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
Elmwood Contractors handles remodels, additions, and full home renovations throughout Irvine, from the 1970s tracts of Woodbridge to the newer builds in Great Park. We know how village-specific CC&Rs and architectural review shape what you can actually build here, because we work inside those rules every week. If you’re planning a kitchen or bath remodel, a window and roof replacement on an older tract home, or an ADU in a phased village, call (866) 253-8554 for a free estimate.
Why Elmwood Contractors Is Irvine’s Preferred General Contractor Company
Irvine homeowners call us because we coordinate the entire job under one roof, and we name the brands going into your home before the contract is signed. That matters in a city where the house itself is part of a bigger, developer-run plan. An Irvine remodel is not the same as a remodel in Tustin or Santa Ana. Here, the village governs the work as much as the building code does, and a general contractor who doesn’t know the difference costs you time and money.
Nolan Shepherd leads our team with a straightforward approach: write the scope, allowances, and draw schedule in writing up front, pull permits against the village’s architectural palette before ordering materials, and keep the punch list short. We carry established relationships with 50+ named brands across cabinetry, countertops, plumbing, roofing, windows, doors, and prefab construction, so you’re choosing from a curated lineup, not whatever a big-box store stocks. One contractor, every trade, interior to exterior.
Styles & brands we work with
Licensed General Contractor in Irvine
A Licensed General Contractor in Irvine does more than coordinate subs. We act as the single point of coordination for projects that touch both the interior and the exterior envelope, from kitchen countertops to roofing systems to prefab additions. In Irvine, that means we also navigate the Irvine Company’s village-specific architectural review, because pulling a county-standard permit without the village sign-off is how out-of-town crews get red-tagged on stucco color or window trim that would pass anywhere else in Orange County.
Coordinating Multi-Trade Permits and Approvals
An Irvine remodel that touches the kitchen and a window or exterior door usually triggers city permitting and village architectural review. We file both before demo starts. The architectural review checks your material and color selections against the original palette for your village, and the review is not rubber-stamped. A neighbor’s already-approved paint color can still be rejected on your house if it deviates from the original scheme.
Drawing One Scope, One Contract, One Point of Contact
We write one scope that covers every trade, so you’re not chasing a drywall sub and a window installer separately. In phased tracts like Westpark or Woodbridge, where entire streets hit replacement milestones around the same time, that coordination keeps scheduling and dust control from spiraling.
Residential General Contractor in Irvine
A Residential General Contractor in Irvine works on homes that are mostly 1970s through 2020s tract construction: stucco-over-wood-frame, tile roofs, and HOA-governed exteriors. We handle the full arc of a project, from a single-room refresh to a ground-up addition or ADU. On a kitchen remodel in Irvine, you’re typically looking at $14,000 to $45,000 depending on the village, the cabinet line, and the countertop material. A smaller bath usually runs $9,000 to $28,000.
Working With Builder Warranties on Newer Homes
If your Great Park or newer Westpark home is still under an active builder warranty, starting demolition without checking the warranty terms can void coverage you already paid for. We review that language before we touch a wall, and we sequence the work so the remodel doesn’t trip the warranty’s exclusions. On a newer home, the first things owners usually replace are builder-grade countertops, cabinet faces, and low-end plumbing trim. We can guide that in phases, recommending products because they perform, not because they’re convenient for us.
Exterior Envelope Work Under HOA Review
In villages like Turtle Rock and Northwood, windows, doors, and roofing changes run through the HOA’s architectural review, not just the city permit desk. We coordinate both, and we carry impact-rated window brands like PGT and CGI along with roofing systems from GAF and CertainTeed, so we can match the product to the village’s requirements and your budget. The right material for your budget and your climate, chosen from a vetted lineup, not a single supplier’s catalog.
Trusted Brands We Service in Irvine
We name the brands going into your home before the contract is signed. For Irvine homes, that often means impact-rated windows from PGT or CGI at the canyon edges near Turtle Rock where Santa Ana winds blow hard, and roofing underlayments and systems from GAF or CertainTeed on the older tile roof tracts. We stock common replacement parts for those lines locally, which keeps your project moving instead of waiting on a freight shipment. We’re material-agnostic, with parallel options at multiple price tiers, so a Cambria countertop isn’t forced on you when a Silestone top does the same job for less.
See the difference
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After
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AfterCommon General Contractor Problems We See in Irvine Homes
- Village architectural review skipped. Out-of-town crews pull a generic county permit, skip the village review, and get red-tagged on details like stucco color or window trim that would pass anywhere else in Orange County. Then the owner pays to redo the finish while the crew is already gone.
- Builder warranty voided by early demo. On newer Great Park or Westpark homes, a contractor starts exterior work or structural changes without checking the warranty terms first. That can void coverage the owner explicitly paid for at closing.
- Whole-street failure points ignored. Irvine’s villages were built in tight 5 to 10 year phases, so an entire block in Woodbridge hits the same 40-year stucco or repipe window at once. A single-home quote that ignores the street-wide milestone misses scheduling, dust control during Santa Ana season, and HOA notice requirements.
- Builder-grade finishes replaced in the wrong order. Owners rip out countertops before addressing the cabinet boxes or plumbing rough-in, then discover the rough-in needs rework that forces a second countertop order. We sequence the work so that doesn’t happen.
Pricing for General Contractor in Irvine, CA
Here are the price ranges we see for common Irvine projects. These are honest numbers for the Irvine market, not national averages.
| Project | Typical Irvine Range |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Remodel | $14,000 – $45,000 |
| Cabinet Installation | $4,000 – $13,000 |
| Countertop Installation | $2,000 – $6,500 |
| Bathroom Remodel | $9,000 – $28,000 |
| Walk-In Shower Installation | $4,500 – $12,000 |
| Window Replacement | $4,500 – $15,000 |
| Roof Replacement | $8,000 – $20,000 |
| Home Addition | $45,000 – $130,000 |
| ADU Construction | $90,000 – $220,000 |
What moves the number is the village’s architectural requirements, the condition of the rough-in, and the brand tier you select. We give you a written line-item quote before work starts, with no change orders that aren’t agreed to in writing first. Call (866) 253-8554 to schedule your free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Irvine
Our crews work across Irvine from 92606 and 92612 to 92614 and 92616, and we regularly run jobs in Tustin, Aliso Viejo, Santa Ana, and North Tustin. If you’re on the edge of Irvine or in a neighboring city, we’ll give you the same written scope and brand lineup. To see the full list of services, visit our General Contractor page.
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
For a purely interior kitchen remodel that doesn’t touch the exterior envelope, you usually don’t need village architectural review, but you still need city permits for electrical, plumbing, and any structural changes. If the remodel touches a window, exterior door, or any exterior finish, the village review kicks in and checks your materials and colors against the original palette for your village. Call (866) 253-8554 and we’ll tell you what your specific village requires before you spend a dollar. We’re based nearby and we work inside these rules every week.
It can be, if the remodel touches systems or structure the builder warranty covers without the work being documented and sequenced properly. We review the warranty language before demolition, and we coordinate the work so the remodel doesn’t void coverage you already paid for. On newer Great Park and Westpark homes, the warranty terms are specific about who can touch structural framing, MEP rough-in, and the exterior envelope. Get us a copy before work starts, and call (866) 253-8554 for a free estimate.
In an Irvine tract home, a first kitchen upgrade typically runs $14,000 to $45,000 depending on the cabinet tier, countertop material, and whether you’re moving plumbing or electrical rough-in. If all you’re doing is new cabinet boxes and a stone top, the lower end of that range is realistic. If you’re opening walls, relocating the island, and redoing rough-in, you’re at the higher end. We write the scope and allowances in writing up front so the number doesn’t drift. Call (866) 253-8554 for an exact quote.
Because Irvine’s villages were built in tight 5 to 10 year phases by the Irvine Company, entire tracts age into the same failure window at once. A whole Woodbridge street can hit the 40-year tile roof replacement window or a stucco repipe milestone in the same two or three seasons. That creates street-wide scheduling, dust and erosion control during Santa Ana season, and HOA notice requirements that a single-home contractor quote often ignores. We plan for the street-level pattern, not just the single address.
Before any work starts, you should have a written scope of work, a line-item allowance schedule for materials, a draw schedule tied to milestones, the permit and architectural review plan, and a written change-order process. In Irvine, that last piece matters, because village review can send a material or color change back after you thought it was approved. We put all of it in writing before we pull a permit or order a cabinet box. Call (866) 253-8554 for a free estimate and a written scope.
Written by Nolan Shepherd, Owner at Elmwood Contractors, serving Irvine since the company’s founding.