Blue Dog Construction & Renovation

Holly G. _{on Yelp}

Nov 20th, 2022

Andrew and his team are the best. He is creative, smart, kind, easy to work with and most importantly a great contractor. I live in a Berkeley bungalow and wanted to remove a wall to create an open kitchen. Andrew helped me think it through and come up with a beautiful cost-efficient way to make it happen. He has an engineering perspective so I was able to feel confident about the structural integrity. What a way to transform my home.

Ken G. _{on Yelp}

Jun 5th, 2021

Andrew and his team did an absolutely perfect job on our new deck, fence and walkway. The finished product was better than I could have ever imagined. It was a challenging project with a steep downward grade, but they expertly designed and built with no issues. Andrew was creative along the way and helped us at various decision points to weigh our options along with budget considerations. The team showed great attention to detail and are highly skilled in their craft. It was an absolute privilege having them work at our home during the past few months. We fully intend to work with Blue Dog Construction and Renovation on our next project! Well done guys and thank you!!!!

Jen B. _{on Yelp}

Dec 29th, 2022

We never could have imagined our old, dumpy, small 1920's kitchen being transformed into a beautiful, functional kitchen. The final results exceeds our dream and  doesn't scream "trendy remodel".  My partner and I have never done any remodel projects. The entire process was new and scary at first. We had saved for years to redo our kitchen and staying in our budget was a priority. At the same time, the quality of the work mattered as much as affordability. Searching for a talented contractor with a skilled team who has integrity and real attention to detail seemed impossible. Until we met Andrew.   We had interviewed several other contractors, and even received estimates that were lower.  While Andrew's estimate may have been slighter higher than the others, we realized that some contractors low ball and then charge for extra, "unanticipated" costs. Andrew doesn't do that. He gives an estimate of what he thinks it will cost, but only charges actuals which at times came in less than the itemized estimate.  And, if work went above the estimate in any area, because there are always surprises when you remove walls of homes that are 90 years old, we weren't charged.  Beyond his calming presence, genuine care, and integrity, Andrew is very creative and committed to enacting our vision for our project.  He enhanced our design plan by suggesting some warm elements we hadn't considered, including a beautiful, thick walnut slab for our island top and solatubes for additional, natural light.  Andrew's extensive knowledge in architecture ensured our new kitchen would honor the craftsman style and period in which our home was built.  He is communicative, talented, kind, and just an all-around good human. Andrew's team is equally exceptional- Ricardo and Ignacio would greet us each morning with a smile, always so gracious and professional. The entire team was super skilled at every aspect of the project from demo to finish and always so considerate of our space.  We have two dogs and other dogs visit regularly, and the team was so fastidious about cleaning the site every day- carefully checking for nails, sweeping every bit of dust, stacking tools and equipment in the side yard out of the way, and removing debris. And they wanted to make sure we were satisfied with every decision along the way- matching the new trim with the old school trim width for example, or choosing the right stain for the new French door.As far as clients go, one might say I'm "particular" (read picky and kind of demanding at times).  Can you blame me? It's overwhelming jumping into a huge, expensive project with so many decision points.  And, yet, we totally trusted Andrew and the Blue Dog team and truly didn't have to agonize over every detail. They led with our vision and best interests, didn't cut corners, communicated consistently, and were respectful, skilled professionals throughout the entire project. My partner and I have such profound appreciation and respect for Andrew and his team, and whole-heartedly recommend them for anybody's renovation needs!

Bart R. _{on Yelp}

Jan 9th, 2021

I created a Yelp account just so I could write my first-ever review, for Andrew and Blue Dog Construction and Renovation.Andrew was truly a life-saver for me. I know that's a cliché, but here it's not an understatement. Last fall I was in a terrible mess, with a partially demolished deck and yard resulting from the abandoned work of a prior contractor that had to be fired for reasons I won't go into here, and I was also in the midst of some serious personal difficulties. Other contractors who visited my site didn't seem to want to get involved, but Andrew could see the difficulties I was facing and stepped up to help me out.Because of my prior bad experiences with the work in my yard, I had a lot of questions at first and must have seemed overly worried, but Andrew was patient with me and consistently eased my concerns.When the work began, his crew came early every morning and worked diligently. They were always extremely polite, and were clearly very experienced and proficient in every aspect of the work that they did. The rebuilding of the deck was a complex task, due to some existing constraints they had to work around, but they managed to engineer and rebuild the deck with precision, making it even better than before. They also added much-needed drainage all around my home, flawlessly built and repaired retaining walls, and reconstructed a nice new gate to replace the previously damaged one.Andrew and his crew communicated with me throughout, often stopping to ask me questions about my specific desires, which I often just left to their best judgment. The project came in under the originally estimated cost, and because of Andrew, I had one less thing to worry about during a very difficult time for me.I am so happy that I met Andrew when I did. He is not only a great contractor, he is also a great guy, and he obviously cares about his clients. I will definitely be having him back for Phase 2 of my project.

Bill M. _{on Yelp}

Oct 28th, 2019

Andrew Gregor and his Blue Dog crew replaced eight widows in the upper story of my 1954 home. It was a big job with big windows (one was 5' x 12' and weighed more than 600 lbs), requiring demolition, careful stucco breaking and patching, and fine interior casing and finishing. The crew was a pleasure to have in our home from start to finish and their work was very good to excellent in all facets of the job. I was especially impressed with the rigorous flashing method around the new windows. After very carefully scoring and chipping back the stucco, they tied into my existing vapor barrier with a layered combination of metal flashing and flexible flashing membrane, and then caulked the seams before patching with new stucco. I was nervous about leaks before the work began. But after observing their meticulous process, I am confident that my vapor barrier is intact and these windows will not leak.Andrew was very attentive to our needs, working with us to arrive at the best aesthetic and functional decisions. He is a thoughtful, knowledgeable, and experienced contractor who genuinely cares. And he's honest. Our job came in $2K under the estimate because the stucco patching took less than time than expected. He passed the savings on to us. When does that ever happen? Almost never. Usually, the surprises are in the other direction.My wife and I really could not be happier with the windows. When we need more work done on our home, Andrew and Blue Dog will be the first -- perhaps only -- call I'll make. Highly recommended!