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 Los Altos
Finding a general contractor in Los Altos who understands the city’s floor-area-ratio limits, design review board, and the quirks of 1950s ranch homes is harder than it should be. We’re San Bruno Construction, and we manage every phase of residential work across Los Altos – from kitchen remodels in the 94022 ZIP to full scrape-and-rebuilds near the village core. One contractor, one contract, one point of accountability. Call (866) 472-1908 to talk through your project.
Why San Bruno Construction Is Los Altos’s Preferred General Contractor Company
We show up in Los Altos knowing what we’re walking into. That means we check lot-coverage math before quoting a second-story addition, we know which Los Altos Hills-adjacent streets trigger county well-and-septic review, and we schedule exterior work around the Peninsula’s wet-winter pattern. Homeowners off University Avenue, around the Los Altos village core, and up near the Los Altos Hills line have brought us projects they’d been told were too complicated. Most weren’t – they just needed a contractor willing to do the entitlement work first. Noel Carvalho, who leads San Bruno Construction, has built our process around that: scope the lot, pull the right records, then price the job honestly. No change orders after the fact because someone skipped the variance review.
We coordinate the trades so you don’t have to. On a single Los Altos project, that might mean a framing crew, a licensed plumber for rough-in, an electrician, a roofer, and a countertop fabricator – all scheduled by us, all answering to one contract. Homeowners don’t become part-time project managers. And when material choices come up, you choose from brands like KraftMaid, Wellborn, Cambria, and Silestone – not whatever’s left in a warehouse.
Styles & brands we work with
Licensed General Contractor in Los Altos
A licensed general contractor in Los Altos handles what a homeowner can’t reasonably coordinate alone: pulling permits through the city’s famously exacting planning and building department, scheduling inspections, managing subcontractors, and keeping the job moving when design review asks for revisions. On a kitchen remodel, a licensed GC confirms the plumbing rough-in passes before drywall goes up. On a second-story addition, the GC files the plans, answers city comments, and gets the variance hearing on the calendar. You pay for that coordination – and in Los Altos, where the planning department’s design review can add months to a project, that coordination is the difference between a clean permit and a stalled one.
Remodels and Additions
A kitchen remodel in Los Altos runs $14,000 to $45,000. A home addition runs $45,000 to $130,000. These ranges reflect the real cost of working in a city where floor-area-ratio limits often force a redesign before the first inspection. We scope the lot first, then price.
Detached ADUs and Shops
ADU construction in Los Altos runs $90,000 to $220,000. That’s the range before you factor in county well-and-septic setbacks if your property falls under unincorporated rules near the Los Altos Hills line. We pull the health department’s setback map early so the building pad doesn’t have to move after the design is done.
Residential General Contractor in Los Altos
A residential general contractor in Los Altos works on homes people live in – which means dust control, daily cleanup, and sequencing the work so you’re not without a kitchen for six months. We run residential projects across every Los Altos housing type: 1950s ranch homes in the 94024 ZIP, Eichler-era single-story houses with their open-beam ceilings, and the larger custom homes that replaced many of the original lots. Each one has a different set of constraints. An Eichler’s radiant heating system changes where we can trench for a bathroom addition. A ranch home’s low-slung roof means a second-story addition needs structural review. We’ve seen all of it.
Whole-Home Renovations
A full gut renovation in Los Altos is a different animal from a cosmetic update. It means opening walls, replacing mechanical systems, and often bringing the electrical panel up to current code. We schedule the trades in sequence so the job doesn’t sit idle between inspections.
Garage Conversions
Garage conversion in Los Altos runs $30,000 to $80,000. On lots where a detached ADU won’t clear setback rules, converting an attached garage is often the smarter move. We check the floor-area-ratio math first because converting a garage still counts against your lot coverage.
Trusted Brands We Service in Los Altos
We’re not tied to one cabinet line or one countertop source. That’s the point. San Bruno Construction works with 50+ established brands across every major renovation category, and for Los Altos kitchens and baths, that means you can spec KraftMaid or Wellborn cabinetry and Cambria or Silestone countertops without us pushing you toward whatever’s easiest to get. The difference matters when you’re spending $14,000 to $45,000 on a kitchen. Premium-to-mid-range access in every category means budget decisions are choices, not compromises.
See the difference
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AfterCommon General Contractor Problems We See in Los Altos Homes
- Floor-area-ratio surprises on additions. A second-story addition that looks fine on paper may exceed the lot’s FAR limit once the city runs its calculation. We check this before quoting so the design doesn’t collapse at the permit counter.
- County well and septic setbacks on acreage-adjacent lots. Los Altos properties near the Los Altos Hills line can fall under county health department review. A detached ADU or shop that sits perfectly on the survey may be too close to the well or septic field. We pull the setback map before we dig.
- Narrow driveways and material haul limits. A 1950s ranch off University Avenue often has a single-width driveway that can’t take a concrete truck. That means pumping concrete or hand-carrying materials – a cost that never shows up in a generic quote.
- Wet-season exterior work. Los Altos gets concentrated atmospheric-river storms in winter. Roofing and drainage work scheduled without looking at the calendar gets washed out. We sequence exterior scopes for the dry months and build drainage into the plan.
Pricing for General Contractor in Los Altos, CA
Here’s what we see in Los Altos right now. These ranges reflect the city’s design review process, lot-size constraints, and the cost of licensed trades on the Peninsula.
| Project Type | Typical Los Altos Range |
|---|---|
| ADU Construction | $90,000 – $220,000 |
| Home Addition | $45,000 – $130,000 |
| Garage Conversion | $30,000 – $80,000 |
| Paver Driveway Installation | $7,000 – $18,000 |
| Concrete Driveway Installation | $4,500 – $12,000 |
What pushes a Los Altos project to the top of a range? A sloped lot that needs grading. A driveway that can’t take a concrete truck. A design review board that asks for a revised site plan. We scope all of that before quoting so the number you hear is the number you pay. Call (866) 472-1908 to schedule a free estimate – we’ll walk your lot and give you line-item numbers.
We Also Serve Cities Near Los Altos
Our General Contractor team works across Los Altos Hills, Loyola, Mountain View, and Stanford – each with its own permit office and its own set of rules. If you’re near the Los Altos line but not quite in the 94022, 94023, or 94024 ZIPs, call us anyway. We’ll tell you honestly which jurisdiction you’re in and what that changes about your project. See our Los Altos service area page for more.
Serving Los Altos, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Los Altos 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 Los Altos
It depends on your exact address, not your lot size. Most Los Altos addresses in the 94022, 94023, and 94024 ZIPs go through city permitting. But properties near the Los Altos Hills line can fall under county jurisdiction, which brings the health department’s well-and-septic setback review into play. That review can add months and force a relocation of the building pad. We check your address against the county map before we quote. Call (866) 472-1908 and we’ll pull your parcel records.
We price it by walking the site first, not from a satellite photo. A sloped lot means grading and drainage work. A narrow driveway means pumping concrete instead of a direct chute pour, or a material haul with a smaller rig. On one University Avenue project, a 120-foot material haul from the street was the only way to get materials to the back of a 1950s ranch lot. That cost went into the quote before the contract was signed. Free estimates include the site walk – call (866) 472-1908 to schedule one.
On a remodel, permits cover the specific scope: structural changes, plumbing, electrical, mechanical. On a scrape-and-rebuild, the permit set includes demolition, full site plan review, and often a design review hearing with the city. Los Altos’s design review board is stringent – they’ll look at setbacks, lot coverage, and floor-area-ratio math in detail. We prepare the submittal package so the first review cycle doesn’t bounce back with a stack of comments. That prep work is part of every Los Altos quote we write.
We don’t spring change orders on you mid-job. If a county review forces a building pad relocation or a revised septic setback, we bring it to you with three numbers: what’s changing, what it costs, and what the schedule impact is. You approve it in writing before we proceed. Our fixed-pricing approach means the original scope is line-itemed, so a change order is a delta against a number you already understand, not a surprise lump sum.
In a Los Altos kitchen, expect cabinet lines like KraftMaid or Wellborn and countertops from Cambria or Silestone, with allowances set at the start of the job so you’re not blindsided at the showroom. In a bath, plumbing fixtures can come from Kohler, Moen, Delta, or Toto – your call, not ours. We set the allowance range up front and you pick within it. When you’re spending $14,000 to $45,000 on a kitchen in Los Altos, you should know exactly what you’re selecting before the first cabinet is ordered. Call (866) 472-1908 for a free estimate and we’ll walk you through a sample allowance sheet.
Written by Noel Carvalho, Owner at San Bruno Construction, serving Los Altos and the Peninsula.