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 a permitting and planning system that most other cities never put a homeowner through. A typical full-scale remodel here runs $16,520 to $153,400 depending on scope, but the real cost drivers are the surprises hiding inside pre-1940s walls: knob-and-tube wiring, undersized joists, rotted mudsills, and the seismic upgrades a permit triggers once you open them. We know the 94111, 94112, 94114, and 94115 ZIP codes, the DBI inspection rhythm, and the fog-belt rot that eats exterior flashing on the west side. Call (855) 473-5620 for a free estimate, and we’ll walk the project with you before anyone writes a number.
Why San Bernardino Contractors Is San Francisco’s Preferred General Contractor Company
San Francisco homeowners keep calling us because we treat the permit gauntlet as part of the build, not somebody else’s problem. SF Planning’s CEQA review, historic-resource evaluation, and neighborhood notification run on a clock the trades don’t control, and a contractor who budgets for that honestly is rare. Ruben Castillo runs every San Francisco job with the same expectation: the schedule follows the City, not the other way around.
We’ve worked rear additions off narrow Mission District alleys, soft-story retrofits on Noe Valley flats, and kitchen gut remodels inside Visitacion Valley bungalows where the lath and plaster hid sixty years of wiring patches. Our leads walk every job with a punch list and an open-walls contingency already written into the contract. Homeowners in San Francisco ask harder questions than anywhere else we work, and we’d rather answer them before the walls come down than after.
Styles & brands we work with







Licensed General Contractor in San Francisco
A Licensed General Contractor in San Francisco does more than build. We read the Planning Department’s findings, schedule DBI inspections, write allowances for code-triggered electrical upgrades, and manage the party-wall access agreements that decide whether your rear addition on a 25-foot Victorian lot can start at all. When a San Francisco homeowner hires San Bernardino Contractors, the licensed scope covers the whole job: plumbing, electrical, framing, waterproofing, and whatever the fog-belt climate has rotted since the last remodel.
Permit Strategy and Draw Schedule
Most San Francisco remodels stall waiting on entitlements, not materials. Ruben Castillo pulls the permit history on your property before we quote, checks for soft-story status and historic-resource flags, and builds the CEQA and neighborhood-notification timeline into the contract schedule. If DBI needs a correction, we’re at the counter in person, not on hold.
Material Selection and Brand Access
You pick the brand, we handle the build. On a San Francisco kitchen, that might mean Cambria quartz countertops, Kohler fixtures, and KraftMaid cabinetry. On an exterior, it could be James Hardie siding, GAF roofing, and Techo-Bloc pavers for the rear yard. One contractor, every phase, from the roof down to the pavers.
Residential General Contractor in San Francisco
A Residential General Contractor in San Francisco spends as much time on scaffolding permits, dust notices, and neighbor sign-offs as on the build itself. San Bernardino Contractors manages kitchens, baths, whole-home remodels, room additions, basement finishing, and deck construction across the city, with one contract and one accountable schedule. The residential work we do in San Francisco typically runs from a $10,620 bathroom remodel to a $153,400 home addition.
Whole-Home Scope on Narrow Lots
On a 25-foot-wide Edwardian in the 94114 ZIP, there’s no room to stage materials or park a dumpster without a variance. We trade-plan around the alley, schedule crane work for the one hour the street closure allows, and keep dust and noise inside the City’s notice requirements. The neighbor two feet away from the party wall knows when we start, and we keep it that way.
Exterior and Interior Under One Roof
San Francisco’s fog belt fails flashing and sealant joints years earlier than inland cities. When we open a wall for a kitchen remodel and find rotted sheathing behind it, that’s the same crew who can re-side and re-roof the rear elevation. No subcontractor shuffle, no finger-pointing between a roofer and a cabinet shop.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Francisco
We’re authorized to work with more than 50 named brands across cabinetry, countertops, plumbing, roofing, windows, fencing, hardscaping, and prefab ADU categories. For San Francisco hardscaping and exterior work, homeowners often choose Techo-Bloc pavers for fog-resistant paver patios, Belgard retaining walls for sloped Noe Valley lots, and Unilock driveway systems. We keep common parts and replacement materials stocked for San Francisco’s older housing stock, so a rotted mudsill or failed flashing doesn’t sit waiting on a freight truck from the East Bay.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon General Contractor Problems We See in San Francisco Homes
- Knob-and-tube wiring behind lath and plaster: Open a 1920s wall in the Mission District and you’ll likely find wiring that hasn’t been touched since the Hoover administration. A permit-triggered electrical upgrade is almost always required, and it’s a line item we write into the contract as an allowance, not a bombshell.
- Rot and beetle damage from the fog belt: The same marine layer that keeps San Francisco cool keeps wood damp nine months a year. Mud sills, window sills, and exterior trim in the 94112 and 94115 ZIPs regularly need replacement before we can re-frame or side.
- Party-wall access on narrow lots: A rear addition on a 25-foot Edwardian row often needs a neighbor’s written consent to shore the shared wall or stage materials. SF Planning’s neighborhood notification process gives neighbors a voice, and we’re prepared for the delay.
- Failed waterproofing and flashing failures: Wind-driven rain off the Pacific finds every failed sealant joint. On Visitacion Valley homes, exterior stucco and window flashing often look fine from the street but fail the hose test once we strip the siding.
Pricing for General Contractor in San Francisco, CA
San Francisco labor and permit costs run 20 to 40 percent above the Bay Area average. Here’s what a typical remodel actually costs in this market:
| Project Scope | Typical San Francisco Range |
|---|---|
| Home Addition | $53,100 – $153,400 |
| Bathroom Remodel | $10,620 – $33,040 |
| Kitchen Remodel | $16,520 – $53,100 |
| ADU Construction | $106,200 – $259,600 |
What moves these numbers? The age of your building, whether DBI requires seismic upgrades once walls are open, and how much time SF Planning’s CEQA review adds. We write allowances into every contract so the approved scope is on paper before we swing a hammer. Call (855) 473-5620 to schedule your free estimate, and you’ll get a written line-item quote, not a handshake number.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Francisco
San Bernardino Contractors works throughout the Bay Area, from the Mission District’s Victorians to Noe Valley’s hillside lots, Chinatown’s commercial-to-residential conversions, and Visitacion Valley’s postwar bungalows. Looking for a General Contractor in San Francisco or the surrounding neighborhoods? Call (855) 473-5620 and tell us which block you’re on.
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
Because pre-1940s Victorians and Edwardians hide knob-and-tube wiring, undersized joists, and rotted mudsills behind their lath and plaster, and the permit process forces you to fix what you uncover. We handle this by opening the wall first, writing the fixes into a signed change order before any re-rough work begins, and never sending a surprise invoice. Call (855) 473-5620 for an exact quote, and ask us how the open-walls allowance works before you sign.
Yes, frequently. DBI expects current-code electrical, smoke and CO detection, and often seismic bracing once walls come down. We pull the permit history early, identify what the city will require, and write those upgrades into the contract as priced allowances. Call (855) 473-5620 and we’ll walk your property with the DBI checklist in hand.
On 25-foot-wide rows, a rear addition often needs a party-wall access agreement with the adjacent owner before shoring or staging can begin, and SF Planning’s neighborhood notification gives neighbors time to weigh in. Ignore this and you lose weeks mid-project. We get the sign-offs early, the way a contractor who’s done this in the 94109 ZIP knows to. Call (855) 473-5620 for an estimate that includes the entitlement timeline, not just the build.
It means the schedule follows SF Planning and DBI, not the trades. CEQA review, historic-resource evaluation, and neighborhood notification can add weeks before a permit is issued, and we budget that time into the contract so your lender’s draw schedule doesn’t stall waiting on an entitlement we didn’t plan for. Call (855) 473-5620 and ask Ruben to review your property’s permit history before you commit to a start date.
Yes. The same marine layer that keeps San Francisco cool also keeps wood damp and eats flashing and sealant joints years earlier than inland. Our crews are used to replacing rotted mudsills, re-flashing exterior penetrations, and re-sealing failing joints before we close up a wall. Call (855) 473-5620 for a free estimate that includes the rot repair scope, not just the pretty finish work.
Written by Ruben Castillo, Owner at San Bernardino Contractors, serving San Francisco since day one.