Construction Company reviews in Oakland, California

We own a house in El Cerrito CA about 800 sq.ft. We noticed the floor was slightly sloping towards SW corner. We decided to ask Montclair Construction to check it out. Mr. Justin Caddy came and suggested to do a floor height level survey. After he and Mr. Nirmal came surveyed the floor, he advised us that three things need to be done. 1. Retrofitting by install more girder beams under the floor as well as piers. 2. Install a French Drain to guide the rain water away from the foundation. 3. Since the house was only bolted down on the foundation but with no shear wall, we better to have the shear wall installed, because the crew will be working in the crawl space anyway. We thought these suggestions make great sense, so we asked Montclair Construction to take on this project. They started on 12/22/25 and finished on 1/29/26. There was no interruption in between. We are very satisfied with the outcome of the project based on the following reasons :
1. The whole project was conducted by Montclair in a smooth and effective way. We did not need to deal with the engineering company, Upright Engineering who provided all the plans( a free copy was provided to us). Nor did we need to deal with the permit part. Montclair handled all the paper work.
2. During the construction period, my tenants were never disturbed ( except for some dust and noise). Only once, the crew asked to reset a tripped CB. They provided a portable potty at the job site for their crew.
3. through out the whole work, Monticlair maintained a superb communication with us. They clearly answered all my questions ( a lot!). By phone or by text or by email, all channels were open, and there was no wait time. They explained my not so-professional questions by using the language that I can understand.
4. Everyone of Montclair's employees conducted themselves professionally all the time. They were very courteous and helpful. Mr. Justine, Mr. Nirmal, Mr.Javier, Mr.Miguel, Mr. Sam, Mr.Tom, and Ms. Diana, all are very polite and helpful.
5. The project passed many inspections, by Upright Engineering and by the city of El Cerrito. We. did not need to be there for the inspections, Montclair handled all of them.
6. We requested some small things that were not included in the original contract, but they all got addressed properly without additional charges. One thing was the small entrance door to the crawl space was in bad shape, Montclair replaced it with a new one without additional charges. The other was Montclair hauled away the junks from the crawl space for us, also did not charge for that job. We do appreciate vey much for their generosity.
7. Mr. Miguel's crew worked very hard on the job. We can see the progress they made clearly every day. After the job, Mr. Miguel's crew did a good job to clean up the scene. We asked for a few little things, and they all got taking care of.
8. All in all, our experiences are all positive. We are very appreciative and thankful for Moniclair's professional help!
C.Z. Nie. 3/3/2026

We are delighted to share our extremely positive experience with Monclair Construction for their recent work on replacing our old bridge driveway and bringing it up to current code standards. From start to finish, the entire project was handled with the utmost professionalism and care.
The initial pre-work phase was conducted very professionally, demonstrating Monclair Construction’s commitment to quality and thoroughness. Every detail was carefully considered before the actual construction began, giving us great confidence in the project’s success.
The hands-on work was led by Orlando and his dedicated crew, who impressed us with their skill and craftsmanship. Their expertise was immediately evident, and the results truly speak for themselves. Not only was the work completed to the highest standards, but the team also ensured that the jobsite remained impeccably clean and organized throughout the process.
We were especially impressed by the crew’s thoroughness and keen attention to detail. Every stage of the project was carried out accurately, and no shortcuts were taken. Their dedication to quality was clear in every part of their work.
If you need a construction team for a tough structural project, we strongly recommend Monclair Construction—especially Orlando and his team. Their professionalism, skill, and dedication make them stand out, and we wouldn’t hesitate to hire them again for future projects.
Thank you, Monclair Construction, for exceeding our expectations and delivering such outstanding results!

I can’t say enough good things about my recent experience with Montclair Construction and the work they did on my backyard retaining wall. It was a big project involving drainage and a complete rebuild, and they handled every part of it flawlessly.

The crew was fantastic—courteous, kind, and incredibly diligent. Even my next-door neighbor commented on how impressed he was with their professionalism. No litter, no loud music, no parking issues—just a great construction team doing excellent work.

A special shoutout to Robert and Diana, who guided me through the entire process and answered every question along the way. Orlando, who oversaw the project, was also a pleasure to work with. Their communication was excellent, and they kept everything on schedule. I wish I remembered the names of the two main guys on the crew, because they absolutely deserve recognition—they were A+ workers, always hardworking and always smiling.

I highly recommend Montclair Construction. They get a 10/10 from me—an A+ rating. This is one very happy customer, and I’ll definitely use them again for my next construction project.

C. Beam
Oakland Hills

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We contracted Montclair Construction for a drainage/flooding remediation project. When all was said and done, we had major drainage/french drains installed around our entire house, some foundation work, retaining walls, etc.

The project unfortunately expanded majorly in scope throughout. Robert our GC did an EXCELLENT job sitting down with us at each juncture (candidly - some scary/expensive stuff!) and laid everything out for us. He was clear and calm and welcomed all sorts of questions and really wanted us to understand all potential avenues and pros/cons with each decision we needed to make.

The work went smoothly and even with the added project changes, the timeline held.
The crew (headed up by Javier!) was incredibly diligent - cleaning the site every evening, and spent about a day cleaning at the end of the project as well. They really went above and beyond. We were so impressed. Highly reccommend.

Jim was super easy to speak with and even though he does not service my area, he still provided guidance and recommendations for my concern. Thanks Jim!!

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.