Kitchen remodeling
Bathroom remodeling
Home additions & ADU
Roofing
Windows & doors
Driveway & pavers
FenceFree written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Fast, Reliable General Contractor Across Irvine
Finding a general contractor in Irvine who actually understands how this city approves and builds homes changes the entire project. We’re Square One Builders, and we’ve managed remodels, additions, and full-home renovations across Irvine’s villages long enough to know that a quote written without knowing which HOA board signs off on your street is not a real quote. From Turtle Rock to Great Park, we coordinate design review, permits, demolition, and every trade under one contract so you’re not the one chasing approvals. Call (877) 688-9930 to schedule a free estimate and get straight answers about your Irvine remodeling project.
Why Square One Builders Is Irvine’s Preferred General Contractor Company
Irvine homeowners tend to ask sharper questions than most, and we respect that. The city runs on design guidelines, village-specific architectural standards, and a housing stock that’s now hitting the age where first-generation plumbing and framing need real attention. We’ve worked through enough Woodbridge, Northwood, and University Park remodels to know what those walls actually hide, and we build that knowledge into our estimates before demolition starts.
Our General Contractor team has earned a strong local reputation across Orange County because we write allowances into contracts for the discoveries Irvine tract homes are known for. When our crew opens a wall and finds brittle PVC or an undersized header, that’s not a panic moment. It’s a change order with a written price, signed before work resumes. Brent Calloway, our owner, insists on that sequence because he’s seen too many Irvine homeowners get burned by surface-level quotes that balloon mid-project.
We serve General Contractor in Irvine with response times that respect your schedule and a process that respects your budget. Estimates are free, written, and line-itemed.
Styles & brands we work with
Licensed General Contractor in Irvine
A licensed general contractor in Irvine carries the permit, the liability coverage, and the trade relationships to run a legal remodel from demolition to final inspection. We hold a California general contractor’s license and carry the insurance and bonding Irvine homeowners should require before letting anyone open a wall. When a project involves structural changes, plumbing relocation, or electrical panel work, the city requires a permit, and that permit triggers inspections that protect you long after the job is done.
In Irvine, working with a licensed contractor also means dealing with the village architectural review process correctly. The HOA approval path in Woodbridge is not the same as the warranty-notification path in Great Park. We handle both, because we’ve done both. A full kitchen remodel in Irvine typically runs $14,000 – $45,000, and a bathroom remodel $9,000 – $28,000, depending on scope and the material brands you select.
Permit Management and Design Review
We pull permits, schedule inspections, and submit the design-review packages your HOA requires before any exterior or structural work begins. That means color palettes, window styles, and roofline changes go through the right board, in the right order, so your schedule doesn’t stall for weeks.
Change Orders Written Before Work Continues
No Irvine homeowner should learn about a surprise charge after the drywall goes up. When our crew finds something the original quote couldn’t have seen, we stop, write the price, get your signature, then keep going. That’s the only honest way to run an older tract-home remodel.
Residential General Contractor in Irvine
A residential general contractor in Irvine handles the full scope of a home renovation: structural framing, roofing, windows, kitchens, baths, additions, and ADUs, all under one accountable team. We’re not a kitchen-only shop or a roofing crew that hands you a card when you ask about a bathroom. Square One manages interior and exterior systems in a single contract, which matters in Irvine because nearly every project here touches multiple systems at once.
Because most Irvine housing stock was built in tract waves after 1970, a residential remodel here frequently means addressing aging plumbing and framing at the same time as finish work. A home addition in Irvine typically runs $45,000 – $130,000, and an ADU $90,000 – $220,000. Window replacement runs $4,500 – $15,000, and a full roof replacement $8,000 – $20,000.
Full-Scope Remodels, One Contract
We coordinate demolition, rough-in, drywall, tile, cabinetry, countertops, fixtures, paint, and exterior work under one agreement. You don’t chase three specialists and hope they sequence correctly. One contractor, every system.
ADU and Prefab Construction
We work with Abodu, Dvele, Boxabl, Mighty Buildings, and Plant Prefab for ADU projects in Irvine, letting you evaluate both stick-built and prefabricated paths. Most local remodelers can’t even offer that conversation, and it can shorten your build timeline on a lot where site access is tight.
Trusted Brands We Service in Irvine
We install and service materials from more than 50 national brands, and we keep relationships with local suppliers so Irvine projects don’t stall waiting on parts from a warehouse across the country. On the roofing side, that means we can spec CertainTeed and Owens Corning for a replacement, and we can explain the warranty difference between them. For siding, James Hardie fiber cement holds up exceptionally well against Irvine’s UV-heavy summers. For windows, we work with PGT and Therma-Tru when impact-rated and code-compliant products are the right call. We stock fast-turnaround parts for the brands we install most often in Irvine, which keeps warranty service local and responsive.
See the difference
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AfterCommon General Contractor Problems We See in Irvine Homes
- First-generation PVC and polybutylene plumbing in 1970s and 1980s tracts. Woodbridge, University Park, and El Camino Real homes built in that era often have original drain and supply lines now brittle at the joints. Opening a kitchen or bath wall usually reveals at least one section that should be replaced before it leaks.
- Undersized or water-damaged framing at load-bearing pass-throughs. Irvine tract builders originally used the minimum header for the span, not what a modern open-plan kitchen needs. We regularly find studs sized for a door where an eight-foot opening now sits.
- Aluminum and early-vinyl windows at end of life. Many Irvine homes still carry original aluminum-framed windows from the 1970s and 80s. They’re inefficient, the seals are shot, and replacing them during a remodel saves a second permit later.
- Stucco and exterior paint degradation from Santa Ana UV and wind. Irvine’s semi-arid climate means almost no freeze-thaw, but constant sun and dry wind events beat up exterior surfaces faster than homeowners expect. Any exterior scope should account for re-flashing and paint prep, not just cosmetic patch work.
Pricing for General Contractor in Irvine, CA
Here’s what we typically see in Irvine’s market, based on square footage, scope, and the material tier you choose.
| Project Type | Irvine Price Range |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Remodel | $14,000 – $45,000 |
| Bathroom Remodel | $9,000 – $28,000 |
| Home Addition | $45,000 – $130,000 |
| ADU Construction | $90,000 – $220,000 |
| Window Replacement | $4,500 – $15,000 |
| Roof Replacement | $8,000 – $20,000 |
What moves your number within those ranges is the age of your home, the condition of hidden plumbing and framing, whether your village’s architectural board requires specific exterior materials, and the brand tier you pick for finishes. We write allowances into every Irvine contract so you see the base number and know exactly how the allowance works. Call (877) 688-9930 for a free written estimate specific to your neighborhood and house condition.
We Also Serve Cities Near Irvine
Our team works throughout central and south Orange County, including Tustin, Aliso Viejo, Santa Ana, and North Tustin. If your home sits just outside Irvine’s boundaries but has the same 1970s tract-home bones, we bring the same process and the same written-change-order discipline. Call (877) 688-9930 to confirm coverage in your area.
Serving Irvine, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Irvine 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 General Contractor in Irvine
Yes, if your home sits in a village with an architectural review board, like Woodbridge, Northwood, Turtle Rock, or Great Park, exterior changes, roofline modifications, window styles, and sometimes even exterior paint colors must clear that board before the city will issue a permit. We prepare and submit the design package as part of the schedule, not as an afterthought. For interior-only remodels, most villages don’t require board review, but we confirm that with your specific HOA before we quote. Call (877) 688-9930 and we’ll check your village’s rules during the estimate.
Brittle first-generation PVC drain lines and undersized framing at pass-throughs are the two most common discoveries in Woodbridge, University Park, and El Camino Real homes. We also see original aluminum windows, dated electrical panels, and water-damaged bottom plates under old sliding doors. That’s why we write allowances into every Irvine remodel contract instead of quoting off the visible surfaces. When our crew opens a wall and finds something, you get a written change order with a specific price before work continues – not a surprise at the end. Call (877) 688-9930 for an estimate that accounts for what older Irvine walls actually hide.
A permit triggers city inspections, and those inspections require work to meet current code, not the code from when your Irvine home was built. That often means upgrading electrical circuits, adding GFCI and AFCI protection, bringing plumbing rough-in up to current standards, or replacing a ventilation run that’s no longer compliant. You’re not paying for paperwork. You’re paying for the work an inspector will require before signing off. We build those likely code upgrades into the estimate up front, so the permit cost isn’t a mystery. Call (877) 688-9930 for a written line-itemed estimate.
No, and that’s the single biggest approval gap in Irvine. A 1970s Woodbridge home goes through village architectural review, while a still-developing Great Park or Orchard Hills home may sit under active builder warranty and Irvine Company architectural control simultaneously. Modifying a home under warranty without notifying the builder can void coverage on the very scope you’re changing. We sequence warranty notification and design review into the schedule differently for new construction than for a 50-year-old tract home. Call (877) 688-9930 and we’ll identify which path applies to your exact address.
We write allowances into the contract for the discoveries Irvine homes are known for, and we stop work when we find something outside the allowance until you’ve signed a written change order with a specific price. On a 1978 Woodbridge attached townhome off West Yale Loop, our crew opened a galley kitchen wall and found brittle PVC at the joints and two undersized studs at a load-bearing pass-through. We wrote the repipe rough-in and a properly sized header into a change order, got it signed before framing resumed, and scheduled the inspection sign-off so drywall could close over work the inspector had actually seen. That discipline is exactly how we keep a quote from ballooning. Call (877) 688-9930 for a free estimate built on the same process.
Written by Brent Calloway, Owner at Square One Builders, serving Irvine since 2015.