Hand-vetted contractors for kitchens, bathrooms, ADUs, and whole-home remodels around Winship Park, the Glenwood Avenue area, Upper Road, and Lagunitas Road. We have placed contractors across the Ross Valley for years.
Ross is the leafiest, lowest-density town in Marin, incorporated in 1908 and tucked into the forested Ross Valley. The housing stock skews toward large custom and estate homes on substantial, often wooded and hillside lots. Architecturally it runs from carefully preserved late-1800s and early-1900s homes (Victorians, shingled Craftsman, Tudors, including a 1906 shingled Craftsman/Tudor on Glenwood Avenue) to mid-century modern and newer modern farmhouse builds. The Town Council works deliberately to preserve that historic, low-density character, so most of what we see here is reinvestment in homes families intend to keep for decades.
We have placed contractors on Ross Valley projects for years, and the work here reflects the town's lots and its estates. Think gut kitchen and primary-suite renovations in older homes around Lagunitas Road and the Ross Common, detached ADUs, and full-scope remodels and additions on wooded parcels near Winship Park and along Upper Road. The recurring complications are not cosmetic. They are tree protection, hillside grading, fire-zone materials, and design review on a town that guards its character.
Realistic 2026 cost ranges based on the projects our contractors are actually pricing in Ross right now.
On Ross's older estate homes, a kitchen remodel usually means opening a compartmentalized early-1900s layout, replacing dated cabinetry with custom millwork, and moving to quartz or stone counters and high-end appliances. Structural work is common because original walls are often load-bearing, so a beam and an engineer are part of the budget rather than an afterthought.
Primary and hall baths in older Ross homes tend to be small and dated for the scale of the house. Most projects expand into adjacent space to fit a curbless walk-in shower, a double vanity, and a spa-suite feel. Hall baths sit toward the lower end of the range; full primary-suite spa builds reach the top of it.
Ross lots are large enough for detached ADUs, but in the Ross Valley the practical limiting factor is MMWD water-meter availability, and a new meter fee can exceed $40,000. Hillside and wooded sites push costs up further. Common uses are in-law suites, rental income, and a future downsize on the same property.
Browse ADU models →Full down-to-studs renovations and additions on Ross estates are a large share of our placements here. Owners rebuild every system (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, insulation) while preserving the home's historic exterior character. On older and hillside homes, foundation bolting, shear-wall upgrades, and geotechnical reports for grading are common adders.
Permits run through the Town of Ross Building Department and Planning Department at 31 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. Building plan check generally takes about 4 to 6 weeks, and projects requiring Design Review add time because Ross routes design review through an advisory Design Review Group and the Town Council, which also serves as the Planning Commission. Furnace replacements, reroofing, and water heater installations are eligible for streamlined over-the-counter processing, with counter service Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to noon or by appointment. Planning staff encourage owners to make contact before starting a project.
Ross regulates planting, alteration, and removal of trees under Municipal Code Chapter 12.24, the Tree Protection Ordinance (the Town Council considered Ordinance 720 updating it in January 2023). Significant and Protected trees must be fenced off at a non-intrusion zone before any clearing, excavation, construction, or building or demolition permit. A tree protection plan is required for Hillside Lot Permit and Hazard Zone Use Permit applications and may be required for design review, grading, and building permits, which routinely affects renovations and additions on Ross's wooded parcels.
Parts of Ross fall within mapped Fire Hazard Severity Zones and the Wildland Urban Interface, and in 2025 the town adopted the 2025 California Fire Code and 2025 WUI Code with amendments alongside San Anselmo, Fairfax, and Sleepy Hollow. That triggers Chapter 7A ignition-resistant exterior assemblies for additions and major remodels in mapped zones, plus PRC 4291 defensible space inspected by the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority. Owners verify a specific parcel through the Ross Valley map viewer or MarinMap. The San Andreas is the nearest major active fault, running through western Marin, so foundation bolting and shear-wall upgrades are common on older homes.
Tell us about your project. A matchmaker will call you within one business day and hand-pick 2–5 contractors from our vetted network who have worked in Ross before.
Or call (925) 693-7590
