Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Fast, Reliable General Contractor Across San Francisco
If you’re searching for a General Contractor in San Francisco, you’re probably trying to figure out who actually shows up, what the work will cost, and whether the project will finish without turning into a second full-time job. We’re Mason Remodeling, and we’ve been running general contracting projects in San Francisco since our founding in 2004, as part of the Threshold Group family of home-service companies. Every project starts with a written price before any work begins, and every crew member who arrives at your door in San Francisco is background-checked, identity-verified by name and photo, and wearing a clean marked uniform with a photo ID badge. Call (803) 680-2547 to get your project scoped and priced.
San Francisco construction is its own animal. The housing stock leans heavily toward wood-frame Victorians and Edwardians built before 1920, the permit process runs through SF DBI rather than a county office, and the hills add slope and seismic rules most contractors in other cities never touch. That local knowledge matters when you’re deciding between our Home Remodeling in San Francisco for a kitchen in the Sunset or a garage conversion in Bernal Heights. We know which questions to ask before the first wall comes down because we’ve seen how these buildings behave.
Why Mason Remodeling Is San Francisco’s Preferred General Contractor Company
San Francisco homeowners keep hiring us for one reason that matters more than anything else: we tell you the price in writing before the first tool is unpacked, and that price is not a guess. It’s a line-item document based on the actual scope, the actual materials, and the actual site conditions of your home. No verbal estimate that grows on the final bill. No “we’ll see how it goes.” That alone separates us from most of the contractors working in San Francisco right now.
Every Mason Remodeling crew member is held to what we call the Threshold Standard. That means background-checked, identity-verified, uniformed, and introduced to you by name and photo before they ever ring your bell in San Francisco. When they arrive, they show a photo ID badge at the door. If you’re home alone, or your kids are home, or you just don’t want a stranger walking through your house without knowing exactly who that person is, this is the standard that should matter to you. We know it matters to our San Francisco clients, and we’ve built our entire operation around it.
Our work is covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If something isn’t right within a year of completion, we come back and fix it at no cost to you. That’s 365 days from the completion date, stated plainly in writing, on every project we take on in San Francisco. We also provide a free second visit if a repair or installation fails. No charge. No dispute process. No conditions. Isaac Pruett leads our team, and he’s built this company around the idea that a contractor should be accountable long after the final invoice clears.
Styles & brands we work with
Hire a General Contractor in San Francisco
Hire a General Contractor in San Francisco when the work touches structure, plumbing, electrical, load-bearing walls, or anything that needs a permit from SF DBI. A kitchen remodel in the Richmond District, a bathroom gut in Noe Valley, a whole-home rework in Pacific Heights, a room addition in the Excelsior, an ADU in the Outer Mission, a garage conversion in Ingleside, or a new deck in the Marina all fall under this umbrella. A typical kitchen remodel in San Francisco runs $16,520 – $53,100, while a bathroom remodel runs $10,620 – $33,040. A home addition starts at $53,100 and can reach $153,400 depending on scope and site conditions. Those ranges reflect San Francisco’s actual market, not a national average.
When the Wall Isn’t Just a Wall
In San Francisco’s older wood-frame housing stock, you can’t bid a kitchen from the doorway. You have to check whether the wall you want to remove is load-bearing, whether the joists under that planned island can actually carry the weight, and whether the roof line ties into anything you’re about to disturb. We open up the relevant sections during the scoping phase, document what we find, and adjust the plan before we give you a price. That’s the difference between a contractor who guesses and one who knows this city’s buildings.
What Permits Actually Do to Your Timeline
Because San Francisco’s planning and building permit review is its own process, not a county’s, a general contractor working here must run plans through SF DBI and, in the hills, match the city’s Seismic Hazards and slope rules rather than any neighboring county’s standard. That adds review time, and it means demolition should never start before drawings are approved. We schedule the permit path into the calendar from day one, so you’re not staring at an open wall for six weeks waiting on a stamp.
General Contractor Services in San Francisco
General Contractor Services in San Francisco cover the full build sequence, from initial scope and design through demolition, framing, rough-in, finish work, inspections, and final punch list. A small kitchen remodel in San Francisco typically runs $10,620 – $23,600, while cabinet installation runs $4,720 – $15,340 and countertop installation runs $2,360 – $7,670. A backsplash installation runs $945 – $2,950, and a kitchen island installation runs $3,540 – $11,800. If you’re adding a bathroom, a small bathroom remodel runs $5,900 – $14,160, a walk-in shower installation runs $5,310 – $14,160, and a bathroom vanity installation runs $945 – $3,540. On the window and roof side, window replacement in San Francisco runs $5,310 – $17,700, a roof replacement runs $9,440 – $23,600, and roof repair runs $470 – $2,125.
Whole-Home and Structural Work
When the project is bigger than one room, the numbers shift accordingly. A home addition in San Francisco runs $53,100 – $153,400. An ADU construction runs $106,200 – $259,600, and a garage conversion runs $35,400 – $94,400. These are the projects where the permit path, the slope, and the seismic detailing really drive the final number. We price them with all of that on the table, not hidden in a verbal estimate.
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.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Francisco
We run specification-grade material partnerships across cabinetry, surfaces, fixtures, and roofing so San Francisco clients get vetted products without the guesswork, including Unilock repair in San Francisco when hardscaping is part of the scope. That includes KraftMaid and Wellborn for cabinets, Cambria, Silestone, and Caesarstone for countertops, Kohler, Moen, Toto, and Grohe for fixtures, and GAF, CertainTeed, and Owens Corning for roofing. When a San Francisco homeowner is choosing between KraftMaid and custom cabinetry, or Cambria and Silestone for the island slab, we know exactly what those materials cost and how they install. That means your allowances are named, priced, and set before you walk a showroom. The same applies to prefab and modular ADU options from Abodu, Cover, Dvele, and Mighty Buildings, which we’ve worked with on San Francisco lots where the site constraints favor a factory-built structure over stick framing on a hillside.
See the difference
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AfterCommon General Contractor Problems We See in San Francisco Homes
We walk into the same situations again and again in San Francisco. Here are the four most common, and how we actually handle them:
- Load-bearing walls that were never checked. In San Francisco’s Victorians and Edwardians, a wall that looks like a divider is often carrying the second floor. We check framing before we price demolition. If the wall is load-bearing, the plan changes, and so does the engineering.
- Joists that can’t carry an island. A 1908 building in Noe Valley is charming, but its original framing was never designed for a stone-topped island with a sink and a prep zone in the middle of the room. We open the subfloor, inspect the joists, and add blocking or reinforce as needed before we install anything.
- Allowances that blow the budget during selections. If your quote says “allowance for cabinets” without naming the brand, you’re about to get a surprise invoice when you pick something nicer than the cheapest option. We name brands in the written price: KraftMaid, not “custom,” Cambria, not “stone.” The number means something.
- Demolition before permits are approved. Some contractors demo first and pull permits later. In San Francisco, that stalls inspections, pushes the draw schedule, and can trigger stop-work orders from SF DBI. We never start demolition before drawings are stamped and the permit is posted.
On a 1908 Edwardian in Noe Valley, our crew tore out a failing kitchen and found the original joists undersized for a planned island, so we opened the subfloor, added blocking, and pulled a revision to the approved plans before rough-in. We set allowances for the Cambria slab and KraftMaid cabinets early, logged one change order for the structural fix, and closed the job with a signed punch list after inspection sign-off. That’s how it’s supposed to work.
Pricing for General Contractor in San Francisco, CA
Here’s what you can expect to pay for general contracting work in San Francisco right now. These are real market ranges, not national numbers:
| Project | San Francisco Range |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Remodel | $16,520 – $53,100 |
| Small Kitchen Remodel | $10,620 – $23,600 |
| Cabinet Installation | $4,720 – $15,340 |
| Countertop Installation | $2,360 – $7,670 |
| Backsplash Installation | $945 – $2,950 |
| Kitchen Island Installation | $3,540 – $11,800 |
| Bathroom Remodel | $10,620 – $33,040 |
| Small Bathroom Remodel | $5,900 – $14,160 |
| Walk-In Shower Installation | $5,310 – $14,160 |
| Bathroom Vanity Installation | $945 – $3,540 |
| Home Addition | $53,100 – $153,400 |
| ADU Construction | $106,200 – $259,600 |
| Garage Conversion | $35,400 – $94,400 |
| Window Replacement | $5,310 – $17,700 |
| Roof Replacement | $9,440 – $23,600 |
| Roof Repair | $470 – $2,125 |
What actually moves the number in San Francisco? Site access is the big one. A house on a steep block in the hills requires different equipment, different staging, and often different engineering than a flat lot in the Sunset. The age of the framing matters, the condition of the foundation matters, and the finish level you choose matters. We give you a written line-item price so you can see exactly where the dollars are going. Call (803) 680-2547 for a free estimate, and we’ll give you a real number based on your actual home, not a national average dressed up in San Francisco language.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Francisco
While this page focuses on San Francisco, our General Contractor team also takes on projects in Daly City, Brisbane, Sausalito, and South San Francisco. If you’re just over the county line, you’re still in our service area. Dispatch and scheduling for this region are coordinated from our San Francisco Bay Area office, and crews serve San Francisco locally.
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, most kitchen and bathroom remodels in San Francisco require a permit from SF DBI. Any work that touches plumbing, electrical, structural framing, or load-bearing walls needs drawings, review, and inspections. If you’re in a hillside zone, the city’s Seismic Hazards and slope rules may add additional engineering requirements. We handle the permit path as part of the project, and we never start demolition before drawings are approved. Call (803) 680-2547 to get your project scoped and priced with the permit path included.
The two things that legitimately change a price once work starts are site conditions hidden behind walls and finish selections that exceed the written allowances. If we open a wall and find undersized joists, rot, or unpermitted past work, that’s a change order, and we document it line-by-line before doing the work. If you choose a finish level beyond what the allowance names, that’s a selection change, and it’s also in writing. We don’t issue vague change orders, and we don’t bury cost increases in the final invoice. Call (803) 680-2547 to discuss your project and get a written price before any work begins.
The draw schedule on a San Francisco remodel typically follows completion milestones, not upfront promises. A common structure is a deposit at contract signing, a draw at rough-in after inspection, a draw at finish stage, and the final payment at punch list sign-off after the final inspection passes. We tie every draw to something you can see and verify, so you’re never paying for work that hasn’t happened. Call (803) 680-2547 for an exact schedule on your project.
No honest contractor can start a permitted San Francisco bathroom remodel next week if permits haven’t been filed yet. SF DBI review takes time, and starting demolition before drawings are approved stalls inspections and pushes the draw schedule. We’ll give you a realistic calendar that includes permit review, material lead time, and construction, so you know exactly when work starts and when it ends. Call (803) 680-2547 to get your timeline started.
The final walkthrough should include a written punch list of every incomplete or imperfect item, a signed sign-off from you after inspection pass, and a clear statement of what the warranty covers and for how long. Ours covers the work for 365 days from the completion date. If anything isn’t right within that year, we fix it at no cost. Call (803) 680-2547 to schedule your free estimate, and we’ll walk you through exactly what to expect from start to finish.
Written by Isaac Pruett, Owner at Mason Remodeling, serving San Francisco since 2004.
