WHOLE-HOME RENOVATION & REBUILDS
Full renovations and rebuilds, with someone in your corner
The biggest project your house will ever see. We match you with a general contractor whose finished full-house work we've walked through ourselves — then stay involved through permits, payment phases, and the punch list.
A whole-home renovation is the most money you'll ever hand a contractor, and it comes with the most ways to get hurt. The draw schedule that quietly runs ahead of the finished work. The demo that uncovers knob-and-tube wiring and eats your contingency in week two. The crew that vanishes for three weeks because another job fell behind, while your kitchen is open to the studs. You're not hiring for a weekend — you're hiring for months of decisions, and every one of them costs money.
That's the project Ascent Prime was built for. We match you with one general contractor whose completed full-house projects we've actually walked through — in person, not on a phone screen — and then we stay in it with you: permit questions, phased payments that never run ahead of completed work, and schedule accountability when the calendar slips. Here's what the process looks like from the first form to the final walk-through. It's free for homeowners.
How the match works for a whole-home renovation
Tell us the scope — full gut, down-to-the-studs rebuild, or a floor-by-floor renovation — and a rough budget. We go through our network for a general contractor who's finished projects that size, in houses like yours, and who has the crew depth to run yours for months without stalling. You meet, walk the house together, and see the bid before you commit to anything. After that we stay reachable: permits, draw schedules, and the slow-reply problems that sink these projects around month four.
Most full renovations include a new kitchen and bathrooms along the way — the trade-specific vetting for those lives on our kitchen remodeling and bathroom remodeling pages.
What we check on general contractors
Every contractor we work with is registered with Washington L&I, bonded, and insured — that's table stakes. For full-house work we go further:
- Completed full-house projects we've seen in person. Walk-throughs, not photo galleries — anyone can take a good picture of someone else's work.
- How they schedule subs. A full renovation is electricians, plumbers, drywall, inspectors, and cabinets all landing in the right order — we ask how they sequence it, and what happens when one runs late.
- The change-order paper trail. We want to see how past changes were priced, approved, and signed — never a verbal 'we'll sort it out later.'
- L&I registration, bond, and insurance sized to a six-figure project, verified at lni.wa.gov — not the minimum a handyman carries.
- References from clients whose projects ran three months or longer. That's where the ghosting and the corner-cutting show up.
What older Snohomish County houses hide behind the walls
Roughly two-thirds of Everett's homes were built before 1980, which means a full renovation here regularly uncovers knob-and-tube wiring, galvanized plumbing, and the occasional asbestos floor tile. Budget a contingency and expect to use it. Earthquake retrofitting is a real permit-line item in this region too — bolting an older house to its foundation while it's already opened up is cheap insurance.
Permits run through Everett Permit Services at 2930 Wetmore Ave inside the city, and Snohomish County PDS in unincorporated areas like Silver Firs or the rural parcels outside Marysville and Lake Stevens. And one note of respect: after the December 2025 flooding on the Snohomish and Skagit rivers, whole-house rebuilds are still underway in the valley communities. If yours is one of them, our insurance restoration page explains how claim-funded projects run, and our guide to storm damage insurance claims in Washington walks through the claim itself.
What a whole-home renovation costs around here
HomeAdvisor's 2025 figures put a whole-home renovation at roughly $15 to $60 per square foot — up to $150 a square foot for high-end work — with typical totals anywhere from $3,000 to $190,000 depending on scope, and a Seattle-city average near $52,600. Older local housing pushes jobs toward the top of those ranges: opening a wall in a 1920s Everett craftsman is a different proposition than the same wall in a 2005 Lake Stevens build. Treat all of this as orientation, not a quote. The real number comes from the contractor's bid after they've walked your house — and we'll tell you plainly if a bid looks padded, or so thin that something's been left out.
Questions about whole-home renovation
How much does a whole-house remodel cost in Snohomish County?
Published 2025 estimates put whole-home renovations at $15 to $60 per square foot — up to $150 for high-end work — with typical totals from $3,000 to $190,000. Where you land depends on scope, house age, and finishes, and the number only gets firm after a contractor walks the house and writes a bid.
Do I need a permit for a full renovation?
Almost always, yes. Structural work, electrical, and plumbing all require permits — filed with Everett Permit Services inside the city, or Snohomish County PDS in unincorporated areas. The contractor pulls them; our job is making sure nothing gets skipped, because unpermitted work follows you to resale and can complicate insurance claims.
How long does a whole-home renovation take?
Plan on three to nine months of construction for a true whole-home project, plus design and permit review up front. Older Snohomish County houses regularly add weeks when demo uncovers wiring, plumbing, or rot nobody priced in. A contractor who promises six weeks on a full-house project is telling you what you want to hear.
Can I live in the house during a full renovation?
Usually not comfortably, and often not at all. Once the kitchen and bathrooms are down and power or water gets cut for panel and plumbing work, most families move out for the heavy months. Some projects phase the work floor by floor so you can stay — that's a scoping conversation to have before you sign anything.
Tell us about your renovation
Two minutes. Tell us what the house needs and where it stands — a real person reads every one of these and replies within one business day, and your number never gets sold.
FREE FOR HOMEOWNERS