McGowan Builders

Description of Work: McGowan Builders (James Smith) repaired a second story West-facing exterior wall on our 1918 house that had developed leaks and was never insulated. They had to order special long wooden shingles to match the original exterior, added insulation, plywood, flashing and waterproofing. All work was completed per quoted price and as scheduled. James and his crew are very professional and responsive, always came when promised.

Description of Work: We got an estimate from McGowan Builders for upgrading our bathroom, redoing plumbing in the garage, painting and doing stucco work.

Description of Work: Installed 3 new vinyl windows, repaired and installed new frames and sills, repaired water damaged walls,painted frames, sills and walls, prepared and painted complete rear exterior of house

Description of Work: McGowan Builders did a complete restoration to create a usable workshop in a unfinished basement. The original walls were only frames with exterior boards. It was filled with spiders and completely gross and uninhabitable - a 6 foot crawlspace. The house is above an underground creek, with constant water flow and the house's 100 year old foundation was crumbling from the constant contact with water. McGowan Builders temporarily propped up the house, removed the old foundation (which had NO rebar!) and excavated approximately 5 feet down to create a final ceiling height of 8 feet. They dug out the extra dirt to create a complex drainage system to route the water as it flows towards the house from all sides and from the middle, below the floor. They dug a giant trench to route all of the drainage to the existing sewer line. Then they put several layers of plastic barriers and a special concrete that has an additive to make it water impenetrable. They completely resolved the issues that we were having with the mold and water damage, and now the house is completely level, super strong, dry, and warm!! And they managed to do all of this while working through an extremely long entry hallway (only 27" wide!) which is the only entrance to our property. I find it challenging to even carry groceries through it, so I am extremely impressed that they could excavate so much soil and concrete material and remove it through that tiny hall to load up their trucks. To reinforce the basement, they installed a steel beam in the floor joists of the first floor, and connected it with metal poles embedded in the front and back walls, that connect to concrete footers, and then another metal beam embedded in the basement floor. This is such a relief to know that our house is now supported by a solid steel "roll cage" that will keep it safe and secure in earthquakes. And best of all, the installation of the steel beams enabled us to eliminate the two unsightly posts that were previously in the center of the basement for load bearing. Now the basement is one big beautiful open floor plan. We LOVE it. They put in all the new plumbing and electricity to set up the bathroom and laundry. And the new inside walls look amazing. They recommended really great products (insulation, sheer wall, etc) and helped us pick a new on-demand water heater that is more energy efficient. They even helped us purchase it, because the local vendor would only sell to contractors. The new toilet, sink and laundry area are so beautiful. They gave us great advice about how to select the things we purchased, and everything turned out great. It is such a dream come true to do my laundry at home now. It seems like magic, that this damp moldy cave became a beautiful room that I love to hang out in!!! And my husband loves having the extra space for his projects. Everything came out even better than we envisioned.