Lema Construction

My experience with Luis and his crew could not have been better. They remodeled my kitchen as well as adding a bookcase to my home office and repaired my roof. The greatest bunch of guys you will ever have in your house to do work. They all get along with each other and make the job fun. My wife have remodeled 8 houses over the past 20 years, so we know what to expect. This is the best experience with a crew that we have ever had. Can’t wait to move to our new house so we can remodel another kitchen with our friends at Lema Construction.

Edgar and his helper just finished a repair/​rebuild of my front stairs this afternoon. This is their second job at my house; the first was a fence on our west property line the week after Christmas 2014 (about 6 weeks ago).
The fence project was tricky: an old fence had to come down first. When taking down the old fence, we discovered that it had been held up by two hollow pipes embedded in concrete, bricks, and rubble. The pipes were both now filled with rainwater, since their tops were never covered. «No problem!» and Edgar brought a jack-​hammer to the site after lunch to take care of the concrete etc. The fence’s bottom line had to adjust over the roots of a very large redwood tree while keeping the top line level. Edgar and his crew were definitely up to the job. :)
The front stairs were a completely different scope of work. After the painter working on the exterior of my house discovered extensive dry rot in the front stairs, he showed it to me. I thought perhaps we could replace a few of the treads and risers and take care of the stair safety, but when the painter walked me around to the north sidewall of the stairs, I saw that this might not be the way to go… I asked the painter whether he would be «more comfortable» if we hired a carpenter for the stairs, and he said Yes.
Good thing, too! I got Lema Construction’s number from our realtor, who is also a long-​time acquaintance; Edgar had worked at her house, and she was «very pleased» with his work.
Once he opened up the stairs, Edgar saw – and was quick to show me – that the dry rot was much more extensive than we had thought. He checked in with me: did I want him just to make the stairs «OK» or??? I said that I didn’t want what was quickest or cheapest: if the stairs needed to be completely rebuilt, so be it; if the stairs could be repaired/​replaced, that would be fine, too.
All the risers and treads needed to be replaced. (Ten of each!) The north railing – replaced. The understructure – reinforced and added to when necessary (cross struts). New brick work to prevent earth/​wood contact. Finishing touches that hadn’t been in the stairs to begin with, but that he simply implemented and are simply wonderful. Caulking of every. single. joint. in the staircase. Letting the caulking cure before continuing to work in the same location.
Etc. etc. etc.
I only wish I had known about this contracting company sooner! :)

This review is long overdue. Luis came highly recommended to us from a friend (who is an architect). And Luis stood up to our high expectations.
He is courteous, knowledgeable and fast. And has a high attention to detail.
We were renovating, and to some extent restoring, the interiors of an old victorian. He helped us recreate custom trim to match that of the house, perform significant structural changes, re-​do the bathrooms, restore wooden floors. Being an old house, there were many surprises, but Luis was very helpful in guiding us through the changes, and the results look spectacular.
Could not recommend him more highly.

Luis at Lema has been helping us since he did an inspection on our house a year ago. He did a larger scale interior renovation before we moved in, bathroom renovation, new lighting, wall removal, converting the garage back to a garage, installing the electronics and mounts for an above the fireplace tv, door replacement and new doors installed. It was a long list of things that kept growing the more we came and saw the work. It was delightful to work with him. He is always understanding and helpful. Finds less expensive alternates if we are looking to save some money on things and did the high end work for the more visible parts of the house.
We absolutely love working with him. His team is courteous, prompt, and their craftsmanship is amazing. We have since had Luis do an exterior renovation and we have had countless neighbors come and ask for his information.
I hear terrible stories about contractors all the time and count myself so lucky to have met Luis.
Unqualified recommendation for him and his team every time.

It took me having to work with another contractor to learn just how special Luis and his crew are.
Luis literally chauffeured me around to various electrical, fixture, and lighting vendors and helped me make every decision. He even used his contacts to get discounts.
Luis does a daily meeting in the morning to communicate everything that is happening, any new discoveries, and to make sure things are going smoothly. You will never be left wondering what is going on.
What really counts is that his finished product was excellent. Plus, his attitude is always positive and fun to work with. He’s the first person I would recommend to anyone.

Wow! Awesome service. I had a rush need and Luis went above and beyond to give me what I needed and wanted. Very detailed oriented. Thanks so much.

I am a designer and have worked with Lema construction for maybe six or more jobs. From high end bathrooms, to exterior flatwork, to complete home remodels that included kitchens, bathrooms, window replacement, HVAC, and plumbing relocation.
Luis and his crew are professional, trustworthy and more than capable of tackling complicated jobs with fussy clients.
Luis is a problem solver, with reliable trade resources on areas that are not his expertise. I have examined his estimates and walked through jobs with him prior to construction always with a very willing attitude to explore a sometimes less expensive way or more efficient way of doing something. We discuss potential surprises that better inform the client of what may occur. And he NEVER estimates a job and purposely leaves things out so he can mark up a change order.
i have found there are two types of contractors. The ones that are grateful for the job, and once they are there, will actually charge less on change orders, (because they are there anyway), and the guys that take full advantage of change orders because they gotcha in a desperate situation. This is not Luis.
He and I worked on a job where the client was living out of the area, and she needed to rely on a contractor she could trust, and that I could work with where i represented her needs on a daily basis. This included difficult parking situations and new neighbors. Luis and his crew were trusting, reliable, resourceful, and courteous. This particular project included almost everything remodeled including fire sprinklers over 3 months. The result was a very happy client.
Another recent client had us built a new second story deck, install new doors, rematch stucco, and upgrade electrical and plumbing systems. Over the years, he has secured his core crew so that the rough construction is in-​house and reliable, making his costs easier for him to estimate, and less expensive to the client.
He has also discovered his weaknesses and knows that when it comes to specialty trades like stucco, landscaping, gutters, finish on flatwork, and roofing, he relies on the subs that he has built relationships with. He will not «do everything» anymore, and for me that is the sign of a good contractor.
I highly recommend Luis and Lema Construction. He warranties his work and you will not be disappointed.

I heard about LEMA from a trusted friend. I saw Luis’ work on his kitchen and bathroom, I was very impressed with the quality of work and attention to detail. I wanted some work done on my home as well and checked out all their previous work on
Lema offers free estimates and really take care of your needs. We agreed on a kitchen & bathroom remodel as well. Luis and his team worked timely and professionally. They cleaned up after their work and kept me up to date with the progress of the projects.
They did a great job and I am blown away by their work. If you are looking for a trusted and affordable construction company, give LEMA a chance. You will not be disappointed.

We are finished. Before and after images are posted. Lema did a wonderful job for us, on time and on budget. We are delighted with the entire job. We highly recommend Lema and their team.

My family moved to the bay area in January of 2008. We knew no one. The house we purchased was quite special but needed alot of updating. We were referred to LEMA through an individual whose house we tried to buy but were outbid by another party. As soon as we met Luis and the other people at LEMA we knew we had struck gold! During the ensuing months LEMA undertook numerous projects to modernize and improve our home. Their workmaqnship, attitude, pricing, honesty, reliability exceeded our expectations. If anone is considering using their services I am pleased to give them my highest recommendation.
Jim Shelger, Walnut Creek, California

Luis worked on the remodel of our place with the former owners. When we bought the place, there were a couple of things that needed to be fixed as part of the sale agreement. Luis worked with us on them, and while he was really nice, there seemed to being some things lacking about his skills.
1. The garbage disposal needed to be replaced. Luis did this really quickly, which was great, until we tried to use it and found out that he forgot to take out a plug that needed to be removed on installation.
2. Luis needed to install the pull – down ladder to the attic. He ordered the ladder for us and then came out and cut a hole in our ceiling and put the ladder in that he brought. Once it was installed, he opened it up… at which point we realized that the ladder was 3 feet too short. Then he goes out to his truck and brings back a set of three steps that he built to put under the ladder. The box was plywood and about 3 feet wide by 3 feet long and 3 feet high. Ummm, doesn’t look so safe and where are we supposed to store this? I ended up going on line and ordering a ladder the right height and we got the attic ladder replaced.
Later, we returned from a trip and noticed that the molding on the living room was bowed out. There had been an earthquake, so we thought it was from that. We called Luis to see if he could take a look at it. He came over and said it was clearly earthquake damage and perhaps his cousin could fix it. I wasn’t able to get a hold of his cousin, so we found another contractor. The minute he came over, he took one look and said, «That’s not from an earthquake, that’s water damage.» Turns out we had a slow leak from a screw that was through one of the copper pipes to the master bath. It had been slowly leaking since the place was re-​done, causing the wood to gradually swell until it popped off. Not Luis’ fault, it just reinforced we’d rather work with another contractor.

Luis Moreno and his crew have done two remodeling jobs for me. My house was built in 1940 and virtually every wall we open contains a «surprise». Luis always has excellent, practical ideas for correcting these issues as well as for implementing the designer’s plans.
His team is highly professional and versatile — they’ve done electrical work, beautiful stone design, finish carpentry as well as french drains, strong walls and reframing for new doors and windows. They handle their jobs with skill and professionalism — as well as a terrific attitude. They are highly respectful of the house — taking great care to clean up each night and minimize the disruption during the day. Anyone who’s lived through a remodel knows what a gift that is! Luis’ email is
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