Gannage Design & Construction is a design – build firm specializing in major home remodeling and custom homes along the California Central Coast.
From First Sketch to Final Nail — One Trusted Team.
Based in Templeton, Gannage Design & Construction helps homeowners across California’s Central Coast plan and build major remodeling and custom home projects. For over 30 years, our team has handled complex remodels, additions, and design-build work that require clear planning and experienced oversight. We guide each project from early design through final construction so homeowners know what’s happening, what it costs, and what to expect at every step.
We provide full-service design-build construction — and we support homeowners who need guidance, clarity, or professional oversight as they navigate their own projects.
Whether we’re building it for you or guiding you to build it yourself, our objective is the same: to bring our experience to honest, frank discussions, informed decision-making, and choices that stand the test of time.
Tell us what you picture, and we will tell you what it takes. Send a message through our contact page, and our design team will set up a call and a free initial consultation for your project. In the meantime, explore how we help, browse recent projects in our Project Stories portfolio, or discover the areas we serve across the Central Coast.
Three decades here means we know what this coastline asks of a house: fire-hardening rules inland, well and septic realities in Creston and Santa Margarita, salt exposure in Cayucos and Morro Bay. That local expertise is why we deliver home remodeling that California homeowners can live with for decades, not just admire on day one.
Our company specializes in professional remodeling services across San Luis Obispo County. Licensed builders, in-house designers, and a project manager on site: one team creating a plan that matches your vision, your budget, and how you actually live.
Starting from raw land means every decision is still open, from where the house sits on the lot to where the morning light lands. We begin by understanding how you actually want to live in the home, then design and build to that, with one team responsible from the first sketch through the final walkthrough. Because we only take on a handful of projects a year, yours gets the attention a ground-up build requires.
Most of what we do is major remodel work: taking a home apart, often down to the framing, and rethinking how the space functions. There’s frequently a story attached, an inherited house or a home one of you grew up in, and part of the job is preserving what matters while reshaping everything around it. We work through structural, permitting, and budget realities during pre-construction, so the scope you approve is the scope you get.
The kitchen is the heart of the house and the room through which your daily routine runs. We rework the layout for real flow, usable counter space, better natural light, and storage that fits the way you cook. Then we handle permits, materials, and the craftsmanship details that keep a fresh kitchen looking right in year ten.
A bathroom should be somewhere you relax, not a daily compromise. We balance functionality with finish detail, from tile and fixtures to lighting and ventilation, and deliver a seamless space that adds resale value to the property.
When the house no longer fits your life, room additions bring square footage without the cost and disruption of moving. We test feasibility against setbacks and structure first, so the picture in your head and the plan on paper stay the same thing from concept to complete build.
There’s More Than One Right Way to Accomplish What You Need.
Every project is different — and so is every homeowner. We help you choose the level of support that actually fits your goals, timeline, and budget.
Most costly mistakes in construction happen before construction ever starts.
Pre-construction is the phase where scope is clarified, feasibility is tested, documentation is prepared, and decisions are aligned before trades are hired or money is committed.
Some homeowners choose to handle portions of this work themselves to reduce upfront cost. That’s completely reasonable. But it’s important to understand what’s involved — because if these tasks aren’t handled thoroughly, the cost usually shows up later in the form of delays, confusion, or change orders.
You can take this on. Or we can support you through it!
Turning early ideas into a buildable direction.
This answers: Is this realistic? What are the trade-offs?
Translating the concept into detailed, permit-ready plans.
Clear documentation protects both the budget and expectations.
For homeowners who want structure and professional guidance while remaining actively involved.
We bring clarity before construction begins — defining a written scope of work, coordinating subcontractor bids, preparing a preliminary schedule, and reviewing contracts to ensure alignment before anything is signed.
Our role is to help you understand what you’re agreeing to, identify gaps early, and prevent costly misunderstandings before they become expensive change orders.
This is about thoughtful preparation — so your investment supports your family’s long-term goals, not short-term confusion.
If managing active construction feels overwhelming, we provide professional oversight and structured coordination throughout the build.
We conduct site visits, review subcontractor work against agreed scope, align invoices with actual progress, and monitor change orders for accuracy and accountability.
Our role is not to replace your subcontractors — but to advocate for you, ensuring commitments are honored and that additional charges reflect legitimate scope changes, not preventable oversights.
This approach brings commercial-level organization and accountability into the residential space — protecting your investment while keeping the project moving forward.
Stand-Alone Services:
From early planning through construction completion, we manage the entire process — design, budgeting, permitting, and execution — with one integrated, accountable team.
This path is ideal for homeowners who want a guided, comprehensive experience and a single point of responsibility and liability from start to finish.
Design-build also removes the gap where most renovation projects lose time and money. When designers and builders answer to the same company, nobody is redrawing a set of plans to chase a number. See the full sequence on our design-build process page.
Selection Management goes far beyond choosing a faucet.
It includes baseboard profiles, drywall texture and corner details, window styles, and the dozens of finish decisions that shape how your home ultimately feels.
Whether we’re working directly with you or coordinating with your interior designer, we identify every required selection early, guide you through decisions in a logical sequence, track them carefully, and help align choices with your overall budget.
Zoning regulations, utility locations, required setbacks, site access, and existing structural conditions all influence what can be built and where. This is particularly critical for additions and ADUs, where property lines, infrastructure, and load paths can quickly become limiting factors. We assess these constraints upfront so design decisions are grounded in reality, avoiding costly revisions later in the process.
We coordinate submittals, manage revisions, and navigate agency responses on your behalf while you remain the legal permit holder. You stay in control, we handle the complexity.
A Conversation Can Help Clarify That.
Whether you’re early in the process or already navigating a project, we’re happy to help you think things through.
What Homeowners Are Saying about their Customer Journey
Across the California Central Coast
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Price follows scope, not square footage. A bathroom refresh, a full kitchen rebuild, and a whole-house renovation sit at very different numbers. We give you a realistic budget range early in conceptual design, then tighten it as drawings, selections, and subcontractor bids come in. Your construction contract is then issued as a single fixed fee, so you know the number before work begins.
Yes. The first conversation costs nothing. We talk through your ideas, walk the site, and provide a preliminary free initial consultation once we understand your goals. A firm, line-item number requires a defined scope, which is exactly what our pre-construction work produces.
Design-build puts drawings and construction under one roof, so layout, budget, and build sequence are coordinated from the start. Split contracts often produce a beautiful set of plans that nobody can build to the quoted number.
Browse our Project Stories to explore completed remodels and additions, then read what homeowners across the Central Coast say on our reviews page.
Yes. We are a licensed California contractor, fully insured, and recognized by local chambers and industry associations. Craftsmanship and customer satisfaction are what have kept this family company working here for more than 30 years.
Plan in phases, not a single number. Conceptual design typically runs one to three months — we measure the existing home within about two weeks and have initial drawings roughly two weeks after that. Permitting is the long pole: three to four months for smaller projects, four to six months for additions and major remodels. Construction length depends on scope, and we schedule it with subcontractor buy-in and materials ordered in advance so the crew is never waiting on a delivery.
We work throughout San Luis Obispo County, with core service in Paso Robles, Templeton, Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, Creston, Santa Margarita, Cambria, and Cayucos. We also take select projects in nearby communities including San Miguel, Los Osos, Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Shell Beach, Avila Beach, Edna Valley, and Nipomo. We take on a limited number of projects each year, so reach out early if you have a target start date.
Yes. ADUs are one of our core service lines — detached new-build units, garage conversions, and barn conversions. Because ADUs live or die on site constraints, we start with a feasibility study covering setbacks, utility locations, site access, and load paths before any design work begins. That keeps the plan grounded in what your property and local code will actually allow.
Nick joined the Gannage Design & Construction team in February 2023 as our Construction Superintendent after deciding that owning and operating his own construction company kept him behind a computer when where he excelled was in connecting with people. Nick spends most of his work day in the field with clients, contractors, and our team ensuring the project stays on track as intended.
From a young age, Nick fell in love with construction while helping his father and grandfather build their family home. In high school, Nick completed Architecture I, II, and III in addition to college-level math courses in preparation for making a career out of his passion. Nick’s passion for architecture and construction took a backseat, however, after he ran the mile in 4:23, which earned him a college scholarship in Track & Field and Cross Country. His focus, determination, and dedication saw him run in seven Nation Championships, finishing as high as 8th in the nation in Cross Country and Top 10 two times in the 5k and 10k track events. Post collegiately; Nick ran numerous half marathons, three marathons, and two 50ks before landing a job as Race Director and Event Director, where he honed his organizational and project management skills.
In 2016 Nick decided to return to his childhood love and dedicated himself to learning the trades. In 2019 he started his own construction company and successfully navigated the COVID pandemic with continued business growth. Ultimately Nick realized his passion was in the progress of the project, educating clients and crews and managing schedules, not business management, and we are eternally grateful as he has been a tremendous asset to the Gannage Design & Construction team from day one.
Denise brings a background in design, systems thinking, and human-centered problem solving to every project.
Her role combines vision with practicality by helping clients express what they want and understand what it takes to build it responsibly. She is often the first person clients contact and acts as their main guide during early decisions.
Denise is known for asking thoughtful questions, translating complexity into clarity, and advocating for decisions that hold up over time.
She believes education empowers people and that clients deserve transparency, even when the truth is hard to hear.
Mikhail leads construction operations with a steady, methodical approach grounded in more than 30 years of field experience. He brings structure to complex builds — balancing craftsmanship with logistics, timelines, sequencing, and team coordination.
His leadership style is disciplined but approachable. Clients consistently note his willingness to listen — to create space for questions, to slow down decisions when needed, and to ensure they fully understand the implications of what they’re choosing. Construction can feel overwhelming; Mikhail’s job is to bring clarity and confidence to the process.
He believes strong process protects everyone involved: clients, trades, and the integrity of the finished work. Clear expectations, proactive communication, and real-time problem-solving are not extras — they are requirements.
Mikhail also brings a deeply vetted network of subcontractors and trades who share his standards and values. He does not simply hand off scopes of work; he communicates the full vision of the project so every trade understands how their piece fits into the whole. When even the underground plumbing crew understands the broader intent of the build, the result is better execution, stronger accountability, and greater pride in the outcome.
Leadership on a jobsite is not about control. It is about alignment — ensuring that the client’s vision is understood, protected, and carried through to completion with discipline and care.
