Sacramento Building Performance

My wife and I decided to contract with Sacramento Building Performance (SBP)/Jeff Connor because of his willingness to advise us about options, and order exactly what we wanted with special features in the dual-pane window to improve their insulating properties and function. The window order was with a local manufacturer Milgard Windows in Sacramento, with whom Jeff works regularly. SBP has experience as a listed contractor in the SMUD Home Performance Program. Jeff is familiar with the SMUD Home Performance Program (HPP) and PGand E rebate program requirements and knows how to complete and submit the necessary forms to obtain the rebate check for the homeowner.

In the course of the work, we had the opportunity to replace the HVAC ceiling registers and requested through SBP to have the subcontractor do so. Because the cost to add new registers is nominal, my wife and I would encourage a home owner to be willing pay for the additional cost to replace/ upgrade the HVAC registers in the ceiling (or elsewhere). Although this replacement of registers would not necessarily improve the function of the system (to qualify for the rebate), the new registers are a visible sign that the duct work (and other HVAC work) has been modernized. This replacement is valuable because it makes the house look more up-to-date.

For some minor changes in the course of the work and final-job punch-list items--which are to be expected on a job of this magnitude--SBP/Jeff and his crew and subcontractors, such as for HVAC and insulation (both attic blown-in style and crawl-space batts, were handled expeditiously and fairly. One item of unforeseen (extra) work: adding a concrete step for a change to a window-to-sliding-door, was done with Jeff's advance discussion and our approval at a fair increase in price.

SBP/ Jeff Connor's referral list was a good source of references for his previous jobs, and we visited his work in progress at another job in the neighborhood. We were able to review his written proposal which had enough detail to confirm what is to be provided.

We would recommend SBP for dual pane windows and doors, HVAC, insulation and related work for houses that need to be more energy efficient.

I contacted Jeff to schedule an energy assessment on my house. Being built in 1954, its age is starting to catch-up with it and I was looking for some ways to make it more efficient. I found Jeff to be very professional and intelligent about his business. Following the initial energy assessment, he prepared a report explaining my options to improve the efficiency of the house.
He originally recommended replacing the windows and HVAC system, but because I was using SMUD for financing, I was only able to complete the windows installation; SMUD only finances 10% of the house's value. Jeff worked with me on all of the paperwork and explained all of the options. He has a team of subcontractors that he uses to install insulation and to complete the duct sealing. All of his subcontractors were very professional and completed quality work.
Jeff's "right hand guy," Jerry, and he completed the windows installation themselves. Prior to completing the installation, Jeff coordinated with Milgard for them to confirm the window dimensions. To be compliant with County code, it was necessary to make several windows larger than the original size to meet egress requirements. Jeff and Jerry completed very clean cuts to increase the window size and it is impossible to tell that the window size increased on the exterior.
I am very happy with their work and would definitely use them in the future for additional work around the house.

Much thanks to Jeff. He continued to be professional, personable, conscientious even after signing the agreement for him to be hired to do the project . His professionalism continued not just during the job but afterwards as well for follow-up. He was clear that he wanted things done right - whether it be work he himself did as well as his sub-contractors (all of whom were great). He inspected their work, made sure they cleaned up properly after each day, and made sure to remain in touch with me as needed. Even after the job was completed, he was available for follow-up and/or questions I might have in terms of a little bit of "tweaking" that was needed.
I have some other projects I am wanting to do around the house (much more fun ones than just a HVAC system ... (nothing against HVAC work Jeff). I have been talking with him about giving me a bid/estimate on my first project, a kitchen remodel. Just trying to figure out a few particulars still. (In addition to being an expert in the Home Energy field, he does general contract work including remodels.)
I would not hesitate to refer people to Jeff and would recommend him without reservation.
He even has a good sense of humor!!! May not be one of the requirements for being licensed as a contractor, but really important for me ... I need to feel comfortable with whom ever I'm working with.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH JEFF.

I called Jeff Connor, owner of Sacramento Building Performance contracting, among others, shortly before the change of SMUD rebate structure. I was grateful when Jeff happened to have a 1 week slot left, since months before when I’d been searching for someone to do a Whole Home Energy Assessment through SMUD, I’d been impressed with both Jeff’s website orientation (he seemed truly interested in and knowledgeable about sustainability and even the Triple Bottom Line), his straight forward talk and his references. I’d chosen an independent rater to do the energy audit on our home to avoid any potential conflict of interest.
I hired Jeff to implement a sub-set of the recommendations from the Assessment. He walked into our tough situation which got more complicated as things progressed- I discovered we still had a roof leak, still had termites, part of the whole home energy audit was wrong....
Jeff worked with all of these problems in a very flexible, professional and confident manner… Maybe professional isn’t the right word, because being professional he could have reasonably charged us for canceling the wall insulation the afternoon before it was scheduled after he discovered we already had it despite the energy audit (that we supplied and that he was
basing all work on) indicated that we didn’t have any.
The subcontractors that he hired were excellent. In the end, we had him install floor and attic insulation, a moisture barrier in the crawl space, duct sealing and air sealing. Because our house was built in ’49 it has mostly hard ducts. Our duct leakage initially tested at 37% (over 1/3rd of all our A/C and heating was ending up in the attic!) and ended up at 3%, incredibly tight!
Despite all the challenges, Jeff did excellent quality work, got it all done on time, all the paperwork dealt with without a hitch (I’ve heard that this is uncommon), and was great to work with. If you want to do home performance work taking advantage of rebates and other incentives, Jeff knows his stuff and will make the process easy and his rebate predictions accurate.
I strongly recommend considering Jeff for your home improvement work if you want a holistic, intelligent and longer term perspective brought to your project.

I interviewed several companies, seeking one to carry out a complete upgrade of my home's energy efficiency, as part of SMUD's home efficiency improvement program. I chose Jeff Conner (the president of Sacramento Building Performance) because he seemed to be the most knowledgeable and trustworthy. I am glad that I chose him. The work went very well. Mr. Conner oversaw the entire job and ensured that the job was done correctly. The subcontractors did their jobs well. Everyone involved were friendly, professional, and easy to work with.

If you need home energy-efficiency improvements for your house, I have ample evidence to believe that Mr. Conner would likely be your best choice, and therefore I strongly recommend him.

First, of all the prospects I interviewed, Mr. Conner was the only one who did not attempt to convince me to spend many more thousands of dollars to upgrade any of my equipment. To the contrary, he seemed to try to save me money at every turn, without any shortcuts of any kind.

Second, I was pleasantly surprised to witness Mr. Conner go to great lengths to verify that the insulators did their jobs well. For example, he utilized an expensive, sophisticated infrared sensor to scan my home's walls, both prior-to and following the addition of insulation, to see where heat was leaking. He was therefore able to point out where extra insulation needed to be added. This was interesting to see. Oftentimes, some kind of internal structure such as a power line or pipe, hidden behind the drywall, would prevent the insulation from being injected evenly throughout the interior wall volume. Jeff found these spots, and directed his subcontractors to come back and correct this problem that otherwise would have remained invisible to us all. Way to go! He also required the attic insulation blowers to post rulers vertically so that the amount of insulation added could more easily be verified by himself and me.

Third, I by chance was able to verify the excellent duct-sealing work he did. After Mr. Conner was done, a different contractor, for a job not tied to Mr. Conner's, happened to test the attic duct leakage. It was only six percent, the lowest he had seen. He told me that the duct sealing job that Mr. Conner was responsible for was done unusually well.

Fourth, when I called SMUD to inquire about my rebate check and other things, I happened to speak with the man who was in charge of the program. When he asked me who did my work, and I told him, he said to me that Mr. Conner is known to be the best in the business, and that his top-notch work was verified by an independent auditor.

Fifth, I'm sure that the amount I ended up paying out of pocket was reasonable, less than or equal to what the other prospective contractors had quoted me.

Sixth, and not the least important, is that Mr. Conner seemed genuinely concerned about the environmental impacts of the work he did. I verified that he chose materials that would not introduce toxins into my home. He performed safety-checks, such as checking whether my oven was leaking carbon monoxide, which it was. I got the impression from talking with him that he was genuinely interested in doing the job comprehensively correctly, not just the minimum that he could conceivably get away with. I really value that, and am grateful to him for this.

The reason why I write all this is because it was partly luck that I was able to find Mr. Conner, and I hope to save others much of the time it took me to learn what to look for. Also, I wish for his business to prosper because his heart is in the right place.