Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Trusted General Contractor for San Francisco Homeowners
Finding a General Contractor - San Francisco means choosing someone who will be in your home for weeks, not hours. The wrong choice leaves you with dust in the nursery, a crew that arrives late, and a final invoice that looks nothing like the first number you were quoted. The right choice leaves you with a finished kitchen or bathroom, a written price honored from day one, and a home that was treated with care while the work was underway. Graham Stein leads Elmstead Remodeling San Francisco, a Cedarwell company founded in 2005, serving families throughout the city with named-brand materials, a written price before any work starts, and a 365-Day Done Right Promise stamped on every project. Call (831) 480-4497 to talk through your project.
Construction Company
A construction company handles the structural and finish work of a remodel from first inspection to final walkthrough. You need one when a project involves permits, load-bearing walls, plumbing, electrical, or any work that affects how your home functions, not just how it looks. Elmstead Remodeling San Francisco manages every trade, every delivery, and every detail so you have one phone number and one point of contact. Kitchen remodels in San Francisco run $16,520 – $53,100, bathroom remodels $10,620 – $33,040, and a home addition starts at $53,100 depending on scope, access, and finish selections.
Full Scope Management
We schedule every subcontractor, order every cabinet and countertop, and pull every permit. You will never be asked to coordinate an electrician or chase down a plumbing inspection on your own.
Written Price First
Before any work begins, you receive a written price that covers the project as scoped. The crew does not arrive with a clipboard full of add-ons, and the invoice does not drift upward as the weeks pass.
Styles & brands we work with
Remodeling Contractor
A remodeling contractor focuses on transforming existing spaces rather than building new square footage. You would hire one to gut and rebuild a kitchen, turn a tub into a walk-in shower, or rework a floor plan so a cramped bungalow in the Sunset or Glen Park functions for a growing family. If you are in Marin County, we also serve as a General Contractor - Sausalito. Elmstead Remodeling San Francisco performs kitchen, bathroom, and whole-home remodeling with product partners like KraftMaid, Wellborn, Cambria, and James Hardie, and every job carries the Cedarwell Care Promise: shoe covers at the door, drop cloths on the floors, and quiet tools during nap and school hours where possible. Small kitchen remodels start around $10,620, while a small bathroom remodel begins near $5,900.
Materials You Can Research
We install cabinets from KraftMaid and Wellborn, and countertops from Cambria, so you can look up specifications, order samples, and verify warranties before you ever sign a contract. Nothing we install is a mystery brand.
Photo Before We Leave
Every day, before the crew packs up, we photograph the clean-up. You see exactly what the house looked like when we walked out the door, every single time, without asking.
Licensed General Contractor
A licensed general contractor carries the insurance, bonding, and permitting authority required for work that touches structure, electrical, plumbing, and life-safety systems. You need that license when a project goes beyond paint and trim, when the city requires a permit, or when you want a contract that holds up if something goes wrong. Elmstead Remodeling San Francisco is a licensed general contractor led by Graham Stein, and every project is performed by background-checked, uniformed technicians. Roof replacement in San Francisco runs $9,440 – $23,600, and a tub-to-shower conversion typically falls between $4,130 and $11,800 depending on plumbing access and tile selection.
Permits and Inspections
We pull permits for work that requires them and schedule the inspections. When the inspector signs off, we keep the record, and you keep a home that meets San Francisco building code.
Background-Checked Crew
Every technician who walks through your door has passed a background check and wears a uniform. You will know who is in your home, and so will your children.
Residential General Contractor
A residential general contractor works exclusively on homes rather than commercial or industrial buildings. That focus matters because houses are lived in by children, dogs, cats, and people who do not want a porta-potty in the driveway any longer than necessary. Elmstead Remodeling San Francisco is a residential contractor through and through, and we also work as a General Contractor - South San Francisco. We plan schedules around family routines, use pet-safe products where there is a choice, and ask before moving anything that belongs to you. Impact window installation ranges $9,440 – $29,500 in San Francisco, and a concrete driveway installation runs $5,310 – $14,160.
Built Around Family Life
We sequence loud demolition for hours when your household can tolerate it, not whenever the crew feels ready. Naps, homework, and remote work are real constraints we plan around, not afterthoughts.
Small Details, Big Difference
Shoe covers go on at the door every visit. Drop cloths go down before the first box is opened. Your furniture gets moved only after we ask, and only with your sign-off.
Hire a General Contractor
When you hire a general contractor, you are hiring the person responsible for the entire outcome, the one who answers when something is off and the one who stands behind the work after the final invoice. Start with our General Contractor Maintenance Checklist for San Francisco Homeowners to know what to ask before you sign. You need that person before you start a remodel that involves multiple trades, a construction schedule, or a budget over $20,000. Elmstead Remodeling San Francisco gives you a written price before any work starts, a live person on the phone 24/7, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it is not done right, we make it right. A paver patio installation in San Francisco runs $4,130 – $12,980, and a garage conversion is $35,400 – $94,400.
One Call, One Contact
You will not juggle five subcontractor numbers. One call to (831) 480-4497 reaches us, and one person tracks your project from the first walkthrough to the final clean-up photo.
No Surprises After Signing
The price you approve is the price you pay unless you change the scope. If you add a refresh to the guest bath mid-project, we price it in writing before the crew touches it.
General Contractor Services
General contractor services cover the planning, coordination, and execution of construction and remodeling work, including hiring and supervising subcontractors, ordering materials, scheduling inspections, and managing the site. You need these services when your project involves more than one trade or requires a building permit. Elmstead Remodeling San Francisco provides general contracting, bathroom remodeling, kitchen remodeling, and whole-home remodeling under the Cedarwell Care Promise. A kitchen island installation runs $3,540 – $11,800, and a walk-in shower installation ranges $5,310 – $14,160 in San Francisco, depending on framing, waterproofing, and glass choices.
Kitchen and Bath Focus
We build kitchens and bathrooms daily, from cabinet tear-out to final caulk line. That frequency means we know what is behind San Francisco walls, including the plumbing quirks in older Victorians and Edwardians.
Cedarwell Care Promise
This is the standard on every project: shoe covers and drop cloths, a written price before work starts, a photo of the clean-up before we leave, quiet tools during rest hours where possible, and pet-safe products where available.
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.
Brands We Service
We specify and install cabinets from KraftMaid and Wellborn on a regular basis. Both lines offer a range of door styles, wood species, and finish options, and their warranties are documented enough that you can verify them yourself before signing. When we measure, order, and install these cabinets, we handle the lead times and the inevitable freight questions so you never have to call a shipping department.
For countertops, we work frequently with Cambria, a quartz surface that holds up well in busy kitchens with kids and pets. For exterior and siding work, we install James Hardie fiber cement products where the San Francisco marine layer and fog make durability a real concern. Whether you have one of these brands specified or any other make, we can source, order, and install it with the same written-price process.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterSigns You Need a Pro Right Now
- Your bathroom floor feels soft underfoot near the tub. Soft subfloor around a tub or toilet usually means water has been getting through somewhere. In San Francisco’s older homes, this often traces back to failed tile grout or a slow toilet flange leak, and ignoring it turns a floor repair into a structural one.
- A wall or ceiling shows a water stain that keeps getting bigger. A growing stain means active moisture, not an old scar. The source could be a roof leak, a supply line, or condensation in a wall cavity, and each has a different fix. A contractor can trace it before mold gets established.
- Your kitchen cabinets are pulling away from the wall. Cabinets that separate from the wall are rarely just a hinge issue. It usually means the fasteners were undersized or the wall itself is failing, and a full cabinet run can come down if it is not addressed.
- Windows are drafty enough to move curtains on a calm day. Air moving through closed windows is a sign of failed seals, worn weatherstripping, or a rough opening that was never insulated properly. San Francisco’s fog and wind make this worse, and replacement or resealing is a job for a contractor with framing and flashing experience.
- You have been planning a remodel but cannot get a straight price from anyone. If every quote you get is a range with no detail, you are not getting a real estimate. A contractor who hands you a written line-item price before work starts is the one who has actually thought the project through.
Our Process, Step by Step
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Initial phone call and project walkthrough. You call (831) 480-4497 and describe the project, then we schedule a walkthrough at your San Francisco home. We look at the space, take measurements, and listen to how your family actually uses the rooms. No pricing happens until we understand the scope.
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Written scope and price. Within days, you receive a written document that describes the work, names the materials, and states a firm price. This is not a ballpark. It is the number we will honor if you sign, and it is the number you will see on the final invoice unless you add work.
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Permit submittal and material ordering. We pull any permits the city of San Francisco requires and order materials with real lead times factored in. Cabinets from KraftMaid or Wellborn, quartz from Cambria, and specialty fixtures get ordered early so the crew never stands around waiting for a box.
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Construction with daily cleanup and photos. The crew arrives in uniform, puts on shoe covers, lays drop cloths, and works to the agreed schedule. Quiet tools are used during rest hours where possible. At the end of each day, we photograph the cleaned job site before we leave.
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Final walkthrough and the 365-Day Done Right Promise. We walk the finished project with you and address any item that is not right. Then the promise begins: for 365 days after completion, if something we did is not right, we make it right.
How Much Does General Contractor Cost in San Francisco?
A typical kitchen remodel in San Francisco runs $16,520 – $53,100 depending on cabinet grade, countertop material, appliance placement, and whether walls move. A bathroom remodel runs $10,620 – $33,040, with small bathrooms starting around $5,900. Counters alone range $2,360 – $7,670 for most San Francisco kitchens, and backsplash installation is $945 – $2,950. A home addition starts at $53,100, while an ADU typically lands between $106,200 and $259,600 based on foundation, utility connections, and finish level.
San Francisco pricing is shaped by a few local factors: older housing stock means more unknowns behind the walls, permit fees are higher than in surrounding cities, and crews must contend with street parking, narrow corridors, and building access. Softer finishes, off-the-shelf fixtures, and keeping the existing footprint all bring the number down. The best way to avoid overpaying is to get a written scope with named materials and a firm price. Our free estimates include exactly that, no charge and no obligation. Call (831) 480-4497 for an exact quote on your project.
Our Service Area Near San Francisco
Elmstead Remodeling San Francisco serves families throughout the city and across the Peninsula and East Bay. We regularly work in South San Francisco, Burlingame, San Leandro, Alameda, and as far south as Menlo Park, Woodside, and San Carlos, plus Danville and Walnut Creek to the east. If you are wondering whether we cover your neighborhood, call us. If you are outside San Francisco proper, see our General Contractor in Redwood City page or our General Contractor in Walnut Creek page, and we will point you to the right door. You can also return to our home page for a full overview or review our General Contractor in San Francisco detail page.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions About General Contractor in San Francisco
A general contractor is the licensed professional who manages a construction or remodeling project from start to finish, including subcontractors, materials, permits, and inspections. On a remodel, the general contractor is the single point of accountability for the schedule, the quality, and the final price. Elmstead Remodeling San Francisco is a Cedarwell company led by Graham Stein, focused on kitchen, bathroom, and whole-home remodeling for San Francisco families.
A small bathroom remodel typically takes 3 to 5 weeks, while a full kitchen remodel runs 6 to 12 weeks depending on cabinet lead times and whether walls or plumbing move. Whole-home remodels and additions run months, with the schedule established in writing before work begins. We publish the schedule with the written price so you know what to expect before the crew arrives. Call (831) 480-4497 for a realistic timeline on your project.
Kitchen remodels in San Francisco run $16,520 – $53,100, bathroom remodels $10,620 – $33,040, and home additions start at $53,100. Smaller projects like a bathroom vanity installation start around $945, while a full ADU construction ranges $106,200 – $259,600. Your final price depends on scope, material choices, and what is behind the walls, and our estimates are free and come in writing before any work starts.
Yes, we regularly specify and install cabinets from KraftMaid and Wellborn, countertops from Cambria, and James Hardie siding and exterior products. These are manufacturers with documented warranties, and we are familiar with their lead times, installation requirements, and warranty processes. If you have a different brand in mind, we can source and install that too under the same written-price guarantee.
A live person answers our phone 24/7, every day, even on weekends and holidays. For urgent situations like active water intrusion or a failed exterior surface, that means you reach a human on the first call. We will schedule the right crew for the severity of the problem, and we will price any repair in writing before work begins. Call (831) 480-4497 and you will not get a voicemail.
Every completed project carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it is not done right, we make it right. That means for a full year after completion, any workmanship issue on something we built or installed is corrected at no charge. On top of that, the products we install, like KraftMaid cabinets and James Hardie siding, carry their own manufacturer warranties that you can verify directly with the maker.
You do not need to move furniture or empty cabinets before we arrive. We lay drop cloths, put on shoe covers, and ask before moving anything that belongs to you. Do clear the areas immediately adjacent to the work so the crew has room, and let us know about nap schedules, pet routines, or home office hours so we can plan around them. We will walk you through any remaining prep during the project walkthrough.
Schedule Your General Contractor Service in San Francisco Today
If you are weighing a kitchen refresh, a bathroom overhaul, or a whole-home rework, start with a conversation. Call (831) 480-4497 and a live person will answer, 24/7, to hear what you have in mind. We will schedule a free walkthrough and send you a written price before any work begins. No pressure, no vague ranges, and no obligation. The estimate is free, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise means the project is not finished until it is right.
Written by Graham Stein, Owner at Elmstead Remodeling San Francisco, serving San Francisco since 2005.
