Border Studios

Martian was on time, professional, and very helpful. there were changes that were needed to get my permit and Martian made those changes free of charge, and only charged me for the additional plans i needed.

Martin was extremely thorough,  prompt, and knowledgeable. He offered very valuable suggestions to make it the perfect use of all of the space that we had available and did a top notch job at that. We would highly recommend Martin and are going to use his services in the future.

See above comments and Google and quot;Bozzio Residenceand quot; to see for yourself. I highly recommend Martin and his company, Border Studios. He is artistic and has a keen eye for lines, proportion and design. He remains dedicated to the present yet is very forward thinking and up to date on materials, load concepts and alternative construction options. He is world educated, resided in several foreign countries and he speaks four languages that I know of. He interacted well with everyone on the job and especially with our builder Craig Hjelte (HJELTE CONSTRUCTION CO.) which is critical to a happy project. He made the whole process easy and exciting. Suffice it to say, I am still a close friend after the project was completed as well as exceedingly pleased with his creative choices and the end result. Bottom line: Excellent human being, creative, dedicated, resourceful and committed to project excellence and client satisfaction. Richard and Laura Bozzio

I have a home on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe that was originally built in 1966 with a carport attached which was heavily damaged by the massive snow loads of 2011. I had always wanted to convert it into a garage because of the orientation of the roof which always had bad ice dams and dumped snow directly into the driveway. I finally had the excuse I needed to get it done. I found Borders Studios to be incredibly responsive and provided me exactly what I needed.
As an owner-builder it took me nearly a year just to settle with the insurance company and take care of all the Placer County and TRPA permit requirements including establishing a site plan for a required site assessment, calculating coverage changes and soil infiltration rates to comply with the strict Tahoe BMPs. I needed to be able to complete construction before the following winter so I was very pleased that Border Studios focused on my project and provided an excellent set of plans without any more delays. What sets them apart is the extra attention to a very functional and detailed custom design that considers the complete environment of the project.
The existing structure had to be upgraded to comply with current county building codes and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency requirements. The engineering incorporated the heavy snow and wind load requirements of Tahoe. Martin Tarafdar also took into account my preferences and kept me informed of options to improve the outcome and maintain control over costs. After the plans were completed and I got the permit process underway, I had several contractors provide estimates and settled on a contractor Martin had recommended. The county building engineer approved the plans with only a minor annotation edit. I was very happy with the construction work as well and the contractor was able to compile the lumber and supplies needed without any difficulty. I don't recall that they ever had to consult with Border Studios over the plans so I take that as sign that the plans were complete, explicit, and easy to follow. It was a real pleasure to get a product that didn't require numerous revisions and more delays. I can highly recommend Border Studios particularly if you have unusual needs.