Berkeley Craftsmen General Contractors Inc.

May 2025

I am evaluating options for my first major whole-house remodel, and as part of that convoluted quest, I have found the feedback from Berkeley Craftsmen to be both thoughtful and informative. Michael & Lauren have been generous with their time, as well as with authentic assessments and guidance. There is really no doubting either BCs commitment to supporting the most rational approaches to a given project/purpose, nor their commitment to client service. The experience was night and day compared to the “hey, sure we can do it, whatever your budget!” hustle of so many contractors. Bottom line, get in touch if you’re considering a high-touch, high quality local project!

Nov 2023

We undertook a very extensive renovation of our house in El Cerrito, and met with Berkeley Craftsmen on the recommendation of our architect. We are so eternally grateful for the introduction, and for their availability in taking on our project. I truly can't express adequately what a wonderful job they did building our home. The care and attention to every little detail, the excellence of every aspect of the work, and above all the quick, clear and responsive communication, at every stage of the huge project, were all outstanding. Mark Butler has continued to follow up long after most of the crews have gone, personally coming by to finish small punch-list items, making...read full review

Jan 2022

We had a formidable request for Berkeley Craftsman (BC), to demolish a very old, dilapidated structure in Kensington and replace it with an entirely new home; and to do it all when we were living 3000 miles away in New York. To top it off, along came COVID adding to the challenge. But BC brothers and co-owners, Michael and Mark Butler, came through with flying colors. They are masters of their art and I couldn't recommend them more highly. We started working with Michael Butler developing an estimate after our wonderful architect , Cathy Roha, drew up plans taking into account all the restrictions dictated by county, oddity of the very irregular lot, and neighbors' sensitivities. We went through several iterations with BC and Cathy in response to surprises discovered underground on the property during the long permitting process, as well as to keep the cost within our budget. They listened and came up with suggestions for changes. It was a team effort all the way through the project with Mark, Travis Cutright, the project manager who is truly wonderful, the plumber, tiler, electrician, and other great subs. This may be a first, but as much as anyone enjoys having construction going on next door to them, the neighbors were totally impressed with BC, who went overboard to respond immediately to their concerns. The entire BC crew take great pride in their work and they regularly sent us photos along with lots of suggestions as we struggled to make decisions from across a country racked with COVID. Showrooms weren't open making choices difficult, but we had lots of help from Mark and Cathy. No one got infected working on the house, a tribute to their following strict protocol. Even with the shutdown in 2020 and accommodation to the distancing rules following re-opening, the project came in on budget and had PG&E not delayed turning off the gas / and delayed again turning it on, it would have been exactly on schedule. Pretty impressive! The house looks beautiful, is beautifully built, and we love living here. One year later, Mark still responds to minor problems we discover. We couldn't have been in better hands for this daunting project and are grateful we had the opportunity to have BC build our new home.