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 Jose
Finding a general contractor in San Jose who understands what’s actually behind these walls takes more than a directory search. San Jose’s housing stock runs from pre-1906 Victorians in Naglee Park to 1950s ranch tracts on the east side and dense new townhome infill near Diridon. That means a remodel in 95112 rarely goes the way the glossy brochure says it will. Millwright Builders gets that. We price the open-up reality from day one: inspection first, written allowances for what we’re likely to find, and a change order process that puts every surprise in writing before we touch it. Call (866) 925-0334 to talk through your project.
Why Millwright Builders Is San Jose’s Preferred General Contractor Company
San Jose homeowners come to us because our General Contractor team treats an open-up remodel like the structural and code problem it is, not an aesthetic one. When you open the walls of a 1910 bungalow off The Alameda, you don’t find Pinterest. You find framing that predates modern shear standards, wiring that predates your grandparents, and waterproofing that never existed. We know that because we’ve done it in Communications Hill condos, Seven Trees ranchers, and Alum Rock additions.
Our reputation in San Jose is built on writing honest scopes before demo starts. We don’t hand you a fixed bid for a Naglee Park kitchen and then act surprised when the inspector flags the knob-and-tube. We put those allowances in writing up front. When a change order happens, it’s priced and approved before we touch the wall. That discipline is why San Jose homeowners who’ve been burned by vague quotes end up calling us.
As a licensed general contractor serving San Jose, we carry one license and one point of accountability across every trade on the job: framing, electrical, plumbing, roofing, cabinetry, countertops, and hardscape. You get one conversation, one schedule, one person who answers the phone.
Styles & brands we work with
Licensed General Contractor in San Jose
A Licensed General Contractor in San Jose is the person with the state credential to coordinate and oversee every trade on a residential project. What that means on the ground in San Jose is someone who can pull permits for structural work, schedule and supervise licensed subs, pass Title 24 energy inspections, and stand behind the whole build, not just one trade’s slice of it. You need this when a project crosses trade lines: a kitchen remodel that recomposes plumbing and rewires a circuit, a home addition that ties into existing roof framing, a garage conversion into an ADU.
What Our License Covers
Millwright Builders holds one general contracting license that lets us run interior remodeling, roofing, windows and doors, fencing, hardscape, and ADU construction under one contract. You don’t manage three specialists and hope they coordinate. We run the schedule, the subs, and the permit sequence.
Typical Scope Costs
A whole kitchen remodel in San Jose runs $16,520 – $53,100. A bathroom remodel runs $10,620 – $33,040. A home addition is $53,100 – $153,400. An ADU construction project is $106,200 – $259,600. Ask us for a line-item written estimate, not a round number.
Residential General Contractor in San Jose
A Residential General Contractor in San Jose handles single-family homes, townhomes, and small multi-unit remodels rather than commercial or industrial work. For the typical San Jose homeowner, that means a contractor who understands what the local housing stock actually demands: 1920s Craftsman framing in Naglee Park, 1960s tract ranch layouts in Seven Trees, and modern Title 24 envelope requirements everywhere in the city. Our residential work in San Jose covers everything from kitchen and bath overhauls to room additions, basement-level transformations, and whole-home open-ups.
Kitchen and Bath Renovation
Kitchen remodels in San Jose range $16,520 – $53,100 depending on whether we’re replacing cabinet faces or gutting to studs and rewriting the plumbing plan. Bathroom remodels here run $10,620 – $33,040. When walls open in older San Jose homes, we often find damaged sill plates or inadequate shower pan waterproofing, and we fix that before finish work begins.
Additions and Garage Conversions
Adding square footage in San Jose typically lands between $53,100 and $153,400 for an addition, and $35,400 – $94,400 for a garage conversion. San Jose’s ADU-friendly zoning and the city’s push for infill housing make garage conversions one of the more practical ways to add rentable or in-law space without changing the lot footprint.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Jose
We stock and source parts across 50+ vetted manufacturers, and for San Jose’s roof-heavy renovation seasons, that includes IKO and Atlas asphalt shingle lines, plus Tamko and Boral for specific slope and fire-resistance requirements in the foothill-adjacent east side. San Jose’s dry summers and wildfire-smoke exposure make roof and envelope material choices consequential, so we specify the brand that fits your exposure and budget, explain the trade-off, and stand behind the install. Built to the material’s standard, not just to code.
See the difference
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After
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After
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AfterCommon General Contractor Problems We See in San Jose Homes
- Knob-and-tube wiring hidden behind recent drywall. In 95110 and 95112 homes built before 1930, owners frequently find old knob-and-tube still live and spliced into newer Romex. The first rough-in inspection flags it, and the rewire has to happen before insulation and drywall close.
- Missing or undersized seismic retrofits. San Jose sits between the Hayward and Calaveras fault zones. Older bungalows in Naglee Park and downtown often lack anchor bolts and cripple-wall bracing entirely. Once the wall cavity is open, the building inspector requires the upgrade.
- Failed shower pan and wall waterproofing. San Jose’s mild wet winters don’t flood a lot, but decades of small leaks do real damage to subfloor framing. We find rot under tiles in 1950s-70s east side ranchers more often than homeowners expect.
- Undersized framing and non-compliant shear walls. Mid-century San Jose tract homes were framed to older codes. Open up a load-bearing wall and the plan reviewer can trigger shear panel and hold-down upgrades before we can move forward.
Pricing for General Contractor in San Jose, CA
Here’s where money actually goes on San Jose remodels. These are line-item ranges we quote from, not vague ballpark numbers:
| Project | San Jose Price Range |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Remodel | $16,520 – $53,100 |
| Bathroom Remodel | $10,620 – $33,040 |
| Home Addition | $53,100 – $153,400 |
| ADU Construction | $106,200 – $259,600 |
| Garage Conversion | $35,400 – $94,400 |
| Cabinet Installation | $4,720 – $15,340 |
| Countertop Installation | $2,360 – $7,670 |
What moves a quote in San Jose is what’s inside the walls. A Naglee Park bungalow with original knob-and-tube and no cripple-wall bracing will cost more to open up than a 1990s townhome in Communications Hill. That’s why we price inspection and allowances into the contract up front. Call (866) 925-0334 for a free written estimate with real line items.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Jose
Beyond our San Jose work, we cover Buena Vista, Seven Trees, Communications Hill, and Alum Rock. When neighbors in those communities ask for a General Contractor in San Jose who works across the whole south bay, they call the same team. From roofline to patio, one contractor, one conversation.
Serving San Jose, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Jose 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 Jose
Because San Jose’s older housing stock hides code-triggering conditions: knob-and-tube wiring, missing anchor bolts, unbraced cripple walls, and failed waterproofing. We handle this by writing inspection-first allowances into your contract and producing a written change order with a price and scope before we proceed. Call (866) 925-0334 and we’ll walk you through the process line by line.
Yes. San Jose plan review treats any structural or electrical alteration as a permit event, and in older 95112 buildings, the inspector’s sign-off routinely triggers seismic and wiring upgrades you cannot skip. Working unpermitted means your finished kitchen may not pass a future resale inspection, and the work that’s behind drywall becomes a liability. We pull permits and pass inspections on every job.
We price anchor bolts, cripple-wall bracing, and shear paneling into the permit scope from the start, especially in San Jose ZIPs near the Hayward and Calaveras fault zones. When we open a wall and confirm what’s missing, we write the retrofit into a change order, install it before drywall, and get it signed off by the inspector. Call (866) 925-0334 for a project walkthrough.
We bid the known scope with real allowances for what’s likely behind the walls, write a specific change order for anything exposed during demo, and get your written approval before touching it. That’s how we handled a 1912 Craftsman bungalow in Naglee Park: a rear wall with no cripple-wall bracing and live knob-and-tube came into the open during a kitchen remodel, and the seismic retrofit plus full rewire went into a change order before demo continued. Your renovation shouldn’t require you to become a project manager.
Yes. That’s the point of hiring a true general contractor. We run the open-up remodel and the addition under one permit sequence, one schedule, and one accountable contract, with framing, roofing, electrical, plumbing, windows, and finishes all coordinated. Call (866) 925-0334 and we’ll come walk the property.
Talk to us about your San Jose project. We’ll look at the house, talk through what it’s likely to reveal, and put a real written estimate in your hands. Call Millwright Builders at (866) 925-0334 to schedule your free estimate.
Written by Noel Castañeda, Owner at Millwright Builders, serving San Jose and the South Bay with clear scopes, real allowances, and one accountable contract.