Client Reviews

“Honorable, straightforward, responsive and wise, Scott O’Hara has completely reset our expectations of general contractors and builders. We can’t imagine working with anyone else. 

Four years ago, we moved into an extraordinary home he built, and each day, we find new reasons to be grateful: thoughtful touches, particularly well-engineered and well-constructed features; quality finishes throughout. And when there’s been a problem (rarely having to do with the construction of the house itself) he’s been there for us to give advice or fix the problem – not a week or two later but on the phone, or onsite right when we need him. He is a gem.

Living in a ZNE house for us means NO COMPROMISES. It’s Quite the opposite. It’s better than we could have possibly expected.

The simple best word to describe this house is ‘comfortable’. The temperature is remarkably steady, no matter what happens outside.  We use the heat and the air conditioning without a second thought because, after all, it’s free. But probably the most remarkable thing is how little of either it takes to heat the house on cold days and cool it on hot days. The ventilation system works beautifully — no draftiness, no noise… and when you wash the filters, you understand how much cleaner the air in the house is from what it otherwise would be.

The second best word to describe the house is ‘quiet’. It’s a wonderful side benefit of the insulation and the triple pane windows, that you can barely hear noise from the street.

We’ve been here now just under three years, and are sitting on a substantial credit from the surplus energy that we sell back to PG+E. By my calculations, we could charge an electric car to drive about 30,000 miles a year on our surplus and not pay a cent. It just feels obvious and smart, as well as eco-friendly, to build this way. We can’t understand why anyone would build a house any other way in Northern California in 2017, except perhaps that they didn’t have the O’Hara guys building it for them.”

“I have worked with Scott O’Hara for 15 years. It started when I partnered with a colleague to develop a Net-Zero energy single family residence in Oakland in 2008. We hired Scott O’Hara Construction to build this home. My colleague and I are both mechanical engineers that focus on designing sustainable and energy efficient buildings. We wanted to work with a builder who was open to achieving our dream of building an energy efficient home. Scott O’Hara built a highly creative, zero-energy home that was so beautifully built our partner moved in as his primary residence.

When my wife and I decided to renovate the kitchen in our Piedmont home, we wanted to make sure we hired a contractor we could trust would get the project completed on time with a high level detailed craftmanship. Scott O’Hara’s company did not let us down. We love our kitchen and appreciate the level of detail
that went into making sure we got everything we wanted including seamlessly matching the existing elements of our home.

I continued to enjoy working with Scott and decided to joint venture with Scott O’Hara to develop a second residence, this time targeting a zero energy all-electric home. The home was cost competitive with standard home developments in the area, had no energy bill and, as a result, sold faster than other homes for a successful project. This led to Scott O’Hara and I purchasing and developing two more all electric, zero-energy homes in Oakland that turned out just as good.

My wife and I recently hired Scott O’Hara and his team to complete a master suite renovation, deck re-build and install a partially subterranean wine cellar in our Piedmont home. As with the other projects, the attention to detail in all phases of the work was evident and the project moved smoothly and turned out beautiful.

We trust Scott O’Hara and look forward to our continued working relationship.”

“I chose Scott O’Hara Construction to complete a remodel on my newly purchased fixer-upper house after living in one of Scott’s spec homes for several years. 

Scott and his crew completed an extensive remodel that included removing walls, adding living space and integral outdoor access, a new kitchen and two new baths.  My goals also included creating a home that was extremely energy efficient and Scott’s knowledge and experience in building performance were unmatched.  

An excellent communicator, Scott was always available to discuss any questions or concerns I had. He really “got” what I envisioned and executed it in an efficient and timely manner. The team was thoroughly professional and highly skilled; a well-oiled machine that knows how to solve problems, complete any task and work with you to achieve your goals. The process was seamless and the results were outstanding!

I couldn’t recommend Scott O’Hara Construction more highly!”

“My husband and I worked with Scott O’Hara on 3 different projects while living in Northern California. Project 1 was a partial remodel with highly technical insertion of huge bi-fold patio doors, with a keen interest in energy efficiency. Project 2 was a continuation of original project with a studs-out remodel of our kitchen and master bath. The former required drilling through a concrete slab to add island with water and power. And lastly, we hired Scott to perform an energy efficiency study.

Of note, Scott and his brother designed a system to bring the stove vent through the second floor of house and out roof (to eliminate soffit). It was unbelievably quiet, strong and so well insulated, no smells escaped in the house.

Scott’s project management skills are truly unbeatable. He is honest and inclusive during all steps of the project, and will involve you to the level of detail you desire. He is very easy to work with, responsive, timely and accountable. He is also accurate with the bidding process.

I highly recommend Scott for any project! You will not find a more competent, honest, fair, knowledgeable, stand-up guy. We only wish we could talk him into a project at our new home in Pacific NW.”