Remodeling Contractor in Santa Monica, CA

Santa Monica, California

What remodeling in Santa Monica actually involves

Santa Monica is an eight-square-mile city with an unusually wide range of housing packed into it. There are 1920s Spanish and Craftsman bungalows through Ocean Park and the Pico district, mid-century single-family homes across Sunset Park, larger traditionals north of Montana, and a dense band of apartments and condos through Wilshire-Montana and downtown. The build years run from the 1910s to last year, and what is behind the walls changes completely across that range.

What makes Santa Monica different is not the houses, it is the city. Santa Monica is its own municipality with its own Building and Safety Division inside its Community Development Department, and its own local rules layered on top of state law. It is one of the more demanding jurisdictions on the Westside, and a contractor who mostly works City of LA jobs will price a Santa Monica project as though it were a Mar Vista project and then discover the difference at plan check. We price the Santa Monica version.

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Santa Monica remodeling work by New Cali Construction

Where we work in Santa Monica

Ocean Park, Sunset Park, North of Montana, Wilshire-Montana, the Pico district, Mid-City Santa Monica, and the condo corridors through downtown.

Our Services

What we build in Santa Monica

Kitchen Remodeling by New Cali Construction

Kitchen Remodeling in Santa Monica

Bungalow kitchens opened up without losing the period character, and condo kitchens reworked inside a fixed footprint where plumbing cannot move far.

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Bathroom Remodeling by New Cali Construction

Bathroom Remodeling in Santa Monica

Guest baths and primary suites in 1920s bungalows and in newer condos alike, with the waterproofing assembly detailed to code and documented.

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ADU and Garage Conversion by New Cali Construction

ADU & Garage Conversion in Santa Monica

ADUs and garage conversions permitted under Santa Monica's own rules, which are not the City of LA's. We check your parcel before you commission any design.

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Whole-Home Remodel by New Cali Construction

Whole-Home Remodel in Santa Monica

Whole-house renovations of Ocean Park and Sunset Park homes: seismic and foundation work, full systems replacement, structure and finishes on one contract.

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Condo and HOA Remodeling by New Cali Construction

Rent-Controlled & Multi-Family Work

Santa Monica has one of the strongest rent-control regimes in California, and it reaches into what you may do to an occupied or previously occupied unit. Before we scope multi-family or duplex work we confirm the unit's status with the city, because the wrong assumption here is not a cost overrun, it is a legal problem. If your project touches a controlled unit we will tell you plainly and route you to counsel.

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Permits & Local Rules

Who approves your project in Santa Monica

Santa Monica is not part of the City of Los Angeles for permitting purposes. Your remodel is reviewed, permitted and inspected by Santa Monica's own Building and Safety Division within the Community Development Department, under the Santa Monica Municipal Code. Expect a more thorough review than you would get one city over, and budget the schedule for it rather than being surprised by it.

City of Santa Monica permits and inspections, not LADBS, for structural, plumbing, electrical and mechanical work. Pulled in our name under License #1008892, never in yours.
Santa Monica adds its own ADU requirements on top of California state ADU law, so what is allowed here does not match what is allowed in the City of LA. We verify your specific parcel against the current rules before design money is spent.
Green building and energy requirements are enforced tightly here, so insulation, glazing, electrification and Title 24 compliance need to be in the scope from the start rather than value-engineered in at the end.
Rent-controlled and previously tenanted units carry real restrictions. We confirm a unit's status with the city before scoping, and we will tell you when a project needs a lawyer rather than a contractor.
Pre-1978 homes require lead-safe work practices, which covers most of Ocean Park and the older Pico-district blocks. We test rather than assume before demolition or sanding begins.

Local Experience

Three things we plan for on every Santa Monica job

01

The plan check is the schedule

In some cities the build is the long pole. In Santa Monica the review often is. We build the realistic review time into the schedule we hand you, and we submit a complete package the first time, because a resubmittal here costs weeks rather than days. If someone quotes you a Santa Monica start date that assumes a City of LA timeline, that date is fiction.

02

Parking, staging and neighbours are a real constraint

Much of Ocean Park and the Pico district is permit parking on narrow streets with no alley. Where the crew parks, where the dumpster sits and when material lands all have to be arranged before day one, and the rules are enforced. This is not a detail we mention afterwards as an excuse; it goes into the plan up front.

03

Older bungalows are worth restoring, not erasing

The character details in a 1920s Santa Monica bungalow, the original casings, the coved plaster, the front elevation, are usually worth more than what would replace them. We separate what genuinely has to be rebuilt for code and structure from what is simply old, and we do not talk you into demolishing the part of the house you actually bought it for.

Transparent Pricing

Typical investment ranges

Every Santa Monica project gets its own written, line-item quote. These ranges are for planning.

Refresh

$15K - $40K

Single-room refresh: bathroom, kitchen facelift, or flooring throughout. Typically 2-4 weeks.

Renovate

$40K - $120K

Full kitchen, primary suite, or multi-room remodel with layout changes. Typically 4-10 weeks.

Transform

$120K - $500K+

Whole-home remodel or ADU build, design through final inspection. Typically 3-6 months.

Free estimates always. Every quote is line-item and locked in writing before work begins.

Recent Work

Craftsmanship you can look at

A sample of completed New Cali Construction projects in Santa Monica and across the Westside. See the full portfolio →

Completed Santa Monica remodel by New Cali Construction

Common Questions

Santa Monica FAQs

Does a Santa Monica remodel get permitted through LADBS?

No. Santa Monica is its own incorporated city and your project is reviewed, permitted and inspected by the Santa Monica Building and Safety Division within the Community Development Department, under the Santa Monica Municipal Code. LADBS has no role. Contractors who work mostly in the City of LA routinely underestimate this, because the submittal package, the review depth and the inspection scheduling are all different. We pull Santa Monica permits in our own name under License #1008892.

Are Santa Monica ADU rules the same as Los Angeles ADU rules?

No. California state law sets a floor that every city has to meet, but Santa Monica layers its own requirements on top, so setbacks, height, coverage and design standards are judged against Santa Monica's rules rather than the City of LA's. The practical answer for your property depends on the parcel, so we check it against the current rules before you pay for any design work.

How much does a kitchen or bathroom remodel cost in Santa Monica?

A guest bathroom generally runs $15,000 to $35,000 and a full kitchen typically lands between $40,000 and $120,000, depending on layout changes, cabinetry level and whether plumbing or electrical relocates. Two things push Santa Monica projects up relative to neighbouring cities: the condition of original systems in pre-war bungalows, and the energy and green-building work the city expects to see in the permit set. Both are identified during the estimate and written into the scope, not discovered later.

My Santa Monica property is a duplex with a long-term tenant. Can you remodel it?

Sometimes, and sometimes the honest answer is not without legal advice first. Santa Monica has strong rent-control and tenant-protection rules that reach into what can be done to an occupied or previously occupied unit. We confirm the unit's status with the city before scoping the work, and if the project touches a controlled unit we will say so plainly and tell you to speak to a lawyer before you commit. We would rather lose the job than put you in that position.

How long does a Santa Monica permit take?

Longer than most Westside cities, and it varies with the scope and how complete the submittal is. We do not quote you a number we cannot stand behind, but we do two things about it: we build the realistic review window into the schedule you sign, and we submit a complete package the first time. Most of the delay homeowners experience here comes from resubmittals, which is the part a contractor actually controls.

Building in Santa Monica? Let us price the real version.

Free in-home consultation. Written line-item scope. Locked price before we start.

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