General Contractor in Orange County: Remodeling, ADUs and Additions
Green Design and Build is a licensed residential general contractor (CSLB #1110975) that remodels and builds homes throughout Orange County: kitchens, bathrooms, ADUs, room additions, whole-home renovations, roofing and outdoor living. The company was founded in 2023 and is led by Dekel Sofer, who has more than 16 years of hands-on construction experience, serving homeowners across Los Angeles County, Orange County, Ventura County and western Riverside County from our office in Van Nuys. A bathroom remodel in Orange County typically takes a few weeks on site, a kitchen a few months, and an ADU six months to a year from first meeting to final inspection.
How we serve Orange County from Van Nuys
We do not have an Orange County office, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Our office is at 16120 Sherman Way in Van Nuys, and Orange County is one of the four counties we cover. Site visits and estimates are scheduled in clusters: we set aside Orange County days and book Anaheim, Fullerton and Irvine together, or Mission Viejo and Dana Point together, so nobody waits on an appointment squeezed between Valley jobs. Anaheim and Fullerton are roughly an hour from our office outside rush hour; the south county coast can be closer to an hour and a half.
Once a job starts, the crew assigned to it is on site every working day until it is finished; we do not rotate crews between an Orange County kitchen and a Sherman Oaks bathroom. Materials are delivered to your address and inspections are called in by the project lead who is already at the house. The drive is our problem to manage, not yours.
Design, permits and construction are handled in house. HVAC, plumbing, electrical and asbestos removal are performed by our licensed specialty-trade partners under our supervision.
Permits in Orange County: every city runs its own building division
The biggest difference between working in Orange County and working in the City of Los Angeles is that there is no LADBS. Orange County has 34 incorporated cities, and each one issues its own residential building permits through its own building division, with its own submittal checklist, plan-check turnaround and inspection scheduling. Unincorporated communities such as Ladera Ranch, Coto de Caza, North Tustin, Rossmoor and the Silverado and Modjeska canyons are permitted through OC Public Works instead.
| Where the property is | Who issues the building permit | What tends to be different |
|---|---|---|
| Inside an incorporated city: Anaheim, Irvine, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Fullerton, Orange, Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Yorba Linda, Brea, Tustin, Garden Grove, Laguna Niguel and the others | That city’s building division | Its own forms, plan-check timeline and inspectors; planning review for second stories and additions |
| Unincorporated Orange County: Ladera Ranch, Coto de Caza, North Tustin, Rossmoor, canyon communities | OC Public Works | County submittal process; canyon and hillside areas often carry fire-hazard and grading rules |
| Coastal zone within Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, San Clemente | City building division, plus a coastal development permit where the work triggers one | See the coastal section below |
State rules such as Title 24 energy compliance and lead-safe practices for pre-1978 homes apply everywhere. What changes from city to city is the paperwork and the pace: some cities issue a kitchen remodel permit over the counter, others send anything structural or exterior through planning first. We check your city’s current requirements before we price the job, not after.
HOA architectural review comes before the permit
A large share of Orange County homes sit inside master-planned communities governed by CC&Rs and an architectural review committee: Irvine’s villages, Mission Viejo, Ladera Ranch, Aliso Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Coto de Caza, Laguna Niguel and many smaller developments.
Any change visible from outside the house, including an addition, a detached ADU, a patio cover, new windows, a re-roof in a different material or color, and exterior paint, needs written approval from the architectural committee. Interior-only work such as a kitchen or bathroom remodel usually does not, although some associations set rules on contractor parking and working hours.
This adds a step, and it has to come first. Committees meet on their own calendar, commonly once or twice a month, and many require plans, elevations and material samples. We prepare the HOA package from the same drawings we use for the city so neither review holds up the other. State law prevents an HOA from prohibiting an ADU on a single-family lot, but it can apply reasonable design conditions, and in our experience it will.
Orange County’s housing stock: what we usually find behind the walls
North and central Orange County were built out largely between the 1950s and the 1970s; Irvine, Mission Viejo and the south county followed from the late 1960s through the 2000s. Each era brings conditions that affect scope, schedule and price.
1960s–80s tract homes (Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Anaheim, Fullerton, Orange, Costa Mesa, Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Tustin):
- Popcorn ceilings. Acoustic texture from this era can contain asbestos. We test before scraping; if the sample is positive, our licensed abatement partner removes it first.
- Original aluminum single-pane windows. Replacing them is one of the highest-value upgrades in these houses and triggers Title 24 requirements for the new units. We fold window and door replacement into the larger remodel so stucco and trim are patched once.
- Galley kitchens closed off from the family room. The most common request we get in Orange County is to open a 1970s kitchen into the adjoining room. That wall is often load-bearing, so a kitchen remodel here means an engineered beam, temporary shoring and a structural permit.
- Slab-on-grade foundations. Moving a sink, island or shower drain means saw-cutting the slab. That belongs in the estimate from day one; our post on why quotes vary between contractors shows what happens when it is not.
- Galvanized supply lines and 1960s electrical panels. Repiping and panel upgrades are done by our licensed plumbing and electrical partners where the condition calls for it.
1990s–2000s homes in Aliso Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita and Ladera Ranch are sound but builder-grade, and many sit on post-tensioned slabs that have to be scanned before we cut for plumbing. Older homes in Old Towne Orange and Santa Ana’s historic districts have raised foundations and design review; foundation and structural work often comes first.
Coastal-zone considerations in Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach
Properties inside the California coastal zone, which covers parts of Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point and San Clemente, may need a coastal development permit in addition to the city building permit. In most of these cities the permit is issued by the city under its certified Local Coastal Program; elsewhere it comes from the California Coastal Commission directly. Interior remodels are generally exempt; additions that add height or floor area, new ADUs and anything on a bluff-top or beachfront lot are the projects most likely to trigger review, and that review adds time.
Coastal homes also call for different materials: stainless or coated hardware, fiberglass or vinyl windows rather than aluminum, and roofing rated for salt-air exposure. Bluff and canyon lots in Laguna Beach and Newport Coast frequently need a geotechnical report before an addition is permitted.
ADUs in Orange County: state law applies the same way it does in Los Angeles
California’s ADU law does not stop at the county line. In every Orange County city, an ADU application that meets the state standards must be approved ministerially, and the city has 60 days to act on a complete application. Cities must allow a detached ADU of at least 800 square feet with 4-foot side and rear setbacks, a junior ADU of up to 500 square feet inside the primary home, and a garage conversion regardless of local zoning. Cities add their own design standards on top, so we check your city’s current rules before we design.
Where Orange County differs from the Valley is the lots. Yorba Linda, Villa Park, North Tustin and parts of Anaheim Hills have half-acre and larger parcels where a detached ADU fits without crowding the main house; in Irvine and the south county, HOA conditions and smaller yards make garage conversions and attached units more common. Our ADU rules calculator gives a first read on what your lot allows, and our guide to how much an ADU costs walks through a real project budget. We build detached and attached ADUs and garage conversions across the county.
What we build most in Orange County
- Kitchen remodeling: opening galley kitchens, islands, full cabinet and countertop replacement.
- Bathroom remodeling: tub-to-shower conversions, primary bath expansions, full gut remodels. Our bathroom remodel cost guide explains where the money goes.
- ADUs and garage conversions: detached, attached and junior units.
- Room additions: first-floor additions on larger lots, second stories where planning review allows.
- Patio covers, pavers, outdoor living and backyard remodeling: see our comparison of patio cover materials and our patio cover cost page.
- Roofing: re-roofs on 1960s–80s homes, often paired with solar installed by our licensed partner.
- Whole-home renovation, flooring, painting and windows and doors; the full menu is on our services page.
North, central, south and coastal Orange County
| Region | Cities and communities | What the work usually looks like |
|---|---|---|
| North Orange County | Anaheim, Anaheim Hills, Fullerton, Brea, Yorba Linda, Placentia, La Habra, Buena Park, Cypress | 1950s–70s tract homes; larger lots and fire-hazard zones in the hills |
| Central Orange County | Santa Ana, Orange, Tustin, Villa Park, Garden Grove, Westminster, Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa, Irvine | 1960s tract homes and Irvine’s planned villages; heavy HOA presence |
| South Orange County | Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Ladera Ranch, San Juan Capistrano | Master-planned communities and architectural review; 1970s–2000s housing |
| Coastal Orange County | Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, San Clemente | Coastal-zone permitting, salt-air materials, bluff geotechnical reports |
Why Orange County homeowners hire Green Design and Build
- Licensed, bonded and insured, CSLB #1110975. You can verify the license with the Contractors State License Board.
- 146 reviews on Yelp with a 4.7-star rating and more than 500 completed projects.
- Design, permits and construction under one contract, with a detailed written estimate before work begins.
- Structural work is in-house: beams, foundations, second stories and slab cuts are everyday work for us.
Yakir A. wrote after a kitchen remodel: “They completely remodeled my kitchen and they turned out beautiful. The job came in within my budget including full 3rd design rendering.” Before you sign with anyone, read our guide on how to hire a general contractor without getting scammed.
We also serve Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Ventura County and western Riverside County. The complete list of cities is on our service areas page.
Frequently asked questions about remodeling in Orange County
Do you have an office in Orange County?
No. Green Design and Build is based in Van Nuys and serves Orange County from that office. We schedule Orange County site visits in clusters, and once a project starts the crew assigned to it is on site every working day until completion.
Do I need a permit for a kitchen remodel in Orange County?
A kitchen remodel in Orange County needs a building permit from your city’s building division whenever it involves moving plumbing, changing electrical circuits, removing a wall or replacing windows. Cosmetic work such as cabinet refacing, countertops and paint generally does not. Every Orange County city runs its own building division, so we confirm the requirements for your address before we price the job.
How does HOA approval work for a remodel in Irvine or Mission Viejo?
In HOA communities such as Irvine, Mission Viejo, Ladera Ranch, Aliso Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita, any exterior change, including additions, ADUs, patio covers, windows, roofing and paint, must be approved by the association’s architectural review committee before construction. Interior-only remodels usually do not need approval. We submit the HOA package before filing for the city permit so the two reviews do not block each other.
Can I build an ADU in Orange County?
Yes. California’s ADU law applies in every Orange County city, so a compliant ADU of at least 800 square feet, a junior ADU of up to 500 square feet, or a garage conversion must be approved ministerially within 60 days of a complete application. Cities add design standards and HOAs can impose reasonable conditions, but neither can prohibit the unit.
How long does a kitchen or bathroom remodel take in Orange County?
A bathroom remodel in Orange County usually takes a few weeks of on-site work, and a full kitchen remodel with structural changes takes a few months, plus the time your city needs for plan check. HOA review, asbestos testing on popcorn ceilings and slab cutting for new plumbing are the items most likely to add time.
What does a general contractor cost in Orange County?
Costs in Orange County are driven by scope, structure and finishes rather than by the city, and they fall in the same broad range as the rest of Southern California. Rather than quote a number that does not fit your house, we publish detailed guides on what a general contractor, a bathroom remodel and an ADU cost, each based on real projects. A site visit and written estimate are free.
Do I need a Coastal Commission permit in Newport Beach or Laguna Beach?
Only if your property is inside the coastal zone and the work is the kind that triggers review. Interior remodels and many single-family improvements in Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach are exempt; additions that add height or floor area, new ADUs and work on bluff or beachfront lots usually need a coastal development permit from the city under its Local Coastal Program or from the California Coastal Commission.
Which Orange County cities do you serve?
Green Design and Build serves all of Orange County, including Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Fullerton, Brea, Yorba Linda, Garden Grove, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point and San Clemente, plus unincorporated communities such as Ladera Ranch and North Tustin. If your city is not listed, call anyway.
Ready to talk about your Orange County project?
Send us the address, the rooms involved and what you want to change. We will tell you which building division and HOA are involved, what the schedule looks like and what it will take to do the job properly.