John LaPorta Architecture

I’ve been wanting to write this review for a long time. Thank God for John! I first met John about 6 years ago. I was fairly new to the area and wanted some work done on the house. I asked a local real estate for a recommendation. She recommended John. I have thanked her many times for the recommendation.
My first project was to open up the house by tearing down a wall. He also put in bamboo floors and expanded my skylight. It looks GORGEOUS!!! One great thing about John is that he will spend time brainstorming with you and he gets really excited by it all. My second project was a guest bathroom. It too looks amazing! I mean really amazing. Without John, I’m pretty sure it would have been a disaster. I had chosen a marble tile for the floor but then didn’t like the look as he was putting it in. I finally said something. Instead of trying to convince me that it looked great, he said, «the tile is really important». We ended up removing what he’d put in so far and getting something new. John charges by the hour so it was more expensive but not that much more and definitely worth it.
The best thing about John is that he will do everything, large jobs and small. He has come out on a Sunday when I had a broken water heater. He has fixed plumbing, put in new closet doors, fixed toilets. I can’t even remember all the things he’s done for me. I really like having just one person to call for everything. I’ve used many contractors and work people in the past and the qualities I most appreciate in John are:
— He’s reasonably priced. A previous reference had described him as an energizer bunny. It’s true. John charges by the hour but he is fast!
— He does everything and will try to come out in an emergency if he can
— He’s honest
— He’ll talk about different options, the pros and cons, recommend materials, etc
— He will never make a mistake and not fix it.
— He will do things that are out of the ordinary. He designed a sliding door for my bathroom that is really a shelving unit. It holds towels, magazines, toilet paper etc. Very cool.
— He will travel. He’s gone down to the east bay to do some work on a rental house and I know he’s done work in Oakland and San Rafael.
— He’s just a really good guy
It’s so nice to have someone that you can consistently rely on to do good and often inspired work in so many areas.