for Builders & GCs
100 listings for interior finishes in Orange County on Cablanico,
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100contractors17trades87licensed68with websites12multi-county
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Interior finish subcontractors take a project from inspected rough-in to move-in condition: drywall contractors hang and finish the board; painting contractors handle new-construction spray work or occupied-space remodel repaints; flooring, tile, and hardwood refinishing crews cover the walking surfaces; and cabinet shops, from custom and semi-custom cabinet contractors to cabinet refinishers, deliver the casework alongside countertop fabricators, millwork contractors, closet contractors, and stair and railing contractors. Specialty finishers such as shower glass contractors, micro cement finishers, custom window covering installers, and appliance installers close out the tail end. For a general contractor or remodeler, finishes are less about any single trade and more about sequencing density: after insulation and drywall inspection, a dozen trades move through the same rooms in a few weeks, and the standard order, drywall, prime, cabinets, countertop template and install, tile and flooring, finish paint, then glass, hardware, and appliances, exists because each step protects or depends on the last. Countertop fabricators in particular gate the schedule, since most will not template until base cabinets are set, and slab fabrication adds lead time after that, so sequencing plumbing trim and appliance installation around the top install date is a recurring coordination point. Long-lead items, custom cabinets, stair parts, specialty tile, and shower glass, which is templated after tile is complete, should be released well before they are needed on site. Dust and moisture control matter too: hardwood needs to acclimate on site, and tile and micro cement need cured, flat substrates. In California, painting typically falls under CSLB C-33, drywall under C-9, flooring under C-15, tile under C-54, and cabinetry and millwork under C-6; before contracting, we recommend confirming that a sub's license and insurance are current using California's free CSLB lookup. Texas does not license these finish trades at the state level, so verification there relies on city registration, insurance certificates, and references.
Only after every trade's rough inspection (framing, electrical, plumbing, mechanical) has passed and the insulation inspection is signed off, since covering uninspected work is the classic way to end up tearing new board back down. Many jurisdictions then add a drywall or shear nailing inspection before taping, so build both hold points into the finish schedule rather than treating drywall as a fixed start date.
A common order is prime and first paint coat, cabinets and millwork, countertop template and install, tile and flooring, finish paint and touch-up, then shower glass, window coverings, hardware, and appliances. The order flexes by project, but the principle is constant: schedule each trade so its work is protected from the trades that follow.
Custom and semi-custom cabinets carry multi-week fabrication lead times, so release them with confirmed field dimensions as soon as framing and rough-in allow. Countertops add a second wait, because most fabricators will only template once base cabinets are set, level, and secured, with sinks and appliance dimensions confirmed, and then need fabrication time after templating. That makes the cabinet date the real driver of kitchen and bath completion.
Based in San Diego6also serveSan Diego County
Confirm the bid covers substrate preparation, flatness tolerances, moisture testing on slabs, and movement joints, since these exclusions cause most flooring failures and disputes. In California we recommend confirming the license classification (C-15 flooring or C-54 tile) and insurance are current via the free CSLB lookup; in Texas, where these trades are not state-licensed, lean on references and proof of insurance instead.
New-construction painters price around open, empty spaces and spray application, while remodel painters price masking, protection, occupied-space logistics, and color matching to existing finishes. Using a sub whose crews are set up for the wrong mode usually shows up as either a high bid or a slow, disruptive job.
It varies by scope. The biggest drivers are the specification level (paint-grade versus stain-grade millwork, prefab versus custom cabinets, slab selection for countertops), square footage and ceiling height for drywall and paint, substrate condition on remodels, and how compressed the schedule is, since stacking trades tightly increases supervision and touch-up costs.
