Whole-Home Renovation in Roswell, Alpharetta and Johns Creek

Whole-home renovation in Roswell covers the houses that need more than one room. It might be an older home near the historic district with original plumbing and a closed-up floor plan, or a house you just bought that needs bringing up to date before you move in. Doing it all at once, or as one planned series of stages, costs less than a string of separate remodels, because the walls are opened once, the systems are updated once and every room is designed to fit with the others.

Start with the bones

Before we talk about finishes, we look at what holds the house up and keeps the weather and water out. The project manager checks the foundation, the framing we can see, the crawl space or the basement, the plumbing, the wiring and the heating and cooling. Termite damage, a sagging floor, old plumbing or wiring that has reached the end of its life all show up in the written estimate as their own lines, with photos. We fix those first, because new finishes over a failing system only have to be torn out again.

Older homes in Roswell

The older houses around Roswell’s historic district and the streets near the river have character worth keeping: solid wood floors, plaster walls, real trim and generous porches. They also come with lead paint in many cases, plumbing and wiring that has been extended over the years, and rooms laid out for the way people lived long ago. In an older home we test painted surfaces before we disturb them, and if lead is found the crew follows lead-safe work practices. Exterior changes in the historic district go to the city’s historic preservation review, and we prepare what it asks for.

Newer homes that need updating

Many homes in Alpharetta and Johns Creek are well built but dated: oak cabinets, small bathrooms, carpet on the main floor and a formal living room nobody sits in. Here a renovation is mostly about layout and finishes. We open the kitchen to the family room, turn the formal rooms into something useful, update the bathrooms and run one flooring through the main level, so the house feels new without moving a single exterior wall.

Phasing and living through it

If you live in the house during the work, we phase it. A typical plan keeps one bathroom and a stand-in kitchen working at all times, moves the family from one part of the house to another as the stages finish, and seals each work zone behind dust barriers with its own entry for the crew. If you can move out, even for a few weeks, the work goes faster and costs a little less. We show you both schedules side by side.

How a whole-home renovation goes

1. Assessment. A full walk-through of the structure and the systems, with a written report and photos.
2. Plan. Floor plans, finishes and a phasing plan, with the price fixed on the plan.
3. Permits. We pull every permit the work needs and book the inspections.
4. Systems first. Repairs, plumbing, wiring and heating and cooling, inspected before the walls close.
5. Finishes. Drywall, kitchens, bathrooms, floors, trim and paint, room by room or stage by stage.
6. Walk-through. We walk the finished house with you and come back for every punch-list item.

Your written estimate

The estimate lists each stage and each trade on its own line, with the repairs found in the assessment shown separately from the work you chose. Each stage can be built when the budget allows. Not sure where to start? Our kitchen remodeling page is the most common first stage, and the Roswell area page explains what we see in the city’s older streets.

Whole-home renovation by town

• Whole-home renovation in Roswell, GAFrom the older homes near the historic district to the brick-front colonials in the swim-and-tennis neighborhoods: closed-in kitchens, original bathrooms and basements waiting to be finished.
• Whole-home renovation in Alpharetta, GATwo-story homes with builder-grade kitchens, bonus rooms over the garage and walk-out basements: remodels that make the house fit how the family lives now.
• Whole-home renovation in Johns Creek, GALarger homes on wooded lots with room to grow: primary suite additions, finished basements and kitchens opened to the family room.

Guides

• Planning a Remodel in an Older Roswell HomeWhat to plan for before remodeling an older Roswell home, from lead paint and old wiring to the historic district review and living through the work.

Questions about whole-home renovation

• Can we live in the house during a whole-home renovation?

  Often, yes, if the work is phased. We plan the stages so you keep a working bathroom and a stand-in kitchen, and we tell you in advance which rooms are out of use and for how long. For the largest projects, moving out for part of the time can shorten the schedule, and we show you both options.

• What should we fix first in an older house?

  The things that protect the rest of the house. Water problems, structural repairs, failing plumbing and unsafe wiring come before new finishes, because they are cheaper to fix with the walls open and they can damage new work if left alone.

• Can the work be split over two or three years?

  Yes. We can plan the whole house now and build it in stages, so each stage fits your budget and none of them has to be undone later. The written plan shows what each stage includes and what it costs today.