Energy-Efficient Home Builders in Salinas

“During the 13 month construction our neighbors would comment, "Your contractors are doing a good job on your house and we're impressed that they are respectful of the neighbors. I like it that they don't play loud music and clean up every day." We were happy to hear that. We are even happier with the results. As the first house in Santa Cruz County to be built (technically remodeled) to the Passive House standards, we enjoy a very comfortable temperature throughout the house AND use much less energy than similar houses in the neighborhood. The biggest challenge was the air tightness requirement for Passive House certification. This was tested with a blower door to verify that the house achieve 0.6ACH50 (131 CFM in our case) which is VERY tight. Achieving this level of airtightness in the house that was originally built in 1922, where we kept the original foundation and framing, has not been done before. Santa Cruz Green Builders also installed the first Heat Recovery Ventilator in this area. The professional who came to commission the HRV commented that our installation was one of the better ones he's observed. So, the point of this paragraph is Santa Cruz Green Builders is not afraid to take on new challenges and achieve amazing results. When you hear the words "green building" it may bring the image of a certain contemporary aesthetic to mind. But our house has the curve appeal of a nice old house -- a 1922 bungalow that has the arts and crafts styling with details in the window trims and flared skirt look on the siding. On the interior we are very happy that Santa Cruz Green Builders talked us into keeping the original floors and refinishing them. The tight grains of old fir is appealing and the polished distressed wood brings out the period style. They carefully deconstructed the house so that original base boards, doors, etc. were re-used. We also selected finishes that reflects the old arts and crafts style. When people come to our house they can't tell what's original and what's new. We like that. True to their name, Santa Cruz Green Builders walk their talk. I can continue with other elements like structured plumbing, gray water, insulation, recycling, etc. If you're curious about that please visit my blog http://http://midorihaus.blogspot.com/”

“I'm continually amazed by the work that they do! I have seen many of their stunning houses but recently they built a desk for my commercial space and that has become the focal point of our office. It has boosted our business and all of our clients have remarked at how beautiful their work is. It is also such a pleasure to work with them. I felt that they truly cared about every detail and they were thorough in their thoughtfulness. I could not recommend any one more than Meschi Construction!”

“Tom was professional in his approach to providing an accurate scope of work and contract price for my home renovation projects. Tom ran his projects very well in meeting the schedules. I am very happy with the services provide by Tom Schaub and will certainly use him again for future projects. I would also recommend Tom to others for similar home renovation projects.”

“We have worked with Bill Fry Construction on several projects now and we are always impressed with their meticulous attention to detail. They are wonderful to work with and are great when it comes to communication in regards to the clients needs and wants. We are always honored to be able to work with them and clients are always happy in the end!”

“We first encountered this company at the Sunset festival and were looking for someone to do a small project for us because we had really disliked the contractor who had just done our kitchen. They said they were more than willing to do something small so they redid a bathroom in our guest cottage and did some framing for a spice cabinet in our kitchen. I really like their appraiser but find her to be a little alarmist in terms of what problems we might encounter with permitting. (I guess it's better to be that way than to say "yeah, this will all be no problem" and then we have a lot of problems.) She had some great ideas about how to do our shower that wouldn't have occurred to us. The people who actually did the work were extremely fast and easy to communicate with. They were very available by text message and actually made great use of technology. The timing for the remodel worked out such that we were out of town while they were doing the majority of the work and they were happy to send us photos and questions by e-mail and text so that we could coordinate. I am not very picky about design and so I hadn't even thought about colors to paint the bathroom when they were done. I asked them to just pick something that looked nice and they were happy to just pick a neutral color and go with it. The shower had some leaking problems after they installed the doors but they happily came back without complaining until it was fixed to our satisfaction. All in all we were so happy with the service we got that we have asked them to help us do a much larger remodel of the entire house. Hopefully that experience will work just as well!”

“Brooke and his team are flat out amazing. Working with his team on several projects EVERY time they exceeded expectations. Their quality of work Detail is like no other. I highly recommend Brooke Shaw builders.”

“We had the opportunity of working with HIGHCO Builders to enlarge and update our Monterey cottage. We enjoyed our conversations with HIGHCO and the planning that went into this experience. From the moment we began discussing our vision and hopes we were met with professionalism and a listening ear to turn the home we loved into what we envisioned it could be. HIGHCO Builders understood that our desire was to add a master bath/closet, update and transform the interior of the other rooms, all while keeping the 1930s charm and character that we love so much. Throughout the project, HIGHCO Builders demonstrated attention to detail. Their team, led by Jeremy High, planned every aspect of the construction process. Most importantly, we can say that Jeremy is an excellent problem solver. Multiple times he listened to our wishes and researched and brainstormed ways to make it happen. In many cases, more than one option was presented to us. We were living out of the area during the remodel and Jeremy communicated with us through Zoom, phone calls, texts, and a Google Drive that housed pictures, budget information, and other documents. One of the standout moments for us is when we were able to host our first get together, for all our friends. Jeremy and his wife were in attendance, and it was wonderful for us to see everyone’s reactions to the beautiful transformation, but more importantly to see Jeremy receive their praise. HIGHCO Builders is a fit for anyone seeking a builder who not only understands luxury but also knows how to listen, problem solve, and make your visions happen. Thank you, HIGHCO Builders, for making our quaint home a beautiful one filled with all the touches we wanted!”

“In 2011 I purchased a home in Capitola and Joseph did the remodeling of my home. He did an EXCELLENT job on my remodel. He kept to the original design of the beach bungalow but gave me the modern features I desired. He started the remodel in August and I was able to occupy the home by Christmas. Following the work on my home Joseph and his team completed the re-landscaping of the property both front and back. Joseph did an excellent job and solved some issues that I thought would not be possible. I highly recommend Joseph Jacobs.”