General Contractor in Renton, WA
Renton's older neighborhoods, like the Highlands, Kennydale and the streets around downtown, are full of 1940s to 1960s houses: small ramblers with simple floor plans and floors that have been covered over more than once.
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Much of the Highlands was built quickly during and after the Second World War, and those houses have simple framing that's easy to work on but rarely updated behind the walls. Past city limits, East Renton Highlands and Fairwood add 1970s and 80s subdivisions.
Work on Renton houses
Kitchens
Many owners keep original cabinets and update everything around them. See keeping cabinets and replacing counters.
Bathrooms
The one hall bath in an older rambler, rebuilt. See rebuilding a 1950s hall bath.
Right next door, Bellevue has its own pages for rambler bathroom remodels and taking out the kitchen wall in a rambler. For the outside of the house, see how Bellevue repaints are prepped.
Whole-house renovations
When a house needs floors, paint, a bathroom and the kitchen, doing it as one project with one schedule usually costs less and finishes sooner than four separate jobs. In Renton's older ramblers, the hidden work matters as much as the finishes: galvanized water lines, ungrounded wiring, little or no insulation in the walls, and windows that have been replaced piecemeal. We find those on the walk-through and price them as separate lines, so you can decide what to fix while the walls are open.
Questions before you send anything? Call (206) 860-6901
Floors that have been covered more than once
Older Renton houses often have two or three layers of flooring: original hardwood under carpet, sheet vinyl over plank subfloor in the kitchen, tile over vinyl in the bath. Old sheet vinyl and its adhesive should be tested for asbestos before removal. Under the layers, original oak can often be refinished, and where it can't, a new floor goes down over a flat, repaired subfloor.
1970s and 80s homes outside the city
In East Renton Highlands and Fairwood, houses are newer but often original inside: split-levels and two-stories with closed main floors, dated bathrooms and builder-grade kitchens. Common projects are opening the main floor, new flooring throughout, and updating several rooms at once.
Garages, outbuildings and deep lots
Older Renton lots are often deeper than they look from the street, and many have a detached garage or shop. Some owners turn those into studios or offices, which needs a permit, insulation, power and sometimes a new slab. Others have room for an addition behind the house, within the city's setback rules.
City or county permits
Inside city limits, permits come from Renton's Permit Services, part of Community and Economic Development. East Renton Highlands, Fairwood and some other areas with a Renton mailing address are in unincorporated King County, where King County Permitting issues them. We check your parcel before we plan.
Just west, see remodeling in Tukwila, or browse the service area.
Common questions
Can you renovate a whole older house at once?
Yes. We plan floors, paint, bathrooms and the kitchen as one schedule so nothing gets done twice.
Is there hardwood under our carpet worth saving?
Often, in Renton's older houses. We check at the walk-through. Original oak can usually be sanded and refinished unless it's been badly damaged or cut up.
I live in East Renton Highlands. Who issues permits?
King County Permitting, because the area is unincorporated. Inside Renton city limits it's the City of Renton.
Do you test old flooring for asbestos?
Older sheet vinyl and adhesive should be tested before removal. If it tests positive, a licensed abatement contractor removes it before we start.
Can our detached garage become a studio or office?
Often. It needs a permit, insulation, power and sometimes a new slab, and we check setbacks and the existing structure before you pay for design.
Start with a free walk-through
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