Bay Cities Construction Blog

Many of you know there are approximately 13,500 soft-story buildings in the City of Los Angeles that require a retrofit since the passing of Ordinance 183893 & 184081 in 2015. Most property owners do not know how lengthy the entire retrofit process can be. Did you know that it takes about a month to draft a set of engineering plans? And do you know how long it takes for the Department of Building and Safety to approve them? 

Hey, folks!

I’m Alex Rodriguez, owner of Bay Cities Construction. On this week’s blog I’ll be talking about home flooring. No matter what project you’re considering for your home, flooring is everywhere so it always has to be considered. For those of you that are looking for a flooring product that won’t break the bank, you should consider the latest in laminate flooring. But we’re also talking about engineered flooring as well, and pretty much everything you need to know about flooring for a home remodel.

Los Angeles is a different type of place, especially when it comes to home remodeling. Glitz and glamour are not just reserved for the red carpet, you can find high-end touches across Southern California homes. According to KPCC the average home price in California is above $600,000 so spending more than $50,000 on a kitchen remodel is not unusual. Just in case you hadn’t noticed, prices for a home remodel in Los Angeles are higher than the national average.

When you are remodeling a bathroom you’ll want to make sure you pay attention to costs and your budget. Money is always the priority for most homeowners when considering a bathroom remodel, but if you live in Southern California you’ll notice that you’ll be paying more than the prices you see online. According to HomeAdvisor the national average for a bathroom remodel is $9,758, but this price won’t get you much in Southern California (it’ll be more of a makeover than a remodel). We know it might seem like a general contractor is overcharging you, so we’ve written this article to help you understand the true prices of remodeling a bathroom in Los Angeles.

If you own a soft-story building in Southern California then you are well aware that the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood legally require seismic retrofits for soft-story buildings. The distinctive design of tuck-in parking on the ground floor makes soft-story buildings especially vulnerable during seismic activity, making them prone to collapse. The first kind of soft-story retrofit ordinance was passed by the city of Los Angeles in 2015, Santa Monica quickly followed suit in 2016, and West Hollywood joined the efforts in 2017.

If you have a large family with a single bathroom, you’ll know the pain of having to share a bathroom with other people. Sometimes adding a new bathroom is the only option, it won’t be cheap, but it will change your life. How Much does a bathroom addition cost? It depends on a lot of things like size, material selections, features, and selections. Adding a bathroom is usually more expensive per square foot than other rooms because of components like plumbing, ventilation, electricity, and drainage. If you live in California you can expect to pay up to 25% more than the prices you see online.

You’ve saved up some money for a bathroom remodel but you aren’t sure if it’s going to be enough. This is a predicament that many homeowners face when it comes to remodeling their home, how much will it actually cost to remodel a bathroom. You might hate this answer, but “it depends”. You can give your small bathroom a facelift for less than $10,000, but if you have expensive taste and want the finest materials you can expect to spend upwards of $75,000. If you don’t want to break the bank on your bathroom remodel you need to set a budget you are comfortable with, and this will allow you to select the right materials for your budget.

The first thing you should do when planning a bathroom remodel is set a budget you can afford; the last thing you want is to design a bathroom you can’t afford to build. Remodeling a bathroom can be expensive in Southern California. Although Home Advisor says the average bathroom remodel in California is approximately $14,000 to $18,000,  the truth is that every bathroom is different. Remodeling a small bathroom will be less expensive than remodeling a large master bathroom. There are different budgets for different bathrooms. So how do you know how much a bathroom remodel will cost?

As a general contractor I see lots of construction materials every single day. From time to time I evaluate potential flooring options to bring the right balance of quality and value for my home remodeling. I see various types of flooring, everything from solid hardwood, bamboo, laminate, vinyl, and SPC (stone-polymer composite). Believe me when I say that there are ton of options for home flooring; there is something out there for everybody and for every budget.

In January of 2017, a new California state law took effect that encourages homeowners to build “granny flats.” These housing units go by many names (including backyard homes, secondary units, garage apartments, auxiliary dwelling unit, and the term we will use: accessory dwelling units or ADUs).