We have built houses from the ground up, additions, remodels, kitchens & bathrooms, custom cabinets of all types, window replacement, garages, garage conversions to other uses, swimming pools, Jacuzzis, decks, pergolas, fences, block walls & retaining walls, driveways & walks, patios, ponds, gardens & irrigation. We're well versed in working with Architects, Engineers, Designers, wanna-be Designers, other Contractors or Sub-contractors, Friends that have remodeled their houses, etc. and we've worked with some of the best in the city.
Mark Aller is the main Project Manager and Designer at Malkoe Design with assistance by our Junior Project Manager, Manny Ramirez. Our Senior Foreman on all jobs is Saul Torres and besides smartly running the job, he is an excellent carpenter and builder.
Philosophy: Like we said above, we try and exceed our client's expectations. Additionally, we bring a lot of experience and know-how to a project so we definitely contribute this. We keep a very clean worksite because we know you're the one that sometimes lives with this. Our goal is to always adopt the greenest, most eco-friendly practices and products. This might mean reusing some interesting part of the existing house instead of sending it to the landfill…if it makes good sense. And recycling, donating or salvaging anything that cannot be used. Plus, we try to design the project to minimize any waste and trash accumulation.
Background: In 1998, Mark started his official contracting work on the side of project management with his brother, David, and his company, Aller Construction. Mark's part was to oversee the smaller projects in Los Angeles while David ran the company from Scottsdale, AZ. It wasn't the first time they had worked together, they had excavated foundations at their family home as kids. At 9 and 10, as their Dad put it, “they were just small enough to easily dig under all the foundations.†Their father, a weekend DIYer and inventor, loved home renovation, well before even Bob Villa appeared on TV. In the course of their childhood, they completely remodeled both the houses they grew up in plus built an A-frame cabin from the raw acreage in the High Sierras as a weekend retreat. All of this certainly put the spirit of contracting into their blood. Prior to this, Mark attended Cal State Northridge and studied Business and Economics. Alongside his studies, he also had the opportunity to work at his Mom's growing sportswear company. She had started the company just as the fitness boom of the 1980's started to take hold. This gave Mark the chance to work first hand in the fields of design, marketing and production. Though the design of a leotard is hard to relate to home design, there were always new offices, showrooms and trade show booths to design and build.
Wanting to strike it out on his own, Mark started a retail store, Maverick Clothing Co. that would compliment his Mom's manufacturing capabilities. The store was at 2 different locations in Burbank, CA over a 2 year period. This gave him the chance to develop 2 separate commercial projects complete with security and signage. The store ended up closing, but the time spent was invaluable business experience.
The marketing side of Mom's business plus the creation of original prints and fabric had sparked Mark's interest and abilities in graphic design. He continued his studies at Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles. At Otis, most classes would have all student projects posted on the walls and critiqued by the whole class and professor. One professor always said, “art is a democracy†and you definitely got this feeling as the different opinions flew! It also teaches you quickly the art of collaboration which is invaluable to design and contracting.
A more direct source of design and home building experience came from Mark's 10 years of on-and-off freelance work with LA builder, Justin Klentner, and his designer/wife, Amanda Masters. Justin is known for his beautiful and spacious custom homes in the Hollywood Hills and Sunset Plaza and Amanda for their amazing interiors. Most notably, Mark shared in the project management, design and oversight of developing 2 neighboring homes along Mulholland Drive that we're built from the ground up starting with the city clearances and ending with a Public Works project to build the suspended driveway that created access to the properties. All in, a 3 year project!
After all of this, it was only a matter of time before Mark started his own company.
