Karl Kardel Company

David F.

A five week job only took six months to finish.

Karl, et al, was hired to repair leaking deck over living space. While the plan for repairs was sound, the execution was poorly done. The work was mediocre and his subs were called back for redo on both stucco and tile work.

Unfortunately, our relationship became a bit combative. In the final phone call Karl and I shared, he told me he was occupied with a lawsuit and he would call me when he wasn't busy to schedule the finish of the job. ...well. f 'im.

Failing to complete Job, he left me, the homeowner, to tear out and find someone to complete the work.

A second general contractor that looked the work in progress (prior to my tear out) made the comment, ""it looks like an unsupervised apprentice did this.""

It was sad, really.

I'm guessing Karl and the Karl Kardel company may have been good at one time. However sharing my experience with others, I've since found that they have similar feelings about the man. Karl is just Karl, and probably should just pack it in and find a peaceful rest home where he can spin his tales of the olden days to new ears where he isn't harming anyone's property.

I'll be generous and give him two stars as the deck didn't leak at completion. But like P.T. Barnum, Karl can talk a big story and fail to deliver on some pretty rudimentary expectations. -- Anticipate cost adjustments as your project progresses.

Rob M.

I've owned apartment buildings for 30 years. When it comes to finding and resolving water leak issues, there is no one better than Karl Kardell.

Dorothy S.

For more than 50 years we have used the talent and skill of Karl Kardel to develop and enhance the esthetics and safety of our homes. In those years no issue has arisen that was not amicably solved. I would recommend the Kardel services to anyone wishing to have their home developed by first class artisans.

J M.

Person came out to look at the job -- waterproofing patches had come off where some pipes are screwed to the roof. A few hours job. Told me will send a quote. After no quote and when I contacted again, received email that they would need to replace the whole roof (which is not that old and in great shape) and can provide a quote for that. Wow.

Lisa B.

I hired Karl Kardel Company to paint the trim on my house. It was badly in need of repairs and they did a more than perfect job, milling new window frame pieces and repairing dry rot. They even found holes and cracks in the stucco by the chimney and near the roof that needed repairs that I would haven't noticed myself. I was very grateful for the care they took on my house and all the employees were very pleasant to work with. I am extremely satisfied and feel well taken care of. I highly recommend Karl Kardel and Company.

Besse A.

Do not trust this man. He is unprofessional and apparently has no concern about his reputation. Huge invoices, shoddy work. Perhaps he no longer cares because he is close to retiring?

DAVID R.

Makes sense now.
Only two stars on Karl Kardel Consultancy, the other name in yelp.

Karl cannot figure out how to make my bridge driveway stop a small rain leak without demolishing the whole drive way and starting over for +50k.

I guess I'll have to wait until it rots out and becomes a big job before anyone will be willing to do a small job in this town.

Update: Yup, looks like another Man project for the Man! Did you see my new retaining walls and Gym floor deck! Nice! (A little left to do honestly) But The guy who claimed to be the #1 hillside landscaper refused to bid it (again too small for a professional) So I did it myself. Contractors in the Bay Area don't want a job under $50k. Smaller projects you just gotta do yourself. I guess the unemployment problems are a thing of the past.

Sincere R.

We lived in the Oakland Hills for 17 years. Years ago we experienced severe weather damage - wind and rain. Karl Kardel and team to the rescue. Karl is super knowledgeable, technical and thorough. If you're looking for a quality solution you'll get it with Karl and his team. AND THEY STAND BY THEIR WORK. Karl also helped us navigate the insurance side of the damage. As with most wind and rain damaged homes, as the team worked on the house, opening up the walls, further damage was discovered resulting in more NECESSARY repairs - more work, more $$$.

As with ANY construction process, especially repairs on your house/home, ask lots of questions; document work to be done and work completed, costs, and overall manage the project.

We found Karl and his team to be fair, highly competent and capable. We were especially impressed with Armando and Joel. We trust them - they're honest, have integrity, and are competent and hardworking.

Years after the repair (at least 10 years later) and years of rain, wind and overall weathering, an issue arose. Karl and team fixed it without question (arguably some may not have had anything to do with prior repairs).

I recommend Karl and his team if you're serious about quality work and not a ""bandaid solution"" type of solution that doesn't REALLY fix the problems.

Avo B.

Karl was completely unprofessional!!! We had a long dispute with our landlord regarding a mold issue. We found and hired Karl since the landlord hired a friend and was totally incompetent.
Karl bashed us to the landlord and disregarded my pleas to look for mold. He refused and said he didn't want to go on a ""fishing expedition"" and he didn't ""get the feeling of mold"" all while the owner hired his company to replace a roof and many other small jobs. Long story short we took the owner to court for negligence and won.
Hired another company and house was and is riddled with mold. Karl is incompetent. Motivated more by money than good service. Unethical. UPDATE - the landlord settled the lawsuit and we were rent free due to all the ongoing construction and MOLD. The real shame is the next tenant that moves in won't know the real happenings inside their home. You completed your work on the home and waterproofed it after the mold was removed by the mold remediation company. Your recollection of what happened is far from the truth.

Nicki D.

Karl Kardel's company did a very good job painting the outside of my 72-year-old house. The painter he got to do the job was excellent! On the day he made the estimate, I gave him a tour of the outside of the house, asking questions about certain areas that looked ""iffy"" to me. The painter answered my questions and explained things very clearly, so there were no surprises when I got a written estimate with all the details we'd agreed on.
The painter also took care to paint a few square feet with the colors I'd chosen, and then asked me to approve the colors before he painted the rest of the house. I appreciated the chance to change colors at the last minute if I wanted to, although it turned out not to be necessary.
The only weak point in my experience with Karl Kardel was in the scheduling. I signed the contract on October 31, 2014, but painting didn't start until December 22. The weather was responsible for some of that, of course, but some of it was also due to communication glitches.
Overall, I was very satisfied with the paint job and would definitely recommend Karl Kardel to others.