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Kitchen Remodeling

Most South Bay kitchens were built closed off, and that is the first thing we fix. We design and build the cabinets in our own shop, which matters in older homes where nothing is square.

Drive through almost any tract in San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale or Cupertino and the floor plans repeat. A 1950s or 1960s ranch kitchen sits behind a wall, cut off from the dining and living space, with a low ceiling and one small window over the sink. Opening that wall is usually the whole project, and it starts with finding out whether it carries roof load. Once it is open, the kitchen has to be laid out again from scratch, because the old work triangle was drawn for a room with one door. We handle the framing, the beam, the permit drawings and the finish work as one job.

Eichler kitchens are a different problem. Post-and-beam framing with no attic means there is nowhere easy to run a range vent or new wiring, and radiant tubing in the slab rules out cutting trenches wherever you feel like it. Older homes in Willow Glen, the Rose Garden, Naglee Park and Santa Clara’s Old Quad come with their own list — uneven floors, plaster walls, and original casework worth matching rather than tearing out. That is where building cabinets ourselves earns its keep, because stock boxes do not fit a room that is out of square by an inch and a half.

What’s included

A structural check before any wall comes out, with engineered beam design when the wall is load bearing
Permit drawings and the city submittal handled by us, not handed back to you
Custom cabinets built in our own shop to the room’s real dimensions
Finish carpentry in-house — trim, panels, built-in seating, open shelving
Electrical and plumbing rough-in through licensed subs we use regularly
Range hood ducted to the outside, including the awkward runs in Eichlers and flat-roof additions
Countertop templating, fabrication and installation
Flooring, tile, paint and the transition back into the rest of the house
Daily dust control and cleanup, since you are usually living there through it

Why R Twyns Construction

We are a family-run licensed general contracting and remodeling company (CSLB #896811), building in the South Bay since 2007. Tim Reynolds owns the company and his VP Ben runs the work, so the people who price your job are the people who are on it. The cabinets and finish carpentry come out of our own shop, which is what an older house needs when nothing in it is square. And we tell you what a job actually involves before you commit to it — the load-bearing wall, the drain line, the permit — rather than after the walls are open.

Comprehensive Kitchen Remodeling Services and Scope

Can we open the wall between the kitchen and the living room?

Usually, but it depends what the wall is doing. In a 1950s ranch with a simple gable roof it is often carrying ceiling joists, which means a beam and posts carried down to a footing. We find that out with an inspection before we price anything. If it is bearing, that is a real cost, and we would rather you hear it before you commit than after demo.

Do you build the cabinets or order them in?

We build them. Custom cabinets and finish carpentry are done in-house, which is the main reason we take on older San Jose and Santa Clara homes where the walls lean and the floors run downhill. It also means odd widths, appliance panels and built-ins are a drawing change instead of a special order.

How do I check out a contractor before I sign anything?

Look up the license. Ours is CSLB #896811 — type it into the CSLB site and you can see the classification, the status, and whether the bond and workers’ comp are current. Do that with every bid you get, not just ours. A kitchen with structural work in it is not a job for someone working without a license.

Will you work on an Eichler?

Yes, and we plan the job differently. No attic means the vent run, the wiring and any new lighting have to be worked out on paper first, not improvised on site. Radiant slab heat means we locate tubing before we cut. The post-and-beam lines are the reason people buy these houses, so the goal is a modern kitchen that still reads as an Eichler.

How long will we be without a kitchen?

We will not throw a number at you before we know whether a wall is structural and how the permit goes. What we will do is set the schedule with you before demo, tell you the weeks we expect cabinets, counters and appliances, and tell you straight when something slips instead of letting you find out.

Serving the South Bay and the Peninsula

Ready when you are.

San Jose, Santa Clara, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Los Gatos and Sunnyvale — plus Mountain View, Redwood City, Campbell, Saratoga, Los Altos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Gilroy and Hollister, across Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda and San Benito counties.

Call (408) 313-6764 Request an Estimate

Mon–Fri 8:00–4:30 · CSLB #896811