Our Story



Bernica Builders was founded by Michael Bernica who has held the same general contractor’s license since 1989. Michael has been in the construction industry his entire life starting at the age of 15 as a carpenter's helper and apprentice. He worked his way through the trades over the years in residential and commercial construction as a journeyman carpenter and became skilled in several of the construction trades. Along the way, Michael worked as a Field Superintendent for a notable commercial contractor where he became experienced in supervising all aspects of commercial building construction directly on the job sites. Later, he moved into the office environment where he worked as an Estimator, Project Manager, Project Executive and eventually Operations Manager and then Sr Vice President of Operations for one of the top commercial building contractors in the US, ranked consistently in the ENR Top 100 General Contractors. In Michael’s career, there is not much in the construction industry that he has not seen, done or experienced.


Michael left the corporate construction world and everything that went with it several years ago when he decided to get back to his roots and do what he truly loved.... being on the front lines of actually building. Now, Michael now has his own general contracting company located in Covina, CA. This is where he stays hands on and in control of the entire process of building successful projects for our clients. He is very selective when it comes to the people that become part of the Bernica Builders team. Michael is very proud of everyone that represents our company and stands behind every one of them. In turn, we have very happy and loyal team members that share the same values and passion for building that Michael has had from the beginning.


Building things is in Michael’s blood. Building them well is in his nature. He instills that passion in Bernica Builders, where we are consistently striving to innovate, do things better, and learn more about what it takes to exceed our customer’s expectations. This culture to over deliver is what drives us, our company, and our people.



We believe that every project should be considered a “prototype”; rarely ever having been done the same before. With each project having its own unique characteristics and challenges, it should be approached with an open mind and the ability to draw from experience. This brings forth innovative thinking and the solutions necessary to ensure a successful project for everyone involved. Thinking things through and finding better ways has always been a key to our success.


Bernica Builders performs as much of the work "in house" as possible, providing more control of the process, quality, and the end results. This includes but is not limited to concrete, framing, plumbing, electrical and HVAC work. The trades that may not be done in house are only done by specialty contractors that have proven themselves time and time again with their quality of work and having our purpose, values, and ethics. We consider them to be part of the Bernica Builders family. Again, this provides us with better control of expectations and the entire building process.


We have built our reputation on relationships and past performance. Customer testimonials, referrals and repeat business with past clients speak for themselves. As you can see, it's easy for us to say how proud we are of the entire team at Bernica Builders.