South San Francisco Cleaning and Home Services

Owner Albert Ong first founded a janitorial firm in 1980, and after establishing a sturdy rapport with his clients, he promptly began expanding his business. Today, with more than 30 years of experience in his tool belt, Albert helms a multifaceted staff that specializes in an assortment of home-improvement services, specifically natural stone cleaning and restoration. Albert and his team effectively treat surfaces ranging from patios and fireplaces to driveways and monolith statues employed to guard cookie jars. When they're not sanding, polishing, or power washing, the Ambassador Services team is providing customers with information on local plumbers, contractors, maid services, and more.

Freedom Pool’s Service Magic–approved team brings a decade’s worth of experience and a family-business friendliness to every pool-related maintenance, repair, and installation job its members handle. Their one-time or weekly maintenance packages involve filter cleanings and a rebalancing of the chemicals in the pool. They can take care of a variety of parts and equipment, from patching simple leaks to replacing broken pumps to inflating pool floats styled like R2D2. Their installation services help to cut down on pool-related expenses by reducing chlorine with a salt system or lowering energy consumption with a variable-speed pump.

Each year, more than 10,000 homeowners, business owners, and lazy nomads relocate to new digs thanks to AVL Moving Systems' team of seasoned movers. The movers' experience lends them the know-how and experience needed to help with all manner of moves, be they down the street or across the country. It's not just their brawn that workers put to good use—they're also skilled packers, swathing delicate glass in the proper packaging, crating valuable antiques, or preparing pianos for new homes. AVL Moving Systems also has a modular facility for short- or long-term storage, a simpler alternative for their customers than helping them find a couch for their couch to crash on. To simplify moving day, customers can purchase supplies directly from the company and can even have them take a vehicle along for the ride.

Eric Wason had found working for larger companies less than satisfying. So after 13 years of taking orders, in 2007 Wason decided it was time to venture out on his own. "I think for most people, it's kind of a dream to work for yourself, be your own boss. More than anything now, I try to build a relationship with my clients. People like to feel like you know who they are."

Today, Eric acts on this sentiment as he performs his duties for Lighthouse Door Company, his garage-door and gate-installation outfit. On the job, Eric and his servicemen rely upon high-end brands such as Wayne-Dalton, Amarr, and LiftMaster. Eric also leverages his specialization is in custom carriage-style doors—especially those he can create from scratch—when performing installations and repairs. "I've always been mechanically inclined,” says Wason, citing early life experiences in shop classes and other creative environments. Branching off from this, Eric is also a certified green builder, which means he uses green products whenever possible and even offers referrals for eco-friendly house building.

Though there's something cathartic in his ability to stand back, take pictures, and admire his completed work, Eric's real sense of pride stems from contributing to the very community in which he was born. "I have a lot of roots here, and I plan on keeping it that way. I love Monterey and Santa Cruz, the ocean 10 minutes way, the mountains, the snow's four hours away. Couldn't ask for more."

The founders of CB DESIGN hail from a long lineage of European design and construction experts. As a result, they have generations of expertise, which they bring to life through 3-D design software and unorthodox science experiments. By adding depth to blueprints, they help clients gain a tangible sense of the scale and style of planned renovations. After clients approve plans, CB DESIGN’s personnel acquire the necessary permits and ensure that subcontractors erect or adapt domiciles in an eco-friendly way. They even craft custom steel fixtures through a fabrication company.

A stained carpet reflects poorly not just on its owner but also on the storm window’s ability to keep out gusts of tropical fruit punch. Keep a neat abode with today's Groupon: for $59, you get two rooms of carpet-cleaning service from Eco Friendly Services (a $159 value).

Carpet-cleaning technicians from Eco Friendly Services wield an arsenal of environmentally friendly, nontoxic cleansing products. In less than one hour, a pair of carpet cleaners scrubs fiber floor coverings throughout two rooms, targeting dirt and stains leftover from the all-clown tackle-football game in the living room. The environmentally friendly products deodorize carpets with a clean citrus scent without overloading floor coverings with dangerous chemicals that endanger children or pets. Afterward, the technicians dry and groom each carpet to make it look as clean and welcoming as the day it was sheared off a wooly mammoth’s back.