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Location and Projects

Address
3007 E 12th St, Oakland, CA, 94601
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Drafting Cafe Architects

Drafting Cafe is an architecture firm with a fresh new approach to residential design. We specialize in "permit-ready" plans, as well as great design ideas. Tap us for our design expertise, or simply hand us your design and we'll create code compliant drawings to submit for your building permit. Reach out to us for a free consultation to see how we can help!

Our creative staff has a tremendous amount of experience throughout the Bay Area. Through hundreds of past projects, we've fine-tuned our services in order to provide you with a seamless and smooth experience. We understand the challenges of a remodel, addition, or new home, and our hope is that we're able to pass our experience and knowledge on to you.

Drafting Cafe was born from a desire to create an architecture firm that truly understood the demands of residential construction in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the growing complexities of California building codes and municipal zoning codes, it is becoming more critical for architecture firms to focus on one area of expertise. Drafting Cafe's founder, Ethan Andersen, realized that by working predominantly on residential projects, his office would be uniquely exposed to every aspect of residential construction. Because of this experience, Drafting Cafe is highly knowledgeable in all areas of residential design, translating to better designs that don't ignore issues like code, structure, or budget.

From BuildZoom:

Their BuildZoom score of 0 does not rank in the top 50% of California contractors.

If you are thinking of hiring Drafting Cafe Architects, we recommend double-checking their license status with the license board and using our project planner to get competitive quotes.

Drafting Cafe Architects Contact Information

Phone: (510) 380-6301
Address: 3007 E 12th St, Oakland, CA 94601

Drafting Cafe Architects Oakland

Quality

Alert*
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Pro tip: We generally recommend hiring a contractor with a score higher than 95.
*No active license on file. If you are Drafting Cafe Architects, log in and update your license info in the “Edit Profile” tab.

Activity

20 projects
 2025
21 projects
 2024
5 projects
 2023
Our building permit records indicate that Drafting Cafe Architects has worked on at least 46.0 projects over the past 3 years.

This is an overview of this contractor's activity. Click here to access our complete licensing and building permit database.

Experience

12 projects
 Home Additions
Analyzing permits over the last 4 years shows that Drafting Cafe Architects mostly works on home addition projects.

Pricing

2 projects
 < $5k
2 projects
 $5k-$20k
8 projects
 $20k-$50k
10 projects
 $50k-$100k
5 projects
 $100k-$250k
2 projects
 $250k-$500k
2 projects
 $500k-$1mil
Value Not Public: 11.0 projects
The typical size of their permits is approximately $60,000. This graph shows the distribution of these job values.
Pro tip: For more details about their pricing, check out their recent activity to see how much they have charged for different types of work.

Drafting Cafe Architects Reviews
5 out of 5 stars, based on 2 reviews

  • By Chris H.
    June 28, 2019
    Garage remodel, kitchen remodel and small addition
    $4,000

    Drafting Cafe is awesome! Highly professional and tech-savvy, but they also generate drawings quickly and are priced competitively. I've hired them for a few projects now and continue to be impressed by their excellent communication processes. They are always responsive and produce excellent designs that clearly prioritize their client's needs. They are attentive listeners and great at what they do. Ethan runs a tight ship over there, couldn't recommend them highly enough!
    Response from Drafting Cafe Architects July 4, 2019
    Thanks for the kind words Chris! We're continuously working to improve all facets of our business including communication/response time, transparent and competitive fees, and exceeding our clients' general expectations. Great to hear that you've been satisfied with our work!
  • By Joanne L.
    May 5, 2017
    Verified Hire

    Overall, I'd say I am satisfied with the work they did. The initial consultation was comfortable, and they were very friendly. Also, the final design is exactly what we were looking for. We were on a strict budget, and they did a great job keeping that in mind. They also came in right on budget in terms of the cost of their work (as in, how much the drafting fees cost), which I really appreciated. Best of all for us, they were very open to our desires in the project. We had attempted to hire a different architect originally, but the architect was very opinionated in his ways and would not even entertain any designs other than the style he likes to do. In contrast, the folks at Drafting Cafe were very interested to hear from us what we wanted in this project and also were very open to us sending them redlines for them to go back and redraw the plans. It was great!

    The only negatives were two things - one very minor, and the other a little bit more of an issue, but still fairly minor I'd say. The very minor thing is that when we told them how much we needed our entire project to cost, I think it probably would have been better if they had warned us of the incredible cost to hire a GC here in the Bay Area. We asked if a budgeted $200/sq foot of addition was right, and they said that they are not experts in the costing, but that that should be close given how they were designing for simplicity. After getting quotes from multiple GCs, we were unable to find anyone under $450/sq foot. Again, this is very minor as they were upfront with us that they are not project cost estimators, but I would expect that given the fact that they do lots of jobs around here, they would have at least known that we were under in our estimates given that we were so far off.

    The slightly larger thing was their responsiveness. There were several times where we would email and/or call (leaving a voicemail) and they would take several days to a week to respond. Typically we were just asking on status, so we weren't looking for long responses, just a quick update kind of thing. It turns out that the project lead for our project ended up moving to a new company in the middle of our job, so it's likely that our job is an outlier in this case as it got lost in the shuffle a bit in that transition, but I thought it should be noted in the interest of full disclosure.
    Read more
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Building Permits by Drafting Cafe Architects

Sort by: Notable Notable | Date Date | Job Value Job Value

This is a sample of this contractor's permits. Click here to access their complete permit history.

Residential additions
94 Woodranch Cir, Danville, CA, 94506
2025-09-05
Addition 1500 sf remodel master bedroom w/pem
Valuation:
$250,000
Permit #:
B25-018747
Status:
issued
Fee:
$5,637
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Permit
1311 Oxford St, Berkeley, CA, 94709
2025-01-29
Unit 1309 and unit 1311- convert existing (2) units into 3 bedroom/2 1/2 bathrooms each with similar floor plans on top and bottom. move kitchens into dining rooms and open up the living areas. minor exterior changes proposed to window locations only. demolish side stair. fire zone 2
Valuation:
$95,000
Permit #:
B2025-00362
Status:
plancheck
Fee:
$2,286
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Building - pre application
1570 Lincoln Ave, Alameda, CA, 94501
2025-03-17
Reduction in scope from previous permit number  cb24-0134. front family room to be converted into new bedroom two small existing bedrooms to be combined into one bedroom and existing bathroom to be expanded and remodeled. portion of attic area to be converted to non-habitable unconditioned storage area with new lighting and skylights. new staircase through existing downstairs bedroom ... see more
Valuation:
$75,000
Permit #:
PREBLD25-0242
Status:
approved
Fee:
$94
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Building pre-application
245 Willow Rd, Menlo Park, CA, 94025
2025-03-11
Front porch to be enclosed to create new sunroom and entry vestibule. new redwood pergola and deck added at new entry. existing laundry room to be converted into a bedroom with new egress window. existing hall bathroom to be fully remodeled with all new fixtures and finishes and expanded into adjacent bedroom closet and linen for stacked washer and dryer. new ducted heat pump in attic
Valuation:
$35,000
Permit #:
BPA2025-00675
Status:
filed
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Addition
Building Type:
N/A
Building
235 Roosevelt Way, San Francisco, CA, 94114
2025-03-12
Remodel of kitchen to include removal of walls. bathroom to be remodeled expanded into adjacent closet. new privacy fence and automatic gate at driveway behind setback. replace 2 windows at rear 2 at side
Valuation:
$120,000
Permit #:
202503122119
Status:
filed
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
28 - 2 family dwe...
Building - pre application
3224 Sterling Ave, Alameda, CA, 94501
2025-02-11
Revision to permit cb23-0526 to remove the adu from the scope of work/plans and withdraw permit number adu24-0009. owner is seeking a refund for the unused portion of the permit fees paid for the adu permit. uploaded plans and calculations include structural field revisions to permit cb23-0526
Valuation:
$100,000
Permit #:
PREBLD25-0120
Status:
approved
Fee:
$94
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Residential addition
7986 Driftwood Way, Pleasanton, CA, 94588
2023-10-13
2 story addition to rear of home. on lower level addition to have 2 bedrooms and a family room. family room area to be converted to new mudroom area off garage with new powder room bathroom and laundry room. on upper level existing small bedroom to be resized for new bathroom while expanding the primary bedroom size. hall bathroom to be demolished and all plumbing capped. existing bed... see more
Valuation:
$275,000
Permit #:
B23-1403
Status:
final
Fee:
$9,791
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Residential - combo
206 Beach Rd, Alameda, CA, 94502
2025-10-09
Renovation of existing home within existing footprint. walls of existing bathrooms and closets at center of home and front bedroom to be removed for an open floor plan with new dining living room. new bathroom to be added between existing rear bedrooms. front living room to be converted into primary suite and adjacent bedroom converted for ensuite bathroom and closet. kitchen to be re... see more
Valuation:
$63,000
Permit #:
CB25-0334
Status:
plancheck
Fee:
$6,187
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Building - pre application
206 Beach Rd, Alameda, CA, 94502
2025-10-01
Renovation of existing home within existing footprint. walls of existing bathrooms and closets at center of home and front bedroom to be removed for an open floor plan with new dining living room. new bathroom to be added between existing rear bedrooms. front living room to be converted into primary suite and adjacent bedroom converted for ensuite bathroom and closet. kitchen to be re... see more
Valuation:
$63,000
Permit #:
PREBLD25-0839
Status:
approved
Fee:
$121
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Building - pre application
1570 Lincoln Ave, Alameda, CA, 94501
2024-03-20
Front family room to be converted into new bedroom two small existing bedrooms to be combined into one bedroom and existing bathroom to be expanded and remodeled. portion of attic space to be converted to storage loft area with skylights. new staircase through existing downstairs bedroom (interior). new bathroom added to existing primary bedroom. kitchen to be relocated to rear water ... see more
Valuation:
$165,000
Permit #:
PREBLD24-0082
Status:
approved
Fee:
$69
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Building - pre application
3225 Fairview Ave, Alameda, CA, 94501
2025-09-23
Conversion of existing enclosed porch to a habitable sunroom. wall between porch and dining room to be opened. wall to be opened between kitchen and dining room. windows in back pantry to be modified. front entry stairs to be rebuilt. fireplace and chimney to be removed
Valuation:
$40,000
Permit #:
PREBLD25-0800
Status:
approved
Fee:
$121
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Single family (new) - new
210 Peninsula Ave, San Mateo, CA, 94401
2024-10-30
Convert existing duplex to a single family dwelling. remodel of 630sf new floor plan to be a 3-bedroom and 2.5 bathrooms. convert (e) garage into a jadu of 510sf. building a new detached garage of 447sf. revision #1: replacing one of the two planned single-car roll-up garage doors with a glass patio door. (sub 10/24/25) revision #2: relocating the washer and dryer (laundry area) from ... see more
Valuation:
$218,393
Permit #:
BD-2023-289115
Status:
issued (revision pending)
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Permit
1509 Holly St, Berkeley, CA, 94703
2025-01-09
Remodel of bathroom and kitchen conversion of exterior door to window and added exterior door to kitchen. 82 sq ft horizontal addition to be added to second story expanding rear bedroom
Valuation:
$60,000
Permit #:
B2025-00115
Status:
plancheck
Fee:
$1,730
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Building
380 Christopher Dr, San Francisco, CA, 94131
2024-07-30
Kitchen remodl, exterior stucco repair and paint vaulted ceiling nd foundation upgrade in front of building 2 (e) bathroom remodels on 2nd fl. new plumbing replace windows and doors new 1st fl. bedroom and 1.5 baths new mudroom new insulation and drywall new water heater nd furnace expand livable
Valuation:
$380,000
Permit #:
202307071659
Status:
complete
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
27 - 1 family dwe...
Permit
1225 Ward St, Berkeley, CA, 94702
2025-02-11
Convert existing basement space of 499 sq ft to a one bedroom junior accessory dwelling unit (jadu). unconditioned laundry room to be shared between jadu and primary residence
Valuation:
$50,000
Permit #:
B2025-00541
Status:
issued
Fee:
$1,571
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Permit
1500 Spruce St, Berkeley, CA, 94709
2024-08-08
Remodel to convert existing 3 bed/1.5 bathroom home to 4 bed/2.5 bathroom home with office. existing sunroom to be new primary suite and existing primary suite to be reconfigured to include new larger bathroom accessible to hall. kitchen remodel to remove wall and fireplace between kitchen and family room and relocate laundry room upstairs beside existing main bathroom. bring existing... see more
Valuation:
$100,000
Permit #:
B2024-03912
Status:
plancheck
Fee:
$2,365
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Building
212 Genebern Way, San Francisco, CA, 94112
2024-03-15
Renovation of (e) home. on main level enlarged kitchen to include bar seating and open walls to family and dining rooms. attached bathroom added to 2 bedrooms and maintain 1 bedroom and full bathroom. new direct vent fireplace in living room. on lower level adding: staircase from main level (n)laundry
Valuation:
$961,808
Permit #:
202210174502
Status:
issued
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
28 - 2 family dwe...
Building - accessory dwelling unit
1421 Mound St, Alameda, CA, 94501
2025-04-08
*for certificate of occupancy* conversion of existing detached garage to new adu with kitchen living room bathroom bedroom subpanel. - 220 sq ft (bldg/elec/plumbing/mech) *main house address is 1419 mound st new detached adu address is 1421 mound st*
Valuation:
$60,000
Permit #:
ADU24-0024
Status:
final
Fee:
$6,295
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Permit
1719 Vine St, Berkeley, CA, 94703
2024-03-14
Kitchen to be fully remodeled and expanded into adjacent office remodel to existing bathroom on main floor. legalize lower level excavating for 8'-0 ceiling height remodel laundry and toilet room to create a full bathroom. new sunken patio hardscape and planters in backyard. one set of plans for 2 permits. see b2024-01167 for garage remodel
Valuation:
$50,000
Permit #:
B2024-01169
Status:
plancheck
Fee:
$1,070
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Building - pre application
605 Glenwood Isle, Alameda, CA, 94501
2024-05-14
Interior remodel of single family home to expand primary bathroom into existing hall closet and utility space. hallway bathroom to be reconfigured. kitchen remodel with reconfigured laundry room moving laundry machines to garage. furnace and water heater to be relocated
Valuation:
$40,000
Permit #:
PREBLD24-0235
Status:
approved
Fee:
$69
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A