Feraru & Associates Building & Design
Berkeley, CA 94707 510-228-7366
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Consumer Ratings for Feraru & Associates Building & Design — 1 Ratings
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Contractors: Remodelers & General Articles
Thinking About a Home Remodel? Here’s Where to Start
Begin by carefully considering what you think you want and how you can get it. Weigh your wish list against what you’ll probably pay to fulfill it.
Planning a Home Remodel
If you’re adding new rooms, making substantial changes to the existing floor plan, or dealing with complex structural or functional questions, you’ll need to hire professional design help. There are several design options and combinations of options.
How to Check Out Contractors
Some homeowners leave contractor vetting and selection to their architects or house designers, but most make the call themselves, and rightly so: It’s the most important step.
Getting Prices and Proposals for Remodeling Work
Checkbook’s undercover shoppers asked contractors to bid on three different projects. Company-to-company price differences were striking. For the largest of the jobs, quotes ranged from $190,000 to $321,000—a difference of more than $130,000.
What a Contract for Remodeling Work Should Include
Once you’ve picked a contractor, have it prepare a written contract. It should include the following information for medium-sized and major projects; but even if your project is small, many of these points also apply.
Your Role During a Remodel
You can do a lot to help the job run smoothly, finish on time, and produce the best possible results.
Should You Buy Products Yourself for a Remodel?
You can use our advice and price ratings to pay less—often a lot less—for appliances, fixtures, flooring, plantings, and many other products that you can buy on your own, rather than having your contractor buy them for you. But should you?
Financing Options for Remodeling Work
You have several options to pay for your project. Cash certainly is the easiest: no applications, no forms, no appraisals, no debt, no interest. However, many homeowners borrow to cover large remodeling jobs.
More Articles »
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Consumer Comments for Feraru & Associates Building & Design
Jun 25, 2013
I purchased my first home, a three unit Victorian house built in 1908, at the end of 2012. Notwithstanding the property’s many obvious defects -- including the need to build a foundation (as none existed), complete replacement of electrical and plumbing work in lower units, removal of a chimney, new roof, etc. -- I chose the property because of its great location, character, and obvious potential for increase in value. As the rehab work progressed, however, we continued to find more and more defects that required adjusting the scope of the rehab job. In the end I ended up having to completely gut the two ground-floor units, and essentially build a new house!
I cannot recommend Feraru & Associates enough. Being that I am new to the rehab experience, I often found myself feeling anxious about the increased complexity of the project, and growing costs and delays to completion. However, I found the owner, Sorin Feraru, to be extremely professional, a patient teacher, and an amazing problem solver. Sorin’s crew was fantastic and did high-quality work. Sorin himself consistently went beyond the extra mile to provide fantastic customer service and to help me navigate the complex process of rehabbing a home like mine.
You will be very happy with the quality and overall results of your project if you go with Feraru & Associates!