COMMERCIAL ENERGY · AUTOMATION · FACILITY SERVICES
Commercial contractors in San Francisco.
Flux runs commercial contracting for San Francisco buildings: scoping, permits, and repair or build-out work in occupied offices, retail, and industrial space.
WHAT WE DO
From energy audits to robot repair.
Energy
Find the waste, fund the fix.
Energy audits
Audit cost & pricing
Efficiency consultants
ALL ENERGY →
Battery
Storage that pays for itself.
BESS installation
Battery backup
Containerized BESS
ALL BATTERY →
EV
Charging that shows up on time.
EV charging installation
Fleet charging
Workplace charging
ALL EV →
Robots
Automation that earns its floor space.
Cleaning robots
Autonomous floor scrubbers
Security robots
ALL ROBOTS →
Mechanical
The big installs, built right.
HVAC installation & replacement
Ductwork installation
Sheet metal & pipe fabrication
ALL MECHANICAL →
Maintenance
The trades that keep buildings alive.
HVAC service
Electricians
Roofing
ALL MAINTENANCE →
Not sure where it fits?
Reach out. We scope it and put the right team on it, whatever the trade.
SAN FRANCISCO BY THE NUMBERS
What San Francisco does to buildings.
SUMMER
IS THE STRESS TEST
Cooling season is when undersized equipment shows itself.
826K
PEOPLE STRONG
San Francisco commercial buildings keep a growing market running.
START HERE
What commercial contractors in San Francisco plan around
The permit path sets the schedule. In San Francisco, the Department of Building Inspection reviews every building permit application for life safety and code compliance. Some items can be filed online through the PermitSF portal. Others need a full review. We confirm which path a job takes before we promise dates. The address matters too. Its counter is open weekdays from 8am to 4pm and closes for lunch from noon to 1pm. We check the jurisdiction first so a crew is never waiting at the wrong desk.
Before we bid
How we scope a commercial contractor job in San Francisco
Which city reviews it
Permitting
San Francisco filings go to DBI. The answer changes who reviews the drawings and which submittal set we prepare.
Online filing or full review
Schedule
We sort each item into the two paths. The PermitSF portal handles items like reroofing and in-kind replacement of a window, siding, or door in the same size and location. Work that changes size or location needs a fuller review, so we add that review time to the schedule.
Life safety on the drawings
Code
DBI reviews every permit application for life safety and code compliance. So we show exits, fire ratings, alarm devices, and occupant load on the first submittal instead of fixing them in a correction round later.
Occupied building access
Access
We ask for tenant hours, freight elevator windows, and dock times before we price labor. Night and weekend hours change the crew rate and the number of days each phase takes.
Dry-weather exterior work
Weather
We book roof openings, exterior wall work, and window swaps inside dry windows and keep a dry-in plan ready for the rest.
Questions for bidders
What to ask a commercial contractor in San Francisco before you sign
- Ask who pulls the permit and in which city.
- Ask which items can be filed online through the PermitSF portal and which need a full review, then ask how many weeks each path adds to your date.
- Ask for the license number and the classifications it covers, plus current workers comp and general liability certificates, before any crew mobilizes.
- Ask how DBI corrections will be handled: who redraws, who pays for the redraw, and how far the completion date moves.
- Ask for the site logistics plan in writing: work hours, elevator and dock use, dust and noise control, and how the space is turned back over each morning.
POWER & AUTOMATION
Battery storage, EV charging, and robots that work.
Commercial buildings are adding batteries, chargers, and floor robots faster than most contractors can keep up. We design and install battery energy storage systems, handle utility interconnection, and build EV charging from a pair of stalls to a full fleet depot.
On the automation side, we deploy cleaning and security robots that pay for themselves in labor, then keep every piece of it running. Planning any of this? Get in touch and get a real number for your building.
Get in touchHOW IT WORKS
From first call to finished work.
01
Get in touch
Tell us the building and the problem. Two minutes, no phone tag.
02
Get a scoped proposal
We assess the site, engineer the fix, and put a real price on it.
03
The work gets done
Vetted, insured local crews, with one point of contact from scope to done.
WHY FLUX
One call covers the whole building.
Every trade, one contact
Mechanical, electrical, energy, robots. You deal with one person from scope to done.
Licensed local crews
Insured crews from your market, vetted before they walk your site.
A real price, fast
Free site visit, scoped proposal, and a number you can take to your board.
Built for what's next
Battery storage, EV charging, and facility robots alongside the trades you already buy.
THE CORE TRADES
The trades that keep a building running.
HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing. The unglamorous work is most of the job, and slow contractors are where it costs you. Our mechanical crews handle installs and replacements, from rooftop units to boilers, chillers, and process piping.
Maintenance covers the rest: service calls, electricians, roofing, fire and life safety, landscaping, and snow. Not sure where to start? An energy audit finds the waste and funds the fix.
Get in touchWHO WE SERVE
Every kind of commercial building.
Office & corporate
Tenant comfort, uptime, and energy costs under control.
Industrial & manufacturing
Process piping, automation, and the power to run it.
Warehouse & logistics
Docks, floors, charging, and robots that earn their space.
Retail & hospitality
Fast fixes and clean installs that never touch open hours.
Healthcare & medical
Code-first work in buildings that can't go down.
Multifamily & HOA
One contact for the whole property, every trade.
POPULAR PROJECTS
What we get asked for most.
QUESTIONS
Straight answers.
Who reviews a commercial building permit in San Francisco?
The Department of Building Inspection. DBI reviews every building permit application for life safety and building code compliance. We prepare the drawings against that review and file them for you, then track corrections until the permit is issued.
How much do commercial contractors charge per hour in San Francisco?
We do not post a flat hourly rate, because the rate changes with the trade, the crew size, and the shift. Night and weekend work in an occupied building costs more than day work. We price most jobs by fixed scope and will share our time-and-materials rates for service calls on request.
Can any commercial work be permitted online in San Francisco?
Some of it. The PermitSF portal covers items such as reroofing and in-kind replacement of a window, siding, or door in the same size and location. If the work changes size or location, it follows a different filing path. We tell you which one applies before we set the schedule.
Is that the same permit office?
No. The counter is open Monday through Friday, 8am to 4pm, closed from noon to 1pm, and the main line is (650) 829-6670. We route the filing to the right office at the start.
GET STARTED
One call away.
Tell us the building and the problem. We bring the plan, the price, and the crew. Site visits are free, always.
MORE SERVICE AREAS