Mares & Dow Construction

Being a new homeowner, i really did my research before having someone come out and give me a quote on a skylight. You never know what to believe when you read Unilocal reviews. So, i went ahead and had Jimmy from mares and dow come out and give me an estimate. He was right on time, came out and measured and was very professional while he was here. Janet called me a few days later and sent me over an estimate. I went them them and couldn’t be happier. It arrived in the time frame she had told me, and they were out that week. The workers came out on time, and were very friendly and professional. Dennis (one of the owners) came out as well and checked on the job. The went above and beyond with their work. The skylight looks beautiful! Night and day from the old one. If you are wanting a skylight, i strongly reccomend going with mare and dow

I found Mares & Dow on Velux’s website as their 5 stars vendor. So I email them to give me an estimate. They sent over a young guy called Jimmy (the owner’s son). Jimmy came up to my 2 story tall roof easily and came back in 10 minutes and told me that the office would send over the quotation in a few days. I was not sure if he really got what I wanted as he made the job looked so easy. I have contacted 2 other vendors just to give me a quotation and everyone of them told me that my project was huge and difficult and I have a hard time getting quotation from them. One vendor brought over a Velux rep and complained that my roof was too steep and the rep wasn’t happy about it. The other vendor, Mark Spiller, cannot even submit a quotation. He gave me a rough number and asked me to commit to the project before he asked a 3^rd party over to get an estimate. What’s worse is his rough number is for an acrylic skylight just like my old ones. I told him that I wanted to upgrade to Velux skylights for the new installation and he wrote me a long email explaining and «educating» me that my old skylight were huge and there was no way I could have a Velux skylight unless I asked a constructor to re-​build my roof, also saying he was being nice to me and spent his time to «educate» me even he knew he couldn’t do the project. So when Jimmy said he would submit a quotation without further questions or ask a Velux rep over, I was surprised. I worked with Janet (the owner’s wife) back and forth for several different Velux options and she was patient and submitted a few different quotations based on different models. The installation went over their estimate time frame but was smooth. Jimmy and his teammate, Robert, are professional, polite and considered. There are a few scratches on my hardwood floor but I believed that they have done what they could do. They have covered the area well. It is just my hardwood floor is too delicate and with the heavy scaffolding, it isn’t avoidable. In conclusion, I am happy with them so far. They are very knowledgeable on Velux products. For big projects, they are the team to call and for simple and small projects or repair, maybe Mark Spiller.

We had Mares & Dow install a Velux skylight in our new master bathroom. The space was small and dark, so Mares & Dow suggested a big skylight to add in lots of natural light. They built in a double crown molding to beautifully frame the skylight, and now the space is open and airy with wonderful natural light. We can open the skylight during warm months to let in fresh air. It was a superb addition to our bathroom renovation and a great suggestion from Mares & Dow. They did a fantastic job and were great to work with! Thanks guys!

I called Mares & Dow because I wanted to have our dated bubble skylight replaced. I got the name of this company off the Velux website which was rated as a 5 star dealer.
The owner came out and measured and within a few days we received a quote for over $ 1,800.00 just to replace a standard fixed 4 X 8 skylight. I asked if there were any other options within our price range and was told no & good luck. They are nice people to deal with but I felt taken advantage of.
I went on Unilocal to check out the reviews on Mares and Dow and thanks to the above review about called Mark Spiller (925−288−9881) I called him. He is rated a 3 Star Velux dealer. Honestly, he should be a 10 Star. I told him what I was looking for and he told me over the phone what his pricing was. We chose to upgrade to a manual skylight that opens for more than half the cost of the first quote.
Mark is so knowledgeable, honest about skylights and windows and great to deal with!

Maybe Mares & Dow does good work if you’re actually buying something from them, but DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME calling them for a service call.
I had a Velux skylight that shut down in the open position in the dead of winter, turning my daughter’s bedroom into an ice box. I called Mares & Dow because they’re the only Velux installer with a 5-​star rating. How they got 5 stars, I’ll never know.
These incompetents kept me waiting for four weeks with excuses such as, «I’ll have to find out the work schedule and get back to you.» And never did. They gave me a tentative installation time. but never confirmed it. When I called them, I got their recording and they never ONCE called back.
Finally, I called Mark Spiller in Concord (a 3-​star installer). He had someone out the same day to fix the problem.
So, if you need your Velux skylight repaired, don’t waste your time calling these guys.
PS — I gave them a one-​star rating only because Unilocal won’t let me give them a zero star rating.

I used Mares & Dow to do both major reconstruction and smaller jobs on a 1914 craftsman home in Alameda. I couldn’t be more impressed with the way they not only handled the job, but how they dealt with the city in terms of getting permits and inspections.
Dennis and Archie are excellent at communication so I was always kept up to date on the project’s progress. The pricing was reasonable, but best of all I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of the job. They’re trustworthy, keep you in the loop, and finish the job on time and on budget.
After looking at four other contractors, these guys came out tops.

I bought an old rotting, foreclosed duplex with a store in North Oakland that needed to be half gutted and made residential. It had some period details and a lot of potential. I made my offer through HUD’s 203K loan program so had to get several estimates. I chose Mares & Down because I had a good feeling when I met them that they knew how to manage my project to get it approved by the city, and because their bid came in at a really fair bid.
I didn’t have money for detail drawings or spec sheets and people told me that I would have problems. I am THRILLED to say, that in fact I got phenomenal quality. When a judgment call had to be made while I was away, we agreed more than 90% of the time. They didn’t skimp on any materials — always using the right kind of glue, screws, wood, wires, etc. They also accommodated me doing some of the work and didn’t make me feel in the way. They even let me borrow some tools. The workers on their team were great and answered questions I had on how to do some things. This combined with the consulting I got from owners, Archie, Dennis, Janet, made it possible for me to do work I didn’t have any previous experience with.
I upgraded to gas fireplaces and a new kitchen half way through the project. They found me quality cabinets for HALF AS MUCH as anywhere I tried. My time-​line was 6 months, my actual was 6 months and 20 days. I had 10% contingency in my budget. Including my upgrades, I pretty much stayed in that range. Plus they got it ready enough for me to move in half way through construction which saved me a lot of rent.