Kitchen Remodeling in Albany - Written Fixed Price, Finish Date in the Contract

Fast, Reliable Kitchen Remodeling Across Albany

If your Albany kitchen still has the original 1920s cabinetry and a floor plan that fights you every time you cook, you’re not alone. Most homes in this town were built before 1950, and a lot of those kitchens have barely changed since. We’re Barrett & Sons Construction, and we remodel kitchens in Albany every month, from the flatlands near San Pablo Avenue up the slope toward Albany Hill. A full kitchen remodel in Albany typically runs $14,000 to $45,000 depending on scope, and the best first step is a free, no-pressure walkthrough. Call (877) 610-1318 and Tom or one of his sons will come look at your space, on your schedule.

Call (877) 610-1318

Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Albany’s Preferred Kitchen Remodeling Company

Tom Barrett started this company in 1998, and he’s been working on East Bay homes ever since. The difference with us is simple: Tom’s sons run the crews, and Tom’s name is on the truck. When a neighbor in Albany calls with a question about their kitchen remodel, they talk to someone who knows the job, not a call center in another state. We pull permits on every eligible job, and when the city inspector walks through, Tom’s usually standing right there. That’s why so many of our Albany customers come from a referral, not a search ad.

Albany is small, about 1.8 square miles, and word travels fast here. We’ve remodeled kitchens on streets off Solano Avenue, in the tight lots near Memorial Park, and along the older blocks up toward Marin Avenue. The same concerns come up again and again: houses with no shear walls behind the drywall, original knob-and-tube wiring, and foundations that haven’t been touched since FDR was president. We’ve seen it all, and we bid accordingly. The permit inspector works for you, not for me, which is exactly why I like him.

Every Barrett & Sons job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise, written on the contract. If something isn’t right after we finish your kitchen, Tom comes back and makes it right with one phone call. No forms, no runaround. And every price change, every allowance, every scope adjustment arrives as a written change order before work proceeds. An allowance that isn’t on paper is a surprise waiting for a date, and we don’t do surprises.

Our Kitchen Remodeling Services in Albany

We’re a full-service Kitchen Remodeling company, which means we handle everything from the first tape-measure sketch to the final paint touch-up. In Albany, most of our work falls into a few distinct buckets, because the housing stock here is so consistent: small footprints, plaster walls, and kitchens that need thoughtful reworking rather than a simple cabinet swap. Here’s what we do most often for homeowners in the 94706 zip code.

Full Kitchen Remodeling

A full kitchen remodel in Albany means opening walls, rerouting plumbing, upgrading the subfloor, and rebuilding the room to work for how you actually cook. Most of the homes we work on have kitchens around 100 to 140 square feet, so the design has to earn every inch. We typically handle the demo, framing, drywall, electrical, plumbing, flooring, cabinetry, countertops, backsplash, and finish trim, with permits pulled and inspections signed at each stage. Expect a full remodel on an Albany bungalow to run $14,000 to $45,000 depending on materials and layout changes.

Cabinets & Countertops

If your cabinets are original to a 1930s house off Kains Avenue, they’re probably past the point where paint can save them. We install KraftMaid cabinetry and Cambria or quartz and granite countertops, and we measure twice before anything gets ordered. Cabinet installation in Albany typically runs $4,000 to $13,000, and countertop installation adds $2,000 to $6,500. We’ll show you samples, give you exact numbers in writing, and we won’t start cutting until you’ve approved every detail.

Backsplash, Tile & Flooring

Albany’s older homes often have kitchens with plaster walls that have settled unevenly over 80 or 90 years. That means tile prep matters just as much as the tile itself. We level walls, repair water-damaged substrate, and install backsplash and kitchen flooring that won’t crack six months later. Backsplash installation in Albany runs $800 to $2,500 for a typical kitchen. We carry solid brands like Quikrete and Cambridge Pavers for adjacent hardscape if your project extends outside, and we also offer Fence Installation in Albany for homeowners whose remodel includes the yard. Inside the kitchen we use names you can verify at any supply house.

Kitchen Design & Layout

Most Albany kitchens were designed when a family had one car, no dishwasher, and a lot fewer small appliances. Our layout work focuses on opening the room to the rest of the house, adding an island where the footprint allows, and making storage do double duty. Kitchen island installation runs $3,000 to $10,000 in Albany depending on size, plumbing, and electrical requirements. We’ll draw the plan, walk you through it in your kitchen, and make changes on paper before any wall comes down. If you’re also thinking about reworking a bathroom while we’re there, we handle Bathroom Remodeling in Albany with the same crew and the same written-change-order discipline.

Trusted Brands We Service in Albany

We install materials you can research, not mystery brands off a van. For kitchens, we work with KraftMaid cabinetry and Cambria countertops, and for our Windows & Doors in Albany or adjacent hardscape and driveway work that often accompanies a bigger Albany remodel, we use Techo-Bloc and Cambridge Pavers. We keep common trim profiles, tile adhesives, and Quikrete products on our trucks when we’re working in Albany, so small adjustments don’t turn into week-long waits. If a supplier is backordered, we’ll tell you before you sign a contract, not after the cabinets are sitting in your dining room.

Common Kitchen Remodeling Problems We See in Albany Homes

• No engineered shear walls behind the drywall. Albany sits right next to the Hayward Fault, and many pre-1950 kitchens have no lateral bracing in the walls. When we open a kitchen wall, we check what’s behind it, and if it doesn’t meet current code, we bring it up to standard before we close anything up. This is non-negotiable, and it’s one reason our permits get signed without surprises.
• Original knob-and-tube wiring still live in the walls. A lot of Albany’s 1920s and 1930s homes still have sections of original wiring. When a kitchen remodel requires moving outlets or adding under-cabinet lighting, that old wiring has to come out. We factor this into the estimate upfront so you’re not hit with a buried upgrade cost later.
• Floors that have settled and sloped over 80 years. Tight lots and older foundations mean many Albany kitchen floors aren’t level anymore. We check the foundation before we set cabinets, and we level the floor with the right underlayment. On some Albany Hill and flatlands properties, the soil conditions differ dramatically block to block, which is why we pull the soil report before bidding any job that touches a foundation.
• Moisture damage in the wall behind the sink and under windows. Albany’s direct exposure to San Francisco Bay brings persistent fog and higher ambient moisture than places a few miles inland. That accelerates wood rot in older wood-frame homes. We always open the wall around the sink and under the kitchen window to check for rot before we cover it with new drywall and tile.

Pricing for Kitchen Remodeling in Albany, CA

We Also Serve Cities Near Albany

Beyond Albany, we regularly work in El Cerrito, Kensington, Berkeley, and Emeryville. Most of our work in Albany comes from referrals in those neighboring towns, and it works the other way too. If you’re on the border near El Cerrito or up the hill toward Kensington, the drive is short and the pricing is the same. And if your Albany project includes exterior work or a roof over the kitchen addition, our Roofing in Albany crew handles that too.

FAQs - Kitchen Remodeling in Albany