San Jose
Our home base
SERVICE AREAS · SANTA CLARA COUNTY · BAY AREA
Where Are You Planning Your Project?Let’s Find Your Service Area.
We are based in San Jose and work across Santa Clara County and nearby Bay Area towns. Every city has its own building department and its own kinds of homes, so we plan around the address, not just the zip code.
- CSLB #1142220
Get a FreeIn-Home Consultation.
HOW WE WORK
Where we work
Avis Builders and Design is a service-area business based in San Jose. There is no showroom. We come to the house, walk the rooms, take measurements on site, and file the permit with whichever building department has jurisdiction over your address.
Where you live matters for two reasons, and distance is neither of them. Every incorporated city runs its own building department, with its own submittal checklist and its own plan check. And the housing differs: a prewar bungalow near an old downtown and a 1960s tract house in the next city fail in different ways once the finishes come off.
The first in-home consultation is free in every city we serve.
CITY PAGES
City pages
Santa Clara
Santa Clara County
Sunnyvale
Santa Clara County
Los Gatos
Santa Clara County
Campbell
Santa Clara County
Cupertino
Santa Clara County
Saratoga
Santa Clara County
Mountain View
Santa Clara County
Los Altos
Santa Clara County
Also serving: Milpitas, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City, Fremont.
ON THE MAP
Our service area
HOW THE AREA BREAKS DOWN
Local planning by area
The South Bay core
Much of the valley floor is single-story postwar housing on a shallow slab or on post and pier. The electrical service on those houses was often sized for far less than a modern kitchen and heat pump ask of it, so we check the panel early.
The foothills
Toward Los Gatos, Saratoga, and the western edge of Cupertino the ground starts to move. Slope can bring a soils report, a stepped or drilled foundation, and soil haul-off that a flat lot does not need.
Overlay zoning and design rules
Some neighborhoods carry design rules or overlay zoning on top of the base zoning, so the first thing we check is what applies to your specific parcel rather than to your city as a whole.
Up the Peninsula
Menlo Park and Redwood City are in San Mateo County, which means a different building department with its own submittal requirements. We confirm which counter has jurisdiction over your parcel before anything is drawn.
Over the county line
Fremont is in Alameda County. It gets the same scope and the same free in-home visit. The difference is scheduling: a crew working there is out of the county for the day, so deliveries and inspections are sequenced around that.
WHAT WE PLAN AROUND
Common hidden issues
Plumbing and wiring
Older houses can hide galvanized supply lines that have scaled down inside, cast-iron waste lines with the same problem, and ungrounded circuits. We open exploratory areas during the estimate wherever an owner allows it, so these items are in the scope instead of arriving as a change order.
Structure
In prewar houses the interior wall someone wants removed is often carrying the roof. Opening it up can mean an engineered beam, point loads carried down through the floor framing, and new footings under the posts.
Earthquake bracing
Older homes often sit on cripple walls with little or no shear bracing or hold-downs. When the interior finishes are already off, it is a good time to look at bolting the mudsill and bracing those walls.
Current code
Drawings are prepared to the edition of the California Building Standards Code that applies on the day the permit application is submitted. Energy provisions are usually where the changes show up, which pushes projects toward heat pump equipment, better glazing, and a closer look at the service panel.
SERVICE AREA FAQ
Service area FAQs
Do you have a showroom?
No. We are a service-area business based in San Jose. Our crew comes to your property, walks it, and takes measurements on site.
Is the first visit free in every city?
Yes. The in-home consultation is free in every city we serve.
Which building department reviews my project?
It depends on the address. Each incorporated city runs its own building department with its own submittal checklist, and unincorporated land is reviewed by the county. We confirm which one has jurisdiction over your parcel before anything is drawn.
Do you work outside Santa Clara County?
Yes. We also serve nearby towns over the county line, including Menlo Park, Redwood City, and Fremont. A different county means a different building department, and we plan the paperwork and scheduling around it.
My city is not listed. Can you still help?
Call (408) 208-0551 and tell us your address. We will let you know whether we cover it.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Ready to start your project?
Tell us your address and what you want to change, and we will contact you to set up a free in-home visit.