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 General Contractor Across Running Springs
Running Springs homeowners call us when a remodel stops being a weekend project and starts being a structural question. We work across Running Springs regularly, from the cabins off Highway 18 down to the newer rebuilds near Rim of the World High School, and we know what a mountain permit actually triggers. If you’re planning a kitchen, bath, addition, or roof on a steep hillside lot in the 92382 zip code, call us at (855) 473-6535 for a free estimate. We’ll walk the property, check what’s behind the walls, and give you real numbers before you commit to anything.
Why Polaris Contractors Is Running Springs’s Preferred General Contractor Company
Homeowners in Running Springs keep calling us back because we write the hard conversations into the contract before they become expensive surprises. Rick Sondermann built Polaris Contractors around a simple rule: inspect first, price the allowances, and never hand a homeowner a change order they didn’t approve in writing. That matters more in Running Springs than almost anywhere in the county.
We work with cabin owners who’ve watched flatland contractors quote a remodel, open a wall, and then stall for weeks when the county flags something. That doesn’t happen on our jobs. We know the San Bernardino County mountain-area review process, we know what fire-safety review rejects, and we know which materials hold up at 6,000 feet. Our General Contractor team runs the whole scope – structural to finish – so you’re not coordinating three subs while the snow falls.
When you call us, you get Rick’s direct line of sight on the project and a team that’s already worked your kind of lot. Steep driveways don’t slow us down because we plan for them before the first truck leaves the yard.
Styles & brands we work with
Residential General Contractor in Running Springs
A Residential General Contractor in Running Springs does more than swing a hammer. On a mountain lot, that role means pulling the permit correctly the first time, sequencing deliveries around narrow switchbacks, and catching structural problems before they become county stop-work orders. Most residential remodel work here runs through two paths: interior gut-and-rebuild scopes like kitchens and baths, or exterior and structural scopes like decks, roofs, and retaining walls that have to meet snow-load and fire-safety standards.
When a Running Springs homeowner hires us, the first thing we do is check what the permit will require. That pre-inspection step changes the budget conversation completely. A kitchen remodel in Running Springs typically runs $14,000 – $45,000, depending on whether we’re keeping the existing layout or moving plumbing through a sloped floor system. A bathroom remodel runs $9,000 – $28,000. If you’re adding square footage, home additions start around $45,000 and climb toward $130,000 for multi-story work on a hillside.
Mountain-Grade Kitchen and Bath Work
Older Running Springs cabins hide things behind drywall that flatland remodels never find. We open walls expecting cloth-wrapped wiring and undersized framing, and we price for that reality up front. Our kitchen and bath scopes include written allowances for electrical rough-in, plumbing repipe, and structural reinforcement, so the number you sign is the number you plan around.
Exterior and Structural Scope
Snow load and wildfire risk drive exterior work in Running Springs. Roof replacements run $8,000 – $20,000 and need to be specified for real snowpack, not just California coastal rain. Decks and additions trigger defensible-space review, so we coordinate the fire-resistant material spec with the county before we submit anything.
Hire a General Contractor in Running Springs
When you Hire a General Contractor in Running Springs, you’re buying accountability, not just labor. The wrong hire means a cabin sitting open through a storm cycle while the contractor waits on a county reviewer or a sub who won’t drive the hill. We keep the entire scope under one agreement – structural, rough-in, finishes – and we sequence the work around mountain weather windows.
The cost conversation in Running Springs always comes back to hidden conditions. That’s why we don’t quote remodel work without walking the site first. A kitchen remodel here can be $14,000 on a simple galley where nothing moves, or $45,000 when we’re opening load-bearing walls and replacing 60-year-old framing. A bathroom can be $9,000 for a cosmetic refresh or $28,000 for a full gut with waterproofing and layout changes. Roofs fall between $8,000 and $20,000 depending on pitch, material, and whether we’re stripping old layers or adding ice-and-water shield.
Written Allowances, Not Verbal Assurances
We build allowances for electrical, framing, and waterproofing into every Running Springs contract. If we open a wall and find something the pre-inspection missed, you see the price in writing before we touch it. No surprise invoices, no “we’ll figure it out later.”
Sequencing for Mountain Roads
Running Springs roads are narrow, winding, and icy for months of the year. We stage material deliveries in smaller loads, bring pump trucks when concrete can’t reach the pour site, and schedule framing and roofing work around the weather windows that actually exist at 6,000 feet.
Trusted Brands We Service in Running Springs
We guide Running Springs homeowners to the right material for the mountain, not whatever’s on sale at the big-box store. For bathroom waterproofing, we specify Schluter systems because they hold up to freeze-thaw cycles. For tubs and shower pans, we often reach for Sterling, and for fixtures that need to handle hard mountain water, Grohe is a go-to. On roofs, we work heavily with GAF because their high-wind and snow-load ratings match what San Bernardino County mountain-area review expects. We stock the common material profiles for Running Springs jobs and can usually have specialty items staged within a few days.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
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AfterCommon General Contractor Problems We See in Running Springs Homes
- Outdated wiring behind original walls. Cabins built between the 1920s and 1970s in Running Springs often still carry cloth-wrapped or aluminum wiring. A permit on any remodel that touches those walls triggers an electrical upgrade, so we write that allowance in before we start.
- Undersized framing under load-bearing walls. A-frame and chalet-style homes weren’t always framed to current snow-load standards. We’ve opened walls and found 2x4s doing work that should require 2×6 or engineered lumber, and we reinforce before we finish.
- Failed waterproofing on decks and shower pans. Freeze-thaw cycles at 6,000 feet crack standard waterproofing faster than flatland installs. Running Springs decks and bathrooms need mountain-spec membranes, and we spec them from the start.
- Steep-lot material access issues. Concrete trucks and long trailers can’t always make the turn onto a hillside driveway. We plan pump trucks and staged deliveries so the project doesn’t stall waiting on access.
Pricing for General Contractor in Running Springs, CA
Here’s what our Running Springs customers actually pay for the most common scopes. These are real ranges, not teaser numbers.
| Project | Running Springs Price Range |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Remodel | $14,000 – $45,000 |
| Bathroom Remodel | $9,000 – $28,000 |
| Home Addition | $45,000 – $130,000 |
| Roof Replacement | $8,000 – $20,000 |
What moves the number: whether walls come down, whether the wiring and framing behind them pass current code, and how much fire-safety review adds to the exterior scope. We can give you a written line-item estimate after a site walk. Call (855) 473-6535 to schedule yours – it’s free and it’s the only way to get a real number for your specific cabin or hillside home.
We Also Serve Cities Near Running Springs
Our crews run throughout the San Bernardino Mountains. If you’re in Running Springs full-time or using your cabin seasonally, we’re already working nearby. We also take projects in Lake Arrowhead, Highland, Mentone, and Crestline – same mountain standards, same written-allowance contract, same single point of accountability.
Serving Running Springs, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Running Springs 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 General Contractor in Running Springs
We write a change order with an exact price before we do anything else. That’s the entire point of our pre-inspection and allowance system. We recently opened up a 1960s A-frame near Running Springs Elementary to remodel the kitchen, and behind the drywall we found cloth-wrapped wiring and undersized 2×4 framing under a load-bearing wall. Because we had written allowances for framing and electrical rough-in into the contract, we priced the upgrades and had a signed change order before we touched a single stud – then passed inspection sign-off with the county on the first try. Call (855) 473-6535 if you want that same process on your remodel.
Yes, almost always. Running Springs sits in a designated mountain fire-safety zone, so any permitted remodel that touches the exterior or adds square footage will likely trigger county review for defensible-space clearance and fire-resistant materials. We handle that review as part of the scope – not as an afterthought – so the permit doesn’t stall mid-project.
We stage materials in smaller trucks at the bottom of your road and bring them up in loads the terrain can handle. For concrete work, we spec a pump truck from the start and plan the pour so the mix arrives when the pump is already placed. This is standard mountain logistics, and we plan it into the schedule before the project starts.
We walk the site, inspect what’s behind the walls, write allowances for electrical and framing, and then submit the permit with mountain-area review in mind. Once walls are open, any hidden condition gets priced and approved in writing. Then we finish the work, call for inspection, and you’re done. The whole process typically moves faster than homeowners expect because we don’t get caught flat-footed by the original framing.
Because verbal promises don’t hold up when a county reviewer flags something or a wall hides a problem. Every change on our Running Springs jobs gets written, priced, and signed before work continues. That way you always know what you’re paying and why. Call (855) 473-6535 for a free estimate, and you’ll see the same discipline from the first walkthrough.
Written by Rick Sondermann, Owner at Polaris Contractors, serving Running Springs and the San Bernardino Mountains since day one.