Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
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AfterFast, Reliable Bathroom Remodeling Across Kensington
A full bathroom remodel in Kensington, CA typically runs $9,000-$28,000, with walk-in shower installations landing between $4,500-$12,000 and small bathroom remodels starting around $5,000. The range swings on what your walls reveal once we open them. Homes in Kensington were mostly built between the 1920s and 1950s, and demo regularly surfaces knob-and-tube wiring, fog-damaged redwood framing, and waterproofing that failed years ago.
We’ve remodeled bathrooms on Arlington Avenue, along the Ridgeline, and up and down the steep lots off Kenyon and Grizzly Peak. We know what these houses hold. And we know the permit path through Contra Costa County, because Kensington isn’t a city with its own building department. Every permit for Bathroom Remodeling in Kensington goes through Martinez. If you’d like a real number for your house, call Tom Barrett’s crew at (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Kensington’s Preferred Bathroom Remodeling Company
We’re Barrett & Sons Construction, founded in 1998 and still owner-operated by Tom Barrett. Tom’s sons run the crews. You’ll see the same faces from demo to county inspection, not a rotating cast of subcontractors. We publish Tom’s name, address, and license number. Look it up before you sign anything.
Kensington homeowners tend to be particular about their houses. They should be. A 1930s Mediterranean revival deserves better than a chain outfit that sub-contracts the tile and disappears. Our clients in 94530 call because the last contractor quoted one number on the phone and handed them a much larger invoice at the door. We don’t work that way. Every scope, every allowance, every price change arrives as a written change order before a nail moves. It’s on paper or it didn’t happen.
We answer the phone 24/7. A live person, not a voicemail box. If you’re on Colusa Avenue and your shower pan just failed, you’ll reach someone who knows where Colusa Avenue is. That matters when water is running through a 1935 subfloor.
Our Bathroom Remodeling Services in Kensington
We handle the full range of bathroom work, but three services come up most often in Kensington: walk-in showers, tub-to-shower conversions, and small bathroom remodels. These fit the footprint of older hillside homes where every square foot counts. Our Bathroom Remodeling team does the work with named brands you can verify: Schluter waterproofing systems, Sterling fixtures, Grohe valves.
Full Bathroom Remodeling
A full remodel in Kensington usually means gutting to the studs, correcting what’s behind them, and rebuilding with code-compliant plumbing, wiring, and waterproofing. On a 1940s craftsman, that often includes replacing cast-iron drain lines and addressing redwood framing softened by decades of trapped hillside fog. We pull the permit through Contra Costa County, schedule the inspections, and stand next to the inspector with you if you want to be there.
Walk-In Showers & Shower Remodeling
Walk-in showers dominate remodels in Kensington because they fit small footprints and serve homeowners planning to age in place. A curbless Schluter shower pan on a 1950s subfloor requires levelling first. Hillside homes settle differently than flatland houses, and we account for that before tile goes down. Typical cost in Kensington runs $4,500-$12,000 depending on glass, tile, and any framing corrections underneath.
Tub-to-Shower Conversion
Removing a 1950s tub and converting that alcove to a shower frees up about half a foot of elbow room in a small Kensington bathroom. Many of these older tubs sit on floors with some sag, so conversion often includes reinforcing the joists beneath. We quote $3,500-$10,000 for this work in Kensington, and we write the allowance for plumbing surprises into the contract up front.
Vanities, Tile & Fixtures
We install vanities, tile, and fixtures from brands you can look up. Sterling and Grohe fixtures hold up to the mineral content in East Bay water. Tile selections need to handle Kensington’s damp microclimate without ghosting. We’ll guide you through choices that won’t fail in three fog seasons.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Kensington
We carry and install specific brands for a reason: they stand up to Kensington’s moisture and they’re easy to warranty. Schluter waterproofing systems form the base of our shower builds. Sterling tubs and shower bases fit the compact alcoves common in 1930s bungalows. Grohe valves give you a lifetime of smooth operation. When a part fails, we can get it fast and fix it without a six-week backorder.
Common Bathroom Remodeling Problems We See in Kensington Homes
- Knob-and-tube wiring behind the shower wall. A 1928 craftsman or 1930s Mediterranean revival almost always has it somewhere. Once we open the wall, the county requires replacing it before we can pass rough-in inspection. This is one of the most common change orders on a Kensington bathroom job.
- Fog-driven redwood rot. The Kensington hills trap coastal moisture far more than the flats below in El Cerrito or Richmond. Lower wall plates and subflooring in pre-war homes are often spongy from decades of that dampness. We inspect before tiling, because a new tile job over rotten framing cracks within two years.
- Hillside foundation movement. Post-and-pier foundations on steep lots settle unevenly. Bathroom floors slope, doors stick, and waterproofing membranes separate. When we see movement, we flag it before any finish work begins.
- Wrong-permit assumptions. Contractors who work Berkeley or El Cerrito all the time show up to pull permits at the wrong counter. In Kensington, nothing goes through a city hall. It’s all Contra Costa County, through Martinez. We know the drill and schedule accordingly.
Pricing for Bathroom Remodeling in Kensington, CA
A bathroom remodel in Kensington runs $9,000-$28,000 for a full project. Here’s the line-item breakdown:
| Service | Kensington Price Range |
|---|---|
| Full Bathroom Remodel | $9,000 - $28,000 |
| Small Bathroom Remodel | $5,000 - $12,000 |
| Walk-In Shower Installation | $4,500 - $12,000 |
| Tub-to-Shower Conversion | $3,500 - $10,000 |
What moves your number: knob-and-tube replacement, framing corrections, drainage fixes, and the tile and fixture selections you make. We write allowance language into the contract so a $1,200 electrical correction doesn’t show up as a surprise at the end. You’ll approve it on paper before we touch it. Call (877) 610-1318 and tell us about your bathroom. The estimate is free.
We Also Serve Cities Near Kensington
While this page is for Kensington homeowners, our crews also work in El Cerrito, Albany, Richmond, and Berkeley. The permit paths differ in each one, and we know every one of them. If you’re a Kensington neighbor in one of those cities, we’d be glad to help.
Serving Kensington, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Kensington 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 - Bathroom Remodeling in Kensington
If you replace fixtures in the same location without moving plumbing or opening walls, you typically don’t need a permit in unincorporated Contra Costa County. But the moment we move a drain line, change the footprint, or open a wall and find bad framing, a permit is required and the county inspection schedule kicks in. We pull every eligible permit. The permit inspector works for you, not for us, and we like it that way. Call (877) 610-1318 if you’re not sure what your scope triggers.
We expect it before we open the wall. On a 1930s Mediterranean revival off Arlington Avenue, our crew found knob-and-tube feeding the original light fixture and redwood framing spongy from decades of trapped hillside fog. We wrote a change order for new Romex rough-in and sistered two load-bearing studs before inspection sign-off. The key is that the change order is written and approved by you before we do the work. That’s true of every surprise this housing stock throws at us. No surprises at the end, because the allowance that isn’t on paper is a surprise waiting for a date.
On a hillside lot, water goes under the house as much as it falls on it. Fog condenses on north-facing walls, and groundwater moves downhill through the soil and against the foundation. We use full Schluter membrane systems on shower walls and floors, and we pay attention to the lowest wall plate and the mud sill where rot from trapped moisture collects. Flatland waterproofing assumptions don’t hold up here. We adjust before tile goes down, because cracked grout and a failed membrane two years after the remodel is not acceptable to us.
Not automatically, but Kensington sits on or near the Hayward Fault trace, and your home’s foundation may already show signs of movement. If a bathroom remodel exposes cripple-wall framing or a post-and-pier foundation that’s compromised, the county may require an engineer’s evaluation before we can proceed. That’s not a penalty. It’s the county making sure your house doesn’t keep moving under a brand-new shower. We’ve navigated this many times and we’ll bring an engineer in early if we think it’s coming, so you’re not surprised halfway through tile work.
The typical punch list item is minor: a caulk line that needs one more bead along the shower curb, a vanity drawer face that sits a fraction off, or a trim plate that needs adjustment after the inspector signs off. We complete punch list items within days, not weeks, and our 90-Day Done Right Promise means one call brings Tom back if anything isn’t right. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate on your Kensington bathroom, and we’ll give you a written scope you can check against any other bid.
If you’re ready to talk about your Kensington bathroom remodel, call us at (877) 610-1318. We’ll schedule a walk-through, talk about what your house will and won’t need, and put the estimate in writing. No pressure, no phone-then-door pricing games. We’ll shake your hand, and we’ll stand behind the work.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Kensington since our founding in 1998.