Plan a major home renovation in this order: rank what has to change and why, walk the whole house with the contractor before deciding the order of work, settle the full scope and the finishes before demolition, get one written price with each room on its own lines, build the permit step into the schedule, decide where you will live during the loudest weeks, and keep a contingency line for what the walls reveal. Most of what goes wrong on a large renovation traces back to a decision that was left open when the work started.
Start with the problems you want to solve, ranked.
Write down what is not working: a kitchen too small to cook in with two people, one bathroom for four people, cold rooms, worn floors, a layout that splits the family. Then rank the list. A major renovation rarely does everything at once, and the ranking is what tells you which rooms come first if the budget or the schedule has to be split into phases. Keep a folder of photos of finishes and rooms you like; it saves hours at the design stage.
Walk the whole house before you decide the order of the work.
A renovation that looks like three separate rooms on paper is one house with one electrical panel, one set of drain lines and one structure. At our walkthrough we go through every room, note what stays and what goes, and check the panel, the plumbing and the structure. That is when you learn that a new kitchen needs a bigger electrical service, or that opening a wall means a beam. Those findings decide the build order far more than the wish list does.
Settle the full scope and the finishes before demolition.
Changes after the walls close cost the most, because finished work has to be opened again. So decide the layout, the fixtures and the finishes for every room before the first wall comes down. Choosing tile, cabinets, counters and flooring up front also lets orders arrive in the right sequence, so a crew is never waiting on a special order part.
- Keep plumbing where it is where you can: moving a toilet or a sink means new drain lines.
- Decide on walls early: removing a bearing wall needs structural design and a permit.
- Pick finishes room by room and get them into the written price.
Most major renovations need permits, so the permit step belongs in the plan.
The 2021 Seattle Residential Code says a building permit "shall be obtained from the building official for each building or structure prior to erecting, constructing, enlarging, altering, repairing" it, except for the short list of work the code exempts (R105.1), and that "All work shall comply with this code, even where no permit is required." In Seattle, building and electrical permits come from the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, and plumbing permits from Public Health, Seattle and King County, which issues them "Whenever you are going to install, relocate, or change a plumbing or gas piping system." In Bellevue, permits come from Development Services. Drawings, review and corrections take time before construction starts, so they go on the schedule. Our guide Do you need a permit to remodel in Seattle? explains which work needs one.
Budget for what the walls may hide.
Old wiring, galvanized pipes, rot under a tub or a sagging joist only show once the walls are open. A good walkthrough looks for the signs, and a good estimate says plainly what could change. Keep a contingency line in your own budget for these finds, which are normal in older Greater Seattle houses, and agree with your contractor how a change is priced and approved before work on it starts.
Plan where you will live during the work.
If one bathroom and a place to cook stay usable, many families stay in the house and the work is phased around them. When the kitchen and every bathroom are out at the same time, moving out for the loudest weeks is usually easier on everyone. Decide this before the schedule is set, because it changes the order of the rooms.
Use real project dates to set expectations.
National averages say little about your house. Our own project pages show what large jobs took: the Split-Level Whole Home Remodel with a Marble Fireplace ran from November 2021 to June 2022 and included opened walls with temporary shoring, a new kitchen, two bathrooms and new floors. The Whole House Remodel with Wood Beam Ceilings was remodeled room by room between October 2021 and January 2022. For every dated project on our site, see How long does a remodel take in Seattle?
Choose one contractor who plans the whole job.
A major renovation goes best with one team responsible for the design, the permits, the trades and the schedule. Before you sign, check the company on the Washington Department of Labor and Industries contractor lookup: state law says "Every contractor shall register with the department" (RCW 18.27.020), and L&I's tool lets you "Verify the contractor has an active license" and "Ensure the contractor is bonded and insured." Our guide How to Find a Reliable Home Contractor walks through the rest of the vetting.
Here is how we plan a whole home renovation with you.
We walk every room with you and agree on which rooms come first. Our designer draws the house in 3D, we price each room on its own lines, set the build order and file the permits. Then one project manager runs the crews in sequence, books the inspections and walks the finished house with you at the end. See Whole Home Remodeling Across the Greater Seattle Area for the service and the Whole Home Remodeling Portfolio Across the Greater Seattle Area for finished houses.
Renovation planning questions
Where do I start when planning a major renovation?
With a ranked list of what has to change and why, then a walkthrough of the whole house with the contractor who will price it. The walkthrough shows what the panel, the plumbing and the structure can carry, which often changes the order of the work.
Do I need a permit for a major renovation in Seattle?
Almost always. The Seattle Residential Code (R105.1) requires a building permit to alter or repair a house unless the work is on its short exempt list, and a major renovation moves walls, wiring and plumbing. In Seattle, plumbing permits come from Public Health, Seattle and King County.
Can we live in the house during a whole home renovation?
Sometimes. If one bathroom and a place to cook stay usable, many families stay and the work is phased around them. When the kitchen and every bathroom are out at once, moving out for the loudest weeks is usually easier. We plan that at the walkthrough.
Ready to plan yours? Book a consultation below. By appointment. Limited start dates.
