Remodeling and General Contracting in Tacoma, WA
Tacoma has some of the oldest housing in the region.
- Licensed, bonded, insured (#PACIFWC905PQ)
- Free line-item estimates
- One lead, start to finish
Serving Seattle, the Eastside, Everett to Olympia
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Takes about a minute. Photos optional.
The North End, the Stadium District and Proctor are full of Craftsman and Victorian homes from the late 1800s and early 1900s, and South Tacoma and the East Side add war-era and mid-century houses. Remodeling them well means working with plaster, old framing, and in historic districts, the city's design review. Pacific West is a Seattle general contractor, and Tacoma is far enough that we take projects there that are worth planning around: whole-house renovations and larger remodels, scheduled so a crew is on site full days.
Tacoma jobs
Kitchens
Small kitchens in old houses, opened and rewired. See what old-house kitchens hide.
Bathrooms
Original bathrooms rebuilt, or a second bathroom added. See bathroom work in old houses.
Older homes in the North End
Rooms in these houses have usually been redone a few times, and opening the walls tends to find knob-and-tube wiring, old galvanized and cast-iron plumbing, and framing cut by earlier work. We plan for those as separate estimate lines. Original trim, doors, stair parts and built-ins are often worth keeping, and new work can be matched to them so the house still reads as one piece.
Big Victorian houses also bring tall ceilings and stairs that make every material delivery and every scaffold more work, which we account for in the schedule instead of discovering on day one.
Rather talk it through first? Call (206) 860-6901
Historic districts
Parts of Tacoma, including the North Slope, are historic districts where exterior changes like windows, siding, porches and additions go through the city's historic design review before a permit is issued. Interior work usually doesn't. We check your address, plan the review into the timeline, and match materials and details the review is likely to ask for.
How we schedule Tacoma work
Because of the drive, we group work so crews are on site for full days, stage materials ahead, and book inspections in blocks. You get one lead who manages it, and the schedule in your estimate reflects it.
Porches and exteriors on old houses
Tacoma's old houses have big porches, wide trim, tall walls and many layers of paint. Porch floors, column bases and stair stringers are where rot shows up first, and paint from before 1978 may contain lead, so scraping and sanding need lead-safe practices. We repair the wood before it's painted, match the original details, and plan scaffolding for the tall walls. On a historic district house, the review usually wants repairs that keep the original look, which we plan for.
Big old houses also tend to have big old heating systems, like boilers with radiators or converted coal furnaces, and sometimes a buried oil tank. We check for those early, because they change the order of the work.
City or county permits
Inside city limits, permits come from Tacoma's Permits & Development Services. Parkland (98444), Spanaway and other unincorporated areas with Tacoma addresses go through Pierce County Planning and Public Works at its Development Center. We check your parcel first.
Around Tacoma, see remodeling in Federal Way and remodeling in Olympia. Across the Narrows, see remodeling in Kitsap Peninsula, or other communities we serve.
Common questions
Do you remodel older North End homes?
Yes. We plan for the wiring, plumbing and framing issues these houses usually have, and keep or match original trim where it makes sense.
My house is in a historic district. What changes?
Exterior changes usually need historic design review before the permit. Interior work usually doesn't. We plan the review into the timeline.
I live in Parkland. Who issues my permit?
Pierce County Planning and Public Works, because Parkland is unincorporated.
Do you travel to Tacoma from Seattle?
Yes, for projects that fit our schedule. Send your address with the estimate request and we'll confirm.
What kinds of Tacoma projects do you take?
Whole-house renovations, room remodels and exterior repairs, mostly in older homes.
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