Kevin Finney

I have had Kevin out to our condo to do work three times. After assessing what needs to be done, he gives a fair estimate. Another reviewer gave him poor marks for his careful examination and his questions, but I appreciated his investigating carefully. Among other things this last time, for example I wanted him to caulk the bath tub. He thought there might be some problems with water damage in a corner of the wall covered by tile, damage possibilities he later explored, finding none to my relief. Why wouldn’t I want to be warned in advance of possible repairs there? I value an honest and careful estimate. What’s to resent? And after all work was completed, before leaving, Kevin talked to me about how to clean the new caulking and make minor repairs myself. So I also value having an ally in home repair.
I find Kevin to be really good problem solver. When things didn’t quite work, when it was a case of shoddy fastening on a bath shelf or the tub not being square to the wall, he’d come up with a fix that worked. Basically he’s smart. Plus, he’s easy to work with, communicating about times and arriving on schedule, pleasant in his manner, working steadily and efficiently, open to our ideas. So glad to find someone local I trust and can call on.

Kevin answered all my questions quickly and thoroughly. He arrived on time (unlike the Home Depot contractors who never showed up or called to apologize) and was very professional. His bid was also very competitive, which was a bonus!

WOW. Kevin is great. I called asking for his services. We needed concrete work in our yard to contain bamboo from invading our neighbor’s yard. Kevin gave me FREE advice on what to do and how to do it, including where to go for materials.
Kevin’s honesty, advice and sincere nature is a refreshing change in today’s capitalist economy. I would contact him in a heartbeat for any other jobs we need in the future.

Kevin rebuilt a pair of swinging gates and a portion of fence that had rotted in my rear yard. My experience: fairly priced estimate, excellent quality work, completed in a timely manner. Simple. I recommend him very highly.

I believe that a glance at my review history will assure the reader that I strive to be fair and rational in my reviews. I give praise when earned, and I criticise when I believe that a service provider has been unreasonable, unethical, or has provided inferior service. Here I will neither praise nor criticise, but simply provide as objective and respectful a summary as I can muster. I am confident that Kevin’s work is every bit as masterful and professional as other reviewers have noted, but unfortunately we never got far enough for me to experience it.
Yesterday, I called Kevin Finney about our bedroom closet. Years of use and some heavy contents had resulted in sagging, causing the doors to slip off their tracks and rendering the drawers almost immovable.
Over about ten minutes, I described the problem and answered Kevin’s questions. Kevin was in the middle of a job, and was unable to write down my name and contact information. He told me to send him an email with all of the information I had already given him. Once he had time to read my email, he’d get back to me within a few days, come within a week to look at the job, and it would be about a month before he could do any repairs. I complied with Kevin’s instructions, and he sent me back an email a few hours later saying he could swing by today on his lunch break and look at the work, without specifying a time. I responded asking him to call before he came.
Rather than call, Kevin simply showed up at my door at 12:25, as I was preparing my lunch. He examined the job and began explaining causes and potential remedies. After about ten minutes, I interrupted to ask whether he could provide me with an estimate of time, cost, and scheduling. Kevin replied that a job like this could only be done on a «time and materials» basis, and it would take as long as it had to take: his regular rate is (I believe) $ 50 an hour or $ 400 a day.
When I asked for a ballpark estimate, Kevin said that it could take a day or two. I said that it was important to me to know what the maximum charge could be. He responded, «We could cap it at, say, five days…» and then seeing my expression quickly added «or three, or whatever was relevant.» He added «I haven’t even decided whether I’m going to do it for your or not,» and «it would probably cost you a lot less if you do the finishing work yourself — puttying, sanding, and painting.» I told him I could not do any of that, and he asked me if I wanted him to paint the entire surface of the repaired portion or just «touch ups,» and I said he should quote for both.
I suggested that Kevin get back to me with a written estimate in his own time rather then take up both of our time while he continued to explain the details to me. He responded, «No, explaining the details is part of thinking it out for me,» and continued his monologue. He then noticed that his hands had become greasy while feeling his way along the door rails, and he walked into my kitchen, where I was preparing food, and washed his hands in my sink, over my dishes.
Kevin returned to the bedroom, replaced a drawer he had removed, and then announced that he had decided to pass on the job. «I’m sorry if you feel I wasted your time,» he said; «but I’d rather not take the risk. You know how these jobs are; there tends to be a certain amount of scope creep, and I’m not comfortable estimating at the outset how long it will take or how much it will cost.» We shook hands, and he left.

Kevin recently solved a problem with the iron handrails that lead up to our front entrance. They were loose and extremely dangerous. We had them «fixed» several months ago by someone else, but they were still very wobbly. Kevin found a way to attach them securely. I think our handrails are now safe. Kevin worked quickly and he charged a reasonable price. We will have him back as soon as the right project comes up.

Kevin is an excellent worker, thorough, competent, and reasonably priced. He put up a deer fence in our backyard. It looks very nice and I no longer need to wonder if my lettuce will be there in the morning.

Had a fence, gate, and outside stairs redone by Kevin. I found him responsive, thorough, and helpful. His price was reasonable and the work is done very well. He went the extra mile to make sure I was satisfied with the job. I would recommend him highly.

Kevin is a really skilled workworker. I have commissioned cutting boards from him as wedding presents for friends, and am continually impressed with the quality of his work. When my gardening clients need fencing or gate work, he is the first person I turn to. I can always count on him to get the job done in a timely manner.

Kevin is fantastic. He did a custom fence and gate that is beautiful. The quality of his work is is evident at first glance. Kevin also just finished rebuilding our front steps and securing the handrail. The steps are now so well built that the dog no longer barks when the mailman delivers the mail! He explained everything he was going to do in detail before starting work and communicated well during during the process. We will definitely call Kevin for our next project.

Kevin just left today, having started with what I thought was a simple «please replace the sheetrock that is water damaged» (and letting a gazillion spiders inside, 17 of which found me tasty) to replacing studs and the outside plywood of the house damaged over the years by poor water control. In addition he preventively redesigned the steep hill’s water flow, overseeing a ditch and berm hillside landscaping — even using cuttings from my nearby plants to hold all in place ingeniously. He created a French drain system, which included cutting a cement slab and thoroughly sealing nearby areas, fixed the all too level gutters so that the water and leaves would successfully go elsewhere, cut down a tool shed door that was dragging, assembled an Ikea closet system (and didn’t laugh with my participation turned out to be installing pieces incorrectly), reinforced the deck pillars my 80 lb. dog tugged loose, replaced rotted plywood, and and and. I would have liked him to do about a gazillion other bits and pieces but he had promised to start work elsewhere when it was supposed to be a simple job of one task and it was time for a break here. His prices are reasonable, his careful accounting generous. Stefaneer L. has it right about thoroughness and safety as well as showing up. We all have horror stories about laggards.
I hope to bring him back later. In fact, I’ve decided to start a list of Kevin future rescues! He is a good communicator, listening to and explaining well (sometimes more than once without complaint) what he suggests as a solution as well as what the consequences might be for extensive or light repairs. Or what he’s done. He is a gentle educator. I learned interesting angles on everything we discussed. He is flexible, careful, is nicely proud of the quality of work he does, has high integrity and listens to National Public Radio to keep that mind busy while the hands are working, ie. smart and using his brain to solve YOUR problems. I trusted him to solve difficulties without fear after getting to know the quality of his work.
I really shouldn’t go on like this. Most likely you’ll hire him; then he’ll end up being so busy that I’ll never get to have him back. Bandit the dog hopes to see him again. Me too.

Kevin is awesome. I have had him up to the house twice and he has completed my «honey do» list both times.
In his two trips to our house, he has:
Fixed the kid’s play structure that had suffered from poorly anchored 4x4s and a rotten 2×12. Well, I should say that it had poorly anchored 4x4s and a rotten 2×12 and then suffered from a 220 pound man stepping on it and causing it to crumble. Kevin came out, dug holes, poured concrete to properly set 4x4s and then bolted the 2×12 to the 4x4s — vastly improving both the stability and the safety of my kids play structure.
He fixed the door to the green house, which had been hanging cattywampus since we got the house.
He shimmed and carved out the door of the wood box our PG&E meter sits in so that the door closes. PG&E installed the old «smart» meter, but the new bubble was too big for the gol dern’d door so it stood open for about a year.
He finished all the downspout connections so that the water off of our roofs makes it into the drain system instead of ruining our yard.
Replaced a plank on our front gate where my wife had run into the door.
Fixed a part of the yard’s fencing that was falling apart.
Did a rough tightening and repair of our deck — Tightened all the bolts on the deck, reset all the troubled nails and added screws for additional stability of the railings.
He does time and materials. He works quickly, his prices are fair, and he does really nice work.
He has a special place in his heart for reusing and recycling wherever possible and has an expertise in rainwater recycling systems which he can install and make useful.
I can’t recommend him highly enough. Kevin gets 4 stars for greatness and a 5^th for completing my «honey do» list… twice!