Home Remodeling Contractors in Palo Alto, CA

One team handles the design, the permits and the construction. Nothing gets built in your house until you’ve walked through it as a rendering and told us it’s right. Kitchens and baths, second stories, backyard ADUs, decks, and renovations that take on the entire house.

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Family-owned since 2012 · General building contractor, CSLB #1068557 · Bonded and insured

The Team Behind Your Palo Alto Remodel

Two-story work in Palo Alto runs down one of two tracks, and picking the track is a planning decision rather than a design preference. An upper-floor addition of 150 square feet or more gets measured against the city’s Objective Design Standards, the checklist in force since February 2025, and Individual Review is the discretionary route you elect when a design has to step outside that checklist. That choice belongs at the start, because reversing it once drawings exist means redrawing them and starting the clock again.

The rendering comes before the demolition. We build your room on screen first, down to the cabinet fronts, the tile pattern and the exact spot the island sits, and no material gets ordered until you’ve walked it and approved it. Design and field crews here answer to one company, so the person who drew the plan is accountable for what gets framed.

Design and Build on One ContractYou Approve the Model First You Approve the Model First Estimates Are Free and Itemized

What changes when the drawings and the build come from the same company.

Why Palo Alto Homeowners Bring Us In

What changes when the drawings and the build come from the same company.

Drawings and Construction Under One Roof

Hire us and you’ve hired the designer, the draftsman and the builder in a single contract. Nobody bills you for a coordination meeting, and nobody has a second firm to point at when a date moves.

The Cheapest Time to Change Your Mind

An island shifts three feet in the model for the cost of a designer’s afternoon. The same shift after rough plumbing costs a trade callback, a revised drawing and a change order. We render early so you spend your indecision where it’s free.

One Bathroom or Every Room in the House

A powder room, a kitchen, a second floor, a backyard ADU, a renovation that reaches the studs everywhere. Same crew and same standard of finish, whatever the square footage.

We Read the City's Rules Before We Draw

Two-story standards, protected-tree permits, historic routing, flood-zone elevation. Palo Alto stacks more of these than its neighbors, and each carries its own timeline. Knowing which ones land on your parcel shapes the design instead of derailing it in month two.

A Project Manager Who Doesn't Rotate Off

One manager carries the job from your first walkthrough through the final fix. Call the number and you reach someone who already knows what’s behind your walls.

Our License Number, Out in the Open

General building contractor, Class B, CSLB #1068557. California requires a licensed contractor once a job reaches five hundred dollars of labor plus materials, so collect a number from every bidder and run it through the state’s license lookup.

What We Do

What We Build for Palo Alto Homeowners

Inside the house, out in the yard, and everything the permit set covers.

Kitchen Remodeling

Cabinet layout, counters, an island scaled to how you cook, and the circuits your appliances need sitting behind it. Kitchens are our strongest suit, Eichler kitchens included, where the room opens onto the living space and a duct has nowhere discreet to go.

Our kitchen remodels →

Bathroom Remodeling

Curbless entries, glass showers, vanities that float clear of the floor, and tile work that doesn’t announce its age after a few winters. Turning a tub nobody uses into a shower somebody uses daily is one of the jobs we get called for most.

Bathroom projects →

Room Additions

Another bedroom, an office with a door on it, a wider family room, a full upper floor. What the lot allows, what the foundation carries and how the city handles two-story work set the outline that the design then has to live inside.

Adding on →

Home Remodeling

The whole house, from demolition through the last coat of paint. That takes in the invisible two-thirds as well: rewiring, repiping, changes to the framing, and a separate permit riding on each.

Full-house renovation →

Deck Builders

The weather here lets a back yard earn its keep long past summer. We frame and surface outdoor rooms in boards and hardware that handle the sun, the winter rain and steady traffic without needing an annual rescue.

Decks and patios →

ADU Construction

The city clears an 800-square-foot detached unit on any eligible lot, and its own local standards raise that ceiling to 900 square feet for a one-bedroom or 1,000 for two bedrooms and up. Owners put them to work as rentals, as a place for a parent who wants their own key, or as the studio the spare bedroom was never going to be. Filing and code compliance sit with us.

Backyard units →

Service Area

Where We Work Around Palo Alto

Palo Alto sits on the county line, and so does our work: south and east into Santa Clara County, north and west across San Mateo County.

Areas served

Palo Alto Stanford Menlo Park Atherton Los Altos Mountain View Portola Valley Woodside Redwood City San Carlos Sunnyvale Cupertino Santa Clara

Our office: 710 Lakeway Drive, Suite 200, Sunnyvale, CA 94085.

What a Palo Alto Remodel Has to Work Around

oseph Eichler built roughly 2,700 houses in Palo Alto across 32 tracts, more than he built in any other city. Post-and-beam framing, glass across the back elevation, radiant tubing cast into the slab. Cut that slab and you’re tracing tubing before anything else happens. Add a basement and the house gets braced, lifted clear and set on a new foundation, which retires the radiant heating for good.

Some tracts carry a Single Story Overlay, capping the roof at 17 feet and the house at one habitable floor, so square footage there has to come out of the ground floor or the back yard. Trees narrow the options further. Since the 2022 ordinance rewrite the city protects most mature trees from 15 inches in diameter up, native oaks from 11.5, and removal takes a permit from Urban Forestry.

Houses on the Historic Inventory route to a historic planner, with Professorville the one district where interior work comes into scope too. Every parcel sits in a mapped flood zone, and in the special hazard areas the lowest floor has to clear flood elevation, which rules out a basement. Electric, gas and water all run through Palo Alto’s own utility, the only full municipal set in California, on the utility’s schedule rather than yours.

Professorville Crescent Park Old Palo Alto Midtown Barron Park College Terrace Greenmeadow Green Gables Fairmeadow Charleston Meadows Palo Verde Duveneck/St. Francis Ventura

How a Project Runs With Us

Consultation

A visit to the house, tape measure out, questions asked, and an honest answer about what your number buys. Costs nothing, and nobody leaves a contract on your table.

Design & Planning

Layouts get resolved, finishes get chosen, and the scope lands on paper with enough specificity that the build has nothing left to guess at.

3D Rendering

The model reaches you before anything is ordered, which makes it the only stage where a change of heart is free. Take your time with it.

Permits & Construction

Drawings go to the city, we carry them through plan check, book the utility work the job calls for, and hand over a build schedule that stays current.

Final Walkthrough

Last visit, both of us, list in hand. Anything short of right goes on that list, and the project stays open until the list is empty.

Recent Projects, Start and Finish

Three we wrapped up around the Peninsula, in the original photographs.

San Mateo Kitchen Remodel

Raised-panel cabinets, dark speckled granite and a tumbled-stone backsplash that ate every bit of light in the room. All of it came out. In its place: flat-panel white cabinetry, a quartz island with marble veining carried over the edge to the floor, slab backsplash run up the wall behind the range, and gray plank flooring across the level. The double ovens stayed on their wall, now set into a run of full-height cabinetry.

See both photos →

San Bruno Kitchen Remodel

Dark stained oak cabinets, brown speckled counters, a tile backsplash and a pair of white wall ovens. Now the cabinets are deep green with brass pulls, white quartz wraps the peninsula, and a set of French doors opens the room onto the back lawn.

Open the gallery →

Menlo Park Full Home Remodel

A vaulted living room lined in dark tongue-and-groove, dark paneling below the windows, worn carpet underfoot. The framing stayed and the rest went: white walls and ceiling, beams refinished in a warm red, wide-plank oak floors, and the stone fireplace held in its original spot, its stonework no longer climbing all the way to the ridge.

Before and after →

Reviews From Palo Alto and the Peninsula

    
 
 
       Posted on Google  
   
   Or Sapir 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We did our kitchen remodel with Waves Remodeling, and Eli was our project manager. He was easy to work with, super approachable, and kept things simple the whole way through. He checked in often, made sure everything stayed on track, and handled any small issues quickly without making it a big deal. The team did solid work, and you can see it in the details. Our kitchen looks clean, modern, and feels much more functional now. The whole experience was smooth and not stressful, which we really appreciated. Overall, really happy we went with them and with Eli managing the project.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Nathaniel Krispin 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We worked with Ben from Waves Remodeling to turn our kitchen into an open concept space, and honestly it came out better than we expected. He helped us figure out what walls to remove and how to make everything feel connected without overcomplicating it. The whole process felt pretty straightforward, no stress, no confusion. His crew showed up on time, kept things clean, and just got it done right. The space now feels bigger, brighter, and way more usable for everyday life. You can tell they know what they’re doing. Super happy with how it turned out. Would definitely work with Ben again.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Asaf Sadok 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We had a great experience working with Ben, Tom, and the team at Waves Remodeling on building our ADU in Palo Alto. From start to finish, the process felt organized, professional, and well-managed. Tom, the project manager, was excellent to work with. He was always on top of things, responsive, and made sure everything kept moving forward smoothly. Any time we had questions or needed clarification, he was quick to respond and explain things in a clear, simple way. It made a big difference having someone reliable managing the day-to-day. Ben and the team helped guide us through the entire process—from planning and design to permits and construction. They were very knowledgeable about the city requirements in Palo Alto, which helped avoid delays and made the process much easier for us. The quality of work really shows. The ADU came out beautiful, clean, and well-built. Everything feels solid and thoughtfully done, from the layout to the finishes. You can tell they care about the details and don’t cut corners. Overall, it was a smooth and positive experience. We’re very happy with the result and would definitely recommend Ben, Tom, and Waves Remodeling to anyone looking to build an ADU or take on a serious home project.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Liran Mezan 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We hired Waves Remodeling  for a second story addition and worked directly with the Ben .overall really good experience. It’s the biggest project we ever did . Ben was involved the whole time and easy to communicate with any time we had questions or something came up. it was available explaining things in a simple way the call showed up kept the work moving. Of course, there were a few bumps along the way they can handle a construction job, but nothing crazy and everything got handled Would definitely recommend Waves Remodeling if you’re doing a big project like this
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   טוהר 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. The full remodel completed by Ben and the Waves Remodeling team was handled with a level of organization and care that made a complex project feel manageable. From early planning through final details, every phase was approached thoughtfully and with clear intent. Structural work, systems, finishes, and layouts were all coordinated seamlessly, avoiding the common disconnects that often happen in large remodels. Communication remained consistent, expectations were set realistically, and decisions were made with both functionality and longevity in mind. The team maintained a clean, respectful job site and took pride in the quality of execution at every step. What stands out most is how cohesive the final result feels — nothing appears rushed or pieced together. The home now feels refined, balanced, and purposefully redesigned, reflecting a remodel done right from the inside out.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Itai Zalcman 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. The planning and design process with Ben and the Waves Remodeling team was one of the strongest parts of the project. From the start, there was a clear effort to truly understand how we live and how the space needed to function, not just how it should look. Ideas were thoughtfully developed, refined, and translated into practical, buildable plans. Design decisions were guided by experience, budget awareness, and long-term value, which made the entire process feel grounded and intentional. Communication was clear, and every option was explained with pros, cons, and implications. Nothing felt rushed or pushed. By the time construction began, the vision was fully aligned, which avoided surprises and unnecessary changes. The result reflects careful planning, smart design choices, and a level of foresight that made the entire project smoother and more successful.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Hodaya Nir 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. The landscape project completed by Ben and the Waves Remodeling team completely reshaped the way our property looks and feels. From the earliest conversations, it was clear that the approach was thoughtful and grounded in long-term performance, not just visual impact. Every element — grading, drainage, hardscape, planting, and lighting — was planned to work together as a single system rather than as separate features. Execution was methodical and well organized. The site remained clean, progress was clearly communicated, and decisions were discussed before work moved forward. What stood out most was the attention given to details that are often hidden, such as proper base preparation, water management, and transitions between materials. These choices make the space feel solid and intentional, not rushed or decorative. The finished landscape feels natural and balanced, with a strong sense of flow between the house and the outdoor areas. It’s a space that invites daily use, not just occasional enjoyment. Beyond aesthetics, the work added real functionality and long-term value to the property. The result reflects craftsmanship, experience, and a genuine respect for how outdoor spaces should be built to last.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Asaf Shalem 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. The stucco, roof, and backyard work done by Ben and the Waves Remodeling team was handled with a high level of care and professionalism. The scope required coordination between multiple trades, and everything was executed cleanly and efficiently. The stucco finish is smooth and consistent, the roof work feels solid and well detailed, and the backyard now feels intentional rather than pieced together. Communication throughout the process was clear, and issues were addressed quickly without shortcuts. The end result feels durable, cohesive, and thoughtfully built, not rushed or cosmetic.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Ray Ellersick 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I had a wonderful experience with my kitchen remodeling job from start to finish. I usually find this kind of project to be especially daunting, but Tom was there at every step to help me understand the process, choose the right materials, and plan for the work. He has a great eye for design and I am very please with all of his suggestions for color, texture and layout. Tom and all the workers who did the construction were very efficient and professional. The quality of the work was excellent and it was done much more quickly than I expected.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Lakshmi N 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I had an initial call with Tom to discover the possibilities of building an ADU. They explained different scenarios, constraints and the approximate cost range. He went above and beyond explaining the different stages and if it makes sense to build an ADU. He is customer focused and thinks from their perspective.

FAQ

Is a Second Story Allowed on My Lot?

Not on every one. Some Palo Alto tracts carry an overlay that holds the house to a single habitable floor, and your parcel’s zoning settles the question before design starts. We check it first and tell you straight if the answer is no, rather than selling you drawings that can’t be built.

Do You Work on Eichlers?

Yes, and we price them for what they are. The framing, the glazing and the heating all behave differently from a standard ranch, and a crew that hasn’t opened one before will find that out on your dime. We put those conditions in the estimate instead of issuing change orders in week two.

Will a Protected Tree Stop My Addition?

Stopping a project outright is rare; reshaping one is common. We get an arborist’s read during design and shape the footprint around what has to stay, and if a removal permit turns out to be the only route, you’ll hear it then rather than after you’ve paid for a foundation.

Can We Stay in the House During Construction?

For a single bathroom or a bedroom addition, usually yes. We seal the work zone and keep the dust inside it. A kitchen taken to the studs or a full renovation is harder, since you’d be without cooking and sometimes without plumbing for weeks, and we’ll tell you which one you’re facing before you sign anything.

What Does a Whole-House Remodel Run Here?

Our full-home renovations generally land between $140,000 and $400,000, and construction usually takes somewhere between three and six months. The spread is that wide because finish level and structural scope drive the number harder than square footage does, and the itemized estimate shows you which lines are moving it.

What Happens on the First Visit?

We measure, look behind the finishes where we can, ask what you want the space to do, and talk about money without dancing around it. The estimate that follows is itemized, costs nothing and obligates you to nothing. Call (408) 637-6142 or email info@wavesremodelingca.com to book a time.

Ready to Talk About Your Palo Alto Project?

Get us out to the house. We’ll walk the rooms, say plainly what a proper job of it involves, and price it line by line. The estimate is free, it’s yours, and you’re welcome to hand it to the next bidder for comparison.

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