Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterConstruction Services in Martinez, CA
Construction in Martinez means working on homes that were built before anyone thought to bolt a house to its foundation. We’re Barrett & Sons Construction, and whether you live in a 1910 Craftsman near downtown or a post-war rancher off Center Avenue, you’ll talk to the same crew from first estimate to final walkthrough. Tom Barrett answers his own phone at (877) 610-1318, and his sons run the crews. Familiarity with Martinez’s old foundations, wind exposure, and hillside clay isn’t a talking point for us – it’s the job.
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 Martinez Homeowners Choose Barrett & Sons Construction
This is the kind of town where the contractor you hire should also be someone whose name you can look up. Tom Barrett publishes his name, his address, and his license number. Before you sign anything, ask anyone on your street, or look up the license number yourself. We’ve been owner-operated since 1998, and Tom’s sons are on-site most days – this is not a franchise dispatching strangers. When a homeowner on Morello Avenue needs a kitchen remodel, or someone in the historic downtown district needs foundation work before a bathroom addition, the crew showing up carries the Barrett name and is background-checked on every visit.
Every job comes with the 90-Day Done Right Promise written on the contract, not buried in fine print: if it’s not done right, Tom comes back and makes it right, one call. We also put every scope, every allowance, and every price change in writing before work happens. The allowance that isn’t on paper is a surprise waiting for a date.
Construction Services We Offer in Martinez
Kitchen Remodeling
Older Martinez homes often hide surprises behind the drywall: knob-and-tube wiring, lath-and-plaster, and framing that predates modern code. We carry KraftMaid and Cambria, and we pull permits on every eligible job so the inspector signs off before you cook your first meal.
Learn more about Kitchen Remodeling in Martinez.
Bathroom Remodeling
Bathrooms in century-old homes weren’t built for modern waterproofing standards. We use Schluter and Sterling systems so the shower you install won’t rot out the joists below it, and we handle the structural corrections that older floor framing usually needs.
Learn more about Bathroom Remodeling in Martinez.
Roofing
Martinez Roofing demands are unique because the city sits in the Carquinez Strait wind corridor, so roofs here take more sustained uplift than roofs a few miles inland. We install GAF roofing systems spec’d for that exposure, and we replace the flashing and vent boots that wind-driven rain finds first.
Learn more about Roofing in Martinez.
Windows & Doors
Original single-pane windows in a Victorian on Escobar Street leak heat in winter and let wind through all year. We install Windows & Doors in Martinez using Andersen and Marvin products sized for the existing openings, with proper flashing and air sealing so the replacement actually performs.
Fence Installation
Hillside lots and clay soil mean fence posts set shallow will heave and lean within a few seasons. We set posts below the shrink-swell zone, use pressure-treated materials, and build gates that won’t sag two years from now.
Driveway & Pavers
Martinez’s expanding and contracting adobe clay cracks concrete faster than most of Contra Costa County. We install Belgard pavers over properly compacted base so the surface can flex without failing, and we reuse or replace drainage where runoff has been undermining slabs.
Home Additions & ADU
Adding square footage to a pre-1920 home starts with the foundation, not the framing. We evaluate the existing structure first, then build the addition or ADU on an engineered footing that won’t drag the old house down with it.
Neighborhoods We Serve in Martinez
We work throughout Martinez’s 94553 ZIP code and know the difference between a Craftsman in the historic downtown district and a hillside ranch near Hidden Lakes. Typical response time for estimate requests in Martinez is same-day or next-day. Neighborhoods where our crews are regularly working include:
- Historic Downtown Martinez
- The area near Morello Avenue and Center Avenue
- Hidden Lakes
- Virginia Hills
- The hillside streets off Alhambra Avenue toward Highway 4
Why Martinez’s Climate & Housing Affect Construction
Martinez is Contra Costa County’s oldest incorporated city and its county seat, and that shows in the housing stock. The downtown core and surrounding hillsides are dense with late-1800s to early-1900s wood-frame homes – Victorians, Craftsman, early bungalows – many still sitting on original pier-and-beam or unreinforced masonry foundations. These structures were built before seismic bolting was required, and the expansive adobe clay beneath them has spent a century pushing and pulling at the perimeter concrete. Contractors working the older blocks near the historic district regularly find foundations that have never been bolted to their mudsills, with floors out of level enough that sistering joists and releveling is expected scope before any visible remodel work begins.
Then there’s the wind. Martinez sits right on the Carquinez Strait, where the gap in the Coast Ranges funnels daily delta and marine winds – stronger and more persistent than what Concord or Walnut Creek see. Roofing and exterior work here has to account for sustained wind uplift that would be over-spec a few miles inland. Put the wind and the clay soil together, and you get a specific set of demands: roofs that need better fastening and flashing, foundations that need stabilization, and every project needing a contractor who’s worked on this exact housing stock before.
Pricing for Construction in Martinez
Honest numbers help you plan. Here’s what we typically see in Martinez right now, and what drives the range:
- Kitchen remodeling: $40,000-$90,000, depending on size and whether structural or electrical corrections are needed
- Bathroom remodeling: $18,000-$45,000, influenced by whether floor framing needs correction
- Roof replacement: $14,000-$32,000, with higher numbers for older framing or wind-upgrade details
- Window replacement: $800-$2,400 per opening, installed with proper flashing and sealing
- Fence installation: $45-$90 per linear foot, including post depth for clay soil
- Driveway pavers: $18-$32 per square foot, with proper base prep for expansive soil
- Home additions and ADUs: $250-$450 per square foot, depending on site, foundation, and utility work
Every quote is a written, line-item scope. No allowances that live in someone’s head. No change orders that arrive as a surprise invoice. The price on your contract is the price you pay, and if any change comes up, you’ll see it in writing before a single nail moves. We also keep four standing offers for Martinez customers: $40 off any repair over $200, a free second opinion on any written estimate, no trip charge inside the county, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans.
Service Area – Cities Near Martinez
Barrett & Sons serves Martinez and the surrounding Contra Costa and Solano communities. If you’re in Pleasant Hill, Contra Costa Centre, Waldon, or Benicia, we can schedule the same crew and the same written-change-order process we use in Martinez.
Serving Martinez, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Martinez 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 Martinez
Most kitchen remodels in Martinez run $40,000 to $90,000. Older homes near downtown often land at the higher end because knob-and-tube wiring removal, floor releveling, and structural corrections have to happen before cabinets go in. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll give you an exact written estimate, free.
Yes, for nearly all structural, electrical, plumbing, and roofing work in Martinez, and we pull permits on every eligible job. The permit inspector works for you, not for me – that’s why I like him. If a contractor tells you permits are optional, that’s a red flag the size of a foundation crack.
Not unless we put it in writing first. Every price change at Barrett & Sons arrives as a written change order before any work happens. If it’s not on paper, it’s not part of the job. That’s been our rule since 1998.
Most bathroom remodels take 3 to 6 weeks, but homes with original pier-and-beam framing or floor damage from old leaks can run longer. We’ll give you a written timeline with the estimate, and we’ll let you know immediately if an unexpected structural issue changes it.
Yes, and in Martinez it’s often step one. The adobe clay under this town moves, and foundations built before bolting requirements simply weren’t attached to the frame. We evaluate the foundation on every remodel and addition, and we include stabilization work in the written scope when it’s needed. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate and we’ll tell you exactly what your foundation actually needs – not what’s convenient to sell.
Yes. Every estimate is free, and there’s no trip charge anywhere inside the county. We’ll walk the job, write the scope, and hand you a line-item quote you can keep and compare. If you’ve already got an estimate from someone else, we’ll give you a free second opinion on it.
Get Your Free Martinez Construction Estimate
The fastest way to know what your project will actually cost is to have someone who’s built in Martinez look at it. Call Tom Barrett at (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate. A real person answers the phone, day or night, not a voicemail box and not an out-of-state call center. You’ll get a written scope, written allowances, and a price that holds.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Martinez and surrounding Contra Costa County communities.
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 Martinez Customers Say
"He pulled every permit and had every inspection signed off. The last contractor we used told us permits were optional and I have been paying for that ever since."
- Redmond Cavanaugh"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