AROUND
THE BLOCK

About Mediterraneo

We’re Mediterraneo Design Build, a construction firm in Menlo Park that has served the Bay Area since 1991, working closely with homeowners and architects on more than 150 new residential and major remodeling projects.

Our Philosophy

There was a time when builders could frame a house with little more than a broad ax to fell trees and hew them square, and a knife with which to whittle the wooden pegs that joined the great posts and beams. It took dozens of neighbors to help raise those massive frames, so at every stage, house-building took great skill, close collaboration and constant communication.

When builders used the word “true” in those days it was often a verb. When you trued a log, you made its faces as flat as humanly possible. A trued wall was perfectly plumb. “Almost” didn’t cut it: either it was true or it wasn’t. Likewise, if a builder was “true as his word,” you had no doubt about the craft, quality or integrity that went into his houses.

Times and tools change. Long ago the sawmill supplanted the hewer of trees, and the plumb bob gave way to laser levels that today do everything but brew your coffee. But we’d like to think that integrity still has great value to everyone who designs and builds homes, or lives in them. And that exceptional skill, unstinting standards, close collaboration and constant communication are still the best paths to building it true—true to the owner’s vision, true to the architect’s design, and true to the great traditions of honest building.

July 30, 2020

Historic Woodside Estates Project Underway

We are excited to share a new project that is underway in Woodside California on the property of what would have been the Woodside Estates around the turn of the last century.  We love working on older historic homes to see the craftsmanship and materials that was used in a bygone era of residential construction.

This project in particular is very interesting as the structure we are working on was once a one room building with a wrap around porch in the style of old mountain cabins and was the model sales office for a planned development of the area.  It was intended to be a community of small cabins with recreation facilities designed as a retreat for wealthy folks from San Francisco to the north.  Ultimately due to a variety of reasons including WW1 and the great depression investments fell apart and the development was never realized however the small cabin was survived.

One exciting aspect of the project is the discovery of amazing wood and timber that was used to construct the building.  We always strive to salvage and donate as much material as possible from our projects and this structure has proven to be a gold mine of Redwood and Doug Fir.  With our background in carpentry and our love for fine craftsmanship it has been a fun adventure of discovery to find the old growth redwood that was likely milled from the trees that used to grow on the property.  The plan is to find ways to use this material (old floor joists, studs, rafters, etc) in the new project to highlight and reflect to the history of the place and the building.

We’ll share more discoveries along the way and progress photos of this amazing project.

Keep Building!

Mediterraneo Builders