Whole-home remodel

Reworking a whole house (structure, systems and finishes) rather than one room.

Where a remodel becomes a rebuild

There is a point at which remodeling one room at a time stops being the cheaper option. If the plumbing, the wiring and the roof all need replacing, and you also want to move walls, you are paying to open the same house up several times.

We will tell you when we think you have crossed that line, including when the answer is that you have not and a smaller project is the right one.

Living in it, or not

Some whole-home remodels can be phased so you stay in the house. Many cannot, or can only at a cost in time and disruption that is worse than moving out.

That is a decision worth making early and honestly, because it changes the sequence of the work and therefore the programme and the price.

Where you do stay, the phasing is the product: dust walls up before demolition, one bathroom held live for as long as the plan allows, and a written note each week of which rooms are out of use and when they come back. You should never have to ask whether you can use your own kitchen tomorrow.

What this covers

Structural changes and re-planning
Foundation repair and seismic retrofit
Full electrical and plumbing replacement
HVAC replacement and zoning
Windows, doors and insulation
Kitchens, bathrooms and millwork
Flooring, paint and finishes

Before and after

The same rooms, twice.

One house, photographed before the work started and again after it finished.

A dated kitchen in oak with gold trim, a built-in desk run and double wall ovens — The same house, before and after a whole-home remodel. This is the scale of change the section above is describing: not one room refitted, but the plan of the house reconsidered and then rebuilt around it.

The rebuilt kitchen, with a seated island in white stone and a waterfall edge — The same house, before and after a whole-home remodel. This is the scale of change the section above is describing: not one room refitted, but the plan of the house reconsidered and then rebuilt around it.

Related work

Whole-home remodel projects

See all

Altadena Kitchen

Altadena, CA · Complete

Remodel

Pasadena Primary Bath

Pasadena, CA · Complete

Remodel

Questions

About whole-home remodel.

Less than most people expect. Anything structural, anything that moves plumbing or electrical, and anything that changes the building envelope will need one. Cosmetic work generally does not. The reason to care is not bureaucratic: unpermitted structural work surfaces at resale, and it is far more expensive to document after the fact than to permit properly at the time.

On an older house, almost certainly. Knob-and-tube wiring, galvanised supply pipe, previous work done without a permit, dry rot and inadequate framing are the common ones. We budget an allowance for it and we show you what we find rather than absorbing it quietly, because the alternative is a change order that arrives as a surprise.

From the journal

All articles

Rebuild or Remodel? How to Tell Which One Your House Actually Needs

The structural, financial and code questions that decide whether to remodel or rebuild, and where remodeling stops being the cheaper option.

How to Vet a Contractor in California: Seven Checks Worth Doing

How to verify a California contractor's licence, bond and insurance, what a real estimate contains, and what state law requires in the contract.

Where we do this work

Start with a site visit.

We come out, walk it with you, and tell you what we think it takes. Free, and no decision is needed on the day.

Request an assessment Call (626) 763-1376