Strong Built Construction

It went well. The problem was solved.

Andrew came in and did a good job. His estimate was fair, and was better than most for the scope of work. He gutted out the 80's kitchen and redid everything: slight plumbing alterations, cabinet install, tile flooring install, electrical upgrade/wiring reconfigurations. He also did a popcorn ceiling removal for the kitchen/family room which turned out okay. It was a positive experience and I would hire him again. I waited a few months before posting to ensure that no problems came up after he left, and it looks as good now as it did when he finished. In addition, I've hired quite a few people in construction in the past, so I'm not experienced in it. I usually hire cheaper guys for my commercial businesses, but for my home, I wanted to hire someone to do everything right, and not damage my expensive construction materials. I was not disappointed. Below are a run down of some pros and cons. Pros: -gave a lot of recommendations and optional upgrades (for a fair price) -fair pricing -easy to work through for small changes to original scope of work -was available to inspect cabinets before work began to ensure any reorders or damaged cabinets could be replaced before work began (2 needed to be sent again, his help allowed the schedule to work out) -clean, clean, clean (did I say clean?). His guys left very little mess in the work site, and cleaned up at the end of the day. They walled off the room from the rest of the house and it kept the whole house clean during the work (this is huge for me because I have small children). Cons -He went down the very end of his proposed schedule (if you expect the work to be done early, probably not). In my experience this is common; when you hear 3-5 weeks, it usually means 5 weeks, but if the stars are in alignment, and all the random things that always come up fail to appear, then its possible. If you're the type of guy who wants his team to work 'til midnight everyday to finish the job on the short side of the time estimate, you should look somewhere else. They typically finished around 4 and spend about 30 minutes cleaning up the work site. -If you expect him to be there working beside his team everyday, that wasn't my experience. He'd pop his head in the check the work every day or every other day at least, but he wasn't there working too often (on my job, I don't know the other jobs he had going at the time). He did have his head guy ch**s there (names have been truncated to protect the innocent). He was a carpenter and was very skilled and knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions and give advice. He was there everyday and I had no complaints with him.

Andrew and his workers did an excellent job on all the work they did in my home, and it turned out beautifully.  He answered all my questions, I had many of them and even gave great advice.  The estimates that he gave me were accurate, no surprises once the work started.  Everyone at Strong Built Construction was great to work with and always professional.  The work area was kept tidy and clean, and they always put down cloth for all the walkways.  I was impressed with the great work they did , they did not rush the remodeling, and finished the job on time.  
 I would recommend Andrew at Strong Built Construction to my family and friends.  Their experience and attention to detail show in the the finished result.  I am very happy with our new bathroom and office area.  I will hire them again.

Still in progress, tear out is done, new wiring is going in along with new windows. still a long way from finished.

The company owner is Andrew Lombardi and we found him on Angie's List.  It's a new house and I did a lot of construction so I used many contractors and they were all a complete nightmare and terrible.  Andrew is not like them and he is somebody we can find very seldom because he cares about he is doing.  He is excellent as a person and with his quality of work.  He is a perfectionist.  He tries to do the best.  We interviewed people and we got into a problem with a company which was a bit higher and they were terrible.  It was a complete nightmare so we fired them and then somebody told us to go to Angie's List.  We then selected like five people and interviewed them and according to that interview we selected Andrew.  The price wasn't cheap.  If Andrew agrees we will hire him for every single thing in our house.

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Andrew did an excellent job on our remodeling projects, handling the required plumbing, electrical, carpentry and tile work very well.  The final product looks great!  He is very professional to deal with, provides accurate estimates, does high quality work and has fair pricing.  There are occasions when his availability is a bit challenged because of his other contracting jobs, but I guess that is to be expected with a small businessman in the trade industry.  I would highly recommend him for your remodeling work.  You won't be disappointed.

Strong Built Construction does really excellent work. He does very good, careful work. The quality of his workmanship is very high. He's very friendly and professional. He did a great job. We tried to get him to do other work for us, but he has gotten so busy that he no longer does any smaller jobs. He doesn't always respond timely to any requests. When he does give you an estimate, it is spot on.

Andrew and company completely gutted the area and was very careful about making sure everything was kept clean and organized.  They had to haul all of the material up two flights of stairs to get it outside to haul away.  Andrew was very good about suggesting options and also was very willing to incorporate my ideas into the design.  He was also very good at coming up with work arounds as needed.  He took care of the permit process with the city and was very professional throughout the entire process.  The job stretched out a little longer than i had planned for but we did have several additions to the complete job and there was a cabinet that had to be reordered and which slowed the job down some as well.  This job had a few things that made it complex with wiring of electrical and plumbing and Andrew handled it very well.
I WOULD ABSOLUTELY USE STRONG BUILT CONSTRUCTION AGAIN AND INTEND TO AS IVE GOT A KITCHEN AND 2 OTHER BATHROOMS TO REMODEL SOON. 

Andrew listened very carefully to our remodel requests and requirements. He provided good input on the approaches he would take in performing all the work. He committed to a specific start date but was a bit late in starting due to another job not being finished in time. Overall, he finished the job within one week of the established completion date, which is very good. He was very timely with providing me with a clear contract and work order. He managed the contract very precisely with change orders as the scope of work was expanded. He collected payment as he completed specified milestones. Overall, he and his workers worked very hard to meet his stated timelines and goals and he generally met all of his stated goals. He and his workers really went the extra mile to meet our timelines and they put in overtime when needed.
He and his workers were clean (both in appearance and in performing their work), respectful of our family and home, and performed outstanding quality work. I cannot overemphasize the quality of their work and that they took great care to not make a mess of the work space and cleaned up at the end of every day.
Overall, I rate this company very highly as Andrew did what he committed to and did outstanding quality work. I highly recommend this company.

We got started a little later than I wanted but once things were rolling, the quality of the work was really strong. Andrew and his team were professional at all times. They made smart on-the-ground decisions to fix unexpected problems, and kept the additional costs to us relatively low.They finished within a day or so of our target time, and came back to do the final inspection. Andrew also emailed me a month or so after the job to see if everything was still functioning properly. I asked him to come back and touch up/tweak a few things which he did within a week and at no additional charge. I really appreciated his commitment to making sure we were satisfied with the work.
Andrew was not the cheapest bid I received, but he was the most professional and organized of everyone we talked to. Ultimately, I felt like he the cost was reasonable and that the quality of his work has really held up over time. I would definitely hire him for any future renovation project.

I found them on Angie's List. He is so responsive and always shows up when scheduled. I have never come across a contractor so reliable. He does great work. You can tell, just by talking to him, how trustworthy he is. He keeps us informed and is always here to meet with the inspectors.

We chose Andrew  from Strong Built over 3 other AngieList  contractors for the following reasons: He is easy to work with , very very competent, and eye for details, dedicated to completion and his price was fair.   As you read in other reviews, Andrew and Chris are a true joy to have in the house.  My husband and I both work out of the house, and with other contractors you look forward for them leave, but with THIS renovation we looked forward to the transformation on the daily basis.   
Chris did an amazing job with demolition- every day the bathroom was swept, and organized so that we can use the closet on the other side of the bathroom.  They were patient  with us, as we found future owners of our old bathroom shower doors, cabinets, closet doors, etc.  
The tile work is fantastic.  The attention to details to ensure we have precise corners and wrap around angles.  Truly a work of art. 
When we got down to a few items on a "punch list", Andrew would work through the afternoon and evening until all the details were crossed off.   For example when installing the closet doors, I wanted the cornice to be a bit larger then standard but I forgot to share that with Andrew.  He saw that I wasn't comfortable with the current solution and with a smile and swiftness he took down the old and created a new cornice.  What that shows is that he is driven to customer satisfaction, but he truly did it with a smile and didn't make me feel bad.  
Chris and Andrew has a special eye for details and perfection.  We are VERY happy with the results and show EVERYONE who visits their great work and definitely will use Andrews and Chris for our next remodel. 

Andrew showed up for the quote, and was easily the most calm and professional of several contractors we had out. Unlike some "national brand" outfits, he had a notebook and a tape measure, rather than a bunch of glossy catalogs of fixtures and "all for one price" packages to sell.
His original quote included a tile shower; which while we understand this is the "big thing" right now on all the home and garden shows, and no doubt a number-one request of realtors doing quick make-overs on houses going on the market - we didn't really want. any more tile in our shower. We were not looking to sell; we wanted to make our bathroom more livable and comfortable - and we were tired of cleaning grout. So, Andrew suggested a brand of glue-in shower panels that just happened to be high quality, easy to clean, good looking, and available at the local hardware store around the corner. Perfect choice!
We purchased the fittings, furniture, shower stall parts, and new toilet and stored them in our garage until Andrew and his partner (Chris, I think his name was) were able to start the job. It was a couple of days later than the estimate... but I'd discovered from previous projects that independent contractors tend to over-book themselves and work themselves to distraction, so I certainly didn't hold this against him. :-)
Others have commented on Strong Built's cleanliness; all the storys you hear are true and then some. They left the house cleaner than it started out every single day, which is amazing for an interior job inside the master bedroom. Especially with me working from home during most of the time they were here, right next to the bathroom they were working on! I often wondered if they thought I was "keeping an eye on them", but they were always friendly and polite and gracious and never seemed worried that I was sitting right there half the time. We all had a laugh at the kitties escaping into the sub-basement one day while they had the place stripped down to the sub-floor... and my wife and I were surprised and rather touched to discover that evening after they had left, they thoughtfully blocked off the openings in the work space where any kitties could possibly sneak out (I later found out they had cats themselves and were well aware of the trouble they could get into).
When they left, we had the bathroom of our dreams... we have had friends and family over just to come see how it turned out. :-)
Without exception, everyone thought they did a fantastic job... and so do we. Thanks, guys!!!

Andrew and his team from Strong Build Construction were great and did quality work.  I got 4 quotes for this job and Andrew's was right in the middle of the pack, but he distinguished himself from the other contractors by being so calm, organized and professional.  Andrew generated several detailed written quotes during our initial discussion of the project, which helped us prioritize and understand what he was going to do.  We gave Andrew a key to the part of the house he was working on so that he and his team could come and go more easily.  We never had any security concerns or problems.  I was impressed right away with how clean they kept the job site at the end of each day. 
There were several times where Andrew demonstrated that he insists on and delivers quality.  Here are two examples.   First, they could not fit the texture gun inside of the long skylight light tunnel.  So after being squeezed in there for days sanding the walls of the tunnel, they had to painstakingly match the texture using texture spray cans.  If you've ever tried to use these you know that they don't work very well (at least not in the hands of an amateur).  But somehow they got the texture matched perfectly.  Later, after they had put on a couple coats of paint everywhere, I thought it looked pretty good, but Andrew insisted it needed another coat.  He was right (it looked much better after the last coat), but he could have easily skipped this since it was clear I didn't notice that the paint was too thin.  
Andrew would have gotten A's across the board for this project except that the job ran several weeks over schedule, due in part to some circumstances that were beyond his control.  For example, the city of Oakland took 1 week to schedule the initial inspection which pushed Andrew to start another job to avoid being idle for a week (and consequentially further slowed down our project a bit -- maybe the lesson here is try to avoid working with the city of Oakland).   Some other delays were caused by a few goofs that just ended up proving that Andrew delivers on his commitments.  For example, because we had asked him to split out various options in the original estimate, the tiled shower niche was written into a part of the contract distinct from the tiled shower description.  So he initially forgot to include the niche, but didn't even flinch when I pointed out the error (even though it required him to cut through and remove tile).  Andrew was extremely apologetic about the delays and even comped us on a few items in the contract.  
Overall, we were very pleased with Strong Built Construction and will definitely use them again in the future.  In fact, I am currently discussing a new project with Andrew.

We did a significant remodel on our Master Bathroom and Closet with Strong Built Construction. Remodel included:

 
Full gut of the bathroom

1. Moving shower about 8'
2. New plumbing for Shower and Vanity
3. New Electrical circuits, lighting, outlets
4. Heated Floor
5. Ceramic Tile
6. Movement of walls to enlarge closet
7. Drywall, Texturing and painting of Master Bath & Closet
8. Crown Molding & Painting  in Master Bedroom  

This was a significant remodel, fortunately we had a guestroom and bath we could use during construction.

Pros:
Andrew -- did a good job of coordinating the overall job, providing insights to help choose solutions, responding to requests for additional work (grin, once you get started other jobs pop up). He also did a great job of laying the 2 x 2 tile in the custom shower pan.

Chris -- is a gem did an amazing job on the demolition, framing, electrical, plumbing work. Everything was done with great attention to detail, passed inspections without issue, and the jobsite was kept very clean and orderly. He had some great ideas for custom installation details of my wifes makeup counter as well.

Overall the work was well done and we are very pleased with the final fit and finish of the job.

Cons:

There were several instances when we set up a meeting to discuss things with Andrew during the job and he was late without notifying us.  I know he is a very busy man, but it was frustrating on a few occasions to wait around for him to arrive.

Strong Built brought in a sub-contractor for the tile work  without discussing this with us ahead of time. One of the selling points for us was that his company would handle all of the work and wouldn?t be using sub-contractors. We ended up having to have some of the tile work replaced due to quality issues with the work?it  wasn?t up to par with our expectations or the rest of the room.  The rework was done without additional costs to me but there are still small details that catch my eye. To Andrew?s credit he listened to our issues and handled the issue in a professional manner.

Suggestions:

1.      Engage Andrew early on in scoping out the job and evaluating alternatives to the design, layout, and construction

2.      Have Chris on the job?it really made  a major difference in the quality of the job and the impact of the on-going work on our daily lives.

3.      Have Andrew do the Tile work?he really is great at it.

We will definitely be using Strong Built for future remodeling work and haven?t hesitated to recommend them to friends and colleagues.  

The bottom line: We would absolutely contact Andrew and use Strong Built again!  We also recommend Strong Built without any reservation.
Our rating says it all.  Here are additional comments re: Andrew and his team that really set him apart (not captured in the ratings):
- Andrew was very respectful of our home.  He and his assistant always made sure our hardwood floor and carpet were protected. The job site was cleaned up after each day to the extent that we felt comfortable living there while the construction went on (and we had young children).
- Andrew is an excellent communicator. He listened and executed based what we needed and wanted, within our budget, and by highly professional standard. At appropriate times, he offered his expertise and asked clarifying questions to meet our needs. He is pleasant to talk to and work with. During the construction, he would alert us if surprises came up that involved design change or other adjustments to make sure we felt comfortable before he proceeded. He talked *with* us. He did not talk *at* us or *down to us.* Whenever we had questions, he made sure we understood what he was doing. He also communicated well with other contractors (e.g., our granite fabricators who were not the best communicators)
- Andrew has a high level of integrity. This was demonstrated by Andrew staying within his quoted estimate (except for minor adjustments made by us). He did not underbid in order to get the job. He bid and delivered high quality products within budget. We felt we could trust Andrew in our home and making changes to our home, on our dime.
- Andrew and his assistant work well together. Andrew's assistant is happy and diligent working with him. This was important to us, for both humanitarian and practical reasons. Whenever Andrew was off-site, we felt equally comfortable communicating with his assistant and knowing he was working diligently on the job. - Andrew goes the extra mile. We had a very tight timeline that at times did not seem possible. Andrew went the extra miles and made it possible.
- Andrew respected our pocket book. Andrew's bid was not the lowest. But we were glad we hired him to do the job. Whenever possible, he presented options and recommended the most cost-effective solutions--not the most expensive, not whatever that's easiest for him, but the most bang-for-the-buck solution (knowing that was our priority). - Andrew follows through and highly values customer satisfaction. After the job was completed and he got paid in full, he came back at no additional charge to add a small, cosmetic feature upon our request. He did not have to do this but the fact he did says a lot about  how much he values and delivers customer satisfaction. - Andrew came highly recommended. Our experience was consistent with 2 other references provided by Andrew.
Summary:  Andrew exceeded our expectations on all accounts.

We continue to leverage his expertise and assistance for jobs. It's good to know we have someone we trust and respect.

We have ben considering remodeling our kitchen for several years and  finally decided that now was the time.
After a month of calling several other contractors for a kitchen remodel, we called Andrew Lombardi at Strong Built .
We felt very comfortable going over what we had in mind and he was very willing to offer advice based on his experience.
His price was also most reasonable among 4 different contractors we contacted, so we decided to go with him.

We started work in October and his crew of Marvin and Miguel were always ready to work by 9 am. They put a plastic barrier between the kitchen and the rest of the house, allowing us to access the rest of the house while they worked.
Throughout the entire process, Andrew kept us updated on the progress and if there were any problems, he was patient in explaining the various solutions.All the time, he was very aware of  the cost/ benefit ratio of our various decisions, and we followed his advice nearly every time, and were happy with it.
His choice of subcontractors was very good - the granite and floor people were especially good.
Overall, even though the remodel was a long process, it didn't feel like we were excessively inconvenienced.
We are extremely happy with Andrew and his crews work and would highly recommend them to anyone.

They were recommended by Angie’s list when I called.  We used them to do the job that we needed, and we were very satisfied with that.  I just called and he came over today and we have another work that we like him to do.  He had to straighten out a wall, a stud had worked in, and so he had to go in and trim back one stud and build out another one.  Then he put some more sheet rock fill in to go along with texture of the whole wall.  He was very prompt; he got here when he said he would.  At one point he couldn’t make it he called to make sure that we will be alright instead of leaving us high and dry.  He came with an assistant and when they came they put plastic and runners on the ground, in the couple of rooms and up the stairs so that there would be no mess.  They always wore the covers for their shoes. They were very clean, and cleaned up afterwards.  He came back to make sure everything was alright before I paid for it.

We were in need a few small maintenance jobs and a partial bath remodel and found Strong Built on Angie's List.  And we're so glad we did.  Andrew and Martin fixed two leaky sinks, installed a dishwasher and microwave (that required a change to the electrical panel).  The bath remodel included replacing a vanity, vanity top, sink fixtures and plumbing, mirror. They also moved an electrical outlet, installed recessed lighting, and installed a recessed cabinet.  The bathroom looks great!  The work was done in a timely manner with a lot of attention to detail, and they were very concientious about clean-up. I had a great experience and appreciated the quality service at a reasonable price.   I hope to do more maintenance and improvements and won't hesitate to contact Strong Built in the future.

Andrew and his team are outstanding.  Very professional, very knowledgeable.  The finished product looks outstanding, they laid a new concrete slab, built new walls, insulation, drywall, texture, plumbing, gas, moved the water heater, recessed lighting, cabinet, new floor tiles, etc.  They were present for all 4 inspections from the city.  The new laundry room is beautiful, it is over twice as large as the original and I can now walk in the door and take several steps to the washer and dryer.

Also very important, I can trust Andrew and their team.  I have no problem leaving the home vacant when they are working, this is vital to me.  Andrew is a nice guy and a great contractor.

We will definitely use him again in the future for a kitchen remodel.

Try him out, you will see.

I had all of the supplies purchased and Andrew picked up the the paint, the tile, the vanity and the marble vanity top for me. this was very helpful since I do not have a truck.
The job went fairly smoothly with only one major delay. the marble vanity top was accidentally broken by the crew and Andrew had no issues with replacing it at his cost. However he dropped the ball following up with the marble supplier, they were waiting to hear from him and he had given them the feedback they were looking for but it never got to the right person. so the marble supplier was waiting to hear from Andrew and Andrew was waiting to hear from them. I had to call after a 2 week delay to get it straightened out. Andrew apoligized.
There has been a problem with the tub installation, which was installed 1/8" lower toward the  back wall of the tub enclosure. This made the water pool  along the backwall after a shower instead of draining into the tub. Andrew returned and tried to raise the tub slightly but could not do that without removing the first row of tiles. We decided to have some material added to the corners of the tub where the pooling was the greatest. I was skeptical, but this has worked out fairly well. You cannot see where the new material was added and the pooling has been minimized. Andrew took care of this at his cost.

Overall I highly recommend Andrew and his crew. I actually have recommended him to my boss for his very similar bathroom addition and from all reports his went equally well.

Andrew and his crew were simply amazing. I had a leaky shower valve that developed into an infiltration issue in one of my bedrooms that shared a wall with the shower as well as some rain damage from a poorly sealed fireplace chimney and Andrew and his crew were able to fix both very quicky, including repainting the areas that were damaged.

The entire experience was pretty impressive, from getting a very fast, detailed quote conveniently over email to Andrew being available for multiple phone calls to answer all my questions. Not only were they able to start work they day after we settled on the quote, but Andrew and one of his crew arrived as scheduled promptly at 8am, explained to me again the work that was going to be done, and continued to check in with me and show me progress throughout the entire time it took them to get everything done.They were also extremely flexible and honest when I showed them some paint I still had for the interior walls and told me they would inspect it and remove the paint cost from the estimate if they could still use the paint, which they did.

Beyond doing top notch work, on time and on budget, my place was left completely clean after the work was completed and that was a very nice touch. But above all, it was fantastic to finally find a contractor (and crew) that's honest, takes pride in their work and understands that good old customer service is still part of doing business.

I will most definitely use Strong Built again for upcoming projects.