Whether you're building software or houses, there are three variables you care about -- time, cost and quality -- and you generally can't get what you want in one area without sacrificing in... More

Whether you're building software or houses, there are three variables you care about -- time, cost and quality -- and you generally can't get what you want in one area without sacrificing in another. When my wife and I went looking for a general contractor to remodel our basement, we knew we didn't want to spend a ton of money, but we also knew we wanted it to be a high-quality job. And with a new baby on the way and in-laws who live 5+ hours away, we wanted it done fast so we could offer a comfortable place for our out-of-town visitors to settle in for a while. Enter Tomas Alva. Tomas came highly recommended by some good friends in the neighborhood (both Judy's Book members, I should add). He had just finished a major home remodel for them under similar conditions (their baby arrived in January). The only caveat they offered was that Tomas was -- to put it politely -- "time-challenged". That is, he delivers great, high-quality work for a very fair price, but he does so on a slightly unpredictable schedule. We knew (a) that we cared more about quality and cost than time, and (b) that we couldn't have all three at once. So we took our friends' advice and hired Tomas for our project. Now it's true that we're a few weeks behind where Tomas thought we'd be. And our baby has arrived with dust still flying in the basement. But because we knew that going in, we couldn't be happier with how things are turning out. Tomas and his crew of freelancers are doing excellent work, finding great deals on materials (which they're passing on to us), and coming up with creative solutions that go above and beyond what we asked for. Not only that, but Tomas and all his crew are incredibly nice, thoughtful people -- the kind of folks you'd want as neighbors, not just hired hands. So the next time you need a general contractor for a small-to-medium home remodel, I strongly suggest you give Tomas a call. As long as you know -- and accept -- that your schedule is likely to slip, I guarantee you'll be delighted by his work and prices.
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