This letter is addressed to all those interested in having Geranen Construction construct or remodel their personal home. It is a pleasure to express our appreciation to the Geranen Construction team.

Our new home is beautiful! Mark and his team did a fantastic job for us and we are so proud to say that Geranen Construction was our contractor.

We met Mark about 18 months before starting our project. We had to wait for the Geranen Team to complete another project before starting ours. We did not like waiting, but it was a good signal that Mark was true to his word that he really only has one project going on at a time. Some other contractors that we interviewed stated that they work on several projects concurrently. Once Mark's team started our project, they were on the job every work day (and on time!) until the day we could move back into our new home.

Some key things you should know as you consider hiring Mark:

• Mark is very honest, true to his word and well organized. We managed our family and demanding businesses. Mark managed our construction project. We went to work each day knowing that Mark was in control of our remodeling project and we did not worry about what needed to happen that day, week or month. We came home each night seeing progress - with very little effort on our part; and most importantly, very little "stress with our contractor".
   
• Mark has excellent relationships with his subcontractors. Good people enjoy working with good people. Mark's subcontractors were on the job when they said they would be and they did excellent work. They also accommodated our special requests to refine the design "on the fly", patiently waited for materials (our responsibility on this job) and made suggestions to improve the look, style and/or long-term maintenance for our unique home.
   
• We interviewed six contractors and selected three to provide us with a full bid. After a few weeks, Mark provided us with a bid and we reviewed it together. Mark's bid was more than the second highest bid. Through the interview and bid review process, it become clear that Mark's bid included more labor hours than the other bidders. We questioned this "extra time", and Mark explained that he personally would be working with us to refine, develop and suggest changes to make our new home truly perfect. Mark said that he knows his business well and that this extra time was needed and included in the bid. We selected Mark because we predicted that the extra cost was going to be offset by us knowing we had the very best person performing and managing our project.
   
• Our prediction was realized many times over. Our business relationship quickly turned into a business friendship - working together on a common goal. We laughed a lot, talked through many different design modifications (refinements) and we listened to Mark's thoughtful recommendations. Mark managed our project as if our home was going to be Mark's personal residence.
   
• Mark's construction team is wonderful. Mark's Dad, Dayton, can be described in many different ways - most notably, a master carpenter. Dayton truly loves being on the job site - and up in the roof rafters! He knows what to do because he has done it many times before. The other team members on Mark's team know how lucky they are to be working for Mark and Dayton. They have learned a lot and you can tell they have been working together for a long time. Each of Mark's team members was exceptionally friendly and interactive with our five year old son. Our son had some "older brothers" working on our house and Dayton was just like a third Grandpa. Now, the other side of Dayton can't be left off this recommendation summary. Dayton is a character in the truest sense. We have a long list of the funniest stories, circumstances and situations that Dayton was in the middle of. As we look back on the project as a whole, we are so thankful for the memories that Dayton provided us.
   
• The Geranen Construction team provided us with exceptional quality. The team did not take any short cuts, nor try to convince us that something that they had done "would be fine". We paid for exceptional quality and we received it. Let me say also that we are very much observers of fine details. Very rarely did we ever need to have something redone. As we have said, they do the work as if it where their personal residence.
   
• As you read the bullet points above, you might be thinking it sounds like many other letters of recommendation. What was the big deal? Mark and team did a complete remodel of our entire (almost) 1981 vintage home in Alamo. All but one bedroom, the office and the laundry room was completely reconstructed - including all three bathrooms. Mark made sure to leave one bathroom "operational" at the end of each day. The whole back of the house was "open to nature" for many months, as the roof and exterior walls were removed for the project. Still no big deal…well, we lived in the garage through the 14 month renovation! It was great for us to save some money and be able to inspect the work every evening. Inspecting the work we did (I am a civil engineer and accustom to performing daily inspections). You can imagine the disadvantages of living in the garage…it was cold (and hot)…too many BBQ, microwave and fast food meals…not enough closet space…and that sense of being "misplaced" for 14 months. Oh, did I mention that it was cold! Through the whole experience, from the first day of demolition through performing the final punch list items, we have gained a valued friend and business relationship with a remarkable person - Mark Geranen.

As you search for the right contractor and interview the very best contractors in the San Ramon Valley, you should highly consider Geranen Construction. If during the interview process you would like to see the quality of work done on our home, you can arrange a visit with Mark. We are also happy to share our experience with you voice-to-voice. Please coordinate with Mark, as needed.

Thanks to the Geranen team for building us our beautiful new home. We appreciate everything you have provided us. We also appreciate being comfortable (warm) and not living in the garage anymore!

Garrett, Nancy and Chapton Gritz