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Remodeling guides and cost breakdowns

Straight answers on what remodels cost, when you need a permit, and how to plan a project in Bellevue, Seattle, Kent, and Kirkland. No fluff, no sales pitch.

All Permits Kitchen Bathroom Countertops Design ADU Whole Home Custom Homes Process Bellevue Seattle Kent Kirkland Sammamish Issaquah

Showing 1 to 12 of 35 articles

Walk-in shower built into the footprint of a former tub alcove in an ordinary family bathroom Bathroom

Tub to shower conversion: will removing your only bathtub hurt resale value?

You never use the tub. It sits there collecting dust, taking up a third of a small bathroom, and every morning you step over its wall to take a shower in a space too cramped to turn around…Read article Custom double vanity in a primary suite, shot straight on: white oak millwork under a veined stone top with a thick edge returning down the side, two undermount basins, twin framed mirrors and brass sconces Bathroom

7 custom vanity design ideas for primary suites

A builder-grade vanity is a box with a sink on it, sized to a catalogue dimension that has nothing to do with your bathroom or your morning.Read article Older Pacific Northwest shingled home mid-renovation, its porch, stone piers and timber brackets intact while scaffolding and protective sheeting cover one gable, on an established lot with mature trees Whole Home

9 things to know before renovating an older home in Issaquah

Older Issaquah homes have something new construction cannot manufacture. The mature trees, the established streets around Olde Town, the lots on Squak Mountain that back onto forest.Read article Compact bathroom finished with built-in cabinetry rather than freestanding furniture, keeping the floor clear Bathroom

Custom built-in storage solutions for small bathrooms

Walk into most small bathrooms and you will find the same three things: an over-the-toilet rack, a freestanding cabinet wedged into a corner, and a plastic laundry basket on the floor.Read article Bathroom remodel materials staged and labelled before demolition, the stage at which most of the costly decisions are already fixed Bathroom

10 costly bathroom remodeling mistakes to avoid

A bathroom packs more trades per square foot than any other room in a house. Plumbing, electrical, mechanical ventilation, waterproofing, tile setting, glass, and cabinetry all have to…Read article Finished tiled shower with the threshold at the entry, the detail where the shower floor, the bathroom floor and the wall framing all meet Bathroom

Homeowner's guide to understanding shower thresholds

The shower threshold is the raised curb at the shower entry. Contractors also call it the curb or the dam, and it is the single most failure-prone detail in a tiled shower.Read article Kitchen remodel at framing and rough-in stage with the building permit posted at the entry, plumbing stubbed up inside the island and electrical run through the open studs Permits

Issaquah kitchen remodel permits: a 2026 homeowner guide

Permits are the step that stalls the most kitchen projects in Issaquah, and usually not because the rules are complicated.Read article White oak kitchen with a deep lower drawer pulled open on stacked pots, an adjacent drawer holding baking trays upright in dividers, and a full-height pantry standing open with door-mounted spice racks Kitchen

10 must-have custom storage features for Sammamish family kitchens

Sammamish kitchens tend to have a specific problem. The houses are generous, especially the 1990s and 2000s builds across Klahanie, Trossachs, and Pine Lake, so square footage is rarely the…Read article Compact bathroom seen straight on from the doorway, with light floor tile running unbroken past a floating vanity and wall-hung toilet into a curbless shower behind a clear frameless panel, a lit niche and a backlit mirror Bathroom

7 ways to make a 5x8 bathroom feel twice as large

A 5 by 8 bathroom is 40 square feet, and no amount of design will change that number. What design changes is how big the room reads, and the gap between those two things is enormous.Read article Spa-style primary bathroom seen from the doorway, with a curbless glass shower and linear drain on the left, a freestanding soaking tub beneath a window, a floating oak vanity lit from beneath, and warm cove lighting across large-format stone Bathroom

8 spa-inspired features to include in your primary bathroom remodel

The difference between a nice bathroom and one that genuinely feels like a spa is mostly invisible. It is not the tile you chose.Read article White quartzite kitchen island photographed at counter height, its soft gold veining running the length of the slab, with warm oak cabinetry, a brass faucet, and daylight from the window behind Kitchen

5 high-ROI countertop materials for Sammamish kitchen builds

Countertops occupy an unusual position in a kitchen budget. They are a fraction of the total spend, they sit at eye level across the most-used surface in the house, and they are the first…Read article Bathroom mid-remodel at the waterproofing stage, with green membrane sealing the shower walls, a sloped shower pan set, and large-format wall tile going up with spacers and a level Bathroom

How long does it take to remodel a bathroom?

Television is the enemy of realistic expectations here. A thirty minute episode compresses weeks of mechanical work, inspections, and tile setting into a montage, and homeowners arrive at…Read article

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