Luxury Home Renovation, Addition & Custom Home Construction in Orinda & Moraga, CA
Scott O’Hara Construction | Serving Orinda, Moraga & the Lamorinda Area
The Lamorinda Hills Demand a Different Kind of Contractor
Orinda and Moraga sit in some of the most beautiful residential terrain in the East Bay — wooded hillside lots, mature landscaping, a strong sense of community, and homes that reflect decades of careful stewardship. They also sit in one of the highest wildfire risk zones in Contra Costa County, governed by the Moraga-Orinda Fire District — one of the strictest fire jurisdictions in the region.
Building and renovating here requires more than construction experience. It requires a contractor who understands the specific demands of WUI (Wildland-Urban Interface) construction, who knows how to navigate local permitting, and who can deliver luxury finishes and high-performance systems in homes that need to be as resilient as they are beautiful.
Scott O’Hara Construction has worked extensively in the Oakland Hills and the steep hillside terrain adjacent to Orinda and Moraga — some of the most technically demanding residential construction environments in the East Bay. We know this landscape, its fire risk, its topography, and what it takes to build well here.
What We Build Here
We specialize in large luxury renovations, additions, custom homes, and high-performance upgrades for Orinda and Moraga homeowners who are investing significantly in a home they plan to stay in. Our projects are comprehensive in scope — the high-performance systems, fire resilience measures, and luxury finishes we deliver work together as an integrated whole, not as standalone line items. A full renovation or custom build with us will typically include:
Custom homes
Designed and built from the ground up, with high-performance building science and fire resilience integrated from day one
Whole-home renovations
Full envelope upgrades, new mechanical systems, luxury interiors
Room Additions
Expanding living space as part of a comprehensive renovation that brings the entire home up to current performance and fire hardening standards
All-electric systems
Heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, induction cooking, EV-ready infrastructure, integrated as part of the whole-home mechanical design
Indoor air quality
ERV systems, air sealing, low-VOC materials, filtration, and careful control of what goes into the home during construction
Sound, networking, & security
Extensive structured wiring integrated during construction when walls are open
Wildfire resilience
Fire-rated roofing and siding, ember-resistant vents, sealed assemblies, pool-fed fire suppression, solar and battery backup, built into every project from the start
Solar, battery & generator systems
Grid independence for comfort, safety, and peace of mind during PG&E shutoffs
Raw land & spec home development
Lot acquisition, entitlement, and ground-up construction for homeowners and investors with vision
What High-Performance Luxury Looks Like in Practice
Most homeowners planning a major renovation think about what their home will look like when it’s done. That’s the right instinct — finishes matter, and we take them seriously. But the homes that feel truly luxurious to live in every single day are the ones where the experience goes beyond what you can see.
A high-performance home isn’t just beautiful. It’s quiet. It’s comfortable in every room at every hour. The air feels clean and fresh the moment you walk in. You don’t notice the temperature because there’s nothing to notice — it’s simply right, everywhere. You don’t hear the HVAC. Doors don’t slam shut when the system kicks on. There are no cold spots near windows in winter or hot zones on the sunny side of the house in summer.
Think about what makes a great luxury hotel feel different the moment you walk in. It isn’t just the finishes. The best luxury hotels engineer fresh air ventilation systems specifically to introduce fresh outdoor air while exhausting stale indoor air — because the best smell is simply clean air. That quality of air — fresh, filtered, constantly renewed — is what makes a great hotel room feel immediately different from everywhere else.
That’s what an ERV does in your home. Continuously. Every day you live there.
Here’s what that looks like in practice on an Orinda or Moraga home:
The envelope comes first
A tight, well-insulated building envelope — walls, roof, floors, windows, and all the sealing between them — is the foundation of everything else. When the envelope is done correctly, heat doesn’t bleed out in winter, radiant heat from windows doesn’t create hot zones in summer, and the conditioned air your HVAC produces stays where you put it. The result is thermal stability — the same comfortable temperature in every room, at every hour.
The HVAC is engineered, not guessed
Every system we install is sized using Manual J load calculations and Manual D duct design — not the industry rule of thumb that reliably produces oversized, noisy, inefficient equipment. A right-sized system runs longer cycles at lower output, dehumidifies properly, delivers even temperatures throughout, and does it quietly. No blasting air across rooms. No doors slamming shut when the system kicks on. No hot spots or cold corners. You won’t notice it’s running.
Fire resilience is built in, not bolted on
In the Orinda and Moraga hills, wildfire resilience is a design criterion for every system and every assembly — not a checklist item at the end. MOFD is one of the strictest fire jurisdictions in the region and we know its requirements intimately. That means Class A roofing, fire-rated siding, ember-resistant vents, sealed crawlspaces and attics, and where appropriate, independent fire suppression systems that operate when municipal water pressure and PG&E are both gone.
Indoor air quality is actively managed
Fresh air ventilation through an engineered ERV system runs continuously — exchanging stale interior air for filtered fresh outdoor air without losing heating or cooling energy. And throughout construction, we carefully monitor and control the VOCs and other air quality factors introduced into the home so the indoor environment is genuinely healthy from day one.
A Completed Orinda Project: Donald Drive
The Donald Drive project in Orinda is one of the most comprehensive high-performance and fire-resilient renovations we have completed in the East Bay hills — and one of the most personally meaningful.
The client — Richard — grew up in this house. He is also a licensed architect, a former City of Oakland building inspector with 12 years of experience, and an expert witness in construction defect litigation. He knows what good work looks like and what bad work looks like. He hired Scott O’Hara Construction.
The scope
A 600 square foot room addition, a new 1,096 square foot fire-rated IPE deck with custom metal and wood railing, and high-end interior upgrades throughout. Every mechanical system was replaced and engineered from the ground up using Building Science principles. And because this home sits in a WUI zone in the Orinda hills, every decision — from the roof to the crawlspace — was made with fire hardening as a design criterion.
Right-sized HVAC — 3 tons instead of 6
A Manual J load calculation and Manual D duct design using WrightSoft software determined the home needed 3 tons of HVAC capacity — half what a rule-of-thumb contractor would have installed. Two Fujitsu ducted mini-split heat pumps were installed with zero duct leakage confirmed by testing. The result is a system that runs longer cycles at lower output, dehumidifies properly, and delivers even, consistent temperatures throughout every room.
Richard — an architect who had spent his career identifying construction failures — privately doubted the smaller system would perform adequately. He never said a word during the project. After moving in, he told us he hadn’t been sure it would work, and that they were very impressed with how comfortable the house is. That quiet admission from a building inspector is the best review we could ask for.
Engineered ERV ventilation
A new Energy Recovery Ventilator was engineered with Manual J and D calculations and installed without duct leakage — providing continuous filtered fresh air exchange throughout the home.
Sealed and conditioned crawlspace
The crawlspace was sealed with a 15-mil vapor barrier, a rat slab was poured throughout, and all existing crawlspace vents were removed and fully conditioned. Better indoor air quality, improved energy efficiency, and significant fire hardening — no open vents for embers to enter the subfloor cavity.
Attic assembly — rigid foam above the roof deck:
2 inches of rigid foam installed above the roof deck creates a continuous thermal and air barrier at the roof level — improving comfort, reducing energy load, and eliminating a primary pathway for ember intrusion.
Wildfire resilience — a complete system
- Standing seam metal roof with ember-resistant eave and gutter details
- Unvented crawlspace and attic prevent dangerous embers from entering
- Custom redwood siding over 5⁄₈” Dense Glass non-combustible sheathing
- Interior and eave fire sprinklers
- Pool-fed off-grid fire suppression pump plumbed into both the interior sprinkler system and a yard perimeter watering system
- The suppression system runs off the home’s battery storage or backup generator — fully operational when PG&E goes down and municipal water pressure fails, the exact scenario most likely during a serious East Bay wildfire event
- Full solar, battery, and generator system providing true grid independence
This fire suppression system, along with Scott O’Hara’s approach to air sealing and sealed attic assemblies, was presented at the 2026 Forum on Measured Home Performance — a forum that also featured researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
A Current Lafayette Project: Old Millstone Lane
Scott O’Hara Construction is currently completing a major renovation and addition just over the hill in Lafayette — a project that reflects the same standard of performance and luxury we bring to every Lamorinda home.
The Old Millstone Lane project involves a 440 square foot addition to the main house, a near-complete renovation of the existing 2,000 square feet, and a full renovation and 295 square foot addition to the ADU. Key systems include two ducted heat pumps in the main house, a ducted ERV, BIBS insulation throughout, a continuous sealed assembly from crawlspace to roof deck, and extensive custom cabinetry throughout both structures.
The project broke ground January 28th and is scheduled for completion in early December — under 11 months for a project of this scope. The client walked through the nearly finished Donald Drive project in Orinda before committing — and the craftsmanship he saw there, combined with our commitment to delivering a genuinely healthy indoor environment for his young family, is what he signed up for at Old Millstone.
Why Orinda and Moraga Homeowners Choose Scott O’Hara Construction
We know the Orinda and Moraga building codes, and what homeowners prioritize when building or renovating a home:
We understand WUI construction and the Moraga-Orinda Fire District
MOFD is one of the strictest fire jurisdictions in the region — significantly more demanding than Contra Costa County Fire. We know the requirements, we build to exceed them, and we bring fire resilience thinking to every system and assembly on a project, not just the obvious ones.
We engineer the mechanical systems
We don’t guess. Every HVAC and ventilation system we install is sized using Manual J load calculations and Manual D duct design. The result is a system that performs correctly, runs quietly, and delivers even comfort in every room — without the noise, hot spots, and inefficiency of an oversized system.
We build for the long term
Orinda and Moraga homeowners tend to be deeply invested in their properties — many have been in their homes for decades and plan to stay. We build forever homes. That means getting the systems right, getting the envelope right, and delivering finishes that hold up and look as good in twenty years as they do on move-in day.
Performance and luxury move at the same speed
Detailed scheduling in Buildertrend, proactive communication with all stakeholders, and disciplined job site coordination are how complex projects stay on track without sacrificing quality. A well-managed project is a fast project.
You won’t notice the HVAC
No oversized systems blasting conditioned air across rooms. No noisy returns. No doors slamming shut when the system kicks on. No hot spots or cold corners. Just quiet, even comfort — the kind you stop noticing because there’s nothing to notice.
The Performance = Luxury Difference
In the Orinda and Moraga hills, luxury means more than beautiful finishes. It means a home that holds its temperature evenly on the hottest August afternoon. It means air that is genuinely clean and healthy for your family. It means a fire suppression system that still works when the power is out and the water pressure has failed. It means knowing that the contractor who built your home engineered the systems properly and stands behind the work.
That’s what performance delivers. And in the East Bay hills, that’s the highest standard of luxury there is.
Scott O’Hara Construction has been building and renovating homes in the East Bay for 29 years — including extensive experience in raw land development and steep hillside construction in the Oakland Hills and the terrain adjacent to Orinda and Moraga. We know this landscape intimately, and we know what it takes to build homes that perform here for decades to come.
Ready to Talk About Your Orinda or Moraga Home?
We offer a free project assessment for homeowners considering a significant renovation, addition, or custom home build in Orinda, Moraga, and the surrounding Lamorinda area.
Scott O’Hara Construction serves Orinda, Moraga, Lafayette, Danville, Alamo, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, and the surrounding East Bay.