Homes we remodel in Palo Alto
An Eichler bathroom in Greenmeadow and a 1920s bathroom in Professorville are opposite problems. In the Eichler, the toilet flange and shower drain are set in concrete with radiant tubing running a few inches away, so moving either means scanning the slab, saw-cutting around the tubing and pouring back. In the bungalow, the walls are lath and plaster over a cast-iron stack, and the floor framing under a mud-set tile floor often needs sistering before new tile goes down. Midtown and Barron Park ranches are the easy case: a crawlspace under the bath, so a tub-to-shower swap or a moved vanity is a day of plumbing, not a week.
- Eichlers (Greenmeadow, Fairmeadow, Palo Verde, Charleston Meadows, parts of Midtown): Radiant-heat tubing in the slab, post-and-beam walls, no attic. Every drain and supply line runs through concrete, so plumbing is the whole job.
- 1920s plaster bungalows and Spanish revivals (Professorville, Crescent Park, Old Palo Alto, Downtown North, College Terrace): Lath-and-plaster walls, original cast-iron drains, knob-and-tube wiring we sometimes still find behind the tile.
- 1950s ranches (Midtown, Barron Park, Ventura, Green Acres, Southgate): Crawlspaces make plumbing moves straightforward; small hall baths and closed kitchens are the usual starting point.
- Teardown new-builds (Everywhere, most often Old Palo Alto and Crescent Park): Newer homes that need a second primary suite or a kitchen redone to the buyer’s taste.
Neighborhoods we work in: Crescent Park, Old Palo Alto, Professorville, Downtown North, Community Center, Duveneck/St. Francis, Midtown, Barron Park, College Terrace, Evergreen Park, Ventura, Charleston Meadows, Greenmeadow, Fairmeadow, Palo Verde, Green Acres, Southgate, Triple El.