Homeowners in Menlo Park use the same handful of words to describe very different projects. A neighbor says she is doing a remodel and means a new kitchen. Another says the same thing and means lifting the roof for a second story. The city hears each of those words very precisely, and the word that applies decides how long approval takes, what drawings are required and what the project will cost.
Getting the vocabulary right early is not pedantry. It is the difference between a permit issued over a few weeks and a planning review that runs for months because the project was described as one thing and turned out to be another.
Remodel and renovation
In everyday use the two are interchangeable, and for most purposes that is fine. A remodel changes the layout or function of existing space: moving a kitchen wall, converting a bedroom into a bathroom, opening the living room. A renovation restores or updates what is there without changing its footprint, such as new finishes, windows or roofing.
Both stay inside the existing walls, which is why they move through the building department rather than planning. Structural changes still need engineering, and electrical and plumbing work is inspected, but the house is not getting bigger and the neighbors are not notified.
Addition
The moment new floor area appears, the word changes to addition, and so does the process. Menlo Park, like most Peninsula cities, limits how much of a lot can be covered and how much floor area a house may have relative to its lot size, and it sets setbacks from each property line and height limits for second stories.
An addition therefore starts with a site plan showing that the enlarged house still fits inside those limits. A single-story bump-out at the back is often the simplest version. A second story is the most involved, because it changes the mass of the house as seen from the street and from the neighbors’ yards, and some projects go through a design review step for exactly that reason.
ADU and JADU
An accessory dwelling unit is a separate home on the same lot: a converted garage, a backyard cottage or an attached unit with its own entrance and kitchen. A junior ADU is a smaller unit carved out of the existing house. State rules now require cities to approve most ADUs through a streamlined review rather than a discretionary hearing, which has made them the fastest growing project type on the Peninsula.
The catch is that an ADU is still a dwelling, so it needs its own kitchen, bathroom, heating, fire separation and address, and utility capacity has to be checked. It is a small house, not a large shed, and it is priced like one. A clear overview of the options appears in this guide to what Menlo Park homeowners can build in 2026, which walks through sizes and placement.
Rebuild
Remove enough of a house and the project stops being a remodel in the eyes of the city. Once walls, roof and foundation are largely replaced, it is treated as new construction, with the full set of current code requirements, fees and review that come with it. Owners sometimes drift into this category one decision at a time, discovering halfway through that the better plan would have been to design a new house from the start.
A frank conversation about that threshold belongs in the first meeting with a general contractor in Menlo Park, because the answer changes the budget, the timeline and the drawings before anyone commits to a direction.
The words on the contract
Whatever the project is called, the contract should use the city’s language, not the family’s. It should state the permit path, who prepares the plans, who carries the engineering, and what happens if plan review asks for changes. Firms that build across the Peninsula, such as Primework Construction, tend to write scopes this way because they have watched vague descriptions turn into disputes.
Ask to see a recent permit set for a similar project. The quality of those drawings tells you more about a contractor than any brochure.
Quick answers
Is a garage conversion an ADU or a remodel?
If it becomes a separate living unit with a kitchen and bath, it is an ADU; if it simply becomes a bedroom or office, it is a remodel.
Does a second story always need design review?
Not always, but it is the project type most likely to, so plan for the possibility.
Can I combine an addition and a remodel in one permit?
Yes, and it is usually cheaper and faster than two separate projects.
