Home Addition & Extension Contractors Near Novato

“ODS Architecture did both the architectural and interior design work on our to-the-studs-whole-house remodel of our 1957 home. They worked with us from initial planning through construction all the way to the final inspection and signoff with the contractor. We found them to be active listeners who responded to our ideas, questions, and concerns with well-thought answers and solutions to the problems inherent to a remodel of a 70-year-old house. When we began the project, we were juggling not only construction questions and costs, but also trying to bring some midcentury look and feel to the interior of the home. Additionally, we needed a design for an “age-in-place” home with features to manage potential future mobility and accessibility issues. At each meeting we had, the team would lay out the ideas, issues, and materials under consideration at that particular stage of the remodel. For example, in order to make the house accessible to age in place, our main living area was designed as an open floor plan, combining the kitchen, dining, and living room spaces, and making room for a large grand piano, while also taking into consideration the spectacular vineyard views of our Napa Valley site. The interior designers chose richly-hued walnut cabinetry for the open kitchen and dining room built-ins, which made it look more like fine furniture and blended seamlessly with the dining and living areas. Aside from aesthetic considerations, they made excellent decisions for a wheelchair-accessible primary bathroom and shower, large windows/sliders to bring in the views and access to the outdoors, and plenty of closet/storage space. It was a pleasure to work with ODS, and Dmitry and Stephanie in particular. Truly, we felt like our questions, concerns, and personal style and taste were respectfully integrated into a whole-house solution that also included meeting all county building regulations, and any safety or building integrity issues that may have arisen. We wake up every morning in our beautiful home and still marvel at its relationship to the Napa Valley site and how it embraces our surroundings. We would enthusiastically recommend ODS for anyone who is searching for a talented professional team that provides thoughtful, efficient problem solving, and an elevated aesthetic.”

“The project that EBCON Co. did for me wrapped up about a week ago. I thought they did an excellent job. The project was to design and build an ensuite addition to my house for my disabled sister, who will be moving in with me in a couple of months. I hired EBCON for the project as they had done my home remodel when I moved into my current house 10 years ago. I was very happy with that project and pleased that several of their key personnel and subcontractors were the same as for my previous project. The current project consisted of a bedroom/studio, bath, hallway/study, walk-through clothes closet, lots of storage space, and small outdoor patio with wheelchair ramp. As my sister is an artist and art teacher, we asked for a design that provided high walls for hanging her paintings and extra space in the bedroom/studio for her to paint and potentially teach a few students. The design process went very well. The designer worked constructively with us and made numerous trips to tile, stone, and carpet stores with us to select materials. We greatly appreciated the detailed plan skeches she generated, some of which showed my sister’s paintings up on the walls in her bedroom/studio! Challenges, including access to the addition through existing bedrooms and integrating the design with the existing house, were solved well. ADA guidelines for accessibility were strictly followed for the design and materials. We – and all our family and friends - love the design and how it has turned out. The construction work was very high quality – EBCON has very high standards for the work done on their projects, including for the smallest details. The EBCON team and the sub-contractors they brought in were great to work with through all the stages, including design, construction, and completion. In addition to weekly on-site progress meetings (which included the project manager, superintendent, designer, and often the head of the company), I was kept informed on a daily basis about what was happening and the timing for next steps. EBCON staff were always on site while work was being done, and they were always reachable for conversations. Overall we are very happy with the project. I would definitely use EBCON again were I to have another project, and I recommend them without reservation to anyone planning a large or small home construction or renovation project.”

“I've worked closely with Bret Walters at John Lum Architecture for the past 2+ years on what was effectively a new construction house in San Francisco, and while I'm thrilled for the client to have moved into his gorgeous new home, and couldn't be more proud of the finished product and the collaboration between me (I was the interior designer on the project) and Bret + the JLA team, I'm also honestly SO sad that I don't get to work with Bret all the time anymore. I have to admit that I was a big fan of John Lum Architecture for years before I had the opportunity to work with them; and the creative, clever, practical, and human-first design thinking they brought to every aspect of the project that I was involved in, was top-notch. They also are innovative not only in the design process but in the construction management aspects: for example, they introduced the entire project team (owner's rep, interior designer, contractor, client) to the software PlanGrid to keep track of drawings, construction issues, etc. in the cloud. To me this shows they're always exploring new technologies and ways to make their work more efficient, collaborative, and cutting-edge. And I can't say enough great things about Bret: he's extremely professional, a wealth of knowledge, a great listener / communicator, responsive, hard-working, and fun to collaborate with. He is also level-headed so that when something goes wrong in construction (which something always does), his approach is to stay focused on how to resolve and fix the issue. This project was NOT without its share of drama and sometimes-difficult personalities, and I was often impressed with Bret's ability to navigate those situations. I'd love to be able to work with Bret and the JLA team again on a future client's home. And unrelated to anything practical, John's pint-sized pitbull April is often at the office and she is my favorite office dog ever!”