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Design-Build General Contractor in Oakland
ADUs, kitchens and remodels, from city permits to PG&E.
Oakland is home. It's where we're based, and where we just finished the Adams Point ADU.
Oakland’s Planning & Building Department issues its own permits. Many small exterior changes are exempt from design review, but an addition past the exemption limits, a new window style or opening, a front fence over 42 inches, or foundation work that raises the house goes through Small Project Design Review, which planning staff can approve. Oakland is also in the East Bay’s regional sewer lateral program: a remodel over $100,000 needs a current sewer lateral certificate before final sign-off. If the property doesn’t have one, the line from the house to the street gets tested, and replaced if it fails.
Our Services
What Building in Oakland Actually Involves
Three things we plan for on every Oakland job
PG&E’s timeline
A new ADU or a big electrical upgrade often needs a new or larger service. On our Adams Point ADU, PG&E wanted the meter moved to the front. We got the 400-amp service approved on the side after two rounds and five months, so we plan for PG&E’s timeline from day one.
The right review
Exempt, small project or full design review: we find out which one applies before the design is final.
The sewer lateral
Over $100,000 in work requires a current lateral certificate. If yours has lapsed, we test early and price any fix in up front.
How an Oakland Job Runs
Design-build means one team from the first walkthrough to the final inspection: design, engineering, permits and construction. When the city and the utility both have a say, it helps that the people drawing the plan are the people building it.
Here’s how an Oakland job usually runs. The first visit is on site. We look at the lot, the electrical panel, the sewer cleanout and access, because those set the budget more than finishes do. Then a preconstruction agreement covers design, engineering and the permit set, and ends with a detailed construction budget. We file with the city, and if the job needs new electrical service, we apply to PG&E the same week. PG&E is usually the slower of the two. During the build you get a weekly update, and we photograph every wall before it closes.
Our Oakland Work
Adams Point: a 575 sq ft backyard ADU, where PG&E wanted the meter on the front and we got the 400-amp service approved on the side.
Oakland Hills: a 750 sq ft ADU in what was an unfinished basement, with drainage to keep water out and a separate 100-amp service PG&E required.
Read how the Adams Point ADU got its PG&E service in Behind the Walls.
We work most in Rockridge, Temescal, Adams Point, Piedmont Ave, Montclair and the Oakland Hills. Start with a free 15-minute call. If it’s a fit, we’ll walk the property with you and give you a straight ballpark.
