Home Remodeling on Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill has some of Seattle's largest old houses, many built in the early 1900s on the streets around Volunteer Park, alongside brick apartment and condo buildings from the same era and newer mid-rise buildings closer to Broadway.
Kitchens and bathrooms in big old houses- Licensed, bonded, insured (#PACIFWC905PQ)
- Free line-item estimates
- One lead, start to finish
Serving Seattle, the Eastside, Everett to Olympia
Get a free estimate
Takes about a minute. Photos optional.
Remodeling here is a mix of careful work in big old rooms, condo projects inside a building's rules, tight streets, and in some areas, landmark district review.
What Capitol Hill houses usually need
- Kitchens: Combining small old rooms into one kitchen, or updating a condo kitchen in place. See kitchen remodeling, start to finish.
- Bathrooms: Original bathrooms saved or rebuilt. See bathroom remodels in older houses.
- Fire escape repairs: inspections, repairs and recoating for apartment and condo buildings.
Kitchens and bathrooms in big old houses
Kitchens in large Capitol Hill houses are often a series of small rooms: the kitchen, a butler's pantry, a back porch that was closed in long ago. Combining them can make one good kitchen while keeping original details where they matter. Original bathrooms may have hex tile floors, cast-iron tubs and plaster walls worth saving, or worth replacing if they're past repair, and we'll tell you honestly which.
Built-ins, stair railings, paneled doors and wide trim are part of what makes these houses what they are. We repair and match them so new work disappears into the old.
Questions before you send anything? Call (206) 860-6901
Older condo buildings
Brick buildings from the early 1900s that are now condos come with tight stairs, small elevators or none, shared plumbing stacks and HOA rules about hours, protection and water shut-offs. We plan deliveries and demo around the building, and work with your manager on approval and scheduling.
Landmark district
The Harvard-Belmont Landmark District covers part of north Capitol Hill, and exterior changes there, like windows, porches, siding and additions, need approval from Seattle's Landmarks Preservation Board before work starts. Interior remodels usually don't. We check your address and plan any review into the schedule.
Old systems in big houses
Large Capitol Hill houses often still run on systems from another era: a boiler with radiators, old knob-and-tube circuits feeding the upper floors, and galvanized plumbing that has been patched floor by floor. Many older Seattle houses also had a buried heating oil tank before they switched to gas or electric heat, and the tank may still be there. None of that stops a remodel, but it changes the order of work and sometimes the budget, so we look for it at the walk-through. If a radiator system is staying, we plan cabinets and walls around the radiators instead of fighting them.
Permits and parking
Capitol Hill is inside Seattle, so building and electrical permits come from SDCI and plumbing permits from Public Health - Seattle & King County. On narrow streets, a dumpster or staged materials usually need a street use permit from SDOT, and deliveries need timing. We handle both.
Across the city, see our Fremont page and more Seattle neighborhoods. Outside Seattle, see other towns we serve.
Good to know before you call
Can you remodel inside an older Capitol Hill condo building?
Yes. We work with the HOA on approval, hours, stair and elevator protection, and water shut-offs.
My house is in the Harvard-Belmont district. What does that mean for a remodel?
Exterior changes need Landmarks Preservation Board approval first. Interior work usually doesn't. We plan the review into the schedule.
Is it worth saving original bathroom tile?
Often, if it's intact and well bonded. Hex floors and old wall tile can be cleaned, regrouted and paired with new fixtures.
Do you do carpentry-only jobs on Capitol Hill?
Yes, such as built-ins, railings, doors and trim matched to the house.
How do you handle parking and dumpsters on narrow streets?
We get the SDOT street use permit and plan deliveries for the times they cause the least trouble.
Tell us what you're planning
Tell us what you're planning. We'll set up a free walk-through and send an estimate with every cost listed, so you decide what's in.
- No obligation
- Takes about a minute
- Photos optional