Mike Guttman Design & Construction

They were very prompt and worked throughout the day. The finished product looks great.

How did it go? Perfect! We are very happy with this new driveway; it has the proper rebar and now drains. Of course along the way we decided to do more like the sidewalk and a strip down the side of the house. They even fixed our cinder block wall. Also added full brick to the side stairs and added a length of drainage to the street to appease the neighbor and nice surround of concrete for the neighbor?s crawl space. I have been looking for the right contractor for over 5 years to get this done, I feel lucky to have found Mike on Angie?s list. He was really good with my picky neighbors too. We also like he is a local guy. Mike is NOT done yet, I am having him help with a lumber structure carport, no more Costco canvas ugly one. Thanks Mike and Juan!

Mike and his crew did way better than expected and a really great value for the price. We had price out another company for the landscaping and Mike was definitely cheaper. He was very personable and easy to talk to so we gave him a shot and we are very happy we did. Mike is very fair and his crew does good quality work in a very speedy manner. Would definitely call Mike again if we need more work done.

They were punctual and very clean. I am very pleased with the service & it was matched perfectly!

Mike returned my call quickly and quickly provided a quote. The quote showed that he understood our needs better than we were able to express them ourseelves. The work began quickly and on time, and it finished early. Both the outcome and the cleanup were excellent. Several tasks arose during the project that weren't part of the original job; Mike's charges for this extra work were quite fair. His price overall was quite competitive.

We hired Mike to pour new concrete in our driveway and do some landscaping work. Getting a hold of him was easy and he came right out the next day to give us an estimate. His estimate was fair...right in line with others I received but what made him stand out was his vision. His suggestions were spot on and he saw things others didn't even bother to mention. He started on schedule and his crew was super friendly and polite. They were also very neat and cleaned up daily after they finished working. The work and plant selection was great and I couldn't be happier with my experience. I would definitely recommend Mike.

Mike was super attentive via text and voice calls. His workers were professional, as was he and we could not be more delighted with the quality of work and finished products. He was a dream to work with addressing all of our concerns, giving us a timely response and being readily available if we had questions. I would highly recommend him if you have any masonry or structural work needed at your property. His attention to detail was incredible. We are absolutely thrilled with the results of his hard work and are so thankful we found him on Angie's List. What a prize!

Mike and his foreman Felipe have a good eye and pay attention to detail. I had detailed plans for them to work from, but there are always a few things you just have to "see" before deciding on the final implementation or surprises you uncover once you start digging. Still in the end I had very few change-orders and we communicated well throughout the job. Because my job was large and budgets always seem to be too small, Mike helped identify ways I could reduce the cost. We communicated well, he completely understood my vision and what I was going for. I love my low maintenance, very drought tolerant backyard - it turned out lovely.

Mike responded quickly to my request for quote. Once I approved it he ordered the materials and removed the old masonry. That took one day. The following week his crew showed up as promised and it took them 1.5 days to complete the new masonry job. They did a very good job left the entire area clean. When they were finished Mike came by to inspect the work. It looks great and I hope that the new masonry will last as long as the old one (75 years).

I have a hill in the backyard with roughly a 30 foot drop. There has been no easy way for me to access the rear of the property to maintain for brush clearance etc. This also prevented me from enjoying on a regular basis a rather tranquil environment. When I first contacted Michael I advised him I needed a path/stairway down the hillside to provide access to the rear. He provided a great solution constructing a gently sloping and curving stairway with timbers. Additionally, the hill which has always been difficult to maintain, was graded, an irrigation system installed and ground cover planted. The project, from start to finish, was professionally and efficiently handled. Everything went exactly as planned. Simply put, Michael and his crew were outstanding. Great value for the money! I have had other major projects recently, and none were as effortless as this. P.S. ..... Now that I have easy access, almost daily I am enjoying the area I normally visited every 6 months.

Did a great job at a reasonable price !

Mike is very responsive and met me almost immediately after I contacted him from Angie's List. He was friendly and helpful in our first walk through, offering many good suggestions to improve the vision I had for our backyard (and even came up with lower cost alternatives). His quote was quite a bit lower than everyone else I talked to and his references cleared so we chose him for the job. I also liked Mike's style and that he was very blunt as to what he does and what he does NOT do (which I found very refreshing since many people will take on work that they don't have expertise in). The project went very smoothly. It stayed pretty much on schedule and for the most part was exactly what we envisioned. His crew was super nice and respectful of our house. Mike called me regularly throughout the project to clarify design/vision, which I was appreciative of. We are very happy with the result. The only thing I would have done differently next time is use my regular gardener for the sod/sprinkler work since our gardener did the original work and maintains it weekly. No harm, no foul though. I would definitely recommend Mike to others considering re-doing their yard. Know that his quoting and billing process is more manual than I've experienced with past contractors, but it worked fine for us especially since Mike is fair and honest.

Mike and his team did a fantastic job with all aspects of our work. We have had several contractors work on our home throughout the past 5 years that we have owned it and have had terrible experiences with people who over-promise and under-deliver. Mike is an exception: he personally stopped by the job every day (oftentimes several times a day) to ensure the job was going as it was supposed to. We initially hired him to do the above-mentioned work and have since started a new project with him to continue landscaping other parts of our yard. He is very diligent in making sure we are happy with his work and his team is extremely professional. One thing that really stuck out with me, with Mike, was how he got our aesthetic right from the beginning. We have a mid-century modern home and wanted to maintain a sleek, modern look with all of our landscaping and masonry. Mike understood the look we were going for and helped us come up with some great ideas. He is collaborative and inventive and really helped make what could be a stressful decision-making process, streamlined and easier to navigate. We are very pleased with everything he has done for us and are looking forward to the next phase of his work on our property.

Very professional, Mikes guys showed up around 7am everyday and worked til the sun went down. Everything went according to plan and the sod they get is very fresh, green and pristine. I get multiple compliments everyday from neighbors.

After the contractor signed, anything extra is over-charged and things that should have come with the job he tells you are extra. After the job was suppose to be completed, things stopped working. My low voltage lighting quit working, the lights bulbs burn out 2-3 days after replacing and he refuses to fix these issues. I told him about these issues from the beginning and he refuses to replace the non-working items. He stated that after 4 months he shouldn't have to replace anything due to maintenance reasons. The stonework he did was done well, but all other aspects of the job were not done properly.

My wife and I had previously undertaken a huge project nearly ten years ago to completely rebuild a 3-unit multi-family hillside residence originally built in 1930. We were able to complete renovations on the building itself and everything on the front side but left the backside of the property largely unfinished for a few years until this year (2013). We knew we ultimately needed to completely redo the old driveways, walkways and retaining walls or risk eventual damage to all the new work we had completed just a few years before. I initially started out as many people do by searching Angie's List with key words that sounded like what I wanted done. Fortunately, there were several well-rated large and small companies in our area that specialize in hillside construction, concrete driveways and walkways, retaining walls, etc. I called several (including Mike Guttman Design & Construction), spoke to most of them, and had a few come out to see the job site and offer solutions and estimates. Prices for what we wanted to do did not vary wildly between companies since demolition, excavation, concrete and labor costs are roughly the same and are relatively easy to calculate. We simply wanted the job done right the first time; to maximize results but not overpay in the process. We also didn't want to get lost between other large jobs or have several different people overseeing our job but never seeing it through completely from beginning to end. Although Mike Guttman's price was the lowest, we didn't choose him solely because of that. We chose Mike because from the very first call, he was prompt, spoke knowledgeably and confidently and seemed genuinely enthusiastic about coming up with and executing a design that would encompass all our goals without wasting time or money. Most price savings would come from scheduling work efficiently, making use of some existing wall and sidewalk structures that did not need to be repaired or replaced; thinking creatively about doing the job and not resorting to substituting dollars for brains. Mike spent as much time with us as we wanted before committing to the work. He (accurately) predicted there would be changes and modifications as we went along but that he would always consult with us and offer options we could choose from. HIs ability to "think on his feet" was particularly invaluable to us and is one of the many reasons we would recommend Mike to others. We signed a $55,000 contract with Mike Guttman in mid-June and gave him a reasonable deposit. I think his crews started within two days. His time estimate was approximately six weeks and we worked out a weekly payment plan that kept him flush with funds for crews and materials but also allowed us to see real work getting done as we were paying. Good for us and him. Communication was also a strongpoint with Mike. Hardly a day went by without either talking with him on the site or at least speaking with him by phone. On our job Mike's primary subordinate was Filipe, a man who has worked with Mike for many years and who also proved himself both capable and personable. Filipe directly oversaw the demolition and concrete construction crews. Even if Mike was away, both my wife and I were always comfortable speaking with Filipe. We were also impressed that the crews did not leave garbage and materials strewn about. They were careful to leave the site each day with safety markers on hazards and they placed obstacles in such a way as to help prevent accidents and discourage unauthorized access. After about ten days, I had to leave town on business for several weeks. During that time, Mike stayed in touch with me by phone and my wife sent me regular pictures of the progress. At one point, just before a concrete wall was to be poured, I wanted to make a change and increase the size of the parking area by an additional 3-4 feet. This would require additional costs for more hillside excavation plus more concrete and labor. Mike readily stopped the work in progress, designed the changes and the project was delayed by only a few days and the cost increased by a reasonable $4,700. Just before the contracted job was completed in late July, my wife and I met again with Mike and asked him if he would consider doing the "finish" work that we had intentionally left out of the original contract. Items such as the actual landscaping, planting of trees, hedges and ground cover, construction of a patio fence, and stucco work to all the finished walls and to a neighbor's cinder block wall as well. All of that added another $8,000 and brought the total job cost to $68,000. Friends, neighbors and the existing tenants of the property are all extremely happy with both the final appearance and the usefulness of the project. We have much more clean usable space for people to park cars and access walkways safely. Drainage is functional now and water is safely routed off the property without undermining foundations or creating muddy messes every time it rains. Yes, we're very satisfied! The final work was done about a week ago on August 10 and we happily gave Mike his final payment. We are also confident Mike Guttman will stand behind his work for us if there is anything about either the design or materials that fails to hold up over time. I don't think that will be the case. Materials and workmanship appeared first-rate all through the job. And here's one last kicker: Mike Guttman is a very happy and likable person! My wife and I have seen him and spoken with him frequently at varying times of day during all the different phases of the project and he's always rational, courteous and willing to engage whatever issues are at hand. You can't always control events or anticipate every problem but you can control how you react to them. Mike Guttman strikes us a good and decent man and that seemed to be reflected in the people and crews he has working for him and, ultimately, the outcome of the job. We highly recommend Mike Guttman Design & Construction!

The company did not show up for the appointment. I had to contact him several times throughout the day. I was finally able to get ahold of him in the afternoon and said he mis-scheduled. He did not seem too worried about it, so I said “forget it.”

He came out and gave some ideas verbally. There were NO designs or written estimates. It took him about 2 months to get back with us with an estimate. It took us forever to get a hold of him for this information. He accused me of giving him a negative review, which I didn?t. After I said I did not give that to him, it took him a couple of more weeks to get back to us. He stated he was out a few weeks for medical reasons. He finally gave us the estimate over the phone and did not want to provide a written estimate. ----------------------------- Updated 9/9/13 - As one can see from this service provider's response - there is some professionalism conflicts. He may very well be a talented landscape contractor, but the overall "C" rating simply reflected of the interaction that we had with him, which was not the most responsive, and we really out nothing of value out of the $60 ""Design" Angie's List Big Deal. We actually got several exterior/landscaping design quotes the week he came out in May of 2013. Mike Guttman was the ONLY contractor whom we PAID (via an Angies' List Big Deal) for coming out to assess the job and give us a quote - which he did not do for months. The other three contractors did so for FREE, and also had great Angie's List reviews. Furthermore, we made it very clear that the work was for a rental property - which we planned to move into in a couple of years. There were some safety landscaping work that we needed done immediately, but we also wanted to understand the vendors' general vision/plans for the property, which we would invest in more heavily once we move into the property, on top of the current work. Because he took so long in getting us a quote (about $20,000 - not necessarily unreasonable, but more than we want to spend for renters - for now), we went with another service provider to complete the smaller scale landscaping fixes needed back in May, about $5,000 worth of work. What is really puzzling to us was Mike's call to us requesting that we amend/fix a "negative review" when we had not rated him at all initially. I don't know whose review he was reading, but it was not ours. After that exchange, we left the "C" rating, primarily based on the delays in getting a timely quote and not getting itemized quotes in writing. Now, having seen a number of mediocre ratings from homeowners with similar experiences, we now wonder whether he was so unresponsive and delayed in giving us a quote - never mind the lack of an emailed/written quote, because he had been annoyed having come out, for $60/hour, only to be told that the big-job is a couple of years away... Which is really too bad, because when the time comes to do the big job in a couple of years, his company will not be the one we call, given his response/attitude.

The whole experience was great. Mike is a great problem solver. Before the job I had a really bad drainage problem that included constantly having pumps set up to try and keep water from going under the house during rain. Have to admit I lost the battle some-times. Mike put a drainage system under the walkway and had the concrete slanted away from the house and the water directed towards the drains. I also had a drainage problem in the back yard that was cured by putting a drain. in that connected to the new system. Laid down new sod over the trench they dug for the drain. All of the masonry was first class and very professional. Mike kept me informed constantly on the details. Mikes crew was punctual and very professional, as well as helpful and accommodating..

We went with another Angie's list recommendation and are extremely pleased.

He responded to me upset because I called him on the weekend. I called him back to try to schedule an appointment, he seemed uninterested and tried to talk me out of it. I told him I was still interested in having the work done. When I told him when I was available he said he would call me back and he never did. I had been trying to contact him for about three weeks.

We called Mike from his listing on Angie?s list. We had just done an addition to our house and now we needed to replace our long old asphalt driveway which was in very bad shape. Mike came out to the house, right on time, and we started throwing ideas around. His ideas were better than mine and cheaper too! Mike got a bid to us within a few days. The price seemed very fair and we decided to go with him for the job. The driveway looks great and the whole thing was done very quickly? about a week. The crews were great and very hard working, paying a lot of attention to detail. We had a sump pump that was put in by the contractor who did our addition and it had to be refitted so it would work properly with the new level of the driveway. They did that beautifully and made sure the driveway was graded properly so that water would move where we needed it to move. We are very happy with how things came out. When you are dealing with Mike you feel like you are dealing with an artist? and with that being said, we decided next to have Mike do a big landscaping job in our front and back yards. He had very good, practical ideas. We had all the old grass pulled up and removed, front and back. Mike?s guys worked really hard getting all the roots out of the soil so that the new grass could grow properly. They checked and replaced all the sprinklers that needed replacing and made sure we had good coverage. Mike?s suggestions about trees and plants were really good. He knows his stuff. New sod was put down and Mike?s flower bed designs look terrific. He also had great ideas about how to dress up our new driveway with plants and vines and we love it. Philippe is Mike?s chief crew guy and he was great. This was a big job, a lot of hard work, and the crew was really exceptional, very nice guys to have around and I will miss them now that it?s done. The front and back yards look fantastic and we are thrilled. Thanks Mike.

Mike was prompt and fair, he was really good with elevations and was able to figure out a reasonable fix for my drainage problem. He and his crew showed up on time, did a good job and left the site clean. I would use him again and recommend him to others.

Mike came out and bid the job as soon as we called. He was very professional and courteous and patient. His crew was efficiet and clean. And Mike followed up several times to make sure we were happy with the job. We will be using him again in the future.

From the first meeting, I knew Mike was the right guy for the job. I had a very specific design in mind, and he completely understood my vision though I had no drawings or plans to articulate the ideas. Along the way, Mike made many key design suggestions that made the finished product even better. As Mike and his crew progressed through the project, they made additional recommendations for improvements, including replacing the irrigation system, constructing a stairway, and replacing the mainline water pipe to the house. All in all, I felt the job was done right and without skimping on the details. Mike and crew did a great job of communicating during the project, and the level of professionalism was top notch. I always trusted that Mike was making the correct recommendations to me. They are thorough, timely and always left the job site clean and tidy. When the project was complete, made sure the yard was ready to be enjoyed.