What remodeling actually costs
Most firms treat budgets like state secrets. We publish ours in three honest tiers, because a family that knows the real numbers makes better decisions and has a better project. All figures illustrative for this demo.
The Refresh
One room, transformed inside its existing walls. The layout stays; everything you see and touch changes.
- Full bath or moderate kitchen scope
- Layout kept, finishes and fixtures all new
- Semi-custom cabinetry, quality tile and stone
- 5 to 9 weeks on site
- The most budget-certain tier
Example: The Orchard Street Bath ran in this tier at $75k to $95k (illustrative).
The Reworking
The plan itself changes: walls move, rooms trade jobs, and the house starts working the way you live.
- Full kitchen with structural changes
- Primary suites, lower levels, garden rooms
- Custom cabinetry and built-ins
- 8 to 14 weeks on site
- Where most Wrenhouse projects live
Example: The Maple Hill Kitchen ran in this tier at $140k to $180k (illustrative).
The Whole House
Multiple rooms, additions, or the full floor plan, rebuilt to one design logic under one contract.
- Whole-home remodels and additions
- Systems, envelope, and windows included
- Published chapter schedule, Friday updates
- 16 to 30 weeks on site
- Design phase runs 12 to 16 weeks
Example: The Lakeview Whole Home ran in this tier at $380k to $460k (illustrative).
Illustrative ranges for a fictional demonstration studio. Real budgets come from a real design phase.
What moves a project between tiers
The plan moves it most. Keeping your layout is the single biggest budget protector there is. The moment a load-bearing wall moves, you buy engineering, framing, and new homes for everything that lived inside that wall, usually $15,000 to $35,000 before the room gets any prettier (illustrative).
Cabinetry is a third of most kitchens. The jump from semi-custom to full custom is real money, roughly $20,000 to $40,000 on a complete kitchen, and it is worth it when the room is irregular or the storage has to work very hard. Ada will tell you honestly which kind of room you have.
Water is expensive to move. A bathroom that keeps its plumbing walls stays in tier one. Relocate the shower and the toilet and you have bought new drains, venting, and floor structure before the first tile.
What barely moves it: the finishes people worry about most. Counters, tile, and paint swing a project by thousands, not tens of thousands. If you are anxious about budget, be brave about tile and cautious about walls.
And the house itself votes. Older homes hide surprises: improvised wiring, tired plumbing, insulation from another era. We carry a named contingency (typically 8 to 12 percent, illustrative) so the surprise has a budget waiting for it, and anything unspent stays yours.
Monthly numbers, said out loud
Most Wrenhouse families fund larger projects through home equity, and the honest way to think about a remodel is the way you think about a mortgage: as a monthly figure alongside the value it adds. We are not a lender, but we will help you frame the conversation with yours.
Place your project in twenty minutes
Bring your rough wish list to a first conversation and we will tell you, honestly, which tier it lives in and what would move it. No drawings, no fee, no pressure.