Hiring an architect to tear down and rebuild in Seattle and on the Eastside

The first job of a teardown and rebuild architect is a question, not a drawing: what will your lot allow today, compared with what the old house is allowed to keep? The house may sit inside a setback, above a height limit or over a coverage cap that the code now forbids, and in several cities a teardown ends that protection. I answer the question in a free feasibility check that usually takes about a day, before you commit to a rebuild, a purchase or a fee.

This page is for owners, and buyers of an older house on a good lot, with a project budget of $750,000 or more. I am an architect, and my firm designs and administers construction; we do not build. I re-read each rule below at a city, agency or state source on 8 October 2026; where a city’s code site would not open for me, the text says what I read instead. Numbers move, so confirm with the city before you rely on one.

The first job is a feasibility question

Two things sit on the same lot, and they follow different rules. The first is what the lot allows a new house today: setbacks, height, lot coverage, trees, slopes, critical areas, stormwater and where the utilities run. The second is what the old house enjoys. If it was legal when built and no longer meets today’s code, it is a nonconforming structure, and each city decides how much you can change before that protection ends. If the house already conforms, there is no position to lose, and the check turns mostly on trees, slopes and drainage.

A remodel can usually keep an old position. A teardown usually cannot, so the gap between the two is the price of rebuilding that never appears in a per square foot figure. On a narrow lot it can mean a smaller footprint than the house you have now. Sometimes the check says keep the house, and I would rather you hear that before you pay for design. My guide to remodel or tear down in Seattle covers that decision, and when a remodel counts as a new house covers the remodel side of the same rules.

In the check I compare the lot, the existing house and what a new house could be, so you know whether to rebuild before design money is spent.

What you give up when you rebuild

The table shows what each city’s code says, or leaves unsaid, about keeping a nonconforming position when the house is torn down by choice. I include only cities where I could read the rule today.

City	Keep the old position?	What the code says	Source
Seattle	Yes, if you do not make it worse	A nonconforming residential structure may be rebuilt or replaced without increasing the nonconformity, unless the code specifically permits more. A licensed surveyor’s survey, or documentation the director accepts, is required before the permit. Action toward replacement, such as a permit application, must start within 12 months of demolition.	SMC 23.42.112.B and D
Bellevue	Not confirmed	Ordinance 6906 repealed LUC 20.20.560 and rewrote 20.20.561. In the LL, SR and LDR-1 districts, alterations over the preceding three years worth more than the replacement value of all primary structures bring the house and site to full compliance. The text I read lets a structure lost to fire or another cause beyond the owner’s control be rebuilt in its original configuration if work starts within two years, with footprint or exterior changes conforming. It says new development of a nonconforming site must bring the site and all structures into compliance. It has no clause that keeps the old position after a voluntary teardown, so budget as if it does not, and ask the city.	LUC 20.20.561 (Ordinance 6906, council agenda copy)
Mercer Island	No, except at the shore	A nonconforming house loses its status when more than 40 percent of its exterior wall length is structurally altered, counted over five years. The code does not name a voluntary teardown, but a wall counts as altered when it is completely demolished, and a teardown removes every wall. After a catastrophic loss, status is kept if a complete permit application is filed within 12 months. Within 25 feet of the shoreline, a legal structure may be completely replaced if the nonconformance does not increase.	MICC 19.01.050.D.1; 19.13.020.A
Medina	The setback only	A house that misses a zoning setback may keep it if the new house stays within the old footprint, any expansion meets current setbacks, and a complete permit application is filed within six months. That clause names only the setback, and the code does not say how the city counts a planned demolition. Substantial destruction, meaning damage of any origin, voluntary or not, that would cost 60 percent or more of fair market value to restore, ends other nonconforming rights.	MMC 16.36.060.D to F; 16.12.200
Clyde Hill	Expect no	The city’s 2026 handout puts the substantial remodel line at $493,000, with project value found by the building official and projects within two years added together. Past it, current zoning, drainage and detention rules apply to every structure on the property, and keeping a nonconforming one may take a variance. The code also treats a remodel that demolishes 75 percent of a structure’s value as destruction, which brings in current zoning. Neither names a full teardown, but a new house at $750,000 or more is past both lines.	City 2026 zoning rules guide; CHMC 17.60.030
Issaquah	No	If a nonconforming structure is demolished, any new structure must conform to the code. After involuntary damage, a single family house may be reconstructed regardless of value if the application is complete within one year.	IMC 18.214.050 and .060 (2023 ordinance text)

Kirkland and Sammamish are not in the table because I could not confirm a teardown rule at the city’s own source today. The Bellevue row comes from Ordinance 6906 as posted for the 17 March 2026 council meeting, which the city says council approved; the city’s code site would not open for me and I did not bypass it, so I could not read the codified section or confirm the effective date. I read CHMC 17.60.030 in a published copy of the code. Ask the city how it counts your plan in writing, because Medina’s six months and Seattle’s 12 months are short clocks. My guides to Bellevue custom homes and Kirkland custom homes show how I work in those two cities.

On the water. Seattle’s shoreline code treats a house that is nonconforming because it sits over water or inside the shoreline setback differently: it may be maintained, repaired and structurally altered, but not replaced or substantially improved. The one replacement exception I read, subsection I, covers a house destroyed by fire, an act of nature or another cause beyond the owner’s control, so a voluntary teardown does not fit it (SMC 23.60A.124.D.1 and I, read here). If the lot is on the water, read my waterfront remodel guide before you assume a rebuild keeps the footprint.

The order of work that keeps the lot from sitting idle

Demolition is the one step you cannot undo, so I put it last and prepare it first. The detail is in my guide to the demolition permit for a teardown; these are the points that decide the schedule.

The asbestos survey comes early. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency requires an AHERA-certified inspector to survey a structure before demolition, and says you must wait 10 days after filing the demolition notification before you demolish. What the survey finds goes into the budget, so I want it during design.

Seattle can hold the demolition. The city allows housing to be demolished only if it meets a listed condition, such as being owner occupied, not rented in the last 6 months, or already holding a permit for a new building. Its demolition page adds that in some cases it will not issue the demolition permit until it issues the building permit. A new house in Seattle takes 6 to 10 months to permit, so if none of the early conditions fits you, the old house may stand through most of the review.

Bellevue publishes its clock. For permits completed from October 5, 2025 to October 5, 2026, the city reports 49 structure demolitions averaging 141 days with a median of 91, and 238 new single family structures averaging 240 days with a median of 164. The report does not say how days are counted or whether your response time is included, so ask the city. Its demolition permit allows no tree removal and no new construction.

My rule: the demolition and the new house permit go in together, and the house comes down when the new permit has issued or is about to, unless the city’s rules force the order. A cleared lot earns nothing, needs erosion control through the wet months, and leaves no room to adjust the house to the city’s corrections.

What changes the cost and the schedule

Cost. I use the planning range of $400 to $900 per square foot for new custom home construction, plus demolition at typically $20,000 to $50,000. A 3,000 square foot house at that range is $1,200,000 to $2,700,000 (3,000 x $400 and 3,000 x $900), before the site work a bid will decide. At the $750,000 floor of the projects I take, the same range covers 833 to 1,875 square feet ($750,000 / $900 and / $400), so a full size rebuild usually needs a larger budget. If the cost question is really about spending on the house you have, see the million dollar remodel guide.

Schedule. From my projects: design to permit submission typically takes 2 to 4 months, and a new house in Seattle takes 6 to 10 months to permit. For construction I use a planning range of 12 to 18 months, which is a general range and not a promise for your house. Added up, that is 20 to 32 months from design start to occupancy (2 + 6 + 12 = 20; 4 + 10 + 18 = 32). The custom home architect page shows the same total. Bellevue’s median of 164 days for a new house permit is one city’s published figure and may not match yours.

Drainage. In Seattle’s stormwater manual, a house whose roof, walls and floor joists are removed and rebuilt counts as replaced hard surface, even if a slab or basement stays. Seattle’s code requires standard drainage review for 750 square feet or more of new plus replaced hard surface, and for land disturbance of 5,000 square feet or more, demolition permits included. On-site stormwater management starts at 1,500 square feet of new plus replaced hard surface, or 7,000 square feet of land disturbance; on lots created or resized by a plat recorded since January 1, 2016 the hard surface line is 750. A new house footprint over 1,500 square feet passes all of these lines, so see Seattle stormwater code for a remodel or addition.

Trees. The demolition permit is where trees first become a legal problem, and a tree plan can move the house on the lot. See building around trees in Seattle and get an arborist’s survey before design.

Decide in the first week

1. Find the survey, or order one. The check starts from where the house sits against each lot line.
2. Learn whether the house is nonconforming in setback, height or coverage. If it is, find your city in the table above.
3. Decide whether you can live with the lot’s current limits. If you cannot, the answer may be to keep and remodel.
4. Set a real construction budget with the planning range and the arithmetic above, not a hope.
5. Look for trees, steep slopes, a shoreline or a mapped critical area on the lot. Each adds a study and time.
6. Book the asbestos survey and an arborist for early in design.
7. Decide where you will live during construction, which the planning range puts at 12 to 18 months.
8. If you are still buying, get the feasibility answer before your due diligence period ends.

What to ask any architect before you sign

Use these with me or with anyone else you interview.

1. Before design, what will you tell me about what my lot allows, and what does that cost? Mine is free and takes about a day.
2. Which of the old house’s setbacks, heights or coverage would I lose, and where in the city’s code does it say so?
3. How is your fee set, and what does it cover? Mine is a fixed fee for design and permit.
4. How long to permit submission, and how long does this city take to review a new house right now?
5. Which consultants will you bring in (structural, civil, geotechnical, surveyor, arborist), and are their fees inside yours?
6. When does the demolition permit go in relative to the new house permit, and what happens to my lot if the new permit is slow?
7. Do you administer construction, and how often are you on site? I administer construction and do not build.
8. Can I speak with owners whose project was near my budget?
9. What would make you tell me to keep the house?

How it runs with me

First, the free feasibility check, usually about a day. If you want more, an in-depth analysis is $1,500 and takes 2 to 3 weeks: the lot and the code in detail, with the remodel and the rebuild side by side. Then I quote a fixed fee for design and permit, set by project budget and location, about $10,000 to $200,000 depending on scope. Design to permit submission typically takes 2 to 4 months. After the permit I administer construction for you; I do not build, and you choose and contract with the builder.

A little about who is answering: I have been an architect since 1996, and I am a member of the AIA (since 1992) and NCARB (since 1996). I have won three Masonry Excellence Awards for commercial projects, and the Carr residence was featured in Above The Lake and Lux magazines.

Questions

Do I need an architect to tear down and rebuild a house?

Washington does not require one for a house. RCW 18.08.410 exempts design work for residential buildings of up to and including four dwelling units. The reason to hire one on a teardown is the feasibility question: what the lot allows today versus what the old house is allowed to keep, which decides whether a rebuild is the right move at all.

What does a teardown and rebuild architect do first?

Checks what your lot allows and what your existing house is allowed to keep. That means setbacks, height, lot coverage, trees, slopes, critical areas and the city’s rules on nonconforming structures. I do this as a free feasibility check that usually takes about a day, and offer an in-depth analysis for $1,500 over 2 to 3 weeks.

Can I keep my old setback if I tear the house down?

It depends on the city. Seattle lets a nonconforming residential structure be rebuilt without increasing the nonconformity, with a survey and a start within 12 months of demolition. Mercer Island ends the status past 40 percent of exterior wall length altered, with a separate rule within 25 feet of the shoreline. Clyde Hill’s $493,000 line brings the whole property under current rules.

Issaquah

requires a new structure after demolition to conform. Medina keeps a zoning setback only inside the old footprint with a permit application within six months.

How much does it cost to tear down and rebuild a house?

I use a planning range of $400 to $900 per square foot for new custom home construction, plus demolition at typically $20,000 to $50,000. A 3,000 square foot house is $1,200,000 to $2,700,000 at that range (3,000 x $400 and 3,000 x $900). At a $750,000 budget the range covers about 833 to 1,875 square feet. A bid decides the real figure.

How long does a teardown and rebuild take in Seattle?

About 20 to 32 months from design start to occupancy, as arithmetic: 2 to 4 months of design to permit submission and 6 to 10 months for a new house permit in Seattle, which come from my projects, plus a planning range of 12 to 18 months of construction (2 + 6 + 12 = 20; 4 + 10 + 18 = 32). Complex sites, shoreline, critical areas or a long review can push it longer.

How much do you charge?

I quote a fixed fee for design and permit, set by project budget and location, about $10,000 to $200,000 depending on scope. The first feasibility check is free, and an in-depth analysis is $1,500.

Can the house be demolished before the new house permit is issued?

In Seattle, housing can be demolished only if it meets a listed condition, such as being owner occupied, not rented in the last 6 months, or already holding a permit for a new building. The city also says that in some cases it will not issue the demolition permit until the building permit is issued. I plan to demolish when the new permit has issued or is about to, unless the city’s rules decide the order.

Do I need an asbestos survey before demolition?

Yes, in the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency’s area. An AHERA-certified building inspector must survey the structure before demolition, and you must wait 10 days after filing the demolition notification. I want the survey during design because the result affects the budget and the schedule.

Do you build the house?

No. Piper Cole designs and administers construction; we do not build. You choose and contract with the builder, and I administer construction for you after the permit.