Kitchen remodeling
Bathroom remodeling
Home additions & ADU
Roofing
Windows & doors
Driveway & pavers
FenceFree written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Fast, Reliable Home Remodeling Across Lexington Hills
Home remodeling in Lexington Hills comes with challenges most contractors never see: county permits, Cal Fire review, septic and well setbacks, and mountain roads that can’t accommodate a concrete truck. Toolbox Contractors has done this work here long enough to plan around all of it before we quote. If you’re planning a kitchen gut, a whole house refresh, or a detached ADU off Idylwild Road or Bear Creek Road, call Norm Castellano and our team at (855) 382-3257. We’ll walk your parcel, check the setbacks, and give you a number that holds.
Why Toolbox Contractors Is Lexington Hills’s Preferred Home Remodeling Company
We’re a licensed general contractor, but in Lexington Hills that matters less than knowing how the county works. Santa Cruz County reviews every permit here with Cal Fire input, and septic and well setbacks are measured on the legal parcel rather than a city lot line. An addition that fits the house can still fail at the site plan stage. We scope that before quoting, so you don’t pay for a design that can’t be built.
Our customers in Lexington Hills and across ZIP 95031 come back because we speak the language of this place: defensible space, drainage on a slope, staging materials fifty yards downhill because the truck couldn’t make the final turn. Norm Castellano has built a team that handles the full scope, from Home Remodeling inside to the roof, windows, and exterior envelope outside. One company, one contract, one point of accountability. Call (855) 382-3257 for a free estimate.
Styles & brands we work with
Whole House Remodel in Lexington Hills
A Whole House Remodel in Lexington Hills usually means taking a 1970s mountain home with knob-and-tube wiring, water-damaged subfloors, and single-pane windows and bringing the entire structure up to current county code and fire-hardening standards. We see these projects on the sloped, wooded lots off Idylwild Road and along Bear Creek Road, where the existing homes were built before current setback and defensible-space rules. The work spans structural repair, full electrical and plumbing rough-in, insulation, drywall, flooring, kitchen and bath rebuilds, and often a new roof and windows. A whole house remodel here typically runs $45,000 to $130,000 depending on square footage, scope of structural work, and materials. Lexington Hills adds a layer other cities don’t: septic inspections, well line mapping, and county sign-off at each phase.
Septic and Well Setback Coordination
Before we quote a whole house remodel in Lexington Hills, we pull the legal parcel map and locate the septic system and well. Any addition or footprint change has to respect those setbacks. If the leach field sits where the new wing would go, the price changes or the design does. We handle that review in the first week, not after demo starts.
Fire-Hardened Exterior Upgrades
Because Cal Fire reviews every permit in this area, we recommend Class A roofing, ember-resistant vents, and non-combustible siding as part of any whole house scope. We install GAF and CertainTeed roofing systems, James Hardie siding, and impact-rated windows from PGT and CGI. These choices satisfy county review and actually hold up in a mountain climate with wet winters and summer fire risk.
Luxury Home Remodeling in Lexington Hills
Luxury Home Remodeling in Lexington Hills means custom cabinetry, stone countertops, high-end fixtures, and finishes that fit a redwood-and-oak setting rather than a standard suburban spec. On the newer rebuilds after the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fire, we’re seeing homeowners push toward modern mountain architecture: open floor plans, large windows facing the forest, and outdoor living spaces built into the slope. A high-end kitchen with KraftMaid or Wellborn cabinets, Cambria or Caesarstone countertops, and Grohe or Toto fixtures typically runs $14,000 to $45,000. A luxury bath remodel starts around $9,000 and climbs to $28,000 with a walk-in shower, heated flooring, and a custom vanity.
Custom Material Sourcing for Mountain Homes
We pull from a portfolio of 50-plus vetted brands, so you’re not stuck with a generic catalog. That means Schluter tile systems in the shower, a Blanco or Kohler sink, solid hardwood or engineered flooring rated for temperature swings, and exterior doors from Therma-Tru that seal against winter rain. Everything is ordered after we measure, and we stage it at the site before crews arrive.
Site Access Planning
On a Lexington Hills luxury project we often plan staging yards at the nearest accessible turnout and haul materials down the last stretch. That’s not an afterthought; it’s a line item. If the truck can’t make the turn, we know that on day one because we’ve already walked the road with the supplier.
Trusted Brands We Service in Lexington Hills
We stock and install materials from brands that hold up in a mountain environment, and we keep common parts available for Lexington Hills customers so you’re not waiting on a supply house in San Jose. For fencing and exterior work we use Master Halco and Ameristar systems, both of which handle wet winters without warping. Barrette and Jerith round out the fence and rail options when a home needs perimeter work as part of a remodel. If you need cabinets, we quote KraftMaid and Wellborn. Countertops come from Cambria, Silestone, and Caesarstone. Roofing from GAF, CertainTeed, and Owens Corning. One team, one contract, and brand-name parts you can actually verify.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Home Remodeling Problems We See in Lexington Hills Homes
- Rotting subfloors under old kitchens. On a sloped, wooded lot off Idylwild Road, a 1970s cabin kitchen opened to reveal a rotting subfloor and knob-and-tube wiring buried under the old cabinets. We rebuilt the rough-in for the new island, pulled county permits for the structural and electrical changes, and set Cambria quartz on Wellborn cabinets, then had to stage all materials fifty yards downhill because the concrete truck couldn’t make the final turn.
- Septic and well setbacks that kill a design. An addition that fits the house may still fail at the site plan stage if the leach field or wellhead sits where the new footprint would go. We check the legal parcel before quoting, not after the plans are drawn.
- Narrow road access for heavy equipment. On Bear Creek Road and the side roads off it, a concrete truck or a cabinet van often can’t reach the site. A remodel that doesn’t price in a staging plan and material haul will overrun the budget fast. We price that before we start.
- Missing winter drainage and grading plans. An outbuilding pad or driveway that drains onto a neighbor’s slope becomes a muddy problem the first wet season. We include erosion control and drainage in the scope so you’re not dealing with a washed-out access path in January.
Pricing for Home Remodeling in Lexington Hills, CA
Here’s what we’re seeing in the Lexington Hills market right now. These are real ranges we quote from, not national averages. Kitchen remodels run $14,000 to $45,000 depending on cabinet grade and structural work. Bathrooms run $9,000 to $28,000. A small kitchen with stock cabinets and a new backsplash can come in around $9,000 to $20,000. Countertops alone run $2,000 to $6,500. A paver driveway from Belgard or Techo-Bloc runs $7,000 to $18,000. Additions start at $45,000 and ADU construction runs $90,000 to $220,000. Your exact number depends on your parcel: septic setback, access, slope, and Cal Fire review. We give you a written line-item quote after we walk the property. Call (855) 382-3257 to schedule a free estimate.
| Project | Typical Lexington Hills Range |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Remodel | $14,000 – $45,000 |
| Bathroom Remodel | $9,000 – $28,000 |
| Home Addition | $45,000 – $130,000 |
| ADU Construction | $90,000 – $220,000 |
| Cabinet Installation | $4,000 – $13,000 |
| Countertop Installation | $2,000 – $6,500 |
| Paver Driveway Installation | $7,000 – $18,000 |
We Also Serve Cities Near Lexington Hills
While this page focuses on Lexington Hills, our Lexington Hills team also serves Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Cambrian Park, and Scotts Valley. If you’re on the valley side of the hill or just over the ridge, we’ll bring the same county permitting knowledge and mountain-access planning to your project. Call us and we’ll tell you which jurisdiction applies to your parcel.
Serving Lexington Hills, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Lexington Hills 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 Home Remodeling in Lexington Hills
Because Lexington Hills is unincorporated Santa Cruz County property, and the county measures setbacks from the septic system and wellhead on the legal parcel, not from the house. An addition that fits the house can fail at the site plan stage if the new footprint encroaches on the leach field or well. We pull the parcel map and locate those systems before we give you a number. Call (855) 382-3257 and we’ll run the check on your property at no charge.
We stage. On Bear Creek Road and the side roads off Idylwild, a concrete truck or a large delivery van often can’t make the final turn, so we plan a staging yard at the nearest accessible turnout and haul materials down with smaller vehicles. That’s priced into the quote as a line item, so you know it’s covered before we start. If the road is too tight for a pump truck, we adjust the foundation plan before we break ground.
Every permit in Lexington Hills goes through county review with Cal Fire input. That means defensible-space requirements, fire-hardened materials, and ember-resistant design get checked on even interior remodels when the scope touches the building envelope. We plan for that. Class A roofing, non-combustible siding, and ember-resistant vents are built into our specs from the first walkthrough, not added after the county pushes back.
Yes, but the price is driven by slope, access, and setbacks more than square footage. An ADU on a sloped Lexington Hills lot runs $90,000 to $220,000, and the variance comes from foundation work, grading and drainage, septic capacity, and how far materials have to be staged and hauled. We work with Abodu, Dvele, and Plant Prefab for factory-built ADUs that can reduce on-site construction time, but the site prep work is still the same county-reviewed process. Call (855) 382-3257 and we’ll walk your lot and tell you what’s realistic.
We scope the parcel before we quote. Septic setback, Cal Fire review, road access staging, drainage and grading, and material haul distance all go into the written line-item estimate. When the county review comes back with conditions, we’ve already anticipated them. When the concrete truck can’t make the turn, we already have the staging plan in the budget. That’s the difference between a quote that holds and one that explodes halfway through. Call (855) 382-3257 for a free estimate and we’ll show you how we build the number.
Written by Norm Castellano, Owner at Toolbox Contractors, serving Lexington Hills since the company’s founding.