PA HIC Registered — Philadelphia, PA
Available now — Philadelphia, PA
Licensed GC managing every trade — one project manager, weekly photo updates, and an open-book budget from demo day to final walkthrough. Trusted by 900+ Philadelphia homeowners.
22+
Years in Philadelphia
900+
Projects Completed
4.9★
Google Rating
5 days
Avg Proposal Turnaround
01 / What we build
Ten core services with open-book pricing ranges. The written proposal comes after the walkthrough — never before we've seen the actual conditions.
02 / The Keystone difference
To manage every renovation honestly — one point of contact, one open budget, and one promise: what we scope and price is what we deliver, on schedule.
Our storyWork order
Every line item in your budget comes from a real sub quote or material price. On cost-plus projects you see every invoice. On fixed-price jobs you see the full breakdown. No hidden markups, no margin buried in contingency.
We pull every permit, meet every inspection, and never ask a sub to skip a step to save a day. The work is documented, inspected, and warranted for two years. Philly L&I knows our crews do things right the first time.
You never chase trades or decipher conflicting updates. A single project manager owns your job from demo to final walkthrough and is reachable every day the crew is on site.
Every project has a milestone calendar at signing. We build lead times, inspection windows, and realistic float into the schedule before it starts — not after the first slip. Weekly updates tell you what happened that week and what is next.
03 / How it works
Transparent budgeting, permitted work, and weekly updates at every stage
A project manager walks your property, documents the scope, flags any structural or code conditions, and photographs everything relevant. You get a written scope summary and budget range within five business days.
Rob builds your proposal from real sub quotes and current material pricing. Every line item is itemized. We walk you through it together, answer every question, and adjust scope if needed before you sign anything.
We file all L&I permits and build your milestone schedule — framing start, rough-in windows, inspection dates, finish start, and projected substantial completion. You receive this before demo begins.
Every Friday your project manager sends a photo update showing progress, the week's work completed, and what's on deck for the following week. All invoices and change orders post to your client portal in real time.
We walk every item on the punch list together before you sign off. All sub warranties, permit final approvals, and care documentation are delivered in a single close-out packet. Workmanship warranty runs two years from the day you move in.
04 / The proof
Real stories from 900+ projects — and 60% came from a neighbor's referral
320+ Google reviews
Sample reviews for this demo — on a live site, your real Google reviews sync here automatically.
“We gutted our entire Fishtown rowhome — every floor, new kitchen, two new baths, new stairs. Keystone was the fourth GC we interviewed and the only one who brought a written scope, a real schedule with milestones, and a budget I could actually follow. Eighteen weeks in and out, $4,200 under the original budget. Mike texted me every Friday with photos whether I asked or not. That alone made the whole thing bearable.”
“Kitchen gut reno on our 1920s rowhome in Northern Liberties. Keystone removed a load-bearing wall, relocated the sink drain, and ran new electrical — all permitted, all inspected. They found a bad joist mid-demo, showed us the photos and the two options, and we picked one. It added $1,800 and a day. No drama, no surprise invoice. This is how it should work.”
“Finished basement in our South Philly twin. Yolanda helped us pick every finish — flooring, trim, lighting — in a single afternoon session. The crew was clean, punctual, and protective of the rest of the house. L&I passed first inspection. My neighbor hired them six weeks later.”
“Full gut on a Manayunk rowhome we bought as an investment. Rob's estimate was within $3,000 of the final cost on a $165,000 project. Diane kept the schedule tight through a tile back-order that pushed us two weeks. She found a local supplier and recovered one of those weeks. We have already signed for the next property.”
“We added a rear bump-out on our Chestnut Hill Victorian — architecturally sensitive street, neighbors watching everything. Keystone pulled every permit correctly, held the schedule on exterior work through a wet February, and matched the original brick pointing exactly. The addition looks like it was always there.”
“Master bath and hall bath gut renovation in our Mount Airy craftsman. Two baths simultaneously, six-week schedule, finished in five. Custom tile work in the master shower is absolutely flawless. Yolanda managed every selection and caught a grout color we would have regretted. Zero punch-list items at final walkthrough.”
“Kitchen remodel was excellent work — Keystone delivered on quality and stayed on budget. Only reason this isn't five stars is that the cabinet delivery slip pushed our completion by ten days. Diane communicated it clearly and adjusted the sub schedule around it, so nothing sat idle. I'd hire them again without hesitation.”
“Structural remediation on a rowhome we purchased — two failing lintels and a cracked party wall. Mike had a structural engineer on site within 48 hours. The remediation was scoped, permitted, and completed in three weeks. The open-book invoicing gave us confidence that we weren't being gouged on an emergency situation. Good honest work.”
05 / Where we work
We work across Philadelphia and the Main Line — from Fishtown rowhomes to Chestnut Hill Victorians.
Outside the map? Call — we likely still cover you.
(215) 555-017406 / Answers
Straight answers on cost, schedule, permits, and what to expect in a Philadelphia renovation.
A mid-range kitchen renovation in Philadelphia typically runs $40,000 to $80,000 for a full gut of a rowhome kitchen — new layout, cabinets, countertops, tile, appliances, updated electrical and plumbing. High-end custom kitchens with structural changes can reach $100,000 to $120,000. The biggest variables are cabinet line, countertop material, and whether the scope includes moving the sink or removing a wall, both of which require permits and an engineered header.
A bathroom renovation is typically 4 to 7 weeks. A full kitchen gut runs 8 to 14 weeks depending on cabinet lead time, which is the most common schedule driver — custom cabinets can take 10 to 12 weeks to arrive. A full rowhome gut renovation is 16 to 24 weeks. We build those lead times into the schedule before signing, not after. Every project gets a Gantt-style milestone calendar at contract so you know what week each phase starts and ends.
L&I (Licenses & Inspections) is Philadelphia's building department. Most structural, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work requires a permit. Over-the-counter permits for smaller work are typically issued same-day or within 1 to 3 days. Projects requiring plan review — additions, full gut renovations, load-bearing changes — can take 4 to 12 weeks depending on backlog. We prepare and file all permit applications; you never have to deal with the counter. Permit cost varies by project value, typically 1% to 2% of construction cost.
On cost-plus projects, you see every invoice from every subcontractor and supplier, line by line. Our fee is a flat 18% of actual cost — no markup on materials, no hidden overhead embedded in line items. On fixed-price projects we still share the full budget breakdown at signing, with real sub quotes behind each number. You can ask Rob to walk you through any line. We have found that transparency actually reduces change orders because clients understand where the money is going from day one.
Change orders are a normal part of renovation — especially in older Philly housing stock where demo reveals conditions no one saw coming. Every change order is documented in writing before work proceeds, with a cost and schedule impact. We will never present you with a retroactive change order. The honest version is: conditions you discover mid-demo (bad joists, knob-and-tube wiring, asbestos tile) get photographed, explained, and priced in real time. We have seen the surprises — they are why we always build a 10% contingency into the initial budget.
Yes. We schedule every L&I inspection, meet the inspector on site, and manage any corrections required before the next inspection. You do not need to take time off work for inspections, and you will never be handed a correction notice without an explanation and a plan. For projects that require a Certificate of Occupancy (C/O), we manage the final inspection process start to finish.
07 / Field notes from the job site
No pressure. No upsell. Just fixed.
Free project walkthrough across Philadelphia — no commitment, no pressure, real numbers
PA HIC Registered — #PA092847·4.9★ Google · 320+ reviews·Free walkthroughs — no commitment
Keystone Builders
Assistant
Hi there! Welcome to Keystone Builders. How can I help you today?
I can answer questions, schedule appointments, and provide quotes — available 24/7, even after business hours.
Try asking me about services, pricing, hours, or anything else. This is a demo of VantaWeb's AI chat — on your live site, it's fully trained on your business.
Powered by VantaWeb