CA REMODELING

There is absolutely nothing he can't do. We first met Carlos about 5 years ago during an emergency - our friend, a developer in town, was our first call when we had a 3am deluge in our cieling during a freak rainstorm. About 30 min from the first call to him, he was there, reassuring us, and got to work immediately. That repair was made 5 years ago, and is rock solid to this day. We then had him perform the labor for our kitchen remodel - he did EVERYTHING, from demo and super clean removal of everything, to the installation of custom cabinetry (did I mention he used to build custom cabinetry?), all plumbing, running lines for an ice maker, new under counter and over cabinet lighting, tile backsplash - all of it. He charged us less than half of the nearest bid, and his attention to detail was superb. The latest round of construction was by far the most complex - everything else on the list above (minus the kitchen) was recently done, and done to our exacting standards. Since we were living in the house during the construction, with his help we made a plan so that we would always have a clean room and bathroom to retreat to. Granted, for about a week when the painters were in it meant "setting the bed" for dinner (the only surface without plastic on it), but otherwise he and his team contained the mess to the floor they were working on. It began with the front hall tile, a very complex ashlar pattern hand-cut limestone. This is not easy to work with, but once he had a picture of what we wanted, the work went quickly. Then the first floor bath, which went slowly due to (our fault) a change in location of plumbing, but because he can do plumbing, electric, and construction, it didn't involve another contractor. Then the master bathroom - a big job, given the removal of a wall and tub, switching from single sink to a double, installing a new exhaust fan (there wasn't one before), new lights, toilet, closet; basically torn down to the studs. Lots of limestone in the shower. Custom cabinetry. A guest lav, was next, followed by creating what amounts to a new floor on top of our house - there was a bizarre, tiny landing with a single door, leading out to an overhang and a shared rooftop patio. He took out the doors, enclosed the space, and made what was really only a place to store outdoor furniture over the winter into a beautiful, sunny 12x12 office. This meant new cieling cans, walls, floors, run cable, satellite, phone, power, HVAC - it was a huge job. Finally, his wood work skills are terrific - he replaced every baseboard, railing, pony-wall topper, and door in the whole house with new wood. The look and feel of the place changed night and day. Things to know about Carlos: Very trustworthy - he has keys to my home, and is allowed there without my presence. Very, very polite - especially to women. No chauvinistic nonsense to deal with.