R&B Master Construction Inc. / South Bay
Remodels that respect the Town's older streets and hillside rules, with design, drawings and Town permits handled for you.
Built around your home
In Los Gatos, the Town looks at more than the rooms you're changing. It also considers the age of the house, whether it sits in a historic district or the hillside area, and which trees stand nearby. R&B Master Construction Inc. (CSLB #1158657) remodels kitchens and bathrooms, installs flooring, paints, carries out whole-home renovations and additions, and builds concrete driveways here. Every scope includes the design, construction drawings and permit work.
Explore construction services
Choose the Los Gatos project that fits your home; every card opens its full service guide.
Cabinet and counter layouts, lighting, ventilation and appliance circuits. Under the Town's Ordinance 2380, adding or altering kitchen circuits under an electrical permit means installing readiness for a future electric range, so we include that wiring in the design. Included: kitchen design, permit drawings and the Town express-check or remodel submittal.
Waterproofed showers, tile, vanities, fans and lighting. The Town's express-check sheet requires a sanitation district certificate when plumbing fixtures increase or move, so we settle the fixture layout first. Included: layout design, plan set and permit filing.
Hardwood, tile and resilient floors, with transitions between old and new rooms worked out in advance. In a pre-1941 home, we document existing original flooring before any removal is discussed. Included: a finish plan coordinated with the drawings whenever flooring is part of a permitted remodel.
Interior repainting, plus exterior work prepared for the Town's context. In the hillside area, the Town's standards cap exterior colors at a light reflectivity value of 30 and require roofs in dark earth tones. Included: color and material notes on exterior drawings when Planning review applies.
Added floor area designed to fit the Town's neighborhood-compatibility principles on mass, bulk and scale. Included: architectural plans from our in-house architect, plus coordination of tree, Planning and Building reviews.
Photos are design and material references, not completed projects in Los Gatos.
Layout changes and system upgrades across several rooms. Architectural services come from our in-house architect, with structural engineering added where walls or framing change. Included: design development, the full drawing set, Planning and Building submittals.
Explore whole-home remodelingLos Gatos roof work, planned alongside the rest of the scope (notes below).
Roofing in Los GatosA new Los Gatos driveway on your lot and the approach permit at the street (notes below).
Driveways in Los GatosIncluded with every service
Each R&B service in Los Gatos includes design, construction drawings and permitting, from a kitchen refresh to a hillside addition. Building permits are issued by the Town of Los Gatos Building Division, 110 E. Main St., Los Gatos, CA 95030 (408-354-6876). Applications are filed through the Town's Accela Citizen Access portal (permits.losgatosca.gov). Driveway approaches and other right-of-way work go through Parks and Public Works Engineering, 41 Miles Ave, on the same portal. Architectural services are provided by our in-house architect, and engineering is brought in when the structure changes. Read more about permits in Los Gatos.
Los Gatos, California
Mostly mid-century, with an older core. The Town's Housing Element needs assessment reports that the largest block of homes, 6,630 units, was built between 1960 and 1979. In 2020, about 60% of homes were single-family detached, 13% single-family attached, 9% in 2–4 unit buildings and 18% in buildings of five or more units. The Housing Element describes the stock as generally in good condition. In practice, many remodels here are second or third updates to well-kept houses rather than rescues.
Neighborhood types the Town recognizes. The Residential Design Guidelines group neighborhoods into four types:
Historic districts and pre-1941 houses. Los Gatos has four residential historic districts: Almond Grove, Broadway, Fairview Plaza and University/Edelen. The guidelines name Victorian, Spanish Eclectic and Craftsman homes as part of the Town's identity. Every primary structure built before 1941 is treated as a potential historic resource, and requests to demolish, modify or expand one need Town approval. Strikingly modern exterior changes are discouraged in historic neighborhoods.
These describe Los Gatos housing, not completed R&B projects.
Local knowledge matters
Effective January 1, 2026
Statewide, the 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards govern permits filed from January 1, 2026. They cover additions and alterations (not repairs), favor heat pumps, and generally call for ECC-rater field verification when an HVAC system is altered. In December 2025, Los Gatos adopted Ordinance 2380, which adds local rules on top:
We include these items in the drawings so that plan check doesn't send the set back.
Roof repair & replacement
Under Ordinance 2380, new or substantially replaced roofs in Los Gatos must be at least Class A fire-retardant. In the hillside area, the Hillside Development Standards also call for roofs in dark earth tones. We specify the roof covering and color with those rules in mind and include them in the drawings.
Explore roof repair & replacementConcrete driveways
Any new or reconstructed driveway, sidewalk, curb or gutter in the public right-of-way needs a Town encroachment permit from Parks and Public Works before work starts. You apply online through the Town portal, and the application form notes that processing can take up to 15 working days. The Town's standard details call for residential driveway approaches of 6-inch Class A concrete, 14 to 30 feet wide. In the hillside area, driveways must minimize grading. They may not exceed 15% slope without approval from the Town Engineer and County Fire, and they need an all-weather surface rated for fire apparatus. The Residential Design Guidelines also ask that front-yard impervious surface be limited, and the hillside standards encourage shared driveways to reduce paving.
Explore concrete drivewaysEstimates without guesswork
We serve Los Gatos from our San Jose headquarters. The first visit records what you want to keep, such as trim, windows, floors and trees, and what will change. The written scope then states which review path applies and what the drawing set will include.
How a Los Gatos job runs, first call to final sign-off Reading Los Gatos bids side by side
Before your estimate
For a Los Gatos home, three details make the first conversation far more useful.
Identify finishes, trim or other features you want to retain and where new work must meet them.
Explain whether any walls, roof structure or floor area will change, rather than describing the whole scope as a room refresh.
For an addition, note connections to existing rooms, floor levels and how the home will remain usable during the work.
The homeowner's notebook
Scope, selections and the questions worth asking before work begins.
All homeowner guidesCompare kitchen remodeling scopes, understand budget and schedule drivers, and prepare a practical checklist for your San Jose or Bay Area home.
Read the guide 02 / Bathroom planningPlan a bathroom remodel with a clear scope, shower and fixture decisions, budget considerations, schedule questions and a printable homeowner checklist.
Read the guide 03 / Estimate checklistUse a remodeling estimate comparison checklist to review scope, materials, allowances, exclusions, scheduling and responsibilities before choosing a contractor.
Read the guide 04 / Project pathHow a remodel moves from enquiry and site visit to scope, permits, construction and sign-off.
Read the guideLos Gatos / Process, permits and timing
Los Gatos mixes historic downtown neighborhoods, hillside lots and postwar homes, and the Town reviews each differently. This is how we take a Los Gatos kitchen or bathroom from first visit to final inspection.
A Los Gatos project that needs Planning approval has that step ahead of building plan check, so it starts later than an interior-only remodel.
Hillside access, older framing and the sanitation step are the common Los Gatos factors we flag before setting a construction start.
Kitchen remodeling in Los Gatos Bathroom remodeling in Los Gatos
Before you begin
Every home is different. Let’s talk through the details of yours.
It may be, if the work is non-structural and interior. The Town keeps a separate Express Check checklist for those remodels. Any exterior change, such as a new window, door or siding, needs Planning approval first, and structural work or added floor area uses the addition/remodel checklist.
The Town treats every pre-1941 primary structure as a potential historic resource. Changes that modify or expand the house need Town approval and get closer design review under the Residential Design Guidelines. We plan exterior changes to match the home's existing proportions and materials.
In the hillside area, yes. The Hillside Development Standards limit exterior colors to a light reflectivity value of 30, and roofs must be dark earth tones. Elsewhere, exterior color comes up mainly when a project is already under Planning review.
Under Ordinance 2380, a replacement air conditioner on a single-family home must either be paired with a heat pump as the primary heat source or meet added efficiency measures. There are exceptions when the electrical panel or load calculations can't support a heat pump.
Yes. Design, drawings and the Accela permit submittal are part of every R&B service here. Architectural plans come from our in-house architect, and we coordinate the Town's Planning, Building and Public Works reviews.
Our Cupertino office serves Los Gatos. Call (650) 562-6324 to arrange a visit.
Planning review for exterior changes and, for bathrooms, the sanitation district step are the most common added items.
Yes. Both are linked from this page and explain the Town permit route for each type of room.
Los Gatos service pages
Local planning
Los Gatos publishes one submittal path for residential additions and remodels and another for non-structural kitchen and bathroom express-check work. Pick the checklist from the actual scope. A new window or added square footage is not an express-check kitchen.
The kitchen and bathroom pages describe each room. This guide is the place to see how Town Planning, hillside access, and an older house change the order of approvals. Cupertino’s office is the phone for Los Gatos appointments.
On the Town’s plan-check submittal page, which lists addition and remodel requirements separately from the kitchen and bathroom express-check notes.
Our Cupertino office, (650) 562-6324, at 10080 N Wolfe Road, Suite SW3-200. CSLB #1158657.
Begin a conversation
You don’t need to have it all figured out. Tell us where you are with your project, and we can discuss the next step.
(650) 562-6324info@rbmasterconstruction.comDiscuss your Los Gatos project. Availability is confirmed for your scope and schedule.