Testimonials

Santa Cruz Timberframes

Review by Joan Koff

April 15, 2016

I cannot speak more highly of Karl Bareis. We were in an impossible spot–our home, built before 1903, was sliding slowly down its steep hill. We owned the place since 1971 and it was rented to family. We could not demolish and rebuild the home because the lot is too steep by today’s standards; our family needed to vacate immediately; there was risk of losing the property down the hill and risk to our neighbors down the hill. A bad bad situation. We live far from this property and could not supervise directly without taking a 5 hour flight first. We needed a miracle. Then, Karl Bareis, a dear old friend appeared. He patiently took control of the project. It was enormous for us–plans had to be quickly but expertly drawn, approved and then executed. Sounds easy–it wasn’t easy. There were snags and delays and worse all along. The project required that Karl drive from Santa Cruz to Mill Valley, California very often. Sometimes, he would have to stay overnight–sort of camping in a cold empty building so that he could be present for one phase or another. There were building commission hassles and work stoppages that required delicate and persistent pressure to overcome. There were subs who didn’t do what they said they would–new folks needed to be hired. There was exasperation over irrational delays and irrational expectations that the property could be completely remodeled and approved. Neighbors had to be appeased and helped to see that the project would actually help the community in the long run. There were thousands of details to manage and evaluate correctly. There were thousands of pages of drawings and designs that needed to be produced and approved by architects and then administrators. Needless to say, this all took a while–about two years. But, Karl stayed at the helm. The project has now been complete for about 5 years. The home is restored and rented. So, if you have a difficult and complex construction job that needs a person who has the qualities of: knowledge; persistence; highly skilled craftsmanship; perseverance; honesty and decency–call Karl.

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