Short answer: For a whole-house renovation, start with your goals and a realistic budget range, then get the house assessed, then design, and only then get a detailed estimate based on the drawings. A rough estimate before design is useful because it keeps the design realistic. A detailed, line-by-line estimate isn’t possible until there’s a design to price.
Most of the frustration people run into on large renovations comes from doing these steps in the wrong order: drawing a house the budget can’t build, or pricing a project nobody has fully defined.
Why “estimate or design first?” is a hard question
The two depend on each other. A contractor can’t give you a detailed estimate for “redo the whole first floor and add a bathroom upstairs,” because there are dozens of decisions inside that sentence. But a designer working without any sense of cost can easily produce a plan that has to be cut back after it’s priced, and redrawing costs time and money.
The way out is to separate a rough range from a detailed estimate:
- A rough range comes from a walkthrough and a description of what you want. It tells you whether the project as you imagine it is in the right neighborhood for your budget, and which parts drive the cost.
- A detailed estimate comes from drawings and selections. It lists the scope and materials item by item, and it’s what a contract is built on.
The order that avoids redesign
- Write down your goals and priorities. Which rooms, and why: more space, a better kitchen layout, a bathroom that works for the next twenty years, an aging house that needs its systems brought up to date. Rank them. On a whole-house project, the ranking is what you’ll use when the budget forces choices.
- Have the house assessed. Before anyone designs, someone needs to look at the structure and the systems: the foundation and framing, the electrical panel and wiring, the plumbing, the heating and cooling, and signs of water problems. In older Massachusetts houses especially, what’s already there often shapes what’s practical.
- Get a rough range. With your goals and the assessment, a contractor can tell you roughly where the project lands and which items are the big drivers.
- Design. Now the design can be done to a budget that’s grounded in the actual house.
- Get a detailed estimate from the drawings and selections. Compare it against the rough range. If it’s higher, the priority list from step 1 tells you what to change.
- Permits, then construction.
Three common ways to organize it
There’s no single right route. The three you’ll usually see:
Designer or architect first, then contractors. You hire a designer or architect, get full drawings, then ask contractors to price them. You get a design shaped entirely around what you want, and estimates you can compare on the same drawings. The risk is designing beyond the budget if cost isn’t discussed early. Involving a contractor for a rough range during design helps.
One company designs and builds. A single company handles design and construction. Cost and buildability are part of the design conversation from the start, and you have one point of contact. Because there’s no separate set of drawings to bid out, comparing prices between companies is harder.
Contractor walkthrough first, then design. You start with a contractor walkthrough and a rough range, then bring in design for the parts that need it. This works well when much of the project is replacing finishes and fixtures in the existing layout, and less well when walls, structure or additions are involved.
When you’ll need drawings
Some work can be priced and permitted from a clear written scope. Other work needs drawings, and sometimes an engineer:
- Removing or moving walls that may be load-bearing
- Additions, dormers or any change to the footprint or roofline
- Changing how a space is used, such as finishing a basement into a bedroom
- Significant changes to stairs, windows or exterior openings
Your local building department decides what drawings it needs for a permit. Ask early, because preparing drawings takes time and affects the schedule.
Phasing: can it be done in stages?
Often, yes, and it’s sometimes the better choice if you’re living in the house. A few principles keep phasing from creating rework:
- Systems before finishes. If the electrical panel, plumbing or heating needs replacing, plan that before new finishes go in, so new walls aren’t opened again later.
- Structure before rooms. Any structural work, such as removing a wall or reinforcing a floor, should come before finishing the rooms around it.
- Think about where you’ll live during each phase. Keeping one working bathroom and some form of kitchen makes staying in the house realistic.
- Plan the whole thing, build in parts. Designing the full house once, even if you build it over several phases, keeps each phase consistent with the next.
Permits and contracts in Massachusetts
For a pre-existing, owner-occupied home with one to four units, Massachusetts law requires the contractor to be registered as a home improvement contractor, requires a detailed written contract, and makes getting the permits the contractor’s job. Homeowners who pull their own permits are excluded from the state guaranty fund. We went through those rules in how to check a Massachusetts home improvement contractor before you sign, and covered which work needs a permit in what needs a permit when you remodel in Massachusetts.
Where we fit
Sun Shore Construction is a general contractor, and whole-house renovations are part of what we take on, along with bathrooms, kitchens, basements, flooring, painting, doors and windows, and additions. We handle the permits with your town where they’re needed.
A planning checklist
- Goals for each room, ranked
- A budget range, with room set aside for what’s found behind the walls
- An assessment of structure, electrical, plumbing, heating and water issues
- A rough range before design, a detailed estimate after
- A decision on who designs: an architect or designer, a design-build company, or a contractor for simpler scopes
- Early questions to the building department about drawings
- A phasing plan, if you’re staying in the house
FAQ
Can I get an estimate without plans? A rough range, yes, from a walkthrough and a clear description. A detailed estimate needs drawings or at least a written scope and selections.
Do I need an architect for a whole-house renovation? Not always. Projects that change structure, add space or change the roofline usually need drawings and sometimes an engineer. Projects that mostly replace finishes in the existing layout often don’t.
Can I live in the house during a whole-house renovation? Sometimes, if the work is phased so you always have a working bathroom and some kitchen. Projects that open up most of the house at once usually aren’t practical to live through.
What should come first, the kitchen or the bathrooms? Systems and structure come first. After that, the order usually follows your priorities and which rooms you need to keep using while the work goes on.
Sun Shore Construction Team. Sun Shore Construction is a general contractor in Greater Boston, founded in November 2019. We’re licensed and insured, and we handle permits and inspections on the projects we take on.
Planning a renovation? Get a free in-home estimate: call us or fill out the form on sunshoreconstruction.com.
