Nestled on the shores of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay’s beaches, Richmond is a dense, suburban city in western Contra Costa County popular with families and young professionals.
This list was compiled to help homeowners looking to build or renovate their homes in the area. It features five of the best custom home builders in Richmond, chosen based on their backgrounds, experiences, and portfolios.
Kasten Builders
3419 Regatta Blvd., Richmond, CA 94804
Founded in 1972, Kasten Builders extends its services throughout the Bay Area. Its business is rooted in effective communication, quality control, and teamwork. It offers a complete range of custom home building and remodeling services and has experience in every aspect and stage of the building process. Its team clients from start to finish and has the skills, materials, and methods necessary to execute any project regardless of complexity. Denny Kasten leads the firm and serves as its president. He holds a degree in Architecture from Lawrence Institute of Technology in Southfield, Michigan, and first gained experience working with general contractors during his time as a student, which allowed him to learn how to build from the ground up. Under his leadership, the firm has grown to become one of the area’s most recognizable firms, having completed projects in Marin, Sonoma, Napa counties, and the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Depicted below is one of the firm’s best works. This home sits on a steep site in Point Richmond and showcases panoramic views of all three Bay Area bridges. It features a two-car garage, a second-floor guest room, and a split third-floor for its kitchen and dining areas. The fourth and final level houses the project’s bedrooms and master suite.
Jetton Construction
1117-A Virginia St., Berkeley, CA 94702
Jetton Construction is an award-winning firm that has completed over 500 projects since its founding in 1980. It draws inspiration from its decades of experience and cultivates an environment of constant growth and communication among its team members and clients, as well as an inclination towards contemporary designs and techniques. It collaborates with the area’s best and leading subcontractors and has secured excellent relationships with some of the best artisans in the Bay Area. Further, it assists its clients throughout the entire process, remaining engaged and attentive to the smallest of details. It comes as no surprise that the firm is the proud recipient of many awards, especially from the prestigious American Institute of Architects (AIA).
Labeled in its portfolio as the “Summit House,” the project below is an excellent example of the firm’s expertise. It graced the pages of Dwell Magazine and was included on the 2017 AIA East Bay Home Tour. The home drew inspiration from its owners’ experience in Scandinavia and Japan and features a robust envelope, sun-shading louvers, insulating glass, a rainwater collection and filtration system, and various other custom finishes.
Murphy McKenna Construction
38 Washington Ave. Suite B, Point Richmond, CA 94807
Murphy McKenna Construction offers a full and comprehensive range of construction services. Its team comprises a talented staff of builders and professionals, all with an excellent architecture background that enables them to take on any project regardless of size and complexity. It is highly meticulous and works with only the best architects, designers, and subcontractors. The firm’s team works with its clients throughout some of a project’s most critical stages. These include working out details, bids, and accurate construction of budgets and schedules. All of the firm’s projects come with warranties, guaranteeing the quality of its work. It also takes on small projects from time to time. Murphy McKenna Construction is no stranger to recognition and has been featured in Builder Magazine and Residential Design & Build.
Completed in collaboration with Levy Art + Architecture, the project below features seven bedrooms and six bathrooms. It spans 5,956 square feet and is a highly sustainable, eco-friendly smart home. It utilizes a geothermal energy system and was designed and crafted with utmost attention to detail.
New Avenue
2120 University Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704
Since its inception, New Avenue has worked on over a hundred accessory dwelling units and has secured a solid reputation for itself. It has worked on numerous projects throughout the country and is manned by a talented and diverse team of professionals and designers. It takes on projects of varying sizes, budgets, and styles, and has special expertise in contemporary design and historic remodeling, for which it has also been recognized with several distinctions in the past. The firm utilizes a design-build approach which allows it to keep the entire process in-house and lessens the challenge of seeking out extra subcontractors and artisans for homeowners. The firm extends its services throughout the Bay Area and has also completed projects in Portland, Oregon and several other communities on the West Coast.
Spanning 3,200 square feet, the project below replaced a house built in 1943. This modern home now features offices for work-from-home owners, a yoga studio, an open living area, and a sliding glass door that seamlessly blends its indoor and outdoor deck and backyard garden.
Fontana Construction
1945 E Francisco Blvd. Suite N, San Rafael CA 94901
Fontana Construction specializes in luxury homes and offers a complete range of custom home development, remodeling, renovations, and general construction services. Operating out of its office in San Rafael, the firm provides its clients with over three decades of industry experience and has worked on numerous homes ·from the Peninsula to Sonoma County. The firm is the brainchild of Michael and Bonnie Fontana, who founded the firm in 1986 as a small, home-based business in West Marin. The firm has since grown to become one of the most recognizable firms in the area and is most notable for its expertise in an extensive range of luxurious and excellent designs. Its best work is pictured in the project below.
Completed in collaboration with Harrison Woodfield Architects, this Santa Rosa residence was constructed from the ground up in the hills of Sonoma County. For this project, the firm’s team meticulously chose the materials to reflect the client’s needs and specific vision. It features arched doorways, a stone grand staircase embellished with custom wrought iron rail, an outdoor wood fire pizza oven, a large swimming pool, a library, and its own gourmet kitchen.
