Homes we remodel in Los Altos
The typical Los Altos bathroom is in a 1950s or 1960s ranch: a five-by-eight hall bath with a steel tub, and a small primary bath behind the bedroom with a stall shower. Both sit over a crawlspace, so moving a toilet, widening a vanity or relocating the shower drain is ordinary work from below, and we usually replace the old galvanized supply lines while the walls are open. Near downtown, the 1920s and 1930s houses have plaster walls and floor framing that often needs sistering before new tile goes down. In the Fallen Leaf Park Eichlers, the drains are set in the slab beside radiant tubing, so we scan before we cut and price the concrete work before demolition. Newer two-story rebuilds have bathrooms over finished ceilings, which is why every shower pan we build is flood-tested for 24 hours before tile.
- 1950s–60s ranches on quarter-acre lots (North Los Altos, Woodland Acres–The Highlands, Central Los Altos, South Los Altos, Rancho): Raised floors over a crawlspace, original galvanized supply lines in many, and one hall bath plus a small primary bath. Plumbing moves are easy from below.
- 1910s–40s cottages and Spanish revivals near downtown (Old Los Altos and the streets around downtown): Plaster walls, older drain lines and framing that was never built for a heavy mud-set floor. A few are on the city’s historic list, which matters only if the outside changes.
- Late-1960s and 1970s Eichlers (Fallen Leaf Park (Clay Drive area), San Antonio Court and a few scattered lots): Slab floors with radiant tubing, post-and-beam walls and no attic. Drains are in the concrete, so any plumbing move means cutting slab.
- Newer two-story rebuilds (Every neighborhood, often on lots where a 1950s ranch came down): Second-floor bathrooms over finished ceilings and kitchens that need a refresh to the owner’s taste rather than a structural fix.
Neighborhoods we work in: Downtown, Old Los Altos, North Los Altos, Woodland Acres–The Highlands, Central Los Altos, South Los Altos, Rancho, Loyola Corners, Fallen Leaf Park, Country Club.