San Mateo, CA
Home remodeling in San Mateo
Great rooms, kitchens, and historical renovations for San Mateo houses. Two client families on this page hired us for work in the city, including a 1920s renovation.
San Mateo is one of the cities where we can point to the actual houses, not a generic claim. Kevin and Kathy Dunne hired K.S. Builders for a great room addition and kitchen remodel in their San Mateo home. They later bought in Belmont and called the same crew. Robert and Susan Chen hired us for a historical renovation of a 1920s house in San Mateo. They asked us to keep the character and replace the systems.
That split is the work: older houses that need to stay recognizable, and mid-century houses that need a kitchen and a room big enough for the way people actually live. Both are remodeling. The tools change.
The shop is a short drive south, at 260 Topaz Street in Redwood City. Historical renovation, kitchens, baths, and additions are spelled out on the services page.
The houses
Prewar streets and postwar family blocks
San Mateo Park, Baywood, and Aragon hold many of the 1920s to 1940s houses: Spanish, Tudor, and classic bungalows with plaster, original windows, and details you do not want a remodel to sand off. A new great room has to meet that roofline instead of fighting it.
Hillsdale, Beresford, and the surrounding family neighborhoods are ranches and mid-century houses. The kitchen is often still a closed room, and the yard is the reason you bought the house. Opening the back wall is the project.
North Central, Hayward Park, and Sunnybrae are tighter lots. Additions are possible, but the side yard and the parking during construction need a real plan. We say so before the proposal, not after the dumpster arrives.
What we run into
Plaster, old wiring, and matching the original
A 1920s house can still have plaster over wood lath, a chimney that is part of the structure, and a mix of old wiring. Modernizing the systems, which is what the Chens asked for, means opening walls on purpose and closing them so the trim still lines up.
Spanish and Tudor exteriors are easy to get wrong with a stock window or a flat addition roof. We match tile, eaves, and the entry the way the Spanish remodel in our gallery keeps its clay roof and recessed door.
Great room additions, like the Dunne project, need a beam, a roof tie-in, and a floor that meets the old house without a step you trip on. That connection is the craft, not the sofa you put in later.
Planning numbers
San Mateo remodel ranges
A kitchen and great room together, which is the Dunne scope, is a larger number than a kitchen alone. Kitchens with layout changes commonly run $90,000 to $250,000. The addition that makes the great room is often $500 to $800 per square foot on top of that, depending on foundation and finish. A historical renovation that replaces electrical, plumbing, and worn systems while keeping the 1920s shell is priced by what we find in the walls. We do not pretend that is a flat fee.
San Mateo review for an interior kitchen can be a few weeks. An addition or a house with historic character takes longer to draw and to permit. On-site, a kitchen is often a couple of months of construction. A great room addition is often four to eight months once the permit is in hand.
Have you actually remodeled in San Mateo?
Yes. The Dunnes had a great room addition and kitchen remodel in San Mateo, then hired us again for a later house. The Chens hired us for a 1920s historical renovation in San Mateo.
Can you keep the original Spanish or Tudor details?
That is the point of a historical renovation. We replace failed systems and worn rooms, and we match the exterior and the interior trim that make the house what it is.
What should I budget for a kitchen and great room?
Plan the kitchen in the $90,000 to $250,000 band if the layout changes, and price the new room around $500 to $800 per square foot. Your proposal is written after the visit, not from this page.
Do you work on Hillsdale ranches too?
Yes. Closed kitchens, hall baths, and rear additions on those blocks are regular work, and they do not need the same historic matching as a 1920s house in San Mateo Park.
These ranges are for planning. A proposal comes after we see the house. Start with the service list or a visit.
Proof nearby
Two San Mateo families, two different houses
Kevin and Kathy Dunne wrote that Ken's great room and kitchen in San Mateo were the reason they did not interview anyone else for the next house. Robert and Susan Chen wrote that the 1920s renovation kept the character and modernized the systems.
Both notes are on the testimonials page.
Map
San Mateo is just north of Redwood City. Site visits are often the same morning as shop hours.
Other city pages: Redwood City · Palo Alto · Mountain View · Sunnyvale · Menlo Park · Atherton · San Carlos.
Free on-site visit
If the San Mateo house needs a great room or a careful renovation, call.
Free on-site visit from the Redwood City shop. Mention the neighborhood so we bring the right questions.