RG HOME REMODELINGBERKELEY 510-966-0721
Berkeley, CA · Permits & Inspections Handled

Berkeley, CA General Contractor & Remodeler

RG Home Remodeling is a design-build general contractor and remodeler serving Berkeley and the inner East Bay. We specialize in the older bungalows, flats, and brown-shingle homes south of campus, where a thoughtful remodel can transform how a house lives without erasing the character that made it worth buying. One licensed crew plans, permits, and builds the whole project, so the people who quote your remodel are the people who finish it.

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South Berkeley and the Elmwood are full of homes that were built to last and are now ready for their next chapter. A 1920s bungalow with a galley kitchen the size of a closet, a two-flat with original fir floors and a bathroom that has not changed since the Eisenhower years, a Claremont house with great bones and a layout that fights every modern routine. These homes do not need to be replaced. They need a remodel that respects what is already there and fixes what no longer works, and that is the work RG Home Remodeling was built around.

We are a design-build company, which means the planning and the building live under one roof. Before a single wall comes down, we work out the layout, the structure, the permit set, and the systems, then build every phase to current Berkeley code. That matters more here than almost anywhere, because the housing stock in this part of the East Bay is old, the lots are tight, the original construction was often knob-and-tube and galvanized pipe, and the city takes its permitting and its seismic standards seriously. A crew that knows those conditions plans around them from the first sketch instead of discovering them after demolition.

Whether you want to open a closed-off bungalow kitchen to the back of the house, carve a real primary suite out of an awkward upstairs, turn a dark basement into a legal living level, or renovate an entire flat from the studs out, the process starts the same way. We come look at the actual house, talk honestly about what it can support and what it should cost, and put a real scope and a written price in front of you before any work begins. Most of our projects come from one Berkeley neighbor telling another, which is exactly the way we want to grow.

How We Help Berkeley Homeowners

Basement Finishing

Basement finishing for Berkeley homes: moisture control first, then framing, insulation, wiring, and plumbing to code to turn the space under an older flat or bungalow into real, comfortable living space.

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Custom Carpentry

Custom carpentry for Berkeley homes: cabinetry, built-ins, trim, stairs, and paneling matched to an older bungalow or flat and built in-house from solid, well-chosen materials.

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General Contracting

Full-service general contracting for Berkeley homes: one licensed crew runs the plans, the permits, the trades, the schedule, and the budget on your bungalow or flat, so you have a single point of accountability.

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Home Additions

Home additions for Berkeley homeowners: rear and upper additions that tie cleanly into an existing bungalow or flat, with matched rooflines, trim, and structure planned from the first sketch.

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Home Renovation

Whole-home renovations for Berkeley: reworked layouts, updated kitchens and baths, knob-and-tube and old plumbing brought to code, and finishes done by one design-build crew that knows older homes.

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Kitchen & Bath Remodeling

Kitchen and bath remodeling for Berkeley homes: reworked layouts, new cabinetry and counters, tile and fixtures, plumbing and electrical brought to code, and waterproofing done right in older bungalows and flats.

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What You Get With Our Berkeley Crew

Inspections, Handled

The home is engineered for the soil, the slope, and the local requirements. We never skip the engineering that keeps a home sound for decades.

Your Design, Engineered Right

We turn your vision into an engineered, buildable plan. We design every Berkeley project to the lot, the site, and the way you want to live, never a stock template.

In-House From Start To Finish

We design it, build it, and finish it, all under one roof. No juggling separate designers, framers, and finishers, it is all us.

How We Work in Berkeley, Start to Finish

1

We Close It Out Clean

We finish with a clean site, a final inspection, and a walk-through that shows you how everything works. You get a documented handover, the systems explained, and the warranty in writing.

2

What Made You Call

We start with your goals, not a stock package. A good design starts with knowing what prompted the call in the first place.

3

You Approve The Design

The design you approve is the design we build. We put the whole design and price in writing up front, no games.

4

The Design Consult

A real contractor looks at your actual home or lot before anything is recommended. It begins with your vision and an honest read on the site, not a sales pitch.

Our Reach Across Berkeley and Nearby Towns

South Berkeley, CA

Additions, remodels, and renovations in South Berkeley the whole project, one design-build crew from our team in Berkeley.

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Elmwood, CA

Homes remodeled and renovated in Elmwood for additions, renovations, and remodels from our Berkeley base.

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Rockridge, CA

Design, build, and finish in Rockridge for kitchens, baths, and additions with our Berkeley crew.

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Claremont, CA

Local remodeling in Claremont for additions, renovations, and basements from one Berkeley-area team.

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Oakland, CA

General Contractor in Oakland with quality materials and finishes direct from Berkeley.

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Emeryville, CA

Full design-build service in Emeryville for design, build, and finish out of Berkeley.

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About RG Home Remodeling

RG Home Remodeling is a Berkeley-based design-build general contractor working through South Berkeley, the Elmwood, Rockridge, Claremont, and the surrounding inner East Bay. We plan, draw, permit, and build kitchen and bath remodels, home additions, whole-home renovations, basement finishing, and the custom carpentry that ties an older home together, all with the same in-house crew. From the first walk-through to the final inspection, one accountable team owns the project, so nobody is left mediating between a separate designer, a separate framer, and a separate finisher when the plan meets the real wall.

Our focus is the older housing stock that defines this part of Berkeley and Oakland: the bungalows, the brown-shingles, the stucco cottages, and the classic two-flats and three-flats. These homes reward a contractor who slows down, opens the walls carefully, and works with the original framing and detailing rather than bulldozing through it. We have learned where the surprises hide in a ninety-year-old house, and we price and plan for them up front instead of letting them become change orders halfway through.

We are licensed and insured, we draw the plans and pull the permits, and we put the scope and the price in writing before the work starts. When you call 510-966-0721, you reach the people who will actually plan and build your remodel, not a call center and not a lead broker selling your project to whoever answers first. The work we are proudest of is the work you cannot see on opening day: the framing, the wiring, the plumbing, and the waterproofing that decide whether a remodel still feels right ten years on.

Why design-build is the right fit for an older Berkeley home

When one company designs a project and a different company builds it, the gaps between them are where an old house bites back. A layout that looks clean on paper runs into a wall that turns out to be carrying the second floor, a service panel that cannot handle another circuit, or a waste line buried in a place the drawing never showed. With a separate designer and builder, nobody owns the fix, and the homeowner ends up refereeing. Design-build closes that gap. The same people who walk your bungalow, draw the plan, and quote the price are the people who frame the walls, run the systems, and set the cabinets.

That continuity is worth the most in South Berkeley and the Elmwood, where the homes are old, the construction is full of surprises, and the permitting and seismic requirements are real. We plan with the genuine constraints of your specific house in view from the very first sketch, so the scope we hand you is one we already know how to build. It keeps the project moving, keeps the budget honest, and keeps one crew accountable for the result from the first day of demolition to the final sign-off.

It also means the decisions that drive cost and livability get made together rather than in isolation. The layout, the structure, the systems, and the finishes all pull on one another in an older home, and planning them as a single project is how the finished space reads as a natural part of the house instead of a set of separately bid pieces stitched together at the end.

We build past the final inspection

A house is a structure, and in a ninety-year-old Berkeley home the structure is where the real work lives. We open the walls to see what is actually there, the old framing, the knob-and-tube, the galvanized supply lines, then frame to spec with the connections current code requires and run the wiring, the plumbing, and the mechanical to standard. Only after that do we move to the drywall, the cabinetry, the trim, and the finishes you live with every day.

The finishes have to be chosen to last too, and to suit how the room is actually used. A busy family kitchen in an Elmwood bungalow, a primary bath carved out of a back bedroom, a finished basement level under a South Berkeley flat: each calls for durable cabinetry, quality flooring, solid trim, and fixtures matched to real use rather than a showroom photo. We pick them with you, around the design and the budget, never as a reflex upsell.

Everything goes in to current Berkeley building and energy code, with the inspections that keep a home safe and durable. In a region that takes seismic seriously, that is not a formality. The goal is straightforward: a space that looks as good and works as well years from now as it does the week the project wraps.

Our Berkeley crew handles the whole project: general contracting to manage the trades and the permits, a home addition to add the room you need, a gut renovation to transform a home you already love, a bathroom remodel for the rooms you use most, architectural millwork for the built-ins and trim you see every day, and basement conversion to turn empty space below into real living space.

Beyond Berkeley itself, we cover the surrounding area, including South Berkeley general contractor, Elmwood general contractor, remodeling in Rockridge, Claremont general contractor. If you searched for local remodeling service, you are in the right place, a local crew who answers.

Not sure where to start? Read A Practical Guide to Remodeling Your Home and Remodeling an Older Berkeley Bungalow: What to Expect Behind the Walls on our blog, then call for a free design consultation when you are ready.

Before You Hire a Contractor

A Practical Guide to Remodeling Your Home

An honest look at wilmette home remodeling and renovation services for Berkeley homes, from a local contractor.

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Remodeling an Older Berkeley Bungalow: What to Expect Behind the Walls

Older bungalows have wonderful bones and decades of surprises hidden in the framing, the wiring, and the plumbing. Here is an honest look at what a remodel of a period Berkeley home actually involves.

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Opening Up a Kitchen in a Berkeley Flat: What Is Possible and What Is Not

Closed-off galley kitchens are the norm in older Berkeley flats. Here is an honest look at how far you can open one up, what the structure allows, and where the real cost lives.

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Plain Remodeling Care Questions

What is a general contractor?

Here is what general contracting actually involves and where it makes sense. Understanding it helps a homeowner compare bids and plans honestly. We can talk through whether it fits your home and budget and lay out the options. Call 510-966-0721 to plan your Berkeley project.

How much does a general contractor make?

Pricing general contracting honestly means pricing it from the real scope, not a flat menu. What is behind the walls, from old wiring to a settling foundation, can move the number more than owners expect. We do not quote a renovation over the phone; we plan, then quote it in writing with a clear scope. Phone 510-966-0721 and a real person will set up a consultation.

How to grow a construction company?

The honest answer is that most of a home project involves permits, multiple trades, and code, which a contractor coordinates. Coordinating trades, inspections, and a realistic schedule is exactly where do-it-yourself projects stall. If you want it done once and done right, a real project is worth a contractor who does it every day. Phone 510-966-0721 and a real person will help.

How to design home renovation homenumental?

People ask how to handle a home renovation themselves, and the real steps involve permits, trades, and structural work. The risks are the parts you cannot easily undo: the structure, the systems, and the permits. We handle the design, permits, and trades with one accountable crew. Call 510-966-0721 and we will plan it properly.

How do you start construction company?

The honest answer is that most of a home project involves permits, multiple trades, and code, which a contractor coordinates. Coordinating trades, inspections, and a realistic schedule is exactly where do-it-yourself projects stall. If you want it done once and done right, a real project is worth a contractor who does it every day. Phone 510-966-0721 and a real person will help.

Does homeowners insurance cover home renovation?

Here is the straight answer, without a sales pitch. We would rather tell you what is genuinely true for your project than push the bigger job. We will give you the honest recommendation, whatever it is, and if a smaller scope will do we will say so. Call 510-966-0721 and a real person will help.

General Contractor in Berkeley, CA

For a remodel, an addition, or a renovation, our Berkeley team gives you free in-home consults, honest estimates, and quality work, and lets you decide on your own timeline.

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General Contractors · No-Pressure Quotes · Written Estimates · Up-Front Pricing
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