Mrakovcich Construction

We had inherited my mother's house in Menlo Park. My sister and I decided to upgrade it in order to sell it for top-dollar in the 2015 Real Estate Market. After having Mike Mrakovcich of Mrakovcich Construction, do an awesome remodeling of two bathrooms in our San Ramon home, we decided to contract him to handle remodeling the Menlo Park house because we knew he is licensed, bonded and insured. He helped us to make an $800,000 house into a $1,500,000+ property.
We started with a 1,100 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house, which hadn't been touched since it was built in 1953, with the exception of a roof replacement sometime in the 1980s. We sold a 1,500 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house, completely upgraded from the inside out. In order to add an en suite bathroom to the master bedroom, Mike and his crew had to expand a bedroom and make it the new master bedroom. Mike also entirely modernized the existing bathroom. He had to completely reconfigure the kitchen in order to make room for modern appliances which formerly had a 1950s refrigerator, a 1960s stove/oven, no dishwasher, and no microwave...not even a waste disposal. He also removed walls to create an "open concept" flow from the dining area to the living room. Since the house was heated with only one wall heater, he ended up installing a central heating and air conditioning unit with all the attendant ductwork, while we had him replace the roof.
Mike essentially tore up the entire house in order to bring the electricity and plumbing up to code in order to handle modern requirements. We also had Mike wire the house with cable and internet wiring in the living room and all the bedrooms. While working in the kitchen he noticed that the ceiling joists were running in the wrong direction, which he explained to us and we had him fix. He also took care of resurfacing the sooty, wood fireplace with a renovated, stone façade. Mike expanded all the tiny bedroom closets into sliding, wall-covering mirrored doors in each room with a minimum of labor. He also replaced all the doors in the house with updated interior and security exterior doors. He refurbished the original hardwood floors and replaced, with matching hardwood, areas that could not be restored.
Mike had his crew working on the exterior of the house while remodeling the interior. While installing the new roof and its expansion, he had to reinforce the beam across the roof line and install new gutters which disappeared during the 1980s roof replacement. He installed all new custom-sized windows and added a sliding glass door to the new master bedroom. He poured a new, expanded driveway and walkway, as well as adding a new parking pad on the other side of the house since Menlo Park does not allow overnight street parking. He suggested an economical way to re-stucco the outer walls and handled the painting of both the interior and exterior of the house.
He put up extensive new fencing and gates all around the property. He installed sprinklers, a lawn and landscaping in the front yard. In the back yard he removed a broken, concrete fish pond to revamp the backyard landscaping. He repaired the back patio and created new steps into the house.
We devoted quite a bit of time and money to renovate the house to maximize our return on investment. We would not have been able to profit so much on our asset without Mike Mrakovcich's help. He was able to take our ideas and translate them into the tangible. He discussed all the items that went into producing the remodeled house, making sure we both understood why each choice was made and that we were happy with the choices. He patiently went through every change order and spelled out all the charges being made. When we selected the materials and fixtures for the house, he pointed out the pro and cons to each item so we could make informed selections. He made sure that all permits and inspections were made in a timely manner as possible. He and his crew went out of their way to accommodate to our requests and to respect our property. To some, his pricing may see high but "you get what you pay for"...it's worth remembering that you are guaranteed genuine materials, fair labor and solid workmanship. We look forward to working with Mike on future projects.

I am the senior project manager for a construction company specializing in managing multi million dollar commercial projects for high profile clients with demanding budgets and schedules. Our work is typically subcontracted to many specialty companies. Over the last decade our company has been able to count on Michael Mrakovcich and his team to handle all manner of projects ranging from those simply too small for our company, to those that we have been too busy to take on, and to those projects that fall into the gray area between the skill sets of standard subcontractors. Michael has been assigned simple projects from as small as several thousand dollars, which may involve a few trades, to projects up to several hundred thousand dollars, which can typically include complete build outs of commercial spaces. These larger projects often involve T bar ceilings, concrete work, lighting, electrical, finished flooring, metal stud framing, drywall, painting, as well as specialty items such as dressing rooms, storefront glazing, commercial doors, custom cabinetry and the like. We have been able to rely on Michael to assume complete responsibility delivering the superior product to our clientele that our company is known for. During the last 13 years our management team has been able to count on Michael to get the job done. Michael brings excellent quality to the projects and they come in on time and on budget. I can, without hesitation, recommend Michael for any project he wishes to accept.

I truly believe Families should be warned about the unethical practices of Michael Mrakovcich and his Construction Company. He is the definition of a "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing".

We hired Michael Mrakovcich for an expansion and remodel of our family home. Specifically involving the majority of the 1st floor, which encompasses our entire kitchen, family room, and dining room. Within a few days of the project, significant concerns began to arise around Mr. Mrakovcich's ethical practices. We were SHOCKED at the unknowledgeable, evasive, and often aggressive way he would deal with us as homeowners when we would bring up questions or concerns about how the project was not progressing. We are homeowners who are somewhat experienced in prior home remodels and whom have dealt with local contractors, architects, and building inspectors. Mike Mrakovcich was particularly aggressive and dismissive when a Woman would address his performance in regard to the work and building progress on our home. I honestly, on a personal level, have never seen anything like this type of male dismissiveness and degradation in the year 2015 from a contractor in this area. Mike Mrakovcich would actually refuse to speak to me and ask my husband to walk around the corner so he could speak with "the man of the house" instead of a "female". Our concerns were justified.

We specifically asked the following: 1.) Why were only 1 or 2 people of his crew working on any given day and sometimes no one showed up at all. 2.) Why he told us we were not allowed to get price quotes for windows or doors outside of what he quoted us in the contract (he was charging us $800.00 for 1 solid core interior door...that's insane!) 3.) Why he constantly gave us costly "Change Orders" for items that even the city building inspector and architect deemed unnecessary. 4.) Why he promised to fix the damage he did to our second story interior during demolition but never actually fixed the damage. 5.) Why he had our architectural/engineering plans to review for months and had already demo'd the majority of our home's entire 1st floor (with all the walls and ceilings open for months), but only after nearly 2 months into the project said "I kinda have questions on how this would be built." It was clear Mr. Mrakovcich was way over his head in terms of the skill level necessary to execute this project.

Less then 2 months into our home remodel/expansion, Mr. Mrakovcich Abandoned the Project. When I say "Abandoned" he and his crew just stopped showing up for work. He never told us why he had stopped showing up to work. Our home at this point is completely demolished with no walls or ceilings, and construction materials (large wood beams, 2x4's, etc.) are littered all over our backyard. We are sequestered to living upstairs because the majority of our home has been completely exposed to the elements for months. It has already rained and caused significant damage to all materials. With 2 young kids at home, one of whom has special needs, this kind of damage that Mr. Mrakovcich has caused to our family is not just negligible but Reprehensible. He took our $90,000 for completion of "phase 1" and essentially 'took the money and ran'. He never completed" phase 1". This has left my children, our entire family, and our property in a complete mess.

For weeks we tried contacting Mr. Mrakovcich by calling, going to his office, e-mailing, texting, and sending certified letters asking him to please finish the work we have paid him for, and at the very least, be human and give us walls and a roof given that fall/winter is upon us and our family is completely exposed . He never called back or contacted us as to why he abandoned the the project. I contacted the city building inspector asking if he had heard from Mr. Mrakovcich in regard to our project and he said he had called Mike Mrakovcich 3 weeks ago to notify him of a meeting at our home regarding the continuation of our build project, and Mike Mrakovcich never called him back.

Upon a Pleasanton City Officials recommendation we have filed a claim with the Contractors State Licensing Board against Michael Mrakovcich.

It may seem silly, or even pedantic, but "Shame on you Mike Mrakovcich! Shame on you!"