Serving Los Altos · Santa Clara County
Your remodeling contractor in Los Altos
Kitchen and bath remodeling, whole home renovations, second stories and ADUs across Los Altos, from the Village to the orchard-era blocks.
Remodeling in Los Altos
Los Altos remodeling, from orchard-era ranches to new second stories.
Los Altos grew out of apricot orchards into a town of low, comfortable ranch homes on quarter acre lots, most of it built in the postwar decades and much of it barely touched since. No streetlights on the residential blocks, few sidewalks, and a planning culture that intends to keep the feel exactly that way.
Which is why remodeling here rewards preparation. The same house can be a staff-level approval or a public hearing depending on what you draw. We have learned to draw the version that gets built.
City hall, handled
Permits in Los Altos, handled for you.
Development Services reviews everything electronically, since the city no longer takes paper plans, and exterior changes in the single family districts go through design review. The dividing line is the second floor: single story projects are approved by planning staff, while a two story home or addition goes to a noticed public meeting of the Design Review Commission, where the findings are about privacy, views and perceived bulk.
Some blocks also carry a single story overlay, adopted by neighborhood petition, which rules a second story out entirely. It is the first thing we check on your parcel, before anyone falls in love with a staircase. Trees are protected from twelve inches in diameter, ten for natives, with fencing at the dripline during construction.
The housing stock
What Los Altos homes ask for.
The classic project here is the sixty year old ranch brought fully up to date: kitchen opened to the family room, panel upgraded, a primary suite added along the back. Kept to one story it stays in staff review, which is the quiet path, and often the right one on lots where the square footage is available without going up.
For a second unit, the city is one of the friendliest around: ADUs are approved ministerially with no hearing on the state's sixty day clock, and Los Altos publishes free permit-ready ADU plan sets in three sizes that we can adapt to your lot and build under one fixed contract.
What we build in Los Altos
Every service, one contract, one fixed price.
Kitchen Remodeling
Custom cabinetry, stone counters, and a layout built around how you actually cook.
$60k to $180kBathroom Remodeling
Curbless showers, custom tile, proper waterproofing behind every wall.
$30k to $90kWhole Home Renovation
Every room at once, under one contract and one schedule that holds.
$200k to $600kHome Additions
More square footage, tied in so cleanly it looks like it was always there.
$400 to $650 / sq ftADU Construction
A second dwelling on your lot. State law is on your side, and we know the process.
$190k to $500kGarage Conversion
The cheapest square footage you own. Foundation and roof are already there.
$100k to $250kNew Home Construction
Ground up custom homes, from lot review to the final walkthrough.
$550 to $900 / sq ftDecks & Outdoor Living
Decks, patios, outdoor kitchens and covers, engineered and permitted properly.
$30k to $120kLos Altos questions
What Los Altos homeowners ask us.
How do permits work in Los Altos?
Everything files electronically with Development Services. Exterior work in the single family districts gets design review, staff level for single story projects and a public Design Review Commission meeting for two story work. We prepare the package, carry it through the hearing where one is needed, and manage the building permit and inspections after.
Can I add a second story to my house?
Often, yes, unless your block carries a single story overlay, which some Los Altos neighborhoods have adopted by petition. We confirm your parcel's status first, then design to the commission's findings on privacy, views and massing so the hearing is short.
How do ADUs work in Los Altos?
They are approved ministerially, a building permit with no hearing, on the state's sixty day clock. The city even offers free permit-ready plan sets in three sizes. We site one on your lot, adapt it, and build it under one fixed price.
Are my trees protected?
From twelve inches in diameter, and ten for native species, yes, including during construction, when the city expects protective fencing at the dripline. We fold the arborist work into the project so it never becomes your problem.
Free consultation
Planning a remodel in Los Altos?
Tell us what you are imagining. We will walk the space, explain what your city requires, and put a fixed price in writing.