Whole-house remodeling costs are usually quoted per square foot, which is useful as a starting point and misleading as a budget. The figure varies by a factor of three depending on how much of the house is being touched and how deep the work goes in each room, and a house is never remodeled evenly.
A more useful way to build a number is to price the rooms separately and then add the shared costs that apply across the whole project, because that is how the work actually happens.
Three levels of whole-house remodeling
Cosmetic, roughly $60 to $90 per square foot. Flooring throughout, paint, trim, lighting, updated fixtures, refreshed kitchen and bathrooms without moving anything. No structural work, minimal mechanical work. A 2,000 square foot house lands around $120,000 to $180,000.
Substantial, roughly $100 to $145 per square foot. Everything above plus full kitchen and bathroom remodels, some walls moved, electrical and plumbing upgrades where needed, insulation improvements. The most common whole-house scope. That same house runs $200,000 to $290,000.
Gut renovation, roughly $150 to $200 per square foot and upward. Back to the studs, all systems replaced, layout substantially reworked, envelope rebuilt. Two thousand square feet runs $300,000 to $400,000, and in a house with structural problems it goes higher.
What moves the price
- Kitchen and bathroom count. These rooms cost three to five times per square foot what bedrooms and living spaces cost, so their number and size dominates the total.
- Systems replacement. Rewiring a whole house runs $12,000 to $30,000. Re-plumbing supply lines $8,000 to $20,000. A new heating system $8,000 to $20,000.
- Structural change. Each load-bearing wall removed costs $4,000 to $12,000 with engineering.
- Age of the house. Pre-war homes consistently cost more per square foot because of what is found once walls are open.
- Whether you live in it. Phasing around occupancy adds 10 to 20 percent and lengthens the schedule considerably.
Mistakes we see most often
- Budgeting from a per square foot average without counting how many bathrooms are in the scope.
- Omitting a contingency. Ten percent on a post-1970 house, fifteen to twenty on a pre-war one.
- Leaving systems out of the budget because they are not exciting, then having to open finished walls.
- Underestimating the cost of living elsewhere, or of living in it, which is a real line either way.
What this means in the Capital Region
The Capital Region has an unusually wide spread of housing ages, and it shows directly in the per square foot numbers. A 1985 colonial in Clifton Park will come in close to a quoted estimate. An 1890 house in Troy or Albany will carry a materially higher contingency, because knob and tube remnants, galvanised supply, cast iron waste stacks and uninsulated walls are all common and none of them are visible until demolition.
That is not a reason to avoid the older house. It is a reason to budget it differently, and to have the contractor open a few inspection points before a price is agreed rather than after.
Want this priced for your own home? Jeffrey Mason will walk the project and give you a free written estimate. No obligation, no sales rep. Call (518) 308-6427.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to remodel a whole house?
Sixty to two hundred dollars per square foot depending on depth of scope. A 2,000 square foot house runs roughly $120,000 for a cosmetic remodel, $200,000 to $290,000 for a substantial one, and $300,000 plus for a gut renovation.
Why does the per square foot figure vary so much?
Because kitchens and bathrooms cost three to five times what bedrooms cost per square foot, so the mix of rooms in the scope moves the average enormously.
Is it cheaper to remodel or to move?
It depends on whether the house is fundamentally right for you. Remodeling makes sense when the location and the structure are right and the layout and finishes are not. It rarely makes sense as a way to solve a house being in the wrong place or being fundamentally too small.
How much contingency should I hold?
Ten percent for a house built after about 1970. Fifteen to twenty percent for a pre-war house, where what is behind the walls cannot be known until they are open.
Related guides
- Cost to Gut and Remodel a House: Room-by-Room Breakdown
- House Remodel Cost: Complete Breakdown for Albany NY
- Whole House Renovation Cost: Complete Budget Guide
- Whole House Remodel: Planning a Full Home Transformation
- Condo Renovation Cost: What Condo Owners Need to Know
- Gut Renovation Cost: What Does It Take to Start From Scratch?