Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Fast, Reliable General Contractor Across Highland
General contracting in Highland, CA typically runs $9,000 for a small bathroom remodel up to $130,000 for a major home addition, with most kitchen and bath projects falling between $14,000 and $45,000. We’re Elmstead Remodeling, a Cedarwell company, and our crews work Highland homes from the Base Line corridor to the foothill parcels off Greenspot Road. Scheduling and dispatch run through our Inland Empire office, so we’re not driving down from LA or up from San Diego when you need us on-site. Call (949) 850-9896 and a live person answers, 24 hours a day. We’ll schedule your free estimate, give you a written price before any work starts, and stand behind the finished job with our 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Why Elmstead Remodeling Is Highland’s Preferred General Contractor Company
We’ve worked the split housing stock here long enough to know what opening a wall in Highland actually means. The 1950s slab-on-grade ranches near City Creek and the post-2003 Old Fire rebuilds up toward the mountain base are two completely different jobs once you pull drywall. Our General Contractor team prices for what we can see, then builds allowances into the contract for what we know we might find. Homeowners in Highland tell us the relief comes from knowing the number is written down before the first tool comes out, not after.
Our crews wear shoe covers and lay drop cloths on every visit. We run quiet tools during children’s sleep hours where the job allows, and we ask before moving furniture or touching anything that isn’t in the scope. Every job ends with a photo of the clean-up before we leave. That’s the Cedarwell Care Promise, and it applies to every Highland project we take on.
Phones are answered by a live person, not a voicemail tree, not a callback queue. If you’re standing in your kitchen at 9 PM wondering whether that wall you opened is load-bearing, someone picks up.
Styles & brands we work with
Hire a General Contractor in Highland
Hire a General Contractor in Highland when you’re opening walls, adding square footage, or replacing systems that were installed before modern seismic and fire codes existed. Most of the homes we work on here were built between 1950 and 1975, with two-wire ungrounded electrical, minimal seismic anchoring, and no Chapter 7A fire-hardening. The moment a permit triggers rough-in and framing inspections, those conditions have to be addressed. A typical kitchen remodel in Highland runs $14,000 – $45,000, a bathroom remodel $9,000 – $28,000, and a home addition $45,000 – $130,000. Window replacement ranges $4,500 – $15,000 and roof replacement $8,000 – $20,000. Every one of those prices is written and approved before we start.
What We Find When Walls Come Open
On a 1964 slab-on-grade ranch off Base Line near the foothills, our crew peeled back drywall for a kitchen-and-addition scope and found two-wire ungrounded branch circuits, a garage wall that was load-bearing where nobody expected it, and a subfloor that had been softened by years of roof-to-slab splash. We stopped, pulled the county inspector in for a rough-in and framing sign-off on the newly opened walls, and hand-priced a change order for copper re-wire, framing repair, and Chapter 7A-compliant vent and siding upgrades – all approved in writing before we closed anything back up. That’s how we work in Highland. No surprises, no verbal “trust me” pricing, no homeowner standing in a half-gutted kitchen wondering what just happened to their budget.
Permit Sequencing That Protects Your Timeline
Highland permits move through San Bernardino County, and the inspection sequence matters. We schedule rough electrical, plumbing, framing, and fire-code compliance inspections in the order the county requires, with buffer days built in for corrections. Pulling a permit as “paperwork after the fact” is how projects stall. We pull first, build the inspection schedule into the timeline, and keep the job moving.
General Contractor Services in Highland
General Contractor Services in Highland cover kitchen remodels, bathroom remodels, whole-home renovations, room additions, basement finishing, and deck construction. Because Highland sits in both an Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zone and a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, every project we touch has to satisfy dual compliance requirements that flatland neighbors rarely face. Seismic-resistant structural design and Chapter 7A fire-resistant construction standards – Class A roofing, ember-resistant vents, ignition-resistant siding – aren’t upgrades here. They’re code minimums once walls open. That reality shapes how we scope, price, and execute every job in Highland.
Kitchen and Bath Remodeling
Our kitchen and bath work uses cabinets from KraftMaid and Wellborn, countertops from Cambria and Silestone, and fixtures from Kohler, Moen, and Grohe. These are brands you can research independently, with manufacturer warranties that travel with your project. In Highland’s summer heat, we time concrete pours and adhesive work for morning hours when possible, and we protect finished surfaces from thermal cycling stress. A small kitchen remodel runs $9,000 – $20,000 if we’re working within existing footprints; moving walls or expanding into an addition shifts the scope and the price.
Additions and Whole-Home Work
Home additions in Highland start at $45,000 and run to $130,000 depending on square footage, foundation type, and whether the lot sits on alluvial fan soils in the northern tier. Those foothill parcels, stripped of slope cover by the 2003 Old Fire, require engineered drainage and compaction testing that comparable flatland lots don’t. We build that into the scope and the price from day one, not as a change order after the slab cracks.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Highland
We specify named-brand materials on every Highland project so homeowners know exactly what they’re getting and can verify warranties independently. Cabinetry comes from KraftMaid and Wellborn; countertops from Cambria, Silestone, and Caesarstone; plumbing fixtures from Kohler, Moen, and Grohe; exterior finishes from James Hardie and GAF. For foundation and structural work, we use Sakrete mixes calibrated to San Bernardino County’s seismic and exposure conditions. On accessory dwelling unit and addition projects where modular or prefabricated components make sense, we’ve worked with Dvele and Abodu units that arrive pre-engineered and can be adapted to Highland’s dual compliance environment. We don’t stock every part in a local warehouse, but our supplier relationships mean turnaround on specialty items doesn’t hold up the job.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon General Contractor Problems We See in Highland Homes
- Fixed-price quotes based on visible finishes only. A contractor walks through, sees 1960s drywall, and gives a firm number for a kitchen facelift. Then the walls open, revealing ungrounded wiring and a load-bearing stud wall that wasn’t on any drawing. The homeowner gets an unapproved change order mid-project. We price what we see, write allowances for what we know Highland homes hide, and require written approval before any additional work proceeds.
- Skipped drainage and compaction testing on northern-tier lots. Parcels near the mountain base sit on mapped alluvial fan and debris-flow hazard zones, with soils that settled unpredictably after the 2003 Old Fire stripped vegetation from the slopes above. A slab poured without engineered fill and compaction testing can shift within a single rainy season. We coordinate geotechnical review where the lot location or county requirements trigger it, and we build that cost into the original contract.
- Permits treated as afterthought paperwork. Once walls are open in Highland, San Bernardino County inspectors will verify seismic anchoring, fire-resistant venting, and Class A roofing assemblies that the original 1960s construction never included. If the contractor didn’t plan the inspection sequence, the job sits idle while corrections are ordered. We pull permits before demo, build the inspection calendar into the project schedule, and have the compliance documentation ready before the inspector arrives.
- Thermal cycling damage to roofing and exterior finishes. Highland’s valley floor exceeds 100°F regularly in summer, and Santa Ana wind events at the mountain-valley interface create the precise conditions that spread the 2003 Old Fire. Roof assemblies and exterior siding take a beating. When we replace roofing or siding, we specify materials rated for that exposure and install to Chapter 7A ember-resistance standards, not just cosmetic appearance.
Pricing for General Contractor in Highland, CA
We give every Highland homeowner a written price before any work starts. No exceptions. The table below shows typical ranges for the projects we handle most often here. Your exact quote depends on square footage, material selections, structural conditions we can verify before demo, and whether your lot triggers additional geotechnical or drainage requirements.
| Project Type | Price Range in Highland |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Remodel | $14,000 – $45,000 |
| Bathroom Remodel | $9,000 – $28,000 |
| Home Addition | $45,000 – $130,000 |
| Window Replacement | $4,500 – $15,000 |
| Roof Replacement | $8,000 – $20,000 |
What moves the number: structural repairs found after demo, electrical or plumbing upgrades triggered by code compliance, fire-hardening materials required by Chapter 7A, and drainage engineering on alluvial fan lots. We inspect thoroughly before quoting, write allowances into the contract for likely conditions, and never proceed with additional work without your written approval. Call (949) 850-9896 for your free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Highland
Our crews work throughout the Inland Empire, and we regularly take General Contractor in Highland projects alongside jobs in San Bernardino, Loma Linda, Redlands, and Mentone. Each city has its own compliance environment – Redlands sits outside the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone for most parcels, so a remodel there doesn’t trigger the same Chapter 7A requirements we handle routinely in Highland. We know the difference because we work both markets, not from a template.
Serving Highland, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Highland area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About General Contractor in Highland
Because opening walls in Highland almost always reveals conditions that weren’t visible during a surface-level walkthrough: two-wire ungrounded electrical, load-bearing walls not shown on original drawings, subfloor damage from decades of splash, or framing that doesn’t meet current seismic anchoring standards. We prevent quote jumps by building allowances into our original contract and requiring your written approval on any change order before additional work proceeds. Call (949) 850-9896 for an exact quote – estimates are free.
Yes. Highland sits in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone; most of Redlands does not. Chapter 7A compliance – Class A roofing, ember-resistant vents, ignition-resistant siding – is triggered by your property’s mapped hazard zone, not by what your neighbor has or doesn’t have. We verify your parcel’s status during our initial site review and build the required materials into the scope and price from the start. Call (949) 850-9896 for an exact quote – estimates are free.
San Bernardino County will inspect for seismic anchoring and bracing per Alquist-Priolo requirements, plus fire-resistant construction per Chapter 7A if the structure is in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. That means upgraded venting, specified roofing assemblies, and ignition-resistant exterior finishes that weren’t required when most Highland homes were originally built. We pull the permit before demo, schedule inspections in the required sequence, and have compliance documentation ready before the inspector arrives. Call (949) 850-9896 for an exact quote – estimates are free.
We give a firm written price for everything we can see and verify, plus written allowances for the conditions we know Highland homes typically hide. We cannot promise zero additional cost on a 1960s slab ranch that nobody has opened since Johnson was president, but we can promise that no additional work proceeds without your written approval of a detailed change order. That’s the Cedarwell Care Promise. Call (949) 850-9896 for an exact quote – estimates are free.
We coordinate geotechnical review and engineered drainage design on northern-tier Highland parcels that sit on mapped alluvial fan or debris-flow hazard zones, where the 2003 Old Fire stripped slope cover and left soils prone to settlement. This isn’t a standard requirement on every lot – a parcel south toward the valley floor may not need it – but we identify the trigger conditions during our initial site review and build the cost into the original contract when required. Call (949) 850-9896 for an exact quote – estimates are free.
Ready to start? Call (949) 850-9896 to schedule your free estimate. We’ll send a background-checked, uniformed technician to your Highland home, inspect the conditions we can access, and give you a written price before any work starts. Every project is backed by our 365-Day Done Right Promise – if it’s not done right, we make it right.
Written by Graham Stein, Owner at Elmstead Remodeling, serving Highland and the Inland Empire since 2005.
