Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Before
After
Before
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Before
AfterConstruction Services in San Lorenzo, CA
Construction in San Lorenzo usually starts with an aging Bohannon tract home that needs real work, not a sales pitch. If you’re in 94580 and your subfloor feels soft, your bathroom was last touched in 1978, or your kitchen has wiring that predates color TV, you’re in the right place. Barrett & Sons Construction handles kitchen and bath remodels, roofing, windows and doors, fences, driveways and pavers, and home additions across San Lorenzo. Tom Barrett’s name, address, and license number are published for anyone to look up before signing anything. Call (877) 610-1318 and a live person answers.
Key Takeaways
- We pull permits and get inspections signed on every eligible job, including San Lorenzo Village Homes Association architectural review where it applies.
- Every scope, allowance, and price change arrives as a written change order before work happens. No surprise invoices.
- Every completed job is backed by the written 90-Day Done Right Promise: if it’s not done right, Tom comes back.
- Senior and veteran homeowners get a permanent 10% discount. Free second opinion on any written estimate. No trip charge inside the county.
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 San Lorenzo Homeowners Choose Barrett & Sons Construction
Barrett & Sons was founded in 1998 and has been owner-operated from day one. Tom Barrett runs the company, his sons run the crews, and the name on the truck is the name you’ll see at the hardware store on Hesperian Boulevard. This is not a franchise dispatching strangers. When you call, you get a person, not an out-of-state call center. When work starts, the crew members who show up are background-checked and uniformed, carrying the Barrett & Sons name.
We work regularly in the neighborhoods off Bockman Road and along Via Barrett, where the housing stock mirrors the rest of San Lorenzo: tight lots, 900 to 1,100 square foot homes, and original framing that’s now past its intended lifespan. Homeowners here have seen national outfits quote one number on the phone and hand over a different bill at the door. We do the opposite. The allowance that isn’t on paper is a surprise waiting for a date, so we put every allowance, every scope, and every price change in writing before a single nail moves. Ask anyone on your street, or look up the license number yourself.
Construction Services We Offer in San Lorenzo
Kitchen Remodeling
Most San Lorenzo kitchens sit inside original 1940s and early 1950s floor plans: closed off, short on counters, and wired for an era before microwaves. We open them up, rebuild the framing where undersized lumber shows itself, and install cabinets and counters you can look up by name, including KraftMaid and Cambria in our Kitchen Remodeling in San Lorenzo work. Learn more about our kitchen remodeling in San Lorenzo.
Bathroom Remodeling
We find a lot of original cast-iron drain lines and water-damaged subfloors once the old tub comes out of a San Lorenzo bathroom. That’s normal for homes this age, and it’s why we write change orders before the work expands instead of handing you a surprise at the end. See Bathroom Remodeling in San Lorenzo for how we handle these remodels. Learn more about our bathroom remodeling in San Lorenzo.
Roofing
The flat and low-slope roofs common on postwar San Lorenzo tract homes don’t shed water the way a steep roof does, so small leaks become big decking problems faster than people expect. We’re a GAF and CertainTeed installer, and we replace rotted sheathing instead of shingling over it. See Roofing in San Lorenzo for what a reroof involves here. Learn more about our roofing in San Lorenzo.
Windows & Doors
Original steel casement windows and single-pane sliders are everywhere in San Lorenzo, and most of them are painted shut or drafty. We install Andersen and Marvin windows and exterior doors, and we frame out the rough openings properly when 70-year-old framing doesn’t match modern window sizes. Learn more about our windows and doors in San Lorenzo.
Fence Installation
Post-war San Lorenzo lots were laid out with shared property lines, which means fencing here is almost always a neighbor conversation as much as a construction project. We set posts in concrete below the clay line, so the expansive soil movement that cracks slabs doesn’t heave your fence out of plumb. Learn more about our fence installation in San Lorenzo.
Driveway & Pavers
Cracked, tilted slabs are the default condition for San Lorenzo driveways thanks to the East Bay’s expansive clay. We tear out failed concrete, prepare the base, and lay pavers from manufacturers like Belgard and Techo-Bloc, which handle soil movement better than monolithic pours. Learn more about our driveway and paver work in San Lorenzo.
Home Additions & ADUs
If you’re adding square footage to a San Lorenzo home, you’re probably working within the San Lorenzo Village Homes Association’s architectural review process as well as Alameda County permitting. We handle both tracks, so your project doesn’t stall mid-construction over a missed HOA approval. Learn more about our home additions and ADUs in San Lorenzo.
Neighborhoods We Serve in San Lorenzo
We work throughout San Lorenzo, from the streets off Bockman Road to the homes near San Lorenzo High School and the commercial strip along Hesperian Boulevard. Typical response for an estimate inside San Lorenzo is one to two business days, often sooner.
- San Lorenzo Village
- Bockman Road area
- Via Barrett area
- Near San Lorenzo Creek
- East 14th Street corridor (Mission Boulevard)
Why San Lorenzo’s Climate & Housing Affect Construction
San Lorenzo is one of California’s earliest large-scale postwar planned communities, built almost entirely by the Bohannon Development Company between roughly 1944 and 1952. Nearly every residential construction project here involves a virtually identical 70 to 80 year old wood-frame tract home, and that matters in ways that don’t show up on a generic bid. Contractors regularly uncover undersized framing, non-standard stud spacing, and original knob-and-tube or early Romex wiring once walls come open. The rapid construction methods of the postwar housing boom left uneven quality throughout, so a simple kitchen remodel can turn into structural repairs in the same afternoon.
The other thing working against these homes is the ground under them. Expansive clay soils in this part of Alameda County shrink and swell dramatically between the dry summer and the wet winter, causing persistent foundation movement and cracked slabs. That soil movement is why so many San Lorenzo driveways are tilted and why additions need more careful foundation design than they would in, say, Fremont or Hayward. Sections of town near San Lorenzo Creek also sit inside FEMA-designated flood zones, which brings elevated foundation and floodproofing requirements into play for additions and accessory structures.
Pricing for Construction in San Lorenzo
Construction pricing in San Lorenzo depends on what’s hiding behind the walls, and with homes this age, something usually is. We don’t hand out a fixed number over the phone and cross our fingers. We inspect, then we write a line-item estimate that holds.
| Scope | Typical Range in San Lorenzo |
| Minor repair (any trade) | $300-$1,200 |
| Window or door replacement (each) | $800-$2,500 installed |
| Driveway or paver work | $6,000-$18,000 |
| Bathroom remodel | $22,000-$45,000 |
| Kitchen remodel | $35,000-$80,000 |
| Home addition or ADU | $180,000-$420,000 |
These ranges reflect the current San Lorenzo market, including county permit fees and, where applicable, San Lorenzo Village Homes Association architectural review. Written change orders protect you from scope creep. Call (877) 610-1318 for an exact quote, estimates are free, and we offer a free second opinion on any written estimate you already have.
Service Area - Cities Near San Lorenzo
If you live just outside San Lorenzo, we serve the surrounding communities too. You’ll find the same written change orders, permits pulled, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise in home areas like Ashland, San Leandro, Cherryland, and Castro Valley.
Serving San Lorenzo, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Lorenzo 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 San Lorenzo
Yes. For exterior work in the SLVHA-governed sections, we submit to the Architectural Control Committee before or concurrently with pulling the Alameda County permit, so your project doesn’t get a cease-and-desist letter after the county approves it. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll walk you through what your specific project triggers.
Only if we both agree to it in writing. When we open a wall and find undersized framing or old wiring that wasn’t visible before, we stop work and present a written change order with exact numbers before proceeding. You approve or you don’t, and the price never changes without your signature.
Yes, on every eligible job. The permit inspector works for you, not for me. If a contractor tells you permits are optional in unincorporated Alameda County, call us for a second opinion. Unpermitted work becomes your problem when you sell the house.
Most San Lorenzo kitchen remodels run six to ten weeks from demolition to final inspection, depending on what we find inside the walls and how much structural repair is needed. We’ll give you a schedule with your estimate, and you’ll get updates as each phase completes.
We provide the documentation your lender or insurance company needs: contracts, change orders, permit records, and inspection sign-offs. If your project involves flood zone requirements near San Lorenzo Creek, we’ll help you keep that paperwork straight too. Call (877) 610-1318 and ask for Tom.
Contact Barrett & Sons Construction in San Lorenzo
If you live in San Lorenzo and you’re tired of contractors who quote one price and bill another, call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate. Tom Barrett answers his own phone. We’ll inspect your home, write a scope in plain language, pull the permits, and stand behind the work with the 90-Day Done Right Promise. $40 off any repair over $200, no trip charge inside the county, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Scope in writing, allowances in writing, change orders in writing. That’s how it works here.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving San Lorenzo and surrounding Alameda County communities with permits pulled, written change orders, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise on every job.
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 San Lorenzo 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