Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
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AfterConstruction Services in Highland, CA
If you own a home in Highland, construction isn’t a one-size-fits-all conversation. The ground under your foundation, the wind that hits your roofline in October, and the codes the city enforces north of Baseline Street all shape what a remodel, addition, or roof replacement should actually cost and how it needs to be built. We’re Barrett & Sons Construction, and we’ve been putting our name on work across Highland for long enough to know which lots need soils engineering before a shovel moves and which neighborhoods still carry the quirks of 1960s county-era construction. Call (877) 610-1318 and you’ll get Tom Barrett or one of his sons on the line, not a voicemail tree.
Quick answer on cost: most construction in Highland runs $150 to $400 per square foot depending on the trade, with kitchens and additions at the upper end and fencing or driveway work at the lower. The seismic and fire-code realities on many Highland lots add permitting and engineering costs your flatland friends in Colton never saw. We’ll walk you through exactly what applies to your address before you spend a dime.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Why Highland Homeowners Choose Barrett & Sons Construction
There are two kinds of contractors working in Highland: ones who treat this city like any other Inland Empire zip code, and ones who know that a house north of Baseline sits in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone and a house on the valley floor sits on alluvial fan soils that move. We’re the second kind. Tom Barrett founded this company in 1998, and his sons run the crews that work in Highland. When you call us, you’re calling the owner, not a dispatcher in another state. Every contract carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing: if it’s not done right, Tom comes back and makes it right, one call.
We’ve done work across East Highlands, along Greenspot Road, in the older ranch tracts near Base Line and Victoria, and through the neighborhoods that climb toward the foothills off Weaver Street. Our Highland customers tend to tell us the same thing: the permit inspector showed up, the change orders came in writing, and the price on the final invoice matched the price on the first handshake. That’s not an accident. It’s how we’ve always run jobs. Ask anyone on your street, or look up Tom Barrett’s license number yourself before you sign anything.
Construction Services We Offer in Highland
Kitchen Remodeling
Highland kitchens in the 1960s and 70s ranch homes were built tight and closed off. We open them up, rework the layout, and install cabinets and counters you can actually research by name, like KraftMaid and Cambria. Learn more about our Kitchen Remodeling in Highland.
Bathroom Remodeling
Older Highland bathrooms often hide slab-penetration issues and venting shortcuts from the county-unincorporated era. We fix the infrastructure first, then give you the tile and fixtures you actually wanted. Learn more about our Bathroom Remodeling in Highland.
Roofing
Highland summers above 105°F cook asphalt shingles fast, and Santa Ana gusts over 60 mph find every weak flashing point. We install GAF roofing systems built for this exact heat-and-wind cycle, with all the fire-hardening components the foothills demand. Learn more about our Roofing in Highland.
Windows & Doors
Sliding glass doors and single-pane windows common in 60s and 70s Highland homes bleed cooling dollars all summer. We replace them with Andersen and Marvin units sized and flashed for Highland’s thermal swing.
Fence Installation
Highland lots range from tight tract parcels to big foothill spreads. We set posts below the expansive-clay movement line and build fences that stay plumb through wet winters and dry summers.
Driveway & Pavers
Alluvial-fan soils shift, and a driveway poured without proper base prep will crack within a few seasons. We use Belgard and Techo-Bloc pavers with base compaction that accounts for what’s under your lot.
Home Additions & ADU
Adding square footage in Highland means a geotechnical report on most lots, Alquist-Priolo fault-zone review in the northern foothills, and WUIMP fire-hardening on the upper slopes. We handle all of it, permits and inspections included.
Neighborhoods We Serve in Highland
We cover the entire 92346 zip code. Typical response time for a Highland estimate is one to two business days, depending on site access in the foothill areas.
- East Highlands
- Greenspot Road corridor
- Base Line and Victoria area
- Weaver Street foothills
- Central Highland ranch tracts
Why Highland’s Climate & Housing Affect Construction
Highland sits directly on alluvial fans draining out of the San Bernardino Mountains, with the San Andreas Fault running through the foothills at the city’s northern edge. That’s not a footnote. It means a geotechnical report is non-negotiable on nearly every significant project here. We’ve seen additions stopped at the permit counter because a homeowner didn’t know their lot sits inside an Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zone setback, or that CAL FIRE’s Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone designation across upper Highland requires non-combustible roofing, ember-resistant vents, and ignition-resistant siding. The same square footage of addition can cost thousands more north of Baseline than it does in the valley flatlands a mile south, and a contractor who doesn’t flag that before you sign a contract is setting you up for a nasty surprise.
Then there’s the housing stock itself. Much of Highland was built between the 1960s and the 1980s, when the area was still unincorporated San Bernardino County. Those ranch-style tract homes carry slab foundations poured on expansive clay or uncompacted alluvial fill, with little to no seismic retrofitting. After Highland incorporated in 1987, the newer planned communities went up with stucco-and-frame construction, but they still sit on geologically complex fan deposits. If you’re planning an addition or an ADU on one of those older slabs, expect a soils report before the first permit gets issued. We build that into your written scope from day one, so it’s not a surprise waiting for a date.
Pricing for Construction in Highland
Here’s what we tell Highland homeowners to realistically budget before they call us:
- Bathroom remodel: $25,000 to $55,000 for a full gut and rebuild, depending on finish level.
- Kitchen remodel: $45,000 to $90,000 for a typical Highland ranch home, more if walls are moving.
- Roof replacement: $12,000 to $28,000 depending on pitch, layers, and fire-hardening requirements.
- Room addition / ADU: $250 to $400 per square foot, plus geotechnical and seismic engineering on most Highland lots.
- Fence installation: $35 to $70 per linear foot installed, materials included.
- Driveway & pavers: $15 to $30 per square foot, depending on product and base work.
Every price we quote is a written line-item estimate. If a scope changes mid-job, you get a written change order before the work starts, never an invoice surprise at the end. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll walk through what your specific Highland address will actually cost.
Service Area - Cities Near Highland
We serve Highland and the surrounding communities, including San Bernardino, Muscoy, Redlands, and Loma Linda. Scheduling is coordinated from our Inland Empire office, and crews arrive on Highland job sites directly.
Serving Highland, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Highland 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 About Construction in Highland
A typical Highland kitchen remodel runs $45,000 to $90,000, with the final number tied to cabinet lines, countertop choices, and whether you’re moving plumbing or walls. Ranch homes from the 60s and 70s often need structural work when walls come out, and that’s a cost you’ll see in a written estimate before you commit. Call (877) 610-1318 for an exact quote based on your home.
On most Highland lots, yes. The alluvial fan soils and proximity to the San Andreas fault mean San Bernardino County and the City of Highland require soils engineering before most significant structural permits are issued. The cost of skipping it is a permit rejection, a stop-work order, or a foundation problem years later. We include it in our written scope from day one.
WUIMP stands for Wildland-Urban Interface fire-hardening requirements. If your Highland lot sits in the foothills north of Baseline Street, CAL FIRE’s Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone rules likely require non-combustible roofing, ember-resistant vents, and ignition-resistant siding on any addition or remodel. These costs catch homeowners off guard when a contractor didn’t flag them up front. We flag them in writing before you sign anything.
Not without your signature. Every scope change at Barrett & Sons comes as a written change order before the work happens. An allowance that isn’t on paper is a surprise waiting for a date, and we don’t do surprises. The final invoice matches the written trail.
Every eligible Highland job gets permits pulled and inspections signed. We like the permit inspector on our jobs, because the inspector works for you, not for me. That’s the whole point of pulling the permit in the first place. If a contractor tells you permits are optional in Highland, call us instead.
Ready to get a real price for your Highland construction project? Call (877) 610-1318 today for a free estimate, or reach out through our home page. Tom Barrett answers the phone himself.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Highland and the Inland Empire since 1998.
What happens when you call
- 1A real person answersNo phone trees - talk to a local construction pro.
- 2You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched. No surprises.
- 3We come out and measureLicensed & insured, at a time that suits you - the visit and the quote are both free.
- 4You get the price in writingLine-itemed, yours to keep, and nothing starts until you say go.
What Highland Customers Say
"Genuinely good builders and I would use them again. Site tidiness slipped a bit in the middle stretch and I had to mention it, after which it was spotless every evening."
- Marcus Threadgill"Every change to the price came as a written change order before the work happened, not as a surprise on the final bill. I did not know contractors still did that."
- Xiomara Benavides"Tom Barrett was on our job most days himself, not just at the quote and then never again. When something needed deciding there was an actual person to decide it with."
- Rosalie Pemberton