Frequently Asked Questions

Anyone quoting a county-wide number without seeing your project is guessing. Price follows scope, the age and condition of the building, how much structural, plumbing and electrical work sits behind the finishes, and what the walls hide until they open. Two houses on the same street can differ by half. We walk the property, price a fixed written scope, and put the likely unknowns in writing so they arrive as line items rather than change orders.

Layout drives it, not finishes. Moving the sink, range or gas line means plumbing and electrical behind the walls, and that costs far more than upgrading cabinets or countertops in place. Cabinetry level and counter material come next. Keeping the wet locations where they are is the single biggest lever you control. Older homes add a second variable, since wiring and plumbing often need bringing up to code before new finishes can go in.

Whether the plumbing moves, and what the subfloor looks like once the old tile comes up. A tub-to-shower conversion in the same footprint prices very differently from a bathroom that relocates the toilet and grows into a closet. Waterproofing, tile choice and fixture level fill in the rest. On any bathroom that has leaked, we budget for what the demo will reveal instead of pretending it will be clean.

Utilities and site work decide more of it than the square footage does. A garage conversion that reuses an existing slab and sits near the panel and sewer connection is a different project from a detached unit needing new trenching, a service upgrade and grading. Design, engineering and permit fees are their own line. We check the site constraints before design so the budget is built on what your lot actually allows.

No. Call (805) 667-8800 and we walk the project with you at no cost, then put a written scope and price in front of you. Detailed design work and engineered drawings are a separate paid phase, which we tell you about before it starts rather than folding it in quietly. You will always know which stage you are in.

Usually because they are not the same project. Low bids often leave out permit fees, demolition and haul-off, allowances set too tight to buy real materials, or the structural work a job actually needs. Read what each bid includes before comparing totals, and ask what happens when something unexpected turns up. The number that matters is the one you pay at the end, not the one on page one.

Six to ten weeks on site for most kitchens and baths, once permits are in hand and materials have landed. Plan check adds weeks in front of that, and cabinet and appliance lead times decide the start date more often than crew availability does. Structural changes and coastal or HOA review stretch the calendar further. We map the full schedule, submittal to final inspection, before you commit to a date.

Design and permitting typically run two to four months, then construction runs three to six months depending on structural scope. A single room refresh is measured in weeks, a down-to-the-studs remodel in seasons. Additions carry engineering and a longer plan check. We build the schedule around the approval clock rather than promising a start date the city has not agreed to yet.

Master Construction & Maintenance Inc is a family owned and operated general contractor based in Ventura, California, serving Ventura County since 1994 under California contractor license #1027281. We handle design, permits and construction under one roof for both residential and commercial projects, from single-trade repairs through ground-up builds. Our office is at 1450 E. Thompson Blvd, Ventura, CA 93001.

Since 1994, more than 30 years of continuous family ownership and operation in Ventura County. In that time we have completed over 500 projects across the county, and we typically have around 48 active job sites running at once.

You get one licensed team, not a stack of disconnected contractors. We handle design, planning, permits and construction in house, so your project moves faster and stays coordinated. With more than 30 years serving Ventura County, we know the local process, the local cities and what it takes to deliver reliable work for homes, businesses and HOAs.

Our office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, at (805) 667-8800. For water damage and other emergencies we run a 24/7 line at (805) 414-0840, answered any hour, any day of the year.

Yes. We work in English and Spanish, in the office and on site. Se habla español.

Master Construction & Maintenance Inc holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. You can review the profile directly at bbb.org.

Yes. Our projects page shows completed work across Ventura County, and the team page introduces the people who run those jobs.

Call the office at (805) 667-8800 Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, or email info@mastercmcorp.com. For emergencies call (805) 414-0840 at any hour. Our office is at 1450 E. Thompson Blvd, Ventura, CA 93001.

We offer 19 services across residential and commercial construction, all under one contractor license. Each has its own page with details on how we approach that work:

• Residential Construction
• Commercial Construction
• Home Remodeling & Renovations
• Kitchen & Bath Remodels
• Design & Planning
• Roofing
• Solar Installation
• HVAC
• Electrical
• Plumbing
• Concrete
• Flooring
• Drywall
• Painting
• Hardscaping
• Decking & Railing
• Demolition & Excavation
• HOA & Property Maintenance
• Water Damage Restoration

Yes. We handle Residential Construction, covering houses, additions, remodels and repairs, as well as Commercial Construction for offices, retail, industrial and multi-unit properties. The same license, crews and project management cover both.

Yes. Home remodeling and renovations is one of our largest categories, and because we hold every trade in house we can take a whole house down to studs and bring it back without you managing separate contractors. Kitchen and bath remodels are the most commonly requested piece of that work.

We can start before there are drawings. Our design and planning service covers concept through permit-ready plans, and we pull the permits ourselves under our contractor license. If you already have an architect and approved plans, we are happy to build from them.

Yes. Work ranges from a single Drywall or Plumbing repair up to ground-up construction. A large share of our HOA and property maintenance work is exactly this kind of ongoing small-scope repair.

Yes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on our emergency line at (805) 414-0840. This is most often used for water damage restoration: burst pipes, roof leaks, flooding. That is where the first few hours determine how much of the building has to be replaced.

Yes to both, and they are worth doing together. We handle Roofing and Solar Installation, and mounting panels on a roof that is near the end of its life means paying to remove and reset them later.

Yes. Electrical, Plumbing and HVAC are all part of our scope. Because these are in house rather than subcontracted out to whoever is available, mechanical work is scheduled against the rest of the build instead of holding it up.

We handle hardscaping, concrete, decking and railing and demolition and excavation: driveways, patios, retaining walls, walkways, decks, balconies and site prep for new construction.

We serve all of Ventura County and the adjacent western Los Angeles County communities. Each city below has its own page covering the work we do there:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Thousand Oaks
• Simi Valley
• Camarillo
• Moorpark
• Newbury Park
• Santa Paula
• Port Hueneme
• Fillmore
• Ojai
• Westlake Village
• Agoura Hills
• Somis

Our primary service area is Ventura County, and we regularly work in the neighboring western Los Angeles County communities of Westlake Village and Agoura Hills. For projects outside that area, call the office at (805) 667-8800. Depending on the size and type of work we may still be able to help.

Yes. A California contractor license is issued by the state, not by individual cities, so license #1027281 covers us in every city in Ventura County and statewide. Individual cities still issue their own building permits, and we pull those under our license for whichever jurisdiction your project sits in.

Yes, and it matters more than people expect. Plan check, permit timelines and inspection scheduling differ meaningfully between Ventura, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Ventura County unincorporated areas. Thirty years of working in the same county means we price and schedule around how each of those departments actually operates rather than guessing.

Yes, all three. We hold California contractor license #1027281 issued by the Contractors State License Board, we carry the contractor bond required by the state and filed with the CSLB, and we carry general liability insurance plus full workers compensation coverage for our employees. We provide certificates of insurance on request.

Go to cslb.ca.gov, the Contractors State License Board, and use the "Check a License" tool. You can search by license number, by business name, or by personnel name. Enter 1027281 to see ours. The record shows the license status, the issue and expiration dates, the classifications the contractor is licensed for, whether the contractor bond and workers compensation coverage are currently on file, and any disciplinary actions or complaints. It is free and takes about thirty seconds.

California law requires a CSLB license for any construction work where labor and materials total $500 or more. Hiring an unlicensed contractor removes every layer of protection you would otherwise have: there is no bond backing the work, usually no workers compensation coverage, which can leave you personally liable if someone is injured on your property, and no route to the CSLB if the job goes wrong. Verifying the license before work starts costs nothing and is the single most useful thing a homeowner can do.

A contractor bond is a surety bond filed with the CSLB as a condition of holding the license. It exists to provide limited financial recourse to consumers, employees and suppliers if the contractor violates the Contractors State License Law. It is worth understanding that a bond is not project insurance and does not cover the full value of a large job. It is a consumer-protection backstop, which is why liability insurance and workers compensation matter alongside it.

Yes, full workers compensation coverage for our employees. This is the protection people most often overlook when comparing bids. If a worker without workers comp coverage is injured on your property, the claim can land on you or on your homeowner policy. Our coverage status is visible on our CSLB record at cslb.ca.gov.

Yes. We provide certificates of insurance on request and can name your HOA, management company or property owner as certificate holder or additional insured where your governing documents or management agreement require it. For managed properties we keep current certificates on file with the management company so work is not held up waiting on paperwork.

IICRC stands for the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification, the non-profit body that writes the standards the restoration industry works to. The two that matter most for property damage are S500, the standard for water damage restoration, and S520, the standard for mold remediation. Our restoration technicians are IICRC certified, and you can verify any technician's certification through the directory at iicrc.org.

No, and the difference is worth knowing. A contractor license is issued by the state of California and is legally required to perform construction work. IICRC certification is a voluntary industry credential held by individual technicians, showing they are trained to a recognized restoration standard. We hold both: all our restoration work is performed under contractor license #1027281 by IICRC certified technicians. A restoration company with IICRC certification but no contractor license cannot legally perform the reconstruction that follows the dry-out.

Yes. Boards and managers are a core part of our work, not a sideline. We handle ongoing maintenance across common areas, exteriors and units, plus larger capital projects, for homeowner associations and management portfolios throughout Ventura County. See our HOA and property maintenance page for the full scope.

Because the things that make a contractor easy for a board or a manager to work with are things most contractors do not do. We write documented scopes and proposals that survive a board meeting and hold up against a reserve study, so a manager is not translating a napkin estimate into something the board can vote on. We keep current certificates of insurance on file with your management company. You get a single point of contact rather than a rotating cast. One licensed contractor covers painting, roofing, plumbing, electrical, concrete, waterproofing and everything else a property needs, so the whole property is one vendor relationship instead of twelve. And having the same contractor across a property year over year means small problems get caught before they become reserve study line items.

Painting, drywall, plumbing, electrical, roofing, waterproofing, concrete, paving, hardscaping, balcony, deck and fence repairs, common area renovations, emergency repair response, and SB 326 balcony and railing repair work. Ongoing maintenance across common areas, exteriors and units is standard work for us rather than something we fit in around larger jobs.

Yes. SB 326 requires California HOAs with buildings of three or more multifamily units to have their exterior elevated elements (balconies, decks, stairways, walkways and their railings and supports) inspected on a nine-year cycle by a licensed architect or structural engineer. We perform the repair and remediation work those inspections identify, and coordinate directly with the inspecting architect or engineer so the corrective work matches what the report actually calls for. We also handle decking and railing replacement where an element is past repair.

Yes. Master Construction & Maintenance Inc is listed with the Community Associations Institute, Channel Islands Chapter , under general contractors, painting, and fire and water clean-up and restoration. CAI is the national body for community association professionals, and the Channel Islands chapter covers Ventura County and the surrounding region.

Our emergency line at (805) 414-0840 is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including weekends and holidays. For managed properties this matters most with water intrusion, where the delay between the event and the first response is the single biggest driver of how much of the building has to be rebuilt.

Yes. Every proposal comes as a documented, itemized scope of work rather than a lump sum, specifically so a board can review it, compare it against other bids on a like-for-like basis, and put it to a vote without the manager having to reconstruct what is actually included.

We work with all major insurance carriers, including State Farm, Farmers, Allstate, USAA, Mercury, Travelers, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, AAA, Safeco, Chubb and American Family, among others. We are not restricted to any carrier's list. If you have a policy on a property in Ventura County, we can work the claim.

No, and that is deliberate. We are an independent contractor, not part of any carrier's preferred vendor or managed repair program. Under California law the choice of contractor is yours, not your insurer's. A carrier can recommend someone, but it cannot require you to use them. A contractor in a preferred vendor program has an ongoing commercial relationship with the carrier that is paying the claim. We answer to the property owner.

Yes. We document the loss from the first visit, with photographs, moisture readings and daily drying logs, and provide an itemized scope of work, then communicate directly with your adjuster so you are not relaying technical detail between two parties. See water damage restoration for how that process runs.

You still get the full documentation package. Our reporting is built to IICRC S500 benchmarks and includes an itemized scope of work and the final repair documentation, and you receive it whether or not the claim is contested. That documentation is what a denied or underpaid claim gets challenged with.

You do. The deductible is the policyholder's obligation under the policy. Be careful with any contractor who offers to "waive," "absorb" or "eat" your deductible. In California, misrepresenting the cost of repairs to a carrier in order to cover a deductible is insurance fraud, and it exposes the policyholder as well as the contractor. We will not do it, and a contractor who offers to is telling you something about how they handle the rest of your job.

Yes, under the IICRC S520 standard, as part of our water damage restoration and mold remediation service. Containment matters as much as removal, because disturbing mold without isolating the area spreads spores through the rest of the building.

Immediately. Call (805) 414-0840 at any hour. Water migrates into framing, drywall and subfloor continuously, and mold growth can begin within 24 to 48 hours. The difference between a same-day response and a next-week response is very often the difference between drying a room and rebuilding it.

Call (805) 667-8800 or email info@mastercmcorp.com. We walk the site, discuss what you are trying to achieve, and come back with a written, itemized scope of work rather than a single lump-sum number, so you can see exactly what is and is not included.

Compare the scopes, not the totals. A lower bid is usually lower because something has been left out of it: permits, disposal, finish carpentry, a trade that gets "handled later" as a change order. Then verify each bidder's license at cslb.ca.gov and confirm they carry workers compensation. A bid from an unlicensed or uninsured contractor is not cheaper, it is just riskier.

It depends on scope, permit timelines in your jurisdiction, and material lead times, so we give you a schedule with the proposal rather than a guess on the phone. What we can say generally is that permitting is the most variable piece, which is why we handle it in house and start it early.

We do. Permits are pulled under our contractor license, which is how it should work. If a contractor asks you to pull an owner-builder permit for work they are performing, treat it as a warning sign. It shifts liability for the work onto you and is often a sign the contractor cannot pull it themselves.

We hold the trades needed for most of our work in house, and where a specialist trade is brought in, that work sits under our contract, our license and our project management. Either way you have one contract, one point of contact and one party accountable for the result.

Yes, always. California law requires a written home improvement contract for residential work over $500, and we provide a written contract with an itemized scope of work on every project regardless of size. You should never start work on a verbal agreement.

Changes are documented in writing before the work happens, with the cost and any schedule effect stated up front. Verbal change orders are how projects end in disputes, and a written record protects both parties.