Built to open. Built to grow

Commercial construction and tenant improvements

Real Deal Builders provides commercial construction, tenant improvements and build outs for offices, retail spaces, restaurants, medical suites and industrial units. Every week a space sits under construction is a week of rent on a room that earns nothing, so we plan the job around your target opening date, not the day construction starts. We coordinate permitting, inspections, accessibility, fire and life safety, energy code and every trade the space needs. From the first walkthrough to final inspection and turnover, our own crews and the licensed specialists we bring in work to one schedule under one point of contact.

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Timeline: We plan 2 to 4 months of construction, after approval
Trades we manage: All trades, plus accessibility and life safety
Permits: Always required, ends in a certificate of occupancy
Typical scope: A light refresh to a full tenant build out

Built around your business

Two things that decide a commercial job

Schedule matters

A business that cannot open still pays rent and payroll with no revenue coming in. So we work backward from the date you need to open. Long lead items get ordered first, the permit set moves before the finishes are final, and phases overlap where the scope safely allows it instead of running strictly end to end.

We are also straight with you about the date. If the one you want is not achievable we say so early and build a plan around a date you can run a business on. Agreeing to an impossible opening is not a favor, because you are about to sign a lease, hire staff, and book a launch around that number.

Commercial construction requires more

Commercial plan check asks about things a house is never asked about. Accessibility is the big one: path of travel from the parking and entry, door clearances, restroom turning space and fixture heights, counter and service heights. Fire and life safety adds exiting, alarms, sprinklers and occupancy separations. Energy code governs lighting controls and mechanical equipment.

We plan for all of it at the start, so it belongs to the drawings instead of turning up as a problem at the end. And the job does not close at the last coat of paint. It closes at the certificate of occupancy, because without that document you cannot legally open the doors no matter how finished the space looks.

What we take on

Tenant improvements and full commercial build outs
Office, retail, restaurant, medical suite, and industrial unit work
Demising walls, suite reconfiguration, and layout changes
Accessibility compliance work, including path of travel and restrooms
Commercial flooring, paint, ceilings, and finish carpentry
Commercial plumbing and electrical coordination
Permit application, plan check, inspections, and certificate of occupancy
Repairs and maintenance work for property managers and landlords
After hours and phased work to keep an operating business open

Working around your business

Most commercial work here happens in a building that is still earning. That changes the job more than the scope does. Sequencing around trading hours, keeping a path of travel open, staging deliveries so a loading area still functions, and keeping the landlord informed are all part of the work, not courtesies added on top.

Noise, dust and access are what generate complaints, and all three are manageable when they are planned: loud demolition scheduled outside trading hours, barriers that actually seal and a protected route for anyone who needs to get past the work.

Finishing the work is one measure of a commercial job. The other is how the tenants next door, their customers and the building itself were treated while it happened. We keep the site organized, the building usable and the disruption as small as the work allows.

Scroll or swipe to see the full diagram. The tenant improvement path to opening. On a commercial tenant improvement the schedule is the constraint. The stages run in order: planning, city review and permitting, construction, inspections, certificate of occupancy, then open. Plan check and permitting is the biggest variable and depends on the city and the project, and the work is not finished at the last coat of paint. It is finished when the certificate of occupancy is issued and you can legally open.

The approvals usually take longer than the build

On a typical tenant improvement the construction is the predictable part. A change of use is what moves a schedule: retail becoming a food operation, an office becoming a medical suite, a warehouse becoming assembly space. The occupancy classification changes, and the requirements attached to the new classification apply even though the building has not moved. Exiting, fire protection, ventilation and accessibility can all shift at once.

Altering an existing commercial space also brings an obligation to provide an accessible path of travel to the altered area, which reaches the entrance, the route through the space, and the restrooms serving it. Which way the twenty percent figure cuts depends on the size of the job. At or below the state valuation threshold, that path of travel cost is capped at twenty percent of the adjusted construction cost, automatically and with no hardship finding. Above the threshold full compliance is required, and twenty percent returns only as a minimum if the building department finds an unreasonable hardship. The path of travel work is excluded from the cost it is measured against either way. Scoping it at the start is considerably cheaper than meeting it at plan check with a rent commencement date approaching. Source: 2025 California Building Code, Title 24 Part 2, section 11B-202.4, effective 1 January 2026

What we need to give you a real number

The lease, whatever drawings exist, and a walk of the space. On the walk we establish the current occupancy classification, what the proposed use changes, what the electrical and mechanical service can actually carry, and what the accessible path of travel looks like today. Those four answers set the budget far more than finish selections do.

What comes back is a written scope with the approvals identified separately from the construction, and a schedule that shows the permitting time honestly. An early number without a defined scope is a guess, and a guess presented as a quote is where commercial disputes start.

The real finish line

At the end of a commercial job you are not opening a finished room. You are opening a business, for your customers, your staff and the street it sits on. That is what the schedule is for, and it is why we plan the approvals first and keep your opening date in view the whole way through.

Properly built. Properly approved. Open when the approvals say so.

Commercial construction by city

Each city page covers the permitting body, the review layers and the building stock you are most likely to be working in.

Commercial construction in Santa Clarita Commercial construction in Valencia

Our work

Recent work

Precast concrete caps running along the top of a block wall, bolted down through the cap

Empty classroom with a new luxury vinyl plank floor laid wall to wall

New acoustic ceiling tile and linear light fittings installed across a classroom ceiling grid

FAQ

Common questions

The questions we hear most often, answered plainly. If your question is not here, call us and we will answer it the same way.

What is a tenant improvement?

A tenant improvement, often shortened to TI, is the work that turns a leased shell or a previous tenant's space into the space your business actually needs. That can be as light as paint, flooring, and new lighting, or as heavy as moving walls, adding restrooms, and reworking the plumbing and electrical.

How long does a commercial build out take?

A tenant improvement typically runs two to four months of construction, with permit and plan check adding time on the front end that varies by city and by scope. We give you a realistic schedule tied to your opening date, and we tell you early if that date is not achievable rather than discovering it late.

Do you handle the permits and the certificate of occupancy?

Yes. We handle the permit application, plan check corrections, inspection scheduling, and the sign offs that lead to the certificate of occupancy. That certificate is what legally lets you open, so we build the whole schedule toward it.

Can you work around our business staying open?

Yes. For occupied spaces we phase the work, seal off active areas, and run the loudest and dustiest phases after hours or overnight where the scope allows. Tell us your hours and your busiest days and we will build the schedule around them.

Do you handle ADA and accessibility compliance?

Yes, and on commercial work it is not optional. Accessibility covers the path of travel from parking and entry, door widths and clearances, restroom turning space and fixture heights, and counter heights. We design it in from the start rather than correcting it at the end.

What types of commercial spaces do you work on?

Offices, retail, restaurants and cafes, medical and dental suites, salons, gyms, and light industrial or warehouse units. The scope and the code requirements change a lot between those, especially anywhere food or medical work is involved, and we scope each on its own terms.

Do you work with property managers and landlords?

Yes. Alongside full build outs we handle repairs, turnovers between tenants, and ongoing maintenance work for property managers and building owners. For a turnover we price to a firm window, because a vacant unit costs the owner money every week it sits.

Who pays for a tenant improvement, us or the landlord?

It depends entirely on your lease. Many leases include a tenant improvement allowance from the landlord, sometimes covering the whole scope and sometimes part of it. We are glad to price the work in a format you can take to your landlord or your broker for that conversation.

Are you licensed for commercial work?

Yes. We hold a Class B General Building license, which is the classification for projects involving multiple trades rather than a single specialty. The license number is 1130858 and the CSLB record shows it active. Landlords and property managers can verify it before they approve access.

How do you price commercial work?

Against a specific written scope, the same as our residential work. Commercial pricing has to account for permit and accessibility requirements, any after hours or phased work, and the finish level the space calls for. We put it in writing up front so you can budget against a real number.

Talk to us about a commercial project

Get a free quote Call (818) 276-7344