Architecture-Led Full Home Renovation in Cole Valley
We Do Construction designs and builds in Cole Valley under a single principal — Jacob. Discovery, design, permits, and construction live in one team, in one office, with one point of accountability. Typical engagement: $500K–$2M, 12–18 months from contract to keys.
Mid-century renovation for the Cole Valley hills.
Cole Valley hillside mid-century homes preserve low-slung profiles, extend cantilever roofs, introduce new black horizontal siding, open rear walls with full glass to hillside pools. Canyon vegetation as backdrop.
Most contractors price finishes first. We start one step earlier — the room, the lot, the orientation, the local jurisdictional envelope. That work shapes everything else. That is what we mean by architecture-led: composition, not catalog selection.
What an architecture-led full home renovation includes
Four things separate our work from cabinet-and-counter contracting:
- Whole-house planning, not room-by-room. Discovery starts at the floor plan, not the finishes.
- Original architecture preserved where it earns its place. Material restoration over replacement when the original is worth keeping.
- Systems updated comprehensively. Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, glass, insulation — brought to current performance.
- One team from concept through construction. Same principal designs, permits, and builds.
How we run a Cole Valley full home renovation project
- Discovery
2-hour on-site walk. Feasibility memo + investment range.
- Design
Schematic → Design Development → Construction Documents.
- Permit
Plan check, historic-district review, energy code, HOA — handled in-house.
- Build
Principal-led construction. Often 6–10 month off-site window.
San Francisco DBI hillside review applies. California Title 24 energy code review at the building envelope level. Geotechnical review for slope work.
Common questions
How do you handle living arrangements during the renovation?
Most full-home clients move out for the heaviest construction phase — typically 6–10 months. We help coordinate temporary housing through our preferred relocation partners and sequence the build to compress the off-site window. Some clients stay in-residence when the work is phased and a wing of the house can remain functional. We talk through which approach fits your home in Discovery.
How does Discovery shape the final budget?
Discovery produces a written feasibility memo with a preliminary investment range — not a quote. Design Development converts that range into a hard scope. The hard scope becomes the construction contract. The discipline is intentional: we do not lock to a number we cannot defend, and we do not change the number once the contract is signed except for owner-directed scope changes (transparently logged).
Do you preserve original architecture or modernize it?
Both, when the architecture earns its place. We restore original Crittall windows where they exist, repoint original brick rather than reclad, preserve original millwork inside contemporary system updates. We modernize aggressively where the original work was poor or has failed. The judgment call is the project.
Schedule a Project Consultation
A full renovation is the chance to make the next version of the home better than the version we inherited. The original architecture sets the rules.
— Jacob, Principal · We Do Construction
We will meet at the site, walk the project with you, and talk about what is possible inside the local jurisdictional and architectural envelope. The consultation credits against the project as a refundable retainer.
Also serving nearby: Full Reno Walnut Creek · New Construction Mill Valley. See more Full Home Remodeling work across San Francisco.
We Do Construction · CSLB License #1096552 · Architecture-led design-build across San Francisco.
Request a consultation(415) 416-5494