Remodeling
Kitchens, bathrooms and basements, run as one job with one schedule. The scope goes in writing before demo, the permits are ours to pull, and when something turns up behind the drywall you hear about it the same day, with options.
Kitchens, baths and basements
These are the three rooms where remodeling money actually goes, and they share one truth: the visible finish is the short, cheerful end of the job. Behind a kitchen is plumbing, gas, electric and sometimes a wall that may or may not be holding the house up. Behind a bathroom is waterproofing, which nobody sees and everything depends on. Under a basement is the question of whether the space is dry enough to finish at all, which we answer before you spend a dollar on drywall.
The scope is written before demo. Not "remodel kitchen" but what comes out, what goes in, who supplies what, and what happens if the floor under the old tub turns out to be soft. A vague scope is where remodel horror stories come from, because every surprise becomes an argument. Ours become a line item and a decision.
Sequence is the whole trade
A remodel is trades in a fixed order: demolition, then framing, then the rough plumbing and electric, then inspection, and only then insulation, drywall and the finishes you have been looking forward to. The order is not ours to rearrange. Tile cannot go on before the rough-in passes inspection, and a cabinet run cannot be set before the wall behind it is closed. Most of running a remodel well is protecting that sequence, and most of a bad one is somebody who did not.
Permits are part of it, not an optional extra. Moving plumbing, adding circuits, touching structure, finishing a basement: permitted and inspected. Paint, flooring and swapping cabinets on existing lines: generally not. We pull what the job needs, the inspections land inside the schedule instead of derailing it, and if a basement room is ever to be called a bedroom it gets the egress window code requires. Unpermitted work does not stay secret; it surfaces when you sell.
On schedules: they slip for two honest reasons. Something turns up when the walls open, or something you chose is sitting on a lead time. We take both seriously before demo. Long-lead items, cabinets and glass above all, get ordered before anything is torn out, and the schedule you sign shows the inspection days it depends on. When it moves anyway, you hear it from us the day we know, with the new date, not silence and a missing crew.
How a remodel runs
- Walk-through and written scope We measure, talk through what you want, and write the scope: work, materials, allowances, exclusions and schedule. You sign a document, not a vibe.
- Selections and lead times first Cabinets, fixtures, tile and shower glass are chosen and ordered up front. Demo does not start until the long waits are already in motion.
- Permits, then demolition The permits the scope needs are pulled, the house is protected with floor covering and dust walls, and the room comes out.
- Rough trades and inspection Framing, plumbing and electric, then the inspector. Whatever the open walls revealed has been priced and decided by now, in writing.
- Close up and finish Insulation, drywall, tile, cabinets, counters, fixtures, paint. The fast, visible end of the job, in the order the finishes demand.
- Punch list, then final payment We walk the room together, list what is not right, and fix it. The job is done when you say the list is empty.
The houses this work happens in
What people ask before a remodel
Can we live in the house while you work?
Almost always, yes. The work area gets walled off with dust protection, water stays on overnight, and you keep a working bathroom throughout. The real cost of staying is a kitchen remodel: plan on living out of the microwave for the duration, and we will tell you honestly how long that is likely to be.
Do I need a permit for this?
If plumbing moves, circuits are added, structure is touched or a basement is being finished, yes. Cosmetic work, paint, flooring, swapping cabinets on existing lines, generally no. We pull the permits the scope needs; it is part of the job, not an extra, and unpermitted work resurfaces when you sell.
Why do remodels always seem to run over?
Two reasons, both manageable. Surprises behind the drywall, which is why the scope says in advance how a surprise gets priced and decided. And lead times on cabinets, glass and fixtures, which is why we order those before demo starts rather than discovering the wait mid-job. Schedules can still move; the difference is whether you hear about it the day it is known.
Can any basement be finished?
Not until the water question is answered. A basement that takes on moisture gets that fixed first, or the drywall you paid for grows mold behind itself. And if a room down there is ever to count as a bedroom, it needs an egress window by code, which is a real dig and belongs in the plan from day one, not bolted on later.
Who buys the fixtures and finishes?
Either works, and the scope says which for every item. What we insist on is that whatever you supply is chosen and on site or on order before demo. The most expensive tile in Ohio is the one the whole job stood still waiting for.
What will it cost?
The honest answer is a written quote after a walk-through, because two kitchens of the same size can be very different jobs behind the walls. What we will not do is name a teaser number on the phone and grow it later. The scope is the price, and changes to it get priced before they happen.
Other things we do
Where we work
Start with the walk-through
Show us the room and tell us what it should be. You get a written scope, a schedule with the inspections on it, and a number that means something.