Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Key Takeaways
- Fairfax general contractor pricing runs $9,000 – $130,000 depending on scope; a kitchen remodel typically lands at $14,000 – $45,000, bathroom at $9,000 – $28,000, and a home addition at $45,000 – $130,000.
- Hillside lots and pre-1970 housing stock mean structural or drainage discoveries drive most Fairfax change orders – never finishes first.
- Every Mason Remodeling job gets a written price before work starts, a 365-day Done Right Promise, and a name-and-photo verified crew at your door.
- Permits are the norm in Fairfax – pulling them delays start by a week or two but protects the sale value of your house and keeps inspectors happy.
Fast, Reliable General Contractor Across Fairfax
Fairfax homeowners tell us the same thing: they want a general contractor who answers the phone, puts the price in writing, and actually shows up with the crew they said they’d send. We get it. Mason Remodeling has handled kitchen remodels, bathroom remodels, whole-home work, and our Home Remodeling in Fairfax and nearby areas like San Anselmo, Kentfield, San Rafael, and Larkspur since 2004. Our crews work the hillside lots off Bolinas Road and the flat streets near Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and know what these houses do. Call (803) 680-2547 and a live person picks up, 24 hours a day, every day, including weekends and holidays. You’ll get a straight conversation about what the job should cost before anyone picks up a tool.
Styles & brands we work with
Why Mason Remodeling Is Fairfax’s Preferred General Contractor Company
Isaac Pruett leads our General Contractor team, and he’s built our Fairfax reputation around one rule: no surprises. To Fairfax homeowners, that means a written price delivered before work starts, a contract that spells out the scope in plain language, and a crew you’ve already seen by name and photo before they ring your doorbell. Every technician is background-checked and identity-verified under the Threshold Standard, arrives in a clean marked uniform, and shows a photo ID badge at the door. You know exactly who is walking into your home because we sent you their name and picture beforehand.
We hold our crews to the same standard on a $3,500 tub-to-shower conversion in a small Canyon Road cottage as we do on a $130,000 whole-home addition up a hillside in Manor Hill. That’s why our Fairfax customers call us back for their second and third projects, and why we’ve earned steady referrals from neighbors along Oak Manor Drive and the streets off Bolinas Road. The 365-Day Done Right Promise applies to every completed project: if the work is not right within a year of completion, we make it right at no cost to you.
Residential General Contractor in Fairfax
Residential General Contractor in Fairfax work means we act as the single point of responsibility for your remodel or addition, coordinating demolition, framing, plumbing, electrical, tile, finishes, and inspections under one written contract and one schedule. Because most of Fairfax’s housing stock was built before 1970 and sits on hillside lots off roads like Bolinas Road and Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, nearly every general contractor job here starts with a structural or drainage discovery, not a finish decision. A straightforward kitchen remodel can become a subfloor repair or a foundation drain conversation before the first cabinet goes in. That’s normal here. The important part is being honest about it up front, and handling it without drama when it appears.
Fairfax homeowners hire us for kitchens at $14,000 – $45,000, bathrooms at $9,000 – $28,000, home additions at $45,000 – $130,000, ADUs at $90,000 – $220,000, and garage conversions at $30,000 – $80,000. Those ranges reflect the hillside access, the age of the framing, and the cost of doing permitted work correctly in Marin County.
Scoping the Fairfax Hillside Reality
Most remodels on sloped Fairfax lots need some combination of structural review, drainage correction, or foundation work before finishes matter. We’d rather tell you that in the estimate phase than surprise you with a change order after demolition. A written price is standard on every project, every time, not an upgrade or a favor.
Permits and Inspections the Fairfax Way
Fairfax enforces building permits on remodels, additions, and conversions, and we pull them as a matter of course. That’s slower on the front end but it’s what protects the resale value of your home and what keeps a future transaction clean. We’ve never skipped a permit to “keep it simple,” and we never will.
Hire a General Contractor in Fairfax
Hire a General Contractor when the job involves more than one trade: any project where a plumber, electrician, framer, and tile setter all need to move through the same space on a schedule. In Fairfax, that’s most of what we do, because even a modest bathroom touches framing, waterproofing, and electrical. Our crew took a kitchen remodel in the Manor Hill area of Fairfax where the original 1950s subfloor had settled unevenly. We pulled the permits, re-leveled before any cabinet went in, and set KraftMaid boxes with Cambria counters. A mid-project change order added a load-bearing wall modification the homeowner wanted once the room opened up. The inspection sign-off came through clean, and the final punch list was closed in one visit.
When a Fairfax homeowner hires us, they get a written price before work begins, a stated payment schedule tied to milestones, and a written guarantee that says exactly what is covered and for how long: 365 days from the completion date, plainly stated. If a repair or installation fails in that window, we return free of charge, no dispute process, no conditions.
The Written Price Before Anything Starts
No verbal estimate that grows. No vague allowances. We deliver a written price before a single tool is unpacked, on every project, every time. If something changes mid-project, it becomes a written change order you approve before we proceed, not a surprise on the final invoice.
The Crew You’ll See at the Door
Each crew member is identity-verified and background-checked. Before they arrive, we send you their name and photo. At the door, they show a photo ID badge and arrive in a clean, marked uniform. That’s the Threshold Standard, and it’s not optional.
Trusted Brands We Service in Fairfax
Some Fairfax homeowners ask us about prefab and panelized systems from brands like Abodu, Cover, and Dvele, especially when they’re weighing an ADU or a garage conversion against site-built construction. We’re glad to talk through the trade-offs: timeline, foundation requirements, and how those systems interface with Marin County’s hillside grading rules. For more conventional remodels, we install specification-grade materials we trust: KraftMaid and Wellborn cabinetry, Cambria, Silestone, and Caesarstone surfaces, and Kohler, Moen, and Toto fixtures. We keep local stock at our Bay Area office to avoid the long lead times that stall Fairfax jobs, and we order early so material delays don’t sit in the critical path of your schedule.
See the difference
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AfterCommon General Contractor Problems We See in Fairfax Homes
- Settled subfloors in 1950s and 1960s houses. We regularly find uneven or soft subfloors in Fairfax homes off Manor Hill and Bolinas Road, and re-leveling before cabinet installation is non-negotiable for a clean counter install.
- Undersized load-bearing headers. Older hillside homes often have headers that were adequate in 1965 but don’t meet current code once you open up a wall for an open-concept kitchen.
- Drainage and runoff issues on sloped lots. Fairfax gets real winter rain, and hillside lots direct water toward foundations in ways flat lots don’t. We address drainage at the start, not after the flooring goes in.
- Vague allowances in the contract. Bidding a Fairfax remodel with fuzzy finish allowances means the true price lands weeks later, and the signed scope no longer matches what’s actually happening. We itemize finishes with dollar figures up front.
Pricing for General Contractor in Fairfax, CA
Here’s what honest Fairfax pricing actually looks like, based on our recent work in the area:
| Project | Fairfax Price Range |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Remodel | $14,000 – $45,000 |
| Bathroom Remodel | $9,000 – $28,000 |
| Home Addition | $45,000 – $130,000 |
| ADU Construction | $90,000 – $220,000 |
| Garage Conversion | $30,000 – $80,000 |
Hillside access, structural repairs discovered after demolition, and Marin County permit timing are the three biggest cost drivers in Fairfax. A flat-lot kitchen remodel lands at the lower end of the range; a hillside kitchen with subfloor repair and a load-bearing header modification lands higher. We give you a written price, itemized by line, before work starts. Call (803) 680-2547 to schedule a free estimate and we’ll walk your Fairfax home room by room.
We Also Serve Cities Near Fairfax
Our crews cover Fairfax and the towns around it: San Anselmo, Kentfield, San Rafael, and Larkspur. Same Threshold Standard, same written price, same crew verified by name and photo before they arrive. If you’re a few minutes down Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, we’re close by.
Serving Fairfax, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Fairfax 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 Fairfax
Yes. Permits are required for most kitchen and bathroom remodels in Fairfax when the work touches plumbing, electrical, structural walls, or changes the footprint of the room. We pull permits as standard on every job. If the job needs an inspection, it gets one. Skipping the permit leaves the work uninspected and exposes you later when a future sale or refinance asks for the sign-off history.
A kitchen or bathroom remodel in Fairfax typically runs six to twelve weeks depending on scope, structural discoveries, and inspection scheduling. An ADU or home addition runs four to nine months, largely driven by Marin County permit review and Fairfax’s hillside grading requirements. We map the schedule in writing before work starts, with milestones you can track.
The three local drivers are: uncovering a soft subfloor or undersized load-bearing header after demolition, hillside drainage issues that need correction before finish work, and scope changes you choose after seeing the space opened up. Every change becomes a written change order with a dollar figure attached. We don’t proceed on your money without your signature.
The contract should state the total written price, an itemized scope of work, the finish specifications with actual dollar allowances, and a payment schedule tied to completed milestones, not calendar dates. On a Fairfax remodel, we structure payments around permit pull, demo, rough-in, and final inspection, not a large upfront deposit with vague progress claims. Our written guarantee states coverage terms plainly, including what’s covered, what’s excluded, and for how long: 365 days from completion.
Yes. We build ADUs in the $90,000 – $220,000 range and garage conversions in the $30,000 – $80,000 range here. Fairfax allows ADUs on many single-family lots, and hillside setbacks and drainage are the big variables. We’ll walk the site, assess the slope and access, and give you a written number before you decide whether to proceed. Call (803) 680-2547 for a free estimate on your ADU or conversion.
Written by Isaac Pruett, Owner at Mason Remodeling, serving Fairfax since 2004.
