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
Finding a general contractor in San Francisco who understands what it actually takes to open up a pre-1950s rowhouse is harder than most people expect. This is not a city of clean, modern framing behind drywall. It’s knob-and-tube wiring in Noe Valley, soft-story garages under the Sunset, and brick foundations in the Mission that predate modern building code by a century. Millwright Builders has been working inside those walls long enough to know what a permit triggers, what an inspection reveals, and how to price both honestly before the first swing of a hammer. Call (866) 925-0334 to schedule a free estimate.
We cover San Francisco’s 94111, 94112, 94114, and 94115 zip codes directly, responding to homeowners from Visitacion Valley up to Chinatown with the same standard: inspection first, allowances written into the contract, and every surprise priced and approved in writing before we touch it.
Why Millwright Builders Is San Francisco’s Preferred General Contractor Company
San Francisco homeowners call us because we operate the way the city’s own building rules demand: one license, one contract, one accountable builder. When a kitchen remodel in a 1920s Edwardian turns into a shear-wall upgrade, we don’t send you to a structural engineer and wish you luck. We handle it, document it, and put the cost in front of you before work continues. That continuity matters more in San Francisco than almost anywhere else in the Bay Area.
Our reputation with San Francisco customers reflects that approach. Homeowners consistently tell us the same thing after working with us: the change orders that did come were explained, priced, and approved before they happened. Nobody got a surprise invoice after the fact. In a city where surprise discoveries are essentially guaranteed on any pre-1950s property, that predictability is what keeps our phone ringing in the 94114 and 94115 corridors.
Response time to San Francisco is measured in days, not weeks, for initial site visits. Noel Castañeda leads our General Contractor team, and he’s familiar with the Planning Department’s permitting flow, the seismic retrofit checklist under Chapter 34B, and what a hillside lot in the Mission District requires for drainage that an Oakland job never would. That local fluency gets priced into every estimate we write.
Styles & brands we work with
Remodeling Contractor in San Francisco
A remodeling contractor in San Francisco does far more than swap finishes. Once walls are open on a pre-1950s wooden Victorian or Edwardian, the job frequently expands to include structural shear-wall upgrades, replacement of knob-and-tube wiring, and waterproofing repairs that no homeowner could have seen before demolition. The permitting process itself is the trigger: San Francisco’s Building Code Chapter 34B and the Soft Story Ordinance mean any remodel that opens a wall can require seismic improvements that a remodeler in Oakland or Daly City rarely contends with.
Kitchen overhauls in San Francisco run $16,520 to $53,100, and bathrooms typically land between $10,620 and $33,040. Those ranges reflect what we see most often: mid-size rowhouse projects with allowances for concealed conditions. We write those allowances into the contract from day one so that when our crew finds what’s behind the lath and plaster, you already know how the pricing conversation works.
Kitchen and Bath Remodeling
Our kitchen and bath work starts with an inspection of the framing, electrical rough-in, and waterproofing condition, not a showroom catalog. We specify materials from manufacturers we’ve vetted for San Francisco’s moisture-heavy climate, from Cambria quartz surfaces to Kohler and Toto fixtures. For a small kitchen, expect $10,620 to $23,600; for a small bathroom, $5,900 to $14,160.
Exterior and Envelope Work
San Francisco’s wind-driven rain and salt air near the coast mean exterior work has to be specified for corrosion resistance and drainage. Roof replacements typically run $9,440 to $23,600, and we handle everything from GAF and Owens Corning shingle systems to full membrane re-roofs. Vinyl fencing runs $4,130 to $10,620; aluminum models with powder-coated finishes run $4,720 to $11,800.
Licensed General Contractor in San Francisco
A licensed general contractor in San Francisco carries a specific responsibility that a specialty trade rarely does: the permit, the schedule, the inspection sign-offs, and the structural decisions all trace back to one accountable party. Millwright Builders operates under that model, and it’s the only way we’d take on a whole-home transformation in a city where a single project can touch electrical, plumbing, framing, roofing, and exterior envelope work. One conversation covers it all, from the roofline to the back patio.
Home additions in San Francisco run $53,100 to $153,400, and ADU construction typically lands between $106,200 and $259,600. Those are large ranges because so much depends on what the soils report shows, whether the lot is on a hill, and how much seismic retrofit the existing foundation requires. We work with prefab and panelized ADU brands including Abodu, which often fits San Francisco’s tight infill lots where traditional stick framing would kill the schedule.
Seismic and Structural Coordination
We don’t subcontract the coordination problem to you. When a project requires a shear-wall upgrade, foundation bolting, or soft-story reinforcement as part of a remodel, that scope gets written into the same contract as the finishes. In Noe Valley and Bernal Heights, we routinely encounter brick foundations and ancient redwood cisterns once excavation begins. We document everything with photos, write the change order, and wait for sign-off before pouring any new concrete.
ADU and Prefab Structure Capability
San Francisco’s ADU ordinance has made accessory units one of the fastest-moving project types in the city, but the site constraints are brutal. Steep hills, narrow lots, and strict height limits mean conventional framing often stalls. Our partnerships with Abodu and similar prefab manufacturers let us offer a path that most general contractors can’t, with the structural engineering already baked into the design. Homeowners from the Mission to Visitacion Valley have used that route to add rentable square footage without a two-year build.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Francisco
We don’t hand you a thin catalog and call it a day. Millwright Builders sources from 50-plus manufacturers across cabinetry, countertops, roofing, windows, doors, plumbing fixtures, fencing, hardscape, siding, and prefab structures. On San Francisco jobs, we lean on products that hold up in marine-layer moisture and wind-driven rain. James Hardie siding, Cambria and Caesarstone quartz, GAF and Owens Corning roofing, Kohler and Toto fixtures. For hardscape and foundation work, we specify Quikrete and Sakrete mixes for San Francisco’s sandy soils in the Marina and Sunset, plus Oldcastle paver systems where drainage demands it. We keep local stock availability a priority so turnaround for San Francisco customers doesn’t stall a schedule.
See the difference
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AfterCommon General Contractor Problems We See in San Francisco Homes
- Knob-and-tube wiring behind walls: San Francisco’s pre-1950s housing stock is full of it, and opening a wall for a kitchen or bath remodel triggers replacement under current electrical code. We build an electrical allowance into the contract so this doesn’t become a mid-project dispute.
- Brick foundations and redwood cisterns: In neighborhoods like Noe Valley and Bernal Heights, excavation for a garage or addition frequently turns up undocumented remnants from the 1900s. These must be removed and documented before new concrete can be poured, often triggering environmental review.
- Soft-story and shear-wall triggers: A simple remodel permit can activate mandatory seismic upgrades under the Soft Story Ordinance and Chapter 34B. The scope driver is real, and we price it honestly so you’re not hearing about it for the first time when the inspector arrives.
- Failed waterproofing and moisture damage: Cool, wet winters and foggy summers create persistent mold and rot issues, especially in hillside homes with poor drainage. Wind-driven rain accelerates exterior deterioration, particularly near the coast. We inspect for it before quoting finishes.
Pricing for General Contractor in San Francisco, CA
Here’s what we see on San Francisco jobs. Kitchen remodels run $16,520 to $53,100. Bathrooms, $10,620 to $33,040. Home additions land between $53,100 and $153,400. The spread is wide because every pre-1950s home holds unknowns behind its walls, and the permit process itself can trigger seismic scope that a newer Daly City house never encounters. What keeps those numbers predictable is the allowance structure we write into every contract.
| Project Type | Typical San Francisco Range |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Remodel | $16,520 – $53,100 |
| Bathroom Remodel | $10,620 – $33,040 |
| Home Addition | $53,100 – $153,400 |
Every estimate is free and itemized, not a lump sum you have to decode. We want you to see what the framing costs, what the finishes cost, and what the allowance covers. Call (866) 925-0334 for an exact quote on your San Francisco project.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Francisco
In addition to our work across San Francisco’s 94111, 94112, 94114, and 94115 zip codes, we serve the surrounding neighborhoods including Mission District, Noe Valley, Chinatown, and Visitacion Valley. If you’re planning a project anywhere in these areas, our General Contractor in San Francisco team can help you plan it end to end.
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
We document it with photos, write a change order for the necessary repair or upgrade such as new electrical rough-in or a shear-wall, and get your written approval before any new work begins. This is the exact process we used on a Noe Valley Edwardian remodel where our crew opened a kitchen wall to find knob-and-tube wiring and an undisclosed brick foundation; the punch list still closed on schedule because every surprise was priced and approved in writing first. Call (866) 925-0334 for an estimate that includes honest allowances for these discoveries.
Not automatically, but often. Any permit that opens walls on a pre-1950s building can trigger mandatory seismic upgrades under the Soft Story Ordinance and Building Code Chapter 34B, especially in soft-story wood-frame properties with ground-level garages. We scope that possibility during the inspection phase and write it into the contract so it doesn’t arrive as a surprise change order on day 40.
We stop work at the discovery point, document the condition with photos, and price its removal or remediation as a change order before any new concrete is poured. Excavation in Noe Valley and Bernal Heights regularly turns up redwood cisterns and 1900s-era brick foundations that must be removed and documented, often triggering archaeological or environmental reviews. The pricing gets approved in writing before we spend your money.
An allowance is a dollar amount we write into the contract for a known-unknown condition like concealed wiring, damaged framing, or failed waterproofing. When the condition is confirmed during demolition, we price the actual repair against that allowance, show you the line item, and get sign-off before proceeding. Homeowners who work with contractors that don’t write allowances into San Francisco pre-1950s jobs end up fighting about change orders. Call (866) 925-0334 to walk through what a proper allowance structure looks like.
Yes, and that is the whole point of our model. One contract covers interior remodeling, roofing, windows and doors, fencing, hardscape, and structural upgrades including shear walls, foundation bolting, and soft-story retrofits. When a kitchen remodel in San Francisco triggers a seismic requirement, you don’t get handed off to another firm. The same accountable builder handles it through final inspection.
Written by Noel Castañeda, Owner at Millwright Builders, serving San Francisco since our founding.