Kitchen remodeling
Bathroom remodeling
Home additions & ADU
Roofing
Windows & doors
Driveway & pavers
FenceFree written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Fast, Reliable General Contractor Across San Francisco
Hiring a general contractor in San Francisco means navigating soft-story retrofit ordinances, historic district scrutiny, and marine-layer corrosion that most contractors never mention until change orders start piling up. We handle the ugly parts before they become expensive surprises. San Mateo Construction brings one accountable team from foundation bolts to cabinet hardware, so you don’t manage five separate trades on a hillside lot in Noe Valley or a 1920s Edwardian in the Richmond. Call (855) 901-7266 for a free estimate, and you’ll get a straight answer about what your project will actually cost, not a teaser number.
A typical kitchen remodel in San Francisco runs $16,520 to $53,100 depending on whether the soft-story retrofit requires shear wall tie-ins and how much fog-eaten framing needs replacement. We give you that range before the first wall comes down.
Why San Mateo Construction Is San Francisco’s Preferred General Contractor Company
San Francisco homeowners keep calling us because we talk about seismic sequencing and stainless fasteners the way most contractors talk about paint colors. Old-school wood-frame houses here have a specific way they fail: rusted sill bolts from fog drip, shear walls that got removed during a 1980s remodel, and ground-floor garages that predate the General Contractor in San Francisco retrofit ordinance. We see these conditions routinely, and we price them into the estimate instead of treating them as a surprise discovery.
We’re not a low-bid shop. Our homeowners pick brand-name materials because they want one project, not three. When a family in Mission District asked us to remodel a kitchen, we flagged the soft-story framing issue before demo, coordinated the permit review, and installed KraftMaid cabinets over a properly tied shear wall. The kitchen looked great. The building actually met code.
Response time matters here more than in the suburbs because a two-week delay on a roofing project in Visitacion Valley means fog drip works its way into sheathing you already paid to protect. Our team schedules exterior work around the marine layer, not against it.
Styles & brands we work with
General Contractor Services in San Francisco
General Contractor Services in San Francisco means sequencing work so the structural envelope is sound before any cosmetic work starts. On a home addition in Noe Valley, that starts with the General Contractor pulling the permit, scheduling the shear wall inspection, and only then framing the new footprint. The job involves foundation-to-wall tie-ins, weatherproofing against a climate that wets everything nine months of the year, and interior finishes that won’t warp when the heat comes on in August.
What does it cost? A home addition runs $53,100 to $153,400. A whole-home remodel with structural work can exceed that, especially when the ground floor requires soft-story hardening. We give written line-item pricing before work starts, not after demo.
Remodel and Renovation
Kitchens, bathrooms, basements, room additions. In San Francisco, these jobs almost always touch old framing, knob-and-tube wiring, or cast-iron drain lines that haven’t moved in a century. We open the wall and schedule the trades in the right order: electrical rough-in, plumbing supply and DWV, insulation, drywall, then fixtures.
ADU and New Structure Builds
Accessory dwelling units in San Francisco get complicated fast: setback rules, mid-block open space requirements, and soft-story triggers if the garage sits on the ground floor. We’ve built ADUs through manufacturers like Boxabl and Plant Prefab, which changes the permitting conversation because the engineering is pre-approved. ADU construction here runs $106,200 to $259,600.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees — you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Construction Company in San Francisco
A Construction Company in San Francisco is only as good as the building department relationship it brings to the table. The city treats even a bathroom remodel as a structural event when the building predates 1940. We handle the permit pull, the inspection scheduling, and the awkward phone calls when a planner wants fire-rated separation on a basement finish you didn’t think needed it. That’s the job.
Bathroom remodel pricing in San Francisco runs $10,620 to $33,040. A small bathroom starts around $5,900 but can climb when you move the drain location in a building with inaccessible floor joists. We’re honest about that before we start cutting.
Exterior Repairs and Whole-Home Envelope Work
Roofing, windows, siding, decks. The fog belt eats standard galvanized fasteners in five years. We specify stainless steel hardware and marine-grade flashing as standard for any exterior surface, which costs more upfront but doesn’t need replacement in a decade. Roof replacement in the city runs $9,440 to $23,600.
Permit Coordination and Structural Compliance
Soft-story retrofits, shear wall additions, and foundation anchor upgrades. This is the work nobody sees but everybody needs. When your kitchen permit triggers a mandatory review, we’ll already know which walls need plywood sheathing and which anchor bolts need replacing.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Francisco
Our San Francisco clients pick from a curated list, not whatever the supply house has in stock this week. Cabinetry from KraftMaid or Wellborn. Countertops in Cambria, Silestone, or Caesarstone. Plumbing fixtures from Kohler in San Francisco, Grohe, or Moen. Roofing from GAF, CertainTeed, or Owens Corning. Windows and doors from PGT or Therma-Tru. Siding from James Hardie. Fencing from Master Halco or Ameristar. Hardscaping from Belgard or Techo-Bloc. And for prefab ADU work, partnerships with Plant Prefab, Boxabl, Dvele, and Abodu. We stock common replacement parts locally for San Francisco jobs so a warranty callback doesn’t mean waiting on a truck from Sacramento.
Common General Contractor Problems We See in San Francisco Homes
- Salt-eaten fasteners on exterior decks and railings. Standard zinc-plated screws and nails fail within three to five years in the fog belt. We specify stainless steel and hot-dip galvanized hardware on every exposed connection.
- Mandatory soft-story retrofit triggers on “simple” remodels. Open a wall in the Mission and find 1920s foundation bolts that have been rusting since before the freeway went in, and the city wants a shear wall review before you can hang cabinets. We plan for this.
- Fog drip scheduling failures. Exterior paint, roofing, and deck sealant applied during the wrong week blister and peel inside two seasons. We schedule around the marine layer’s moisture cycle, not the customer’s convenience calendar.
- Rot and mold in pre-1940 wood framing. Closed-cell conditions with fog-wetted sills create recurring rot pockets. We open, remediate, and replace with pressure-treated or moisture-resistant lumber before covering the wall.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterPricing for General Contractor in San Francisco, CA
Here’s the honest part. San Francisco pricing is higher than Daly City or San Bruno because the building stock is older, the permit triggers are more aggressive, and the materials have to survive salt air. A roofline job in Visitacion Valley uses different fasteners than the same job in Oakland.
| Project | San Francisco Market Range |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Remodel | $16,520 – $53,100 |
| Bathroom Remodel | $10,620 – $33,040 |
| Roof Replacement | $9,440 – $23,600 |
| Window Replacement | $5,310 – $17,700 |
| Home Addition | $53,100 – $153,400 |
| ADU Construction | $106,200 – $259,600 |
What drives the spread: soft-story retrofit scope, foundation condition, permit revision rounds, and whether you choose premium or value-tier materials. A Delta faucet costs less than a Grohe, and we’ll spec either honestly. A Cambria countertop costs more than Silestone, and we’ll tell you when it’s worth it. Call (855) 901-7266 for a free estimate with a written line-item breakdown. You’ll know the exact number before you sign anything.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Francisco
We work across San Francisco neighborhoods including the Mission District, Noe Valley, Chinatown, and Visitacion Valley. Zip codes we regularly cover: 94111, 94112, 94114, and 94115. Each neighborhood has its own permit quirks and building types, and we’ve pulled permits in all of them.
Serving San Francisco, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Francisco area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage — if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About General Contractor in San Francisco
Yes, in many cases you do. If your building sits on a wood-frame ground floor with an open garage or commercial space, the city’s Soft-Story Retrofit Ordinance can trigger as soon as you pull a permit for anything beyond cosmetic work. We’ll check your building’s status before you spend money on cabinets. Call (855) 901-7266 and we’ll pull the records.
Stainless steel and hot-dip galvanized hardware, period. Interior-grade or standard zinc-plated fasteners fail within three to five years from salt-laden fog even when they’re rated for exterior use elsewhere. We use marine-grade stainless on deck railings, ledger connections, and any exposed metal.
Coastal-spec windows use stainless steel hardware, marine-grade powder coating, and compression gaskets designed for high humidity and salt spray. In San Francisco, that adds roughly 15 to 25 percent over the inland version of the same window. Window replacement here runs $5,310 to $17,700, and you want the coastal spec or you’ll be replacing them again in a decade.
Yes, and we prefer doing it that way. One permit means one inspection schedule, one set of drawings, and no re-opening walls later to add shear plywood that the retrofit required. It’s more efficient and usually cheaper than doing them separately.
Most seismic-plus-remodel projects run on a progress payment schedule: deposit, foundation and shear wall completion, rough-in completion, and final inspection. We never ask for full payment upfront. Each draw ties to a passed inspection so you’re paying for completed work, not promises. Call (855) 901-7266 for an exact quote on your project.
Contact San Mateo Construction for Your San Francisco Project
Noel Carrington and the San Mateo Construction team work across San Francisco remodeling, renovation, and structural retrofit projects every week. From roofline to foundation, one contractor, every system. Call (855) 901-7266 to schedule your free estimate, and we’ll walk you through the actual scope, the real timeline, and the costs before you commit to anything.
Written by Noel Carrington, Owner at San Mateo Construction, serving San Francisco homeowners from roofline to foundation.