Another summer is coming, which is why more San Diego homeowners are asking the Berkley Construction team to upgrade their decks and backyards for more outdoor living space and updated entertainment features.

This backyard upgrade project included new covered trellis with lighting, fans, decorative trex wall and seating. 6 new custom wood screen doors were added, along with repairing some existing  wood, structural repair of the fireplace, and painting existing windows. New outdoor internet connectivity was added along with step lights to the existing deck.

In the garden area, the team added new flagstone paver pathways and a 95’ colored concrete stem wall to support new 6’ tall trex horizontal fencing. Open trellis with stainless steel cable was added for vines and minor plumbing was done to include trenching for an additional hose bib. Finally, a new decomposed granite with stabilizer in the seating area was added to give the whole backyard an updated, more modern feel. 

The Berkley Construction team recently demoed an old kitchen down to the studs and subfloor to create a brand new kitchen in a San Diego home. The job included reframing the kitchen ceiling, new insulation, plumbing and electrical. 

In order to give the new kitchen a brighter feel, our team added white cabinets and marble countertops, along with all new lighting - including under cabinet lights. The drywall was done in a smooth texture finish and a colorful tile backsplash was added. Teal colored tile was added to the flooring to give the entire kitchen a clean and cheery new look.

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) also known as "Granny Flats" are an additional single or dual dwelling unit that is built on a property without subdividing into separate lots. While some San Diego residents choose to add an ADU for extra space or a home office, many are seeing the benefit to creating a rental until. Here's a list of 5 benefits to having a rental unit in your backyard:

1. Additional income:
   Renting out the unit can provide a steady stream of additional income for you and your family.
   
   
2. Flexibility:
   You can choose to rent the unit out full-time or just occasionally, depending on your needs and availability.
   
   
3. Increased property value:
   A rental unit can increase the value of your property, especially if it is well-maintained and in a desirable location.
   
   
4. Tax benefits:
   Depending on your situation, you may be able to claim certain tax deductions for expenses related to the rental unit, such as mortgage interest, property taxes, and repairs.
   
   
5. Extra space:
   Even if you don't want to rent out the unit, you can use it for additional storage, a home office, or a place for family and friends to stay when they visit.

Related Article:
How ADUs will help San Diego's housing crisis 

Mini-split or “ductless” air conditioners are the most cost-effective and efficient way to cool down your San Diego home when temperatures heat up.  (And most can heat as well)

Most of our customers start with one unit - and quickly ask for multiple after they realize what a difference these ac units can make.  

Below are a few more reasons mini-splits are the way to go for San Diego homeowners. 

• Mini-splits are significantly cheaper than central air conditioning. A central AC system can cost $15,000-$25,000 depending on the existing conditions and size of the house. A mini split system averages $3200-$4800 installed per zone.
  
  
• Mini-splits are much more efficient. AC is rated according to SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio.) Most central AC units are 14 SEER; a very expensive central AC unit might be 16 or 18 SEER. Most of the mini-splits we install are 20-25 SEER without breaking the bank.
  
  
• The install on a mini-split is much less involved. We can usually complete it in a day. There is only a 3″ diameter hole from the outside condenser to the inside air handler, which is why they are called ductless AC units.
  
  
• Most mini-split units have the ability to heat as well; these are called heat pumps.
  
  
• Mini-splits are very quiet; most people don’t even realize they are on, they filter the air, and can alter the amount of energy used if the demand is less.
  
  

Ready to get your mini-split installed? Contact us.


Pricing:
(The following pricing assumes that your current electrical box can handle a 30-50amp circuit.)  

9,000  BTU High efficiency heat pump:  20+ SEER. small bedroom or office, $3100-3500
 
12,0000 BTU High efficiency heat pump:  20+ SEER.  Usually enough for a bedroom or TV room, $3400-3700 installed

18,000 BTU High efficiency heat pump: 20+ SEER.  Living room or high ceiling room, $3900-4300 installed

24,0000 BTU High efficiency heat pump: 20+ SEER.  Large high ceiling room or open floor plan $4500-4900 installed
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30,000  BTU High efficiency heat pump: 20+ SEER,  1200 SF whole house single floor $5300-5600 installed

The Berkley Construction team recently converted a kitchen and living room into an open concept dining/living/kitchen area for a home in South Park. The project included completely removing a structural dividing wall to install a recessed beam to open the area up. 

The job required removal of all existing flooring and leveling of the raised foundation from below, before installing new white oak. In addition to the new flooring, the team installed new cabinets, porcelain countertops and new lighting throughout. The finishing touch included custom Spanish tile around the gas fireplace. 

View more photos of this project below.

The Berkley Construction team recently completed the remodel of the master and guest bathrooms of a home in Mission Hills. Both bathrooms were upgraded with high quality, custom glass shower doors. In the master bath, the team installed Tabarka tile, giving an earthy feel to the new space. In order to make room for the custom 18 sf shower, the original bathtub had to be eliminated, and the toilet relocated. Plumbing was also added for the additional sink. The final touches included a new bath fan, additional convenient electrical outlets and 4” can lights over vanity.

The Berkley Construction team kicked off 2021 with a complete kitchen remodel for a family in San Diego. The open design, more functional electrical outlets + USB ports, updated cabinets and larger windows gives the home a more modern and welcoming feel. See more photos and details about the project below.

This kitchen remodel project included demo of the existing, outdated kitchen. The space was opened up by installing a recessed beam in the ceiling which we wrapped in architectural wood. Two new, larger windows requiring exterior stucco work were installed to provide more natural light. Beautiful Della Terra Quartz countertops were added to create a surface with long-lasting durability.  Brand new upper, lower and full height cabinets were installed. Lower cabinets included convenient USB ports for easily accessible charging of devices. The construction team also updated the electrical to include recessed can lights both in the kitchen and upstairs. The project was completed with a modern, white tile backsplash.

Before + After photos:

What a difference! Check out more "Before" the kitchen remodel photos below. 

When homeowners engage in renovation projects, they transfer the cost of the upgrade to potential buyers in the form of an increase in the value of the property. Real estate investors and homeowners are always on the lookout for things that can improve or enhance the value of their properties.

They do this for various reasons, says North County Property Group, a property management company in San Diego, such as attract tenants, increase rental income, attract buyers, increase the resale value, or achieve personal satisfaction. No matter the reason behind your intention for a renovation, you should note that not all renovations can affect the value of your home.

Renovation projects can be costly, so it is essential to know the ones that can add value to your property. Some will add more space, boost enjoyment, and improve the ambiance of the property without increasing the resale value.

Renovating versus remodeling

Is renovating and remodeling the same thing? Although these two terms overlap, most people often use them interchangeably.

Renovations only involve the concept of restoring the property into a good condition. At the same time, remodeling is an expensive and extensive process of altering the structure of the property from one form to the other.

How kitchen renovations affect your home's value

The kitchen is the heart of the home and buyers or renters often make their decisions after inspecting the kitchen. Kitchen renovations are essential. Reasonable kitchen renovations could recoup about 60 - 80% of your investment.

These renovations could be major, minor, or midscale. No matter the extent of the kitchen renovation, your aim should include the following:

• Create more floor space
• Enhance the look and feel of the kitchen
• Improve ventilation within the kitchen
• Augment the function of the kitchen
• Repair outdated, faded, and damaged areas
  
  

Major kitchen renovations may be expensive, costing around $75,000. It may involve rerouting of plumbing, installation of new plumbing, costly appliances, stone countertops, high-end custom cabinets, semi-custom cabinets, imported ceramics/glass tile backsplash, under cabinet lighting, water filtering faucets, and energy-efficient appliances.

Minor kitchen renovations can range between $11,000 to $21,000. Investors can recoup up to 81% of their expenses here. It involves cabinet repainting and finishing, cabinet re-facing, backsplash replacement, and vinyl floor installation.

Minor and midscale kitchen renovations offer a more massive return on investment. Homeowners who engage in major kitchen renovations do not always recoup a large portion of their investment. However, the benefit is that homes with major kitchen renovations sell faster than others.

How bathroom renovations affect the value of your home​

According to the National Association of Realtors, bathroom renovations have a joy score of about 9.6 on a scale of 1 - 10. Bathroom renovations are lucrative investments. Just like kitchen renovation, bathroom upgrades could be upscale, midscale, or downscale.

The best bathroom renovations for improving the resale value of a property are midscale and upscale. Homeowners can recoup about 60 - 80% of their investment in bathroom renovation projects.

The essential things to consider in bathroom renovations are enhancing the style and improving the functionality. Bathroom renovations can cost between $6,000 for a minor renovation to $60,000 for major renovations. Midscale bathroom renovations cost an average of about $18,000.
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The best bathroom renovations include:

• Repainting surfaces
• Replacing the floors
• Installing heated floors
• Upgrading the vanity and sinks
• Energy-efficient upgrades
• Bathtub and shower upgrades
• Installing a walk-in shower
• Cabinet upgrades
• Replacing outdated and worn plumbing fixtures with modern ones

Upscale bathroom renovations perform better on the joy score than midscale and minor upgrades. However, midscale bathroom renovations give a higher return on investment than the upscale bathroom renovation.
 
A bathroom or kitchen renovation, which one is better?

Kitchens are usually more spacious than bathrooms. For this reason, the cost of renovation for a kitchen is more expensive than a bathroom. Bathroom renovations may cost about half of the expenses on kitchen renovations.

The answer to the question of which one is better depends on the local housing market and the property's condition. Both bathroom and kitchen renovations have beneficial impacts on the resale value of a property.
 
Bottom line: How Bathroom & Kitchen Renovation Projects Can Affect the Value of Your Home

Renovation projects can be costly, so it is essential to know the ones that can add value to your property.

Homeowners are always on the lookout for things that can improve or enhance the value of their properties. Certain bathroom and kitchen renovations can offer this benefit.

Minor and midscale kitchen renovations offer a significant return on investment, but homes with major kitchen renovations sell faster than others.
​
Bathroom renovations are also beneficial, but cheaper than kitchen renovations. Midscale bathroom renovations give a higher return on investment than the upscale bathroom renovation.
Whenever you are in doubt of which bathroom or kitchen renovation project you should carry out on your property, don't hesitate to contact reliable experts.

Are you ready to start your kitchen or bathroom remodel? Contact us today. 

Here at Berkley Construction Inc, we believe that communication is the key to the success of a project.  That’s why we have a multi-tiered estimating system numbered 1 through 5.  1 being the most basic and inaccurate and 5 being a contract number.  Each level has a more defined scope of work, and associated costing.  We will usually supply up to level 2 without charge and sometimes level 3 if there is an existing set of plans or a returning customer.

Customers often try to get “Bids” at level 1 and 2.  These are actually just “estimates,” as without the details there is no way to know what is contained in the scope of work.  These professional guesses will vary wildly in cost and detail.  Usually, even with a good set of drawings, the estimates will come back much higher than they need to be, or even worse, lower.
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Some contractors lowball on purpose knowing that scope is not yet 100% defined and they hope to start work before discussing these inevitable increases.  Picture a shrewd (improper in my view) contractor that makes his estimate seem low, but really, they just removed the important quality and service items. 

PSA’s serve many purposes and take many forms.  One of the most popular is the design due diligence PSA. Look at this PSA as a feasibility study for your project.  No plans, no set budget, just an idea; You may not be 100% sure you can pull it off.  And you certainly don’t want to spend 10’s of thousands of $$ on plans and engineering to find out if it works. 

The design due diligence PSA is a low-cost way to figure out the basics and budget before all the detail and expenses.  At the end of this effort, you should have a good scope of work and adequate pricing.  At least enough to decide if the budget meets the goals.  There is no obligation to move forward with the project or even the contractor that performed the PSA. 

How much do PSAs cost?

PSAs can cost as little as $500 and might be nothing more than crawling around under the house or verifying a structural layout, or it may require some digging to expose a footing.  Most PSAs though, are more involved/expensive costing $1400 and above, with permitting even more. A PSA may call for some design, meeting with subs, and possibly engineering or even full plan submittals and permitting. In later stage PSAs The designs are done and the effort is on scope definition, who is doing what, with what materials, when, and for what price.  Perhaps the 2nd most important benefit is that the GC performing the PSA will meet with subcontractors on site or in an office setting to make sure they are on the same page and have a clear definition of the client’s needs.  Most often initial estimates are site unseen and may contain major errors.   
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Now, to get from Level 3 to 4 and then to the final 5, there is a lot of work that needs to happen on the clients’, designers’, and contractors’ side.   One of the worst scenarios is that the proper amount of work is not done at this stage and then issues come up during production causing costly delays.  The PSA does not eliminate ALL issues, but it does lay the groundwork for how issues will be addressed.  It is critical to get this pre construction work done.   Everyone wants to get the hammers swinging, but planning is key to a smooth project once it does start.  Imagine enjoying your construction project.  Our aim is to make that happen! 

Why hire Berkley Construction to help with your PSA?

Our team has several decades of expertise in construction and we have great relationships with our partnered subcontractors. We also totally understand the way that construction was 5 years ago, it was common to ask for free bids from contractors.  We have found this was a waste of time and money for the contractor and for the client.  The PSA generally does not cover all our effort to create a detailed scope of work, but the investment is still worth it.

How much money can I save by getting a PSA before construction starts?

There are not just cost saving benefits to working with a professional team before the project has started, it can also offer opportunities in design or minor expansion as well as different types of technology that was not considered or even available before.  But more importantly, it will give the client and GC the chance to get to know each other and see how they work together. 

There are a lot of questions to answer during the PSA.  Is the client kind of handy thus allowing them to handle some parts of the work the GC had thought were his to cover?  How much supervision does a customer want?  Supervisors are expensive, so if the customer wants to pay to have them to be onsite 100% and watch the painters paint, or drywallers hang drywall, then so be it.  But these things need to be discussed prior to production.  What about weekend work?  Access to the home, site security?  What are the desired hours of operation?  This is also a great time to discuss the billing process, payments, lien releases and other paperwork.  At the end of this process you should have a much, much more accurate estimate and maybe even a contract number, and you will see for yourself what working with your GC will be like.  At the end of the PSA, you should have in hand a good amount in information and know your contractor and his team well enough to make a final decision. 

Ready to move forward with a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) for your next construction project? Contact us

Hint: It is all about planning!

Want to save money on your upcoming remodeling project? Pay a professional to help define the scope. Here's why.... A Professional Service Agreement (PSA) is a contract to help you define the remodel’s scope and quality in advance. It often includes some design, engineering, and professional discovery services.

The PSA should be focused on defining your scope so that the costing is more accurate. For example, sometimes field services are required. The plans may assume that a certain size footing exists in the current house and a new footing is going to merge with it. Part of the PSA would be to expose the footing and make sure the size assumption is correct and that the condition of the footing can withstand the new scope of work.

It also might be assumed that the framing is going a certain direction. The PSA might call for some exploratory demo to verify this. If the job is building anywhere close to a setback, then the PSA should also include a survey to verify that the work is legal. This goes for height as well. Any neighbor can complain about height and stop your progress during construction. Knowing the precise spot that the city considers ground is critical. You can simply drop a tape measure from the height to the marked spot and show that you’re in compliance. Better to address any issues before the roofing is on and it’s too late.

Probably the greatest benefit of a PSA is accurate costing and timeline. At the end of the PSA, and before construction, you would have an accurate report of conditions and costs. You may not know which paint color you want but you’ll know the type of paint and the costs of painting down to the square foot. If you hire a contractor to perform a PSA for you it should happen early enough in the design process so that changes can still be made if the changes will benefit the project. A customer should know that the fancy standing seam metal roof costs $900 per square, and that being by the beach voids the warranty.

The PSA should define the service as well. Communication and timeline should be addressed before construction. The level of service is very important to talk about. What are the customer’s expectations and what does the contractor plan to provide? How will the architect be involved? Who’ll make decisions regarding changes and upgrades? Who’s supplying what? Are fixtures or appliances included? Which ones? Who’ll be responsible for the logistics of finishes? Some customers are very hands-on while others just want the contractor to do everything.
There should also be no obligation on the part of the customer to use the contractor for the work. The PSA should stand on its own. Should the customer decide to get bids from multiple sources, the PSA will take the guesswork out of the bidding process, and the costs will be much more closely grouped.

These discussions need to happen BEFORE work starts—and the results written into the contract. You’ll pay for this service but the Value cannot be overstated. To learn more about how we can help you develop a PSA for your remodeling project, Contact Us