Ask five Queens homeowners about their last renovation and you’ll get five war stories. The contractor who vanished mid-kitchen. The bid that grew 40% through change orders. The co-op board that rejected three insurance certificates in a row. Renovating in this borough tests your patience even when everything goes right, and picking the wrong builder guarantees it won’t.

The flip side: Queens has some of the best residential contractors in the city, from family firms that have worked the same neighborhoods for decades to design-build shops that handle everything from permits to paint. The trick is telling them apart from the guys with a magnetic sign and a borrowed van. This guide covers the 12 general contractors we’d shortlist for a Queens project in 2026, and the vetting process that protects you no matter who you hire.

Key takeaways

• General contractors typically mark up projects 20 to 33%, and remodels can reach 40 to 50% (Angi, 2026).
• The NYC Department of Consumer Affairs says to get at least three written bids before hiring anyone.
• NYC requires a Home Improvement Contractor license for residential work. Check it in the city database, not on the contractor’s word.

Why the markup number matters

Before the list, one piece of context that changes how you read bids. A general contractor’s markup, typically 20 to 33% of total project cost, is what pays for their overhead, project management, and profit (Angi, 2026). Remodels often run higher, 40 to 50%, because opening up old walls in Queens housing stock reveals surprises, and the contractor is pricing that risk.

Here’s the counterintuitive part: a transparent markup is a good sign. The contractor who shows you the math is running a real business. The one whose bid is mysteriously 30% below everyone else’s has either made an error or plans to make it back in change orders. The city’s consumer affairs department warns about exactly this, and they’re right.

The 12 best general contractors in Queens

1. Top General Contractors Queens

A family-owned remodeling firm serving Queens, the Bronx, and the rest of the city, with kitchen and bath work as their core. What sets them apart is process: clear pricing, permit management handled in-house, and daily updates while the job runs. That last one sounds small until you’ve lived through a contractor who goes quiet for a week (topgeneralcontractorsqueens.com).

2. Ark Construction NY

Ark shows up near the top of Queens contractor rankings year after year. Customers keep mentioning two things: attention to detail and pricing that doesn’t shift after the contract is signed. Those are exactly the two things you want mentioned.

3. A to Z Renovations

A full-service renovation company that homeowners hand whole apartments to. They’re a fit when you want one firm accountable for the entire scope rather than juggling trades yourself.

4. KBR Design & Build

Run by Yosi Nahmani, KBR came up through kitchens and bathrooms and grew into complete renovations. They take on projects big and small, residential and commercial, and their design-build model means the person who drew the plan answers for the build.

5. Arta Restoration

Restoration is its own skill, and Arta has it. For Queens’ older housing stock, prewar co-ops, brick rowhouses, homes with details worth saving, a contractor who restores rather than rips out is worth the search.

6. D & A Home Improvement NYC

Well-reviewed for mid-size remodels, with clients pointing to responsive communication and clean finish work. The unglamorous middle of the market is where most real projects live, and D&A serves it well.

7. White Star General Contractors

A dependable pick for general renovation and repair work across the borough. Not a specialist, and that’s the point: when the scope is broad and practical, White Star covers it.

8. Carlos Deleon Contracting

A local crew with a strong review record for reliability and fair pricing on residential jobs. Smaller operation, more owner involvement, which some homeowners specifically prefer.

9. Batusha

A Yelp-recognized contractor that keeps earning spots on quality-and-affordability lists for Queens. Worth including in your bid set to keep the bigger names honest.

10. Peluso Construction Inc.

Operating since 2004 across residential and commercial projects. Two decades in NYC construction means they’ve survived multiple market cycles, which tells you something about how they run jobs and treat clients.

11. Right Choice Construction Corp

One of Queens County’s trusted renovation firms, covering kitchen and bath remodels through drywall and refinishing. Their customizable scope works well for homeowners who want to phase a project across budgets (rightchoiceconstructioncorp.com).

12. Gallery Kitchen and Bath

An award-winning design-build firm handling kitchen, bath, and interior renovations in parts of Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. If your project starts with “I don’t know what I want yet,” their design-first process solves that before demolition starts.

How to vet a Queens contractor properly

Start with the license. NYC requires a Home Improvement Contractor license for residential renovation work, and you can verify it in the city’s online database in about two minutes. Skip the contractor who’s “getting it renewed.”

Then insurance. Ask for a certificate of insurance sent directly from the contractor’s insurance broker, naming you or your building as certificate holder. A PDF the contractor emails you himself is not the same thing. If you’re in a co-op or condo, your management company will have specific COI requirements, so get those to the contractor early. This document dance kills more NYC renovation timelines than any construction issue.

Check the company’s history with the Department of Buildings. Complaints and violations are public record. One old violation isn’t disqualifying, but a pattern is.

Finally, get three itemized written bids. Itemized is the key word. A lump-sum number tells you nothing; a line-item bid shows you where the money goes and makes the three bids comparable. When one bid is dramatically lower, the itemization usually reveals why: something’s missing, and it’ll come back as a change order at a worse price.

What about permits?

Most structural, plumbing, and electrical work in Queens requires DOB permits, and legitimate contractors file them as part of the job. Treat “we can skip the permit and save you money” as the end of the conversation. Unpermitted work surfaces at the worst possible time, usually when you’re selling, and the cost of legalizing it after the fact dwarfs whatever you saved.

Questions worth asking in the first meeting

Once a contractor is standing in your apartment, most homeowners talk about tile and paint. Better use of the hour: ask who will supervise your job day to day, and whether that person is on-site or managing three jobs from a van. Ask which trades are in-house and which are subcontracted, because “my guys” sometimes means a rotating cast of subs you’ll never meet twice. Ask how change orders get priced and documented, since that’s where budgets actually break. And ask what their current backlog looks like, because a contractor juggling too many jobs delivers all of them late.

None of these questions is hostile, and good contractors answer them easily. They’ve heard them before, from their best clients. It’s the vague answers that tell you something: a contractor who can’t say who runs the site hasn’t decided yet, and you don’t want your kitchen to be where they figure it out.

What timelines really look like

Set expectations now and save the frustration later. A bathroom typically runs three to six weeks once work starts. A kitchen, six to twelve. A full apartment gut can stretch past four months, and co-op board approvals add weeks before anyone lifts a hammer. Good Queens contractors are often booked a month or more out, so the total calendar from first call to finished room is longer than most people plan for.

The wait has a silver lining. Use it to finalize every selection, tile, fixtures, hardware, appliances, before demolition starts. Mid-project decision-making is the number one schedule killer in renovation work, and it’s entirely preventable with a spreadsheet and a few weekends of showroom visits.

Frequently asked questions

How much do general contractors charge in Queens?

Most mark up 20 to 33% on total project cost, with complex remodels reaching 40 to 50% (Angi, 2026). The markup covers management, overhead, and profit. Compare itemized bids rather than markups alone.

How many bids should I get for a renovation?

Three written, itemized bids at minimum, per NYC Department of Consumer Affairs guidance. The comparison matters as much as the numbers, since scope differences between bids reveal what each contractor is and isn’t planning to do.

Do I need a licensed contractor for a Queens apartment renovation?

Yes. NYC requires a Home Improvement Contractor license for residential work, and your co-op or condo board will almost certainly require proof of it plus insurance before approving the project.

What’s a red flag in a contractor bid?

A price far below the others, a demand for a large cash deposit, vague scope language, and resistance to itemizing. Any one of these is worth walking away from, and they tend to travel together.

The bottom line

Queens has the builders. Your job is the paperwork: license check, direct-from-broker COI, DOB history, three itemized bids. It’s a few hours of diligence protecting what’s probably a five- or six-figure spend. Browse more vetted pros in our contractor directory, compare notes with our Brooklyn contractor guide, and walk through the full process in our 12-step contractor hiring checklist. Contractors who clear this bar can add a free listing here.