Full-Home Remodeling in San Francisco, Designed Around How You Live
A full-home renovation is where San Francisco's old houses get honest. Behind the plaster of a Victorian or Edwardian you'll find knob-and-tube wiring, a tired foundation, dry rot at the rear, and a floor plan drawn for a century that's over. Taking the whole house on at once means the structure, the systems, and the design move together — one team, one schedule, one fixed proposal, from feasibility to final inspection.
We renovate whole houses across San Francisco — Victorians, Edwardians, and Marina-style homes taken down to the studs and rebuilt to one standard. One team carries the project from feasibility through SF DBI permitting and structural review to the final inspection, on a single schedule and a single contract.
Who This Service Is For
Homeowners Planning to Stay Long-Term
This is the house you’re keeping. You want it re-wired, re-plumbed, structurally sound, and reorganized to live the way you actually do — done once, comprehensively, not in nervous phases over a decade.
Growing Families
The house has to grow with the family — more bedrooms, a real kitchen, a better connection to the yard. You need a plan that sequences the work and, where possible, keeps part of the house livable.
Real Estate Investors
You’re repositioning a property to its best use and the SF market’s standard — permitted, structurally documented, and finished to a level that holds value. You want a builder who can run a complex job on schedule.
SIGNATURE MOMENTS
What separates a full remodel from a series of renovations.
Whole-home coordination
Plumbing, electrical, and HVAC designed together — not retrofitted room by room. Systems that work as a single home.
Live-in sequencing
We phase construction around your occupancy when possible. You don't always have to leave for a full remodel.
Single-team delivery
One GC. One point of contact. No finger-pointing between trades when something needs resolution.
ENGAGEMENT MODEL
Three phases. Every room. No handoffs.
Flat-fee at every phase. You know the total investment before work begins.
PHASE 01
Discovery
We assess your entire home — structure, systems, layout — and align the scope to how your household actually lives.
PHASE 02
Design
Integrated design across every room. Finishes, fixtures, and spatial flow resolved together so nothing conflicts.
PHASE 03
Construction
Phased execution across all spaces, coordinated by one team. You stay informed at every milestone.
Architecture & Floor Plan
A whole-house renovation is a chance to fix the plan, not just the finishes — moving the kitchen to the light, opening the rear, and making the circulation make sense for how the house is used.
Structure & Foundation
Old SF houses hide soft foundations, undersized framing, and seismic vulnerabilities. We engineer the fixes — shear walls, new footings, steel where it’s needed — and build them into the scope, not the surprises.
Systems: Electrical, Plumbing & HVAC
Knob-and-tube out, modern service in; re-plumbed supply and drains; heating and ventilation sized for the whole house. Replacing the systems while the walls are open is the whole point of a full renovation.
Finishes & Millwork
Rift-sawn white oak floors, honed stone, custom millwork and cabinetry — specified and detailed before demolition so the trades build to a drawing across every room, not a guess.
The Old Way
- Separate designer and contractor
- Unclear budgets and change orders
- Delays caused by poor coordination
- Limited accountability when problems arise
Our Design-Build Approach
- One integrated team from concept to completion
- Clear scope, transparent pricing, and realistic timelines
- Fewer delays and better communication
- Full responsibility for design, permits, and construction
Why Remodeling Your Home Is Worth It
Increase Property Value
A whole-house renovation done right is the biggest value move an SF home can make — but the value is in the structure, the systems, and the permits, not a surface refresh.
Improve Daily Functionality
A plan that finally fits the family, light brought in from the rear, and a house that works as one — the difference between patching and actually solving the house.
Modernize the Look and Feel
Consistent materials and detailing across every room — a house that reads as one considered project rather than a decade of piecemeal fixes.
PROCESS AT A GLANCE
One team. One timeline.
Every trade coordinated under one contract. No gaps, no handoffs.
STAGE 01
Discovery
2–4 weeks
Whole-home assessment, structural evaluation, scope alignment.
STAGE 02
Design
6–12 weeks
Integrated room-by-room design, material selections, system planning.
STAGE 03
Permit
3–8 weeks
Permit drawings, city submission, multi-trade approvals.
STAGE 04
Build
4–12 months
Phased construction across all rooms through final walk-through.
What to Expect During a Full Home Remodel
A full-home renovation in San Francisco is a major permit — structural, electrical, plumbing, and often Planning review for additions or facade changes. Plan on a few months of design, a longer permitting window, and several months of construction. We file the set with SF DBI and carry it through every inspection.
What Impacts the Cost of a Full Home Remodel
- One integrated team from concept to completion
- Clear scope, transparent pricing, and realistic timelines
- Fewer delays and better communication
- Full responsibility for design, permits, and construction
- One integrated team from concept to completion
- Clear scope, transparent pricing, and realistic timelines
- Fewer delays and better communication
- Full responsibility for design, permits, and construction
Professionals Tips
Increase Property Value
A whole-house renovation done right is the biggest value move an SF home can make — but the value is in the structure, the systems, and the permits, not a surface refresh.
Improve Daily Functionality
A plan that finally fits the family, light brought in from the rear, and a house that works as one — the difference between patching and actually solving the house.
Modernize the Look and Feel
Consistent materials and detailing across every room — a house that reads as one considered project rather than a decade of piecemeal fixes.
Increase Property Value
A whole-house renovation done right is the biggest value move an SF home can make — but the value is in the structure, the systems, and the permits, not a surface refresh.
Improve Daily Functionality
A plan that finally fits the family, light brought in from the rear, and a house that works as one — the difference between patching and actually solving the house.
Modernize the Look and Feel
Consistent materials and detailing across every room — a house that reads as one considered project rather than a decade of piecemeal fixes.
What Our Clients Say
Over 150 five-star reviews
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Over 20 five-star reviews
We Do Construction, Inc.
Featured Full Home Remodeling Projects
Recent San Francisco whole-house renovations — down-to-studs rebuilds, additions, and reconfigurations across the city’s Victorian, Edwardian, and Marina-style stock.
Areas We Serve
Serving San Francisco and Surrounding Areas
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FAQ
Yes — a full renovation usually means a structural permit set with SF DBI, plus Planning review if you’re adding square footage or changing the facade. We file it, manage the review, and carry the job through every inspection.
Typically several months of design, a longer permitting window for structural and Planning review, and several months of construction — often a year or more door to door for a down-to-studs project. We give you the real schedule in feasibility.
Rarely for a true down-to-studs renovation — it’s safer and faster with the house empty. For phased or partial-scope work we can sometimes keep part of the house livable.
It’s the widest range of any scope — it depends on square footage, how much structure and systems work is involved, and the finish level. The full-scope renovations we take on are priced out of feasibility, not a webpage.
Yes — soft foundations, undersized framing, and seismic upgrades are central to renovating SF’s older stock. We engineer the fixes and build them into the fixed proposal, not as change orders.
Often — additions, dormers, and ADUs are common in a full renovation, though they add Planning review and time. We scope what your lot and the SF Planning Code actually allow before you commit.
Yes — architecture, engineering, and construction sit under one contract. Designing and building together is the only way the drawings and the budget stay honest across a project this size.
We start with a feasibility study and a site walk, then put a fixed proposal in writing — what the design, permits, structure, systems, finishes, and contingency cover — before any demolition.
How much does a full home remodel cost in San Francisco?
A full home remodel in San Francisco typically runs $350,000–$900,000+ in 2026 — roughly $300–$600 per square foot, and higher when structural or seismic work is involved. The range reflects SF labor rates, the realities of pre-1978 housing stock, and the finish level of a design-build home. We Do Construction (CSLB #1096552) delivers whole-home remodels across San Francisco on a single fixed-price design-build contract. [DATA: confirm full-home $/SF and band against a sourced 2026 SF whole-home cost study before publish.]
| Tier | Typical SF range (2026) | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Finishes-forward | $350,000–$500,000 | Existing layout kept, new kitchen and baths, finishes, systems refresh |
| Full reconfiguration | $500,000–$750,000 | New floor plan, relocated plumbing and electrical, Title 24 systems |
| Structural / addition-grade | $750,000–$900,000+ | Walls out, steel and seismic upgrades, custom millwork throughout |
Cost data: planning bands pending a sourced 2026 SF whole-home study [DATA: confirm]. SF labor/trade rates per Block Renovation SF data. Ranges are planning figures — your fixed number comes out of feasibility. Last updated June 2026.
What permits does a full home remodel require in San Francisco?
A whole-home remodel touching layout, structure, plumbing, electrical, or mechanical systems requires a building permit from the SF Department of Building Inspection (DBI), and work that changes the building envelope or use also goes through SF Planning. Full-scope and structural permits run 2–4+ months in plan review, and additions 3–6 months; historic districts north of California Street add design review. Pre-1978 homes also trigger lead and asbestos protocols. As a licensed SF general contractor (CSLB #1096552), We Do Construction files and manages the entire DBI and Planning process in-house. Last updated June 2026.