Bathroom remodeling and repair in San Mateo

Over-the-counter permits for San Mateo bathroom remodels

San Mateo's Building Division requires a permit for any construction, repair, improvement, modification or demolition, and permits for remodels of existing bathrooms are issued over the counter. Plans are required when a remodel removes all or part of a wall. So a tear-out to the studs with new waterproofing, tile, a vanity and fixtures in the same footprint stays simple on paper, while a moved wall means drawings.

When the over-the-counter permit applies, the work is contracted through our licensed partner Bay Builder Inc, so the name on the permit matches the contract. Before demo, we look at what is behind the tile, because soft drywall or rot changes the scope, and you hear about it before we go further. Photos of the tub corners, the grout and the floor around the toilet help us scope repairs.

Worth knowing about San Mateo

• About 70.4% of the city's 42,641 housing units were built before 1980 and 9.5% in 1939 or earlier. The 1950s are the largest single building decade, at 21.3%.
• Hillsdale, started in 1939 and resumed in the late 1940s, has one-story Minimal Traditional and Post-War Minimal houses. Shoreview built 1,200 homes in 1949 alone.
• 19th Avenue Park is an Eichler tract built from 1953 to 1955. The City describes Eichlers as post-and-beam houses, often with a central atrium or courtyard and clerestory windows.