John Coveney General Contractor

04/23/2025

For anyone who likes to geek out on urban infrastructure, I've found that tickets of the EBMUD wastewater plant disappear in a flush as soon as they become available on Eventbrite.

So here's the arm chair tour for all you interested in our personal water cycle.

EBMUD's Main Wastewater Treatment Plant treats wastewater to protect public health and the San Francisco Bay.

03/19/2025

I've been busy developing my ADU Consultancy and am so pleased to have found the resource of The Casita Coalition- the non-profit advocacy organization that has been driving so much of the state law changes to make ADU creation easier (still not easy). I am taking a 4 session month long class, but you can take a 90 minute crash course this Friday to get you started.

Casita Coalition Academy presents a workshop designed to accelerate your knowledge of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) with this 90 minute presentation and workshop.

01/12/2025

Apologies for being long overdue providing an update of my professional life. Seen here is 2305 Grant St, a brand new ADU that I have had constructed on our property, soon to be inhabited by my wife Deena Levy and l as an extension of our home.

Often the biggest things happening in our lives get passed over as something to post about on social media, and this "Magnum Opus" of my professional career certainly qualifies. There's a long and satisfying story to tell here.

I write to give notice of my professional presence has started back up as a trusted, knowledgable general contractor providing my services now as a construction consultant.

Look for more info soon on a talk and tour of our new home: How to make an ADU a reality

01/12/2025

Apologies for being long overdue providing an update of my professional life. Seen here is 2305 Grant St, a brand new ADU that I have had constructed on our property, soon to be inhabited by my wife Deena Levy and I as an extension of our home.

Often the biggest things happening in our lives get passed over as something to post about on social media, and this "Magnum Opus" of my professional career certainly qualifies. There's a long and satisfying story to tell here.

I write to give notice of my professional presence has started back up as a trusted, knowledgable general contractor providing my services now as a construction consultant.

Look for more info soon on a talk and tour of our new home: How to make an ADU a reality

02/07/2024

My last post about our family ADU project was when the first first floor walls went up. So much has been happening.

Now many weeks later (there have been rain delays), we get the first look in actuality of the full impact of its height and mass.

More so than outward appearances, we can also now walk on two floors and really get a feeling of the breadth of the rooms, no longer lines in paper, dimensions, imagining our new rooms as places for play, work, and sleeping

It feels like it will be a really nice new extension of our existing home across the yard.

When all is done, the patio put back together, the buildings design I hope will be felt as an improvement to our shared land.

We are grateful for our neighbors agreeing to this next evolution in a more than fifty year history of this Gnu Circus community, building for the next century, lives beyond ours

04/26/2022

Trapezoidal frame door hanging

04/26/2022

“t’aint ever simple.
Nor plumb level or square”

This carriage door pair replacement required ordering oversized doors to trim to fit the sloping concrete floor and sagged top- 3/4” out of level across the 7’ opening.

The clients, friends and artists, take pleasure in having things done just right. I knew if the windows did not align I’d hear about it. You get one chance to get it right the first time.

The active door has a self opening feature, same as the previous install in the opening.

I learned I was underpowered, should have had a corded Skil77 instead of the cordless saw I have come to use for most everything. Ripping 1-3/4 sustainably harvested hardwood requires power.

It’s been a long while since I’ve posted here. Today was another one of those days when you can say at the end- damn, I’m good 🙂

08/01/2020

One thing I love about my work is having the knowledge to easily and durably construct quickly what’s needed.
Here we have a sealed plastic divider between a Montessori School that’s about to re-open and the Berkeley Food Pantry, hosted at the Friends Church.

Strong wind pressure would push a spring loaded Zip Wall over. Red stucco tape seals all the edges where the plastic wrapped battens are secured with screws that will just need some sparkle touch up. A zippered door will be added.

Being self-employed gives me the flexibility to have a sliding scale for community projects, and the time spent with my friend and Pantry Director Aram Antariam was pleasant company for a one hour installation. The bill will be for two, as I count the planning, shopping by, and mobilization of tools and supplies as all part of what it takes to get a job done.

06/08/2020

It's been a while since I've posted, and I have several projects I'm proud of that I will be sharing in the weeks ahead. But I want this page to be more than about me. It should be a useful resource for anyone considering hiring, or in the midst of remodeling.

One aspect of my business is construction consulting- advising homeowners about what they are about to get into, or have found themselves in the midst of.

I have just such a client now that I have started with. Their remodel is only midway to finishing after a year when the contractor said the whole project would take 6 months to complete. I share this article so that you can understand something about what makes for a good tradesperson to do business with, and to not base your decision just on price.

https://www.jlconline.com/business/estimating-job-costing/job-pricing-blunders_o?utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=Article&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=JLC_060720&

A hard look at how construction business owners often fail in how they price jobs.