Essex County, NJ · General contractor

A general contractor in Essex County, checked before we list them.

For Essex County, LA Trusted lists one general contractor: AB Contracting & Design, in Belleville. We checked its New Jersey registration, address and phone before listing it. Below is what a general contractor does, what AB charges by its own published prices, which towns it covers, and what to get in writing from any contractor before you pay a deposit.

Call AB: 908-331-0796 Send AB your project

AB Contracting & Design is a paid partner of LA Trusted Partners. You're always free to choose whether to hire them. AB, not LA Trusted, prices and does the work. Read the disclosure.

Former enclosed porch finished as a room with a wall of windows, white trim and a slate-look tile floor

Office: 65 Newark Ave, Unit 1, Belleville, NJ 07109
NJ registration: 13VH11431800, active to March 31, 2027
Works in: All 22 Essex County towns, plus Union and Passaic counties
Estimates: Free by phone; $50 in person, credited when you sign

The job

When you need a general contractor, and when you don't

More than one trade has to touch the job

A kitchen needs demolition, plumbing, electrical, drywall, cabinets, counters and tile, in that order. A general contractor schedules them so the electrician is not waiting on the plumber and the counters are not templated before the cabinets are set.

The town will want a permit and inspections

Moving walls, adding circuits, relocating plumbing, finishing a basement or building an addition goes through your town's construction office. The contractor running the job should say who files and when each inspection happens.

It touches the structure

A porch turned into a room, a beam to open a wall, a new storefront opening. AB's Bloomfield restaurant job put a new storefront on a structural beam; that is general-contractor work, not a handyman job.

One trade, one problem? Skip the general contractor.

A single repair is cheaper done by the trade itself. LA Trusted routes these straight to a provider for that trade:

The law

Do general contractors need a license in New Jersey?

Not a license: a registration. New Jersey has no general contractor license for home improvement work. What it requires is that a business that sells or does home improvements register with the Division of Consumer Affairs as a Home Improvement Contractor and renew every year by March 31. To register, it has to file proof of at least $500,000 in general liability insurance and, unless exempt, workers' compensation, and it has to print the registration number in its ads, on its vehicles and on its contracts. Subcontractors register too. The State says plainly that registration is not an endorsement: it tells you the business is on file, not that the work is good.

The trades inside the job are different. Master plumbers and electrical contractors are licensed by their own State boards, and when they do the work, the town permit has to be signed and sealed by that licensed plumber or electrician (Division of Consumer Affairs). A general contractor running a kitchen or a basement should be able to name who holds those licenses on your job.

AB Contracting & Design's registration, 13VH11431800, was active on the State lookup when we checked it on September 27, 2026. It was issued March 18, 2021 and expires March 31, 2027. Look it up yourself.

The full check, for any contractor

How to read the State lookup, which trades carry their own license, the door-knocker warning signs and the three protections New Jersey gives you on a home improvement contract.

How to check a contractor in New Jersey

The price

What AB charges, by its own published prices

Most general contractors will not put a number on their website. AB publishes a price list, and the rows below are the jobs a general contractor is usually hired to run. The prices are AB's, as published on its cost guide and read on September 29, 2026. Your written proposal is the number that counts.

AB Contracting & Design published prices for general-contracting jobs
Job	AB's price	What it covers
Bathroom remodel	$12,000+ per bathroom	Includes material
Basement renovation	$15,000+ per project	Labor; material extra
Addition or other new finished floor space	$400 per sq ft, on average	Labor and material
Deck	$30 per sq ft	Labor; material billed separately
Retaining wall (Cambridge Sigma 8 block)	$40 per block	Includes the block
Drywall, hung and finished	$220 per 4×8 sheet	Labor and material; minimum job size applies
Tile installation	$10–$20+ per sq ft	Labor; tile picked from AB's suppliers
Plumbing fixture install	$950+ per fixture	Labor
Electrical fixture install	$300+ per fixture	Labor
New restaurant, about 1,000 sq ft	$400,000+ on average	Building, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, hood and architectural drawings

What a general contractor's fee usually is

Nationally, Angi puts it at 10% to 20% of the project's cost, or $50 to $150 an hour (updated July 8, 2026). AB prices from its own costs instead, line by line, so its proposal can be set against any other bid. Phone estimates are free; an in-person estimate is $50 and comes off the contract when you sign, and financing is available.

How to use the list

Put another contractor's bid next to it line by line. A bathroom quote far under $12,000 with material, or a basement far under $15,000 in labor, is worth a question about what is left out. The kitchen remodel cost guide uses AB's per-item prices to show where a kitchen budget goes.

The map

Every Essex County town, all within 10 miles

AB works out of 65 Newark Ave, Unit 1, Belleville, NJ 07109. By AB's own map, no Essex County town is more than 10 miles from the office; Fairfield, the farthest, is 9.4. It also takes work in all 21 Union County towns and all 16 in Passaic County, at the same prices.

The job closest to home is in Bloomfield, 1.7 miles away: AB renovated the building on Bloomfield Avenue for Abuelo's Steakhouse, with a new storefront on a structural beam and a commercial kitchen under an exhaust hood.

Permits follow the town, not the contractor. New Jersey has one building code for every town, but each town's own construction office takes the permit application and sends the inspector (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2). Montclair's office is not Newark's, so ask which inspections your town will want and when.

Straight-line distance from AB's Belleville office to Essex County towns
Essex County town	Miles from AB
Bloomfield	1.7
Glen Ridge	1.9
East Orange	2.2
Nutley	2.8
Montclair	3.2
Orange	3.2
Newark	4.2
West Orange	4.5
Verona	4.7
South Orange	5.0
Maplewood	6.0
Livingston	7.8
Millburn and Short Hills	8.0
Fairfield	9.4

Straight-line miles as AB publishes them. The other eight Essex towns are on AB's full list.

Our check

What we checked, and what you should still ask for

Checked by LA Trusted

The State registration: Home Improvement Contractor (business), No. 13VH11431800, Active, on the Division of Consumer Affairs lookup on September 27, 2026.
The same Belleville office on the State record, AB's Google Business Profile and AB's website.
The same phone number, 908-331-0796, on the website and the Google profile.

AB's Trusted Partner page

Get these in writing before a deposit

A written contract. New Jersey requires one for home improvement work over $500, with the contractor's legal name, business address and registration number, a start date, a completion date, a description of the work and the total price. For AB, the registration number is 13VH11431800.
A copy of the insurance certificate with the contract. To register, a contractor has to file proof of at least $500,000 in general liability insurance with the State. LA Trusted has not seen AB's certificate, so ask for it.
The three-day window. You can cancel a signed contract for any reason before midnight of the third business day after you get your copy, in writing, and the money paid comes back within 30 days.
A payment schedule that never asks for everything up front. The law bars a contractor from demanding the final payment before the work is done, and the State's consumer guide lists asking for more than a third before work begins as a warning sign. AB publishes its schedule: a 25% to 50% deposit, 25% at an agreed milestone and 25% at completion, and a retainer with a smaller deposit on large projects. Ask where your deposit will fall.
The names and license numbers of the master plumber and electrical contractor, if the job includes plumbing or wiring. Their permits have to be signed and sealed by that licensed plumber or electrician. AB's site says it runs jobs with its own plumbers and electricians; ask for their license numbers and check them on the State lookup.
Who applies for the permit, the permit number before work starts, and the final inspection before the final payment.

Reach AB

Call AB, or send us the project and we pass it on

The fastest way is to call AB directly and ask for Andrew: 908-331-0796. Phone estimates are free.

Rather write it down? Send the project here. LA Trusted passes it to AB, and AB calls you back to talk about the job and a price.

Visit abcontractingdesign.com

Questions

Hiring a general contractor in Essex County: common questions

Do general contractors need a license in New Jersey?

New Jersey does not issue a general contractor license for home improvement work. It requires registration: a business that sells or does home improvements must register with the Division of Consumer Affairs every year, renewing by March 31, and show the registration number in its ads, on its vehicles and on its contracts. Subcontractors must register too. Plumbing and electrical work is licensed separately, by the State boards for master plumbers and electrical contractors. AB Contracting & Design's registration, 13VH11431800, was active when LA Trusted checked it on September 27, 2026, and runs to March 31, 2027.

What is the difference between a contractor and a general contractor?

A contractor usually does one trade: a plumber, an electrician, a roofer. A general contractor takes the whole job, schedules every trade in order, deals with the permit and the inspections, and is the one you hold to the contract. For a single repair, call the trade directly. For a kitchen, a bathroom, a finished basement or an addition, you want one company responsible for all of it.

How much does a general contractor charge in Essex County?

Nationally, Angi puts a general contractor's fee at 10% to 20% of the project's cost, or $50 to $150 an hour (updated July 8, 2026). A fee percentage is hard to compare, so compare published prices. AB Contracting & Design, in Belleville, publishes its own: a bathroom remodel from $12,000 with material, a basement renovation from $15,000 in labor, new finished space such as an addition at about $400 a square foot with material, and deck labor at $30 a square foot. Phone estimates are free; an in-person estimate is $50 and comes off the contract when you sign.

Is it worth hiring a general contractor?

For work that runs weeks or months, needs several trades or changes the structure, usually yes: one contract, one schedule and one company answerable for the result, instead of you coordinating a plumber, an electrician, a carpenter and a tile setter. Angi calls a general contractor a worthwhile investment on exactly those projects. For a single repair, it is cheaper to call the trade yourself.

Where can I find a good general contractor in Essex County?

Get written estimates from at least three contractors, as New Jersey's consumer guide advises, and do not pick the lowest bid automatically, as the FTC warns. Check each contractor's registration on the State lookup before you compare prices. Ask each one who does the plumbing and electrical work and for those license numbers. AB Contracting & Design is the Essex County general contractor LA Trusted has checked and lists.

Does AB work in Newark, Montclair and West Orange?

Yes. AB works in all 22 Essex County towns from its office at 65 Newark Avenue in Belleville. By AB's own figures, Montclair is 3.2 miles away, Newark 4.2 and West Orange 4.5, and no Essex County town is more than 10 miles from the office. AB also covers every town in Union and Passaic counties.

How do I reach AB through LA Trusted Partners?

Call AB directly at 908-331-0796 and ask for Andrew, or send the project with the form on this page. LA Trusted passes it to AB and AB calls you back. LA Trusted is not the contractor: AB prices and runs its own jobs, and you are never required to hire them.

Sources used on this page

All sources read on September 29, 2026. AB's State record was checked on September 27, 2026.

Not a renovation?

For a roof leak, no heat, a plumbing problem or anything else at the house, start a request and LA Trusted finds the right independent provider for the job and the town.

Call (908) 249-0016 Start a request All Trusted Partners