Floor Plans Services in Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, CA

“During the 13 month construction our neighbors would comment, "Your contractors are doing a good job on your house and we're impressed that they are respectful of the neighbors. I like it that they don't play loud music and clean up every day." We were happy to hear that. We are even happier with the results. As the first house in Santa Cruz County to be built (technically remodeled) to the Passive House standards, we enjoy a very comfortable temperature throughout the house AND use much less energy than similar houses in the neighborhood. The biggest challenge was the air tightness requirement for Passive House certification. This was tested with a blower door to verify that the house achieve 0.6ACH50 (131 CFM in our case) which is VERY tight. Achieving this level of airtightness in the house that was originally built in 1922, where we kept the original foundation and framing, has not been done before. Santa Cruz Green Builders also installed the first Heat Recovery Ventilator in this area. The professional who came to commission the HRV commented that our installation was one of the better ones he's observed. So, the point of this paragraph is Santa Cruz Green Builders is not afraid to take on new challenges and achieve amazing results. When you hear the words "green building" it may bring the image of a certain contemporary aesthetic to mind. But our house has the curve appeal of a nice old house -- a 1922 bungalow that has the arts and crafts styling with details in the window trims and flared skirt look on the siding. On the interior we are very happy that Santa Cruz Green Builders talked us into keeping the original floors and refinishing them. The tight grains of old fir is appealing and the polished distressed wood brings out the period style. They carefully deconstructed the house so that original base boards, doors, etc. were re-used. We also selected finishes that reflects the old arts and crafts style. When people come to our house they can't tell what's original and what's new. We like that. True to their name, Santa Cruz Green Builders walk their talk. I can continue with other elements like structured plumbing, gray water, insulation, recycling, etc. If you're curious about that please visit my blog http://http://midorihaus.blogspot.com/”

“A few things to say about Barcci Builders and Bar. I never asked, but Bar was ALWAYS updating mewith day to day updates during the remodel. It was great! I felt so invested and learned so much about the remodeling business. They were great from the very beginning by sending us all the company info prior their arrival. Thank you Barcci !”

“RMG Designs architected our house addition in San Jose. We found Richa from RMG Designs to be very professional and responsive. She accommodated our suggestion in the drawings.”

“May Construction managed an extensive remodel and addition of our home. We doubled the size of our kitchen and added a 2nd story with a new master bedroom suite. The team from May was very professional. We had regular site meeting during construction in which all the subs active on the project attended. Greg May made sure that everything was getting done properly, showed me any issues or challenges they were running into and made it easy for me to make decisions on all the little details that really make the house feel like our home! I also very much appreciated it, when Greg would let me know that if they didn't get a decision from us on a particular finish or tile product or some such thing by a certain date, that it'd cause the project to delay. This was very helpful for prioritizing the decisions that needed to be made quickly or alternatively weighing the "cost" of a delay if we were really struggling with a particular choice of tile or faucet etc. We lived in the front half of the house with three small children while the construction was going on in the kitchen and back half of the house. At first, the workers (May employees and subcontractors) kept knocking on the front door and needing to get in to the area where the kids were. I let Greg know that this wouldn't work for us, because the little ones needed to nap and I needed to plan when any work or access was required in our living area. He let all the subs know right away and we never had a problem after that. They always gave me at least 1 to 2 days notice and worked with me to find a time that would minimize the disruption on the children. It was great. Most of them have families themselves and were very understanding and supportive. All around, a great team to work with.”

“Solid team that knows what they are doing. The team at Green Planet Remodeling helped me renovate 2 bathrooms - and remedied a lot of the shoddy work that was lurking behind the wall (thanks to my crappy builder for those surprises). Good guys that were efficient and professional through the whole experience. They even provided me with a 3D Design for both of the bathrooms that another company wanted to charge me for! Easy to communicate. Highly recommend!”

“Timeline Design designed and build our 6,000 sq ft house. They took our ideas and made them better. As the project progressed they improved the design and solved problems as the reality of the construction unveiled ways to make it better or address issues. This was done as a matter of course, not as a way to jack up the price through change orders. Most of these changes did, in fact, not change the price. Some did require extra or different materials or effort but these only added T&M charges. We are still delighted with our house 7 years after it was completed. Timeline Design still sends people out to fix or address any issues we have as they arise. Timeline Design is an honest, committed and talented designer/builder. I can't recommend them high enough!”

“Heartwood Residential gutted and rebuilt master bath, removed glass walls and doorways in second floor loft, extended second floor loft by 2 feet, redid the affected kitchen ceiling plaster underneath including new lighting, installed railing at edge of loft, filled in openings in walls in bedroom, plastered, installed new lighting, painting and carpeting. The quality of Nick Yegge's work is terrific and everyone who works for him is top-notch. All sub-contractors he hired were excellent too. We had a unique experience, I think, because this house was built on stilts on the ocean bluff 45 years ago with an unusual architecture. There were surprises at every turn. Nick was always honest about what he discovered and we disused how to approach the new problems as they arose. Nick always found a good solution. Santa Cruz County permitting was also a challenge but Nick would not take no for an answer and even hired an engineer to prove that what he was proposing to do was not only feasible but that it would improve the integrity of the structure of the second floor loft. Throughout the project Nick was always good about keeping in contact and workers always arrived when he said they would. I cannot say enough about the quality of the work. And the results are absolutely beautiful!”

“This was a residential renovation of and addition to an older house with good bones that had not been well maintained and had been subjected to several DIY projects that appeared to be beyond the capabilities of those who did them. Kurt's design solutions both suited our taste and were consistent with the original style and design of the house. In particular, he suggested a limited number of minor touches (pass throughs, moving a dividing wall) that quite cost effectively opened up the house and made it much more livable, but also was true to its original design and incorporated its positive features. His design of the new and expand master suite used existing elements to create a vastly improved layout. Kurt offered solutions that enabled us to obtain quick permitting. He supervised construction which was significantly closer to budget and on schedule than other neighborhood projects. He was very responsive when field conditions required adaptations to original plans, and devised solutions that kept costs increases of the project reasonable. He was a pleasure to work with and made what is often a very stressful process a very positive experience.”

“I had originally hired another architecture firm that claimed they could get my project completed in a timely manner and efficiently. That was not the case. My good friend who is very successful developer in the LA area, referred me to Urbatect Development as Urbatect had helped him develop his apartment complex. I have nothing but great things to say. From the minute I walked into their office, until the completion of construction, they did an AMAZING job keeping me updated and handling all the issues that came our way. Special shoutout to Jay, Sr. Engineer, who made my life much easier. If I could give them ten stars, I would. Thank you for the excellent job! Will be referring Urbatect and using them again in the future for all my design and construction projects.”

“We hired House2Home to remodel our family room, kitchen, entry and living room. It was a very big change to our 50+ year old house. We had used their services the year before to remodel a bathroom and were happy with that work. After discussing our desires for the remodel, Angela provided us with a number of possible designs and after discussions with her and Matt we finalized the plan. This was a very extensive job where we moved some walls, changed some windows and doors and completely remade the kitchen area. It was very beneficial to have both the designer and the contractor from the same company. We were able to decide on whether or not to include some of the design features based on the construction cost estimates and the desirability of the potential changes. Some items did not make the cut while others were added based on our budget. Matt then took the plans that Angela had drawn up and executed the realization of the design. He did an outstanding job with great care and attention to detail. He was also able to handle the changes required in renovating an older home. There are always modifications that must occur to take into account the variations in a 50 year old house. His work was well scheduled and finished without any undue delays. That was great because we had to rent an apartment while the construction took place. The bottom line was that the finished product exceeded our expectations.The look and feel of the house changed dramatically. It was like moving back into a new home. The details that Angela suggested and put into the plan made it elegant and highly functional. Our new kitchen is so pleasant to work in that we really enjoy cooking in it. We have received many compliments on our new home and are extremely happy with the result. As a matter of fact House2Home Design and Build has so far received 3 awards for the project and pictures of our home have appeared in at least one magazine! I would highly recommend House 2 Home Design and Build to anyone.”