Real reviews
Reviews for Avis Builders and Design
Every named review on this page was left on a public platform under the reviewer's own name, on Google, Yelp or Thumbtack, and each card says which. Avis cannot edit them, and cannot take one down for reading badly.
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- Rated 5.0 on Google
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Rated 5.0 on Google
The named reviews on this site come from three public platforms, Google, Yelp and Thumbtack, and every card says which one it came from. Each was published under the reviewer's own name on a profile the company cannot edit or delete. Avis also has Yelp and Thumbtack profiles, and a Better Business Bureau accreditation confirmed against the BBB registry on September 2, 2026. Yelp and Thumbtack each calculate a rating from their own reviews and nobody else's, which is why every platform is listed separately here instead of merged into one figure.
Reviews are requested by the project manager on every job, by email or text. Avis is a licensed general contractor in San Jose, CSLB #1142220, Class B General Building, licensed and bonded. Call (408) 208-0551.
Most contractor websites have a testimonials page, and almost none of them can be checked. The quotes are typed into a content editor by whoever built the site. There is no author you can find, no date, and no way to confirm the customer was ever a customer. This page works the other way around. The named reviews on it come from Google, Yelp and Thumbtack, each card names the platform it came from, they carry the name the reviewer published under, and the original of each one lives on that platform rather than on this server, carrying the date it was posted.
That last part is the point of the whole page. A review on Google sits on Google's property, so Avis cannot rewrite a sentence of it, cannot adjust the stars, and cannot pull it down for reading badly. Google removes reviews that break its own published policies, which means somebody outside the company is holding the pen. A quote on a company's own website has no such check behind it, and there is no way for you to tell the difference from the outside. So treat this page as a pointer and treat the profile as the record. The link to it appears here more than once, because clicking through is the correct thing to do.
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The same rule governs how the quotes appear. Nothing is reworded, nothing is corrected, and no two reviewers are merged into one tidier customer. Names are shortened on the cards to a first name and a last initial; the sentences are untouched. Where a long review is shortened, the cut lands at the end of a sentence, so the shorter version cannot mean something the reviewer did not write. A review that has been polished has stopped being evidence of anything except the polish.
Once you are on the profile, reading it well takes a few minutes. Start with the dates. A contractor with strong reviews from three years ago and nothing since has changed something, and the crew you would get today is probably not the crew those reviews describe. Then read what the reviews are actually about. Remodeling goes wrong in a small number of predictable places: the schedule, the change orders, the communication when something unexpected turns up inside a wall, the cleanup at the end of each week, and who answers the phone after the final payment clears. A review that talks about those things is worth more than a review saying the work looked good.
Read the middle of the range before the top of it. Three and four star reviews carry the most information, because the person writing one is usually satisfied and irritated at the same time and will name the part that irritated them. Then look at how the company behaved in the reviews that went badly. A reply that answers the specific complaint tells you how a business acts when it is losing an argument in public. Look at the timing as well. Reviews that arrive in one dense burst and then stop tend to mean a campaign rather than a steady run of finished jobs.
Check that the reviews describe the kind of work you need. A run of strong deck reviews tells you very little about a kitchen, and the reverse holds too. Avis holds a Class B General Building license, CSLB #1142220, which is the classification California uses for projects that involve two or more unrelated trades. The state license lookup is the place to confirm that number and its current status, rather than taking either from a marketing page.
Then go past the reviews and talk to somebody. Ask for the contact details of a past customer whose project resembles yours in scope, not in photographs. A contractor who cannot produce one for the type of work you are buying has told you something useful. When you get that person on the phone, ask what changed between the written proposal and the final invoice, and how the price for the change was agreed. Ask how far the finish date moved and who told them it was moving.
Ask who ran the job day to day, and whether that was the same person who sold it. Ask what happened the first time something needed fixing after the money was paid, because that answer is the one a review rarely contains and the one you will care about most. Ask whether they would hire the company again for a larger project than the one they bought.
Reviews are one input. The license lookup is another, the written scope of work is another, and the conversation with a past customer is the one most people skip. To start, call (408) 208-0551 or ask for the free in-home consultation.
Real Reviews
What our customers say
Wonderful company that helped build a railing on our deck. Shay, from Avis Builders and Design, was prompt, answered all my many, many questions, and helped to create a wonderful final product. Everything was explained well and the price was very reasonable. I cannot recommend them enough!
We recently hired Avis Builders and Design to make long needed repairs and restore the finish on our redwood deck. Everything went smoothly from start to finish. Project manager Shay assessed the job and made sure all our questions were answered and needs met for a fair price. Oscar and crew mate were on time, courteous, and efficient and completed the work as outlined in our contract. Very happy we chose Avis to do the job. Definitely recommend Avis Builders.
We contacted Avis Builders and Design because we wanted to remodel several areas of our home, including the kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, painting, and a few other updates throughout the house.
Shay was great to work with from the beginning. He explained everything clearly, helped us understand our options, and made the whole process feel much more organized. There were a lot of details to figure out, but Shay helped coordinate everything, including the design side and communication with the engineer when needed.
The team did a great job, paid attention to the details, and we're very happy with how everything turned out. We would definitely recommend Avis Builders and Design to anyone looking for a reliable remodeling contractor.
We are very happy with the work Avis did for us. They built two stairs and delivered on time. They are good with follow-ups and keep you informed throughout the whole process. They are reliable, and we recommend them.
Avis Builders and Design did a great job on our deck build / outdoor deck stairs project. Shay from Avis Builders was very responsive from the moment I reached out. He was flexible and promptly met me at the house at the agreed time. Notably, Shay took the time to listen to what I was looking for while also provided some great ideas on my yard deck and stairs build out. Also, I was pleased with their prompt follow up on the estimate and next steps (whereas others I needed to follow up with others).
Shay kept me up to date on every step via text and promptly scheduled and completed the deck and stairs build. Their finished product was amazing and exceeded my expectations! Walking down my new stairs and onto my deck was such an awesome and wonderful feeling! Thank you Shay and the Avis team! Side note, I stopped by during the middle of the build to the see the progress and their team was very cordial and professional. I would highly recommend Avis Builders not just for their product but also the great experience overall.
I had a really great experience with Avis Builders and Design. The whole process felt smooth and well organized, and the team was easy to work with from day one. They helped me a lot with the design, layout, and material choices, and that guidance made a big difference in how everything came together.
Avi was very helpful throughout the project, always taking the time to explain things and make sure I was comfortable with every decision. Communication was solid, the work was done carefully, and the final result came out exactly how I hoped it would.
I'm extremely happy with how the bathroom turned out and would definitely recommend Avis Builders and Design to anyone looking for quality work and a team that truly cares about the details.
The deck looks great! This was such an efficient and smooth experience. Thank you very much! I will certainly keep you in mind for any projects that I need done in the future. Thank you again! Rich
Great work with our bathroom remodel. Loved the final product and the space looks completely new. Avi was professional, reliable and finished the job quickly. Will be hiring again and highly recommend.
We worked with Avi from Avis Builders and Design for refinishing our deck. It was easy to schedule a consultation and get the project completed. Their team was knowledgeable and came up with alternative solutions when we ran into an issue with the deck roof. The work was completed professionally and on schedule, my deck now looks brand new!
we had a great experience! They were quick to respond, able to help us with all of our questions which were a lot since we didn't really know what we could fit in space wise. we ended up transitioning from our original design and they were very courteous throughout the process. this was one of our first projects so we will be reaching out again. absolutely fantastic work. thank you!
Avis Builders and Design helped us with our kitchen remodel and we had a really great experience. Our project manager, Shai, helped guide us through everything from permits and design to the final walk-through. Communication was easy, making the overall process stress free.
I love the final result of our kitchen! We would definitely recommend Avis Builders and Design to anyone thinking about remodeling.
Where to read them yourself
Google Business Profile
This is the primary record. Five of the eleven named cards on this site are Google reviews; the other six were left on Yelp and Thumbtack, and every card is labeled with the platform it came from. The profile shows each review with the reviewer's name and the date, the rating Google calculates from those reviews, and any review posted since this page was last built. It is also the version of the company Google is showing to every other homeowner searching in San Jose and the towns around it, which is a second reason to read it rather than to read about it. Reviews left there are held by Google, not by Avis.
Yelp
Avis has a Yelp listing under Santa Clara. Yelp runs its own software over incoming reviews and moves some of them off the main page into a separate set reachable from a link near the bottom, so if you are going to read Yelp, read that set too. The rating Yelp displays is calculated by Yelp from the reviews Yelp is currently showing, which makes it a genuinely separate reading rather than a copy of the Google one.
Thumbtack
The Thumbtack profile has been retired and the page no longer resolves, so there is nothing to read there now. The Thumbtack review quoted above is kept exactly as it was written and attributed to the platform it was left on. A Thumbtack figure was never a Google figure, and the sets do not add up into a single total that means anything.
Better Business Bureau
Avis Builders and Design is an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau. That accreditation was confirmed directly against the BBB's own registry on September 2, 2026, under BBB of Los Angeles and Silicon Valley, rather than taken from a badge image. A BBB page is worth opening for one thing the review platforms do not carry: the complaint record, and whether complaints that were filed ended up closed. Search the business name at bbb.org to reach it.
How to read a contractor's reviews
Read the dates before you read the stars
A rating is a lifetime average, and an average hides when the reviews arrived. Sort by newest and check whether the recent work is being reviewed at all.
Start with the three star reviews
The middle of the range holds the detail. Somebody who is mostly happy will still name the thing that went wrong, and that thing is the one most likely to turn up on your job.
Weigh what the review is about, not how warm it sounds
Give weight to reviews that mention scheduling, change orders, permits, subcontractors and cleanup. Those are the parts of a remodel that cost real money when they go wrong.
Match the reviews to your actual project
Deck reviews do not predict a bathroom, and a bathroom review does not predict an accessory dwelling unit. Look for the trade you are hiring for, and if it is thin, ask for a reference instead of assuming.
Read the replies, especially on the bad ones
A reply that addresses the specific complaint is a signal. A reply that thanks the customer for the feedback and says nothing else is not.
Open the reviewer's own profile
Google shows the other reviews a person has written. A reviewer with a history of local reviews across unrelated businesses reads differently from an account carrying exactly one review.
Never add the platform numbers together
Google, Yelp and Thumbtack each calculate a rating from their own set of reviews and nobody else's. A total summed across all three describes nothing that exists on any single platform. A merged figure is one of the ways a review count on a contractor's website stops matching the profile it claims to come from, and it is why the platforms are listed separately on this page.
How we ask for reviews
Every customer gets asked. The project manager requests the review, by email or by text message, and the ask goes out on every project rather than only on the ones that finished smoothly. That is the entire process as the company described it at onboarding, and nothing is added to it here.
Asking on every job is also the only way a rating stays worth reading. A company that only asks the customers it already knows are pleased is publishing a selected sample. The reviews then measure the selection rather than the work.
- Who asks: the project manager. That is the role the company named when it described the process, and this page does not go past it.
- How the ask reaches you: by email or by text message. Those are the two channels the company uses.
- Which jobs get asked: every job. The ask is not conditional on how the project went.
- Where the review ends up: wherever you leave it, under your own name. Nothing about a review passes through this website before it is published, and a review left on Google cannot afterwards be edited or deleted by the company it is about.
What to ask a past customer
Reviews are written for strangers. A phone call is not. Ask the contractor for a customer whose project matched yours in scope, and take these with you.
- Was the person who ran the job day to day the same person who sold it to you?
- What changed between the written proposal and the final invoice, and how was the price for that change agreed?
- How far did the finish date move, and who told you it was moving?
- Was there a permit on your job, and did the inspections pass the first time?
- Who cleaned up, and what state was the property left in at the end of each week?
- What happened the first time something needed fixing after you made the final payment?
- Was there anything in the scope you assumed was included that turned out not to be?
- Would you hire them again for a project bigger than the one they did for you?
FAQs
Frequently asked questions: reviews
Are these reviews real, and can I check them myself?
Yes. Every named review published on this site was left on a public platform under the reviewer's own name, and each card names the platform it came from. Five are Google reviews on the Google Business Profile for Avis Builders and Design, five are Yelp reviews, and one is from Thumbtack. The wording is the reviewer's and it is published here exactly as they wrote it, with nothing cut. The name on each card is the name they published under.
The posting date sits on the platform rather than on the card, so the links on this page are where you check when a review was written and read the full set at the source, including anything posted since this page was last built.
Why does this page list Google, Yelp and Thumbtack separately instead of showing one total?
Because each platform calculates its rating from only the reviews left on that platform, so a single combined figure is not a real number on any of them. Review widgets often merge sources into one total, and the result is a count no homeowner can reproduce by opening a profile and looking. Listing each platform on its own means the number you read matches the profile you open.
Does Avis Builders and Design ask every customer for a review?
Yes. The project manager asks for it by email or by text message, and the ask goes out on every project rather than on a chosen few. Once a review is submitted it lives on the platform it was left on, so Avis can neither edit it nor take it down.
I can only find a few reviews for the kind of work I need. What should I do?
Ask for a reference. A review set is never a complete list of the jobs a company has finished, and the work you are buying may simply not be the work people happened to write about. Avis covers whole home remodeling, kitchens, bathrooms, decks, accessory dwelling units and room additions, 3D design and planning, flooring, interior painting, exterior siding and painting, landscaping, pergolas and gazebos, windows and doors, and design services, across San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Los Gatos, Campbell, Cupertino, Saratoga, Mountain View and Los Altos. Call (408) 208-0551 and ask to speak with a past customer whose project looked like yours.