Greenfield Building

Chris D’Andrea did a beautiful job on a little bathroom project we needed: new tile and related work. He was completely professional, prompt and timely, very clear in his bid and explanations, and cleaned the area perfectly after finishing. I recommend him highly and without any reservations! We were lucky that he had a window of availability.

Chris D’Andrea and Pete D’Agostino of Greenfield building completed two major remodels in our 1925 Bungalow in North Berkeley. Chris and Pete were fantastic throughout the process and the end product is amazing. First, Chris and Pete worked with our architects to do a complete overhaul to the back of the house, including a 300-​square-​foot addition. Second, Greenfield also did a later remodel on our kitchen, after the first project was complete. They did an excellent job of keeping the original character of the house, and maintaining consistent styling; something that was very important to us.
Chris is easy to work with, easy to get a hold of, and prompt to respond. He also has excellent attention to detail and ensured that all of his work and his subcontractors’ work was held to a high standard. Chris is also very good at coming up with solutions to building or design issues that arise during the project. We would recommend Chris and Greenfield Building to anyone looking for a general contractor.

We’ve owned a Roger Lee designed Mid-​Century home in Berkeley’s Thousand Oaks neighborhood for over 30 years. We’ve selected Chris D’Andrea to complete four home improvement and repair projects over recent years, including a bedroom/​bathroom remodel, followed by three repair, cabinetry and fine carpentry jobs. Chris’s general and fine carpentry skills are superb and his experience, craftsmanship, professionalism, reliability, patience and sensitivity to the architectural integrity of our home have been fantastic. His cost estimates have been reasonable and reliable. We highly recommend Greenfield Building.

Chris D’Andrea, Pete D’Agostino, and the rest of the crew at Greenfield Building have taught me that you truly do get what you pay for. I’ve used lesser contractors and always emerged from a project pretty disillusioned and just glad to have it over with. Greenfield Building – and specifically the project management skills of Chris and Pete (who was the day-​to-​day onsite supervisor) – demonstrated to me the value of hiring true professionals if you want to have a project done right and not get frustrated in the process… and that doesn’t mean sacrificing good humor and personality.
I signed with Greenfield Building for a complete kitchen demo/​rebuild that involved opening up to and some changes within the adjacent living room and hallway. Three skylights (only one of which was in the plans) and a structural beam were added in the process. The project lasted 3 months.
Along with Pete D’Agostino’s unwavering punctuality, reliability, attention to detail, and good-​nature, I was impressed with the care he and his team took to DE-​construct. No wild HGTV «swing the sledgehammer first, ask questions later» routine. Every board – even little pieces of trim – was reviewed as it was pulled out, with an eye to how the material might be re-​used or replaced. And in the process the team thoroughly checked electrical, plumbing, structural systems for soundness and sanity (I have one of THOSE houses – with lots of construction anomalies.)
Firm project dates were mapped out and scheduled with outside parties such as city inspectors and subcontractors – no small task at least from what I’ve experienced with other general contractors.
Greenfield Building also took tremendous care to minimize the disruption and mess created by such a substantial project. Dust barriers were expertly constructed and cleanup was a priority every day. As a project wears on – and they do, no matter what you think you’ve prepared yourself for – this makes a huge difference in the resident’s attitude!
I appreciated that the architect was considered a resource, not an impediment. The plans did evolve (e.g., the addition of 2 skylights to the project) and the intent and opinions of the architect were actively sought out and considered – as were those of the owner (me)! Just made for a true group effort of which everyone was proud. Each individual on the Greenfield team had enthusiasm for his contribution to the project. Steve and Josh – on cabinets and finishing – were truly proud of the results they had with their respective areas of expertise. They, too, were a delight to be around.
I’ve been using my kitchen and the brighter living room and hallway for nearly four months now. Every day that I walk into the revamped rooms, I am pleased with the beautiful result. I only wish I’d gotten to it YEARS earlier, but the experience and outcome from Greenfield Building were worth the wait.

We had an absolutely terrific experience with Chris D’Andrea and Greenfield Building. We hired Chris and his crew to build a deck off of our dining room (up two stories off the ground, so not an easy task), as well as look at plans for a possible bedroom addition (which we decided not to do at this point). A few highlights:
1) Chris has a great eye for detail and is a creative thinker. He was able to look at our plans and make suggestions that made perfect sense. For the deck, he recommended a new dining room/​deck door and windows that make the area look like it was originally built with the house. Really, no one can tell the deck was never here! Although we have not yet done a bedroom remodel, Chris also had very good ideas for location, use of space, etc. — though we of course have very good architectural plans from an architect, it is a nice bonus that Chris has such a spatial eye. He also has an exceptional eye for the tiny details – ie changing the screws in the windows so they opened better to fixing tiny, tiny scratches nobody else would have noticed.
2) Chris’s crew is fantastic. For a few months, we had different people (Steve, Pete, Juan, Josh…) come in and out, and everyone was extremely professional and courteous. We have small children, and Chris’s crew were always happy to answer questions my children asked, show them what they were doing, offer to let them help with painting, etc.
3) Availability! Unlike many builders and contractors, Chris is very accessible by phone, and he popped his head in very often to make sure work was proceeding as planned.
We could have gone with a slightly less expensive builder, but I doubt that we would be as happy with our experience and end product as we are. Highly, highly recommended!

High marks for Greenfield Building and owner Chris D’Andrea, who did an outstanding remodel of our upstairs bathroom, shower area and office. The job involved demolition, reframing, tiling, new cabinets, countertops and shelves, plumbing and lighting, and a couple unforeseen challenges. Chris is a craftsman who understood the aim of the design, the demands of the materials, and the possibilities of the tight spaces in older homes. The outcome is spacious and filled with light. He did outstanding work within the constraints of our budget and finished within the window we agreed on. He was always available, always responsive. The process AND finished project were beyond our expectations.
Also, kudos to his crew. Steve, the finishing carpenter, cabinetmaker, and foreman was a delight to work with. He and Chris have well-​established relations with suppliers and subcontractors. The crew kept the house livable during construction and cleaned up after they were done. A great job.

Chris D’Andrea and his team at Greenfield Building did a fantastic job on our kitchen remodel. They delivered platinum-​plated craftsmanship and came in on budget and within the tight deadline we had pre-​agreed. Under Chris’ leadership, they are a well-​oiled machine — hard working, precise, well-​coordinated and very friendly. Chris worked with us flexibly to do justice to our various design preferences, accommodating some tweaks and small additional requests on short notice without significant impact on the final completion date. Along the way, he showed compassion and concern for our daily family life as we navigated around the construction. He kept the burden on us as low as possible and the construction site and the areas around it as clean as possible. All in all, a very professional, pleasant and satisfying experience. We love our kitchen and are spending much more time in it now than before, thanks to Chris and his team. We look forward to working with him again in the future and will actively recommend him to friends and colleagues along the way.

We needed to replace our kitchen window quickly because it was leaking. Our architect recommended Chris, the owner of Greenfield Building. He was very responsive to our call for help. We gave him a deadline to complete the work and he completed the job timely. He communicated regularly about the progress of the work and was very responsive to our calls. Unlike other contractors I have used in the past, Chris started the work and then continued until he completed the project so that we had minimal disruption to the use of our kitchen. And, he left our kitchen cleaner than when he began the work. I highly recommend Chris for your remodel job.

Chris D’Andrea (owner of Greenfield Building and Remodeling in Berkeley) did an outstanding job with our complete kitchen/​dining room remodel. The job involved demolition of walls, reframing, installation of new flooring/​cabinets/​countertops/​lighting — in short, it was a complete overhaul with a lot of moving pieces. Chris and his team did an exceptional job on a very short timeframe and were extremely respectful and dedicated throughout the process. Chris is a highly respected craftsman here in the area, and it shows in his attention to detail. He made some incredible suggestions along the way that really improved the finished product. After hearing so many horror stories from friends about their own remodel experiences, we feel like we struck gold with Chris and couldn’t offer a higher recommendation.