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Bathroom Remodeling in Kensington

Kensington Bathroom Remodeling

From hillside view homes to established cottages, we handle the realities of remodeling a bathroom in a Kensington home.

Beyond Green Construction brings that same clarity to bathroom remodels across Kensington — a small hillside community above Berkeley and El Cerrito, with one team managing design, permitting, and construction start to finish.

Renovating Bathrooms Throughout Kensington

Kensington’s homes sit almost entirely on hillside terrain, with narrow winding streets and homes often built for a view of the Bay. Bathroom remodels here regularly involve access planning for construction equipment, along with older plumbing common to a housing stock that dates back several decades.

Navigating Steep Hillside Logistics

Kensington’s winding, narrow streets and vertical hillside lots present unique logistical challenges for construction. We perform detailed site assessments to plan material staging and equipment access early, ensuring your project proceeds smoothly without impacting local traffic or your neighborhood’s peaceful environment.

Updating Vintage Plumbing Systems

Many Kensington homes built decades ago still rely on original supply and waste lines that are nearing the end of their lifespan. We provide transparent assessments of your home’s hidden infrastructure, planning for necessary plumbing upgrades as part of the remodel to ensure your new bathroom is efficient and code-compliant.

Maximizing Bay & Hillside Views

In a community defined by its stunning vistas, we believe your primary bathroom should be a front-row seat. Whether it’s strategically placing a soaking tub, adjusting window sizes, or reconfiguring your floor plan to open up a line of sight to the Bay or the hills, we design layouts that prioritize your home’s unique views.

Hillside Grading & Structural Integrity

Building on Kensington’s terrain often involves working with existing slope grading and complex foundation requirements. We approach every bathroom renovation with a focus on long-term structural integrity, ensuring that any modifications—especially in larger primary suite expansions—are carefully engineered to respect the hillside soil and slope conditions.

Bathroom Remodeling Process

1. Initial Site Visit: 1 to 1 ½ hrs

Every Bathroom renovation starts with a vision, and this starts with a walkthrough to see what you have and understand what you want. By listening closely to your goals, vision, questions, and budget, we tailor a design that truly fits your lifestyle and brings your ideal bathroom to life.

Step 1 – What To Expect

On site walkthrough to evaluate the starting point and discuss the overall goals of the project.
We provide a free ballpark construction cost, which will be a significant range, for example $25k – $40k. This range is largely driven by finish selections (appliances, cabinets, counters, flooring, fixtures, lighting, etc.)
This ballpark helps us understand if a client’s budget aligns with our estimated construction cost.
To proceed, we sign our preconstruction agreement (PCA), which includes the various services you will need to design and ultimately acquire the building permits.
Bathroom design can range from fairly simple design needs to more elaborate, based on construction conditions, nature of design and client selections.

2. Design & Material Selection: 1 - 2 weeks

Once the vision is clear, the design process brings it to life on paper. From countertops to cabinet layout to lighting, we’ll plan each detail with precision. A thorough design phase is key to staying on budget. Also, it’s often the fun part!

Consultations for all project goals and design considerations.
Some common design goals include careful attention around tile options and details, lighting options, fixture selections as well as an overall color plan.
The contractor creates an all inclusive list of all project selections for client review and interaction. This single tool will be used to guide the project.

3. Permitting: 1 day - 2 months

Once the design is complete, it’s time to submit the plans to the city for approval. Plans for a bathroom remodel can be approved over the counter the same day, or may need to be submitted for a review which can take up to 2 months. The good news is that you can still keep the project moving! While most product selections will have already been considered, this is the time to actually start finalizing selections and shopping for items. In most cases, top on that list is tile to allow for precise layout of fixtures, shower niches, and other custom elements that may be involved.

4. Construction: 1 - 4 months

Finally, our team begins with a careful protection of your surrounding areas. Dust barriers with zipper doors, HEPA air filtration, and floor protection are some of the methods we implement to ensure your home and family are protected from the process. A dedicated team and project manager will execute the job in coordination with the residents, with established working hours put in place.

5. Move In!

Upon passing our city final inspection, we will then do a thorough walkthrough, to ensure everything is just right. We will also provide and go over all of your new documentation, including manuals, warranties, etc., as well as provide a long term maintenance plan to help you make sure your bathroom stays beautiful for years to come!

Our Bathroom Remodels

A look at recent Bathroom Remodeling work from Beyond Green Construction.

“We have lived in our home without a toilet on our first floor for over 20 years! No More. I now have a wonderful half bath. Alex worked with our architect’s design to build a half bath, by breaking through my living room wall into my attached garage… Alex is a true craftsman, and enjoys his work… Pictures are worth a thousand words. I love my new half bath and closet. Wish we had done it sooner. Thank you Alex!”

— Ann V., Oakland, CA

What Our Clients Say About Us

Ready to start planning your Kensington bathroom?

FAQ

Answers to the questions we hear most often about bathroom remodels.

Can we move the toilet, shower, or sink to a new location? +

In most cases yes, but it depends on your home’s construction. If you have a concrete slab, this can be removed and pipes can be installed below grade. A much easier scenario is a wood framed floor with a crawlspace below. This construction is ideal in terms of feasibility and cost. We’ll assess all of this early in design and explain your options clearly.

How long does a bathroom renovation take? +

3–6 weeks typically...

Do you handle Contra Costa County permits for Kensington projects? +

Yes — permitting is built into our preconstruction agreement, and we manage submittal and inspection with Contra Costa County as part of the project, since Kensington is unincorporated.

Can I use my bathroom during the remodel? +

In most cases, the bathroom being remodeled will be out of service. For homes with only one bathroom, we can help you plan ahead with temporary solutions. We’re big on minimizing disruption. Ask us about your options during your initial consultation.

Do you work on Kensington's narrow hillside streets? +

Regularly. We plan equipment and material access around Kensington's narrow, winding streets during the design phase, not after construction starts.