Renovation and restoration, Seattle and the Eastside
Renovation and Restoration Architecture
Whole house renovations from $300 to $550 per square foot. Reading what is already there, then bringing it forward, on houses where the walls usually have something to say once they are opened.
The first feasibility check is free and usually takes about a day.
Free feasibility check
Send the address and what you have in mind. David replies within one business day with what the site and the code are likely to allow.
- 1996Licensed architect since 1996
- 1992AIA member since 1992
- 20 to 30Projects designed each year
- 3Masonry Excellence Awards
- AIAAIA · NCARB · Washington licensed
Start here
Renovation is a different discipline from designing new
On a new build you decide everything. On a renovation the building decides a great deal for you, and your job is to find out what it has already committed to before you commit to anything yourself.
That means measuring and drawing what exists before designing what replaces it, which is work that does not appear on a new build at all. It is also why renovation fees sit at the higher end of the normal range.
The payoff is that the surprises stop being surprises. Across the Eastside’s 1960s to 1980s housing stock the hidden conditions are consistent enough to be planned for rather than discovered on demolition day.
Estimate
Estimate your renovation
Set your house size and how deep the work goes. These are the same per square foot figures published on the whole house remodel cost page, so the estimator never quotes something the site does not already stand behind.
A planning range for construction, not a quote. Soft costs, meaning design, engineering, permits and consultants, add 15% to 30% on top. Call David on 425 753 6452 to talk about your own house and which code triggers apply to it.
Projects
Selected work
Real houses, real constraints. Photographs and drawings from the practice.
The numbers
Renovation cost by depth, 2026
Studs out can land below a mid range renovation per square foot, because starting from zero removes the unknowns inside the walls that make mid range projects overrun.
| Depth | Cost per sq ft | What is included |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic refresh | $150 to $300 | Paint, flooring, fixtures, cabinet refacing, nothing structural |
| Mid range renovation | $300 to $450 | Kitchen and bath gut, new windows, HVAC replacement, some structural |
| Studs out gut renovation | $275 to $350 and up | Full interior demolition, new MEP rough in, new insulation, new drywall |
| High end with full systems | $450 to $550 and up | Premium finishes, full MEP replacement, structural work, fire sprinklers |
| Kitchen renovation with a layout change | project | $120,000 to $250,000 |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column
Construction cost. Soft costs add 15% to 30%. Eastside figures, not national averages, which run 20% to 35% low in this market.
The trap
The Substantial Improvement rule
Every Eastside city applies a substantial improvement threshold. Cross it and the project stops being a remodel in the code’s eyes and becomes closer to new construction, which means current code compliance across the whole house.
The consequence is not a fine, it is scope: energy code on every assembly, seismic requirements, sometimes fire sprinklers, on a house you only meant to renovate. Bellevue interprets it strictly and triggers at a lower threshold than most homeowners expect.
It is knowable before anything is designed, and it is the single most common reason an Eastside renovation budget moves by six figures after work starts. Ask about it in the first meeting, whoever you hire.
What gets designed
The range of work
Renovation covers a wider span than any other service here, from a kitchen to a building that has to be brought fully up to code.
- Whole house renovation. Reimagining layout, light and livability across the whole plan, which is the client work that most often sits in the $500,000 to $4M range.
- Kitchen and bathroom architecture. The rooms that decide how a house lives day to day, and the ones where cost per square foot is highest.
- Structural renovation. Opening up floor plans, adding levels, changing rooflines. The interventions that change everything and need engineering alongside design.
- Historic restoration. Returning a property to its original character with period appropriate materials and methods while still meeting current code.
- Commercial renovation. Older commercial space brought up for modern use, accessibility and energy performance.
Sequencing
Why the wet season is a design decision here
The Eastside takes 37 inches of rain a year. On a deep renovation that turns sequencing from a construction preference into an architectural one.
Exterior first sequencing closes the envelope before the wet months, which protects the interior work and keeps the schedule honest. It changes what gets drawn first and how the permit set is organized.
Get it wrong and you are either paying for temporary weather protection or watching finished interior work sit exposed. Neither is in the original budget.
How much does a renovation cost in Seattle and on the Eastside?
By depth: $150 to $300 per square foot for a cosmetic refresh, $300 to $450 for a mid range renovation, $275 to $350 and up for a studs out gut, and $450 to $550 and up for high end with full systems. A kitchen renovation with a layout change runs $120,000 to $250,000 on its own. Soft costs add 15% to 30%.
Do I need an architect for a renovation in Washington?
Not by law for single family work. RCW 18.08.410 exempts single family homes and buildings of four units or fewer from the stamp requirement. You will still need permitted drawings for structural change, and structural engineering. Commercial work is a different matter and usually does require stamped drawings.
What is the Substantial Improvement rule?
A threshold where a remodel triggers current code compliance across the whole house rather than only the work being done. It can add energy upgrades, seismic work and sometimes fire sprinklers. Knowable before design starts, and the most common cause of a six figure budget change.
Why are Eastside renovation costs higher than national figures?
The code triggers, the 1960s to 1980s housing stock with its predictable hidden costs, and 37 inches of annual rain making sequencing a real cost factor. Expect national calculators to be short by 20% to 35%.
Should I renovate or tear down and rebuild?
It depends how much of the existing structure survives and whether the Substantial Improvement threshold gets crossed anyway. If a studs out renovation already triggers full code compliance, much of the case for keeping the shell goes away. Worth running the comparison properly.
Can you work on a historic property?
Yes, including properties subject to local landmark review, using period appropriate materials and methods while still meeting current code.
Keep reading
The detail behind the numbers
- Whole house remodel cost, Seattle EastsideCost by depth with an estimator and the code trigger explained in full
- Architect fees in SeattleWhat the design work costs, with a calculator for your own budget
- Home remodel, addition or new buildThe comparison worth running before committing to any of them
- Cost to build a house in SeattleThe rebuild side of the teardown comparison
- Home additionsWhen the renovation also needs more floor area
- Bellevue building permit guideHow Bellevue runs its permit tracks and what that costs in time
Next step
Find out which code triggers apply
The Substantial Improvement question decides your budget and it is answerable before anything gets drawn. Call David Meade directly and describe the house. The first feasibility check is free and usually takes about a day.
Free feasibility check
Send the address and what you have in mind. David replies within one business day with what the site and the code are likely to allow.