input and creative ideas — which is so helpful when working with SF homes — and was honest and helpful about choosing what upgrades to make to stay within our budget while also creating a bathroom space that worked for us and looked great! His team was wonderful and reliable - they did an amazing job at keeping the rest of house as livable and clean as possible during renovations. We really enjoyed working with happy bay construction and will continue choosing them!

Exceptional service — clear, frequent communication, brilliant design guidance, kind and friendly team, gorgeous results.

Note - DO NOT heed the fake 1-star reviews - those are an unfortunate consequence of the ability of anonymous trolls to try to hurt good people.

Eshel & his team are the best I’ve ever met. The cabin they built for me is magnificent (and was on time and on budget). We’ve rehired them for a bathroom project and greatly enjoy working with them. We’re so grateful for their expertise and integrity.

We recently worked with Happy Bay Construction to renovate our bathrooms, laundry room, and mud room, and the entire experience exceeded our expectations.

From the beginning, we had a great relationship with Eshel. He was professional, communicative, and genuinely cared about turning our vision into reality. His guidance and attention to detail helped transform our house into our dream home.

The craftsmanship throughout the project was top-notch. Every element—from tilework to finishes—was done with precision and care. The team was reliable, respectful of our space, and always kept things clean and organized.

We’re so grateful to Eshel and the Happy Bay team for their incredible work. If you’re looking for a contractor you can trust to deliver quality results, look no further. We highly recommend them and wouldn’t hesitate to hire them again for future projects!

Happy Bay Construction is a top-notch construction company. They completely transformed my backyard into a beautiful retreat from the busy city. The project included new wood fencing, a new retaining wall, artificial turf installation, weed barriers, stunning rock scaping, painting the back of the house, trim, and fencing so everything matches perfectly, window re-glazing, and—best of all—a full-size custom waterfall remodel.
The attention to detail and craftsmanship truly stand out. Every element ties together seamlessly, and the finished space feels both elegant and relaxing. I couldn’t be happier with the results. Highly recommend!

Best prices for sidewalk certificates!
Did the inspection and got the certificate quick and easy!

BUYER BEWARE - Gen-Tech is taking advantage of Oakland's sidewalk inspection policy to prey on home sellers. Wrote up a $1900 quote for replacing an easily repairable sidewalk. Do your due diligence and get a second and third opinion or waste your money on an unnecessary service.

Great work. Looks wonderful.

The Altamira team was great to work with. Oscar is very friendly and answered any questions we had. They took care of all the paperwork needed (permits with the city) and I just payed the permit fees. Great and painless experience and have my recommendation!

I would absolutely recommend Oscar and Daniel for your retrofit projects. They made a very difficult, scary, and expensive project much more stress free than I had imagined it would be. They handled my lack of knowledge with empathy, kindness and patience. I'm very appreciative of their honest work. They treat their employee/staff amazingly which speak volumes as to they type of business that is being run. They were very reasonably priced and helped me navigate the reason for their pricing, making sure that, laws and insurance issues were being followed. I can't recommend them enough. I'm hoping to hire them on for other large projects as they come my way.
Louisa

Oscar and his team were wonderful to work with! Oscar inspected our house and gave us really helpful input and an estimate for a seismic retrofit. He got us into the schedule promptly and the work was done well and efficiently. Highly recommend!

I contacted Altamira Construction Company for the Earthquake Brace + Bolt program. Of all the contractors I reached out to, they were the most knowlegeable and Oscar was extremely good at explaining everything that needed to happen and any possible roadblocks. They took care of all the requirements from the program and would notify me every time there was action item for me. I would highly recommend them. They made the process painless.

We initially reached out to Altamira Construction after receiving an earthquake brace & bolt grant and Oscar came out to do our inspection and estimate. He was incredibly friendly and helpful in taking a look at our foundation and offering advice on the best approach, but due to the bad timing of the grant program, they weren't able to accommodate us (we actually weren't able to find a contractor in the entire bay area that would have been able to schedule us in time to meet the deadline imposed for the grant).

In addition to the brace & bolt, we also needed to replace a section of foundation that a previous owner had compromised by digging out areas of the basement crawl space. After receiving several estimates from other companies for the foundation work alone that were RIDICULOUS, we decided to reach back out to Altamira Construction and get an estimate from them. The bid from Altamira was extremely fair and pretty much right in line with what our expectations were before we began the whole process, and since Oscar was consistently more straight forward and helpful than anyone from the other companies, we decided that they'd be our best bet to replace both the section of foundation and do the earthquake retrofit.

Daniel was the lead on our project and he and the rest of his team were awesome. He always took the time to update us on progress, letting us know what to expect while communicating next steps, explaining options, etc.. He was also great about making sure things were tidied up as much as possible at the end of each day. We ended up having to travel for a week in the middle of the project and I felt more than comfortable with Daniel continuing to work while we were away. He was even nice enough to send a couple pics via text to update us on the progress.

All-in-all, the project took about a month, with a week or so of that time spent waiting for inspections from the city. To contrast, our neighbor also started their foundation work with a prominent competitor at the same time as us and they're still working.

The only reason it's 4 stars instead of 5 is that we ended up having to wait a lot longer than initially planned before they were able to start the work - about 6-7 months instead of the 2-3 we were expecting. Aside from that, everything went smoothly. The new foundation looks great, as does the replaced stucco, and we're very happy with the overall quality of the work. I'd definitely recommend working with Oscar and Daniel at Altamira for any foundation work you need done.