A kitchen remodel is different from other projects in one big way: most of the cost is associated with finished products and materials. It’s an important consideration to keep in mind as you plan your budget for your own kitchen remodeling project.

Products and Materials vs. Labor and Expenses

How your kitchen remodeling budget skews depends on your project’s scope and the choices you make. In some case, finished products and materials that include cabinets, countertops, and flooring can outweigh the labor and installation costs by more than 2 to 1. Add in major appliances like refrigerators and ranges and that figure can approach 70%. Knowing these numbers can help you better understand where your money is going.

Photo credit: US Media House

Managing the amount you spend on various elements of your kitchen remodel is easier to do if you follow some time-proven rules.

Decide on a Budget and Stick to It

This sounds pretty obvious, but it’s more difficult than you may think. The average cost of a mid-range kitchen remodel in Fairfax County is just shy of $60,000; an upscale re-do can exceed $100,000. Three factors should help you determine what you want to spend:

• How much can you afford?
• How long do you plan to stay in your home?
• What are your neighbors doing with their kitchens?

Photo Credit: US Media House

A quick look at your finances will answer the first question. If you plan on staying in your current home for more than 5 years, a kitchen remodel should be done with what’s best for your family’s lifestyle in mind. Planning on a move in the next five years? View a kitchen renovation as an improvement on your investment. Unless you plan to stay in your home forever, try to avoid over-improving the kitchen for the neighborhood. Otherwise, you could see less return when you sell.

Finally, know how you will pay for the project. Whether you use savings, a home equity loan, refinancing, or take out a conventional loan, there will be associated costs.

Set Your Priorities

Photo Credit: US Media House

What’s most important to you? An open floor plan or new layout? Are you craving chef-quality appliances and custom cabinetry? Do you envision adding on to gain more space? Write down your wants and needs in order of importance. It will make it easier to make compromises on what might be less important things.. Put your money into those items that you know will bring the most return in the form of your family’s enjoyment.

Will You Stay or Go?

Are you planning to stay in your home while remodeling the kitchen? It can be stressful to live without the hub of the home and adjoining rooms for an extended period. Moving out can lessen the stress. If that’s not possible, discuss ahead of time setting up a temporary kitchen and factor in the cost of take-out food and restaurant meals.

Ask Questions

As a design-build firm, we know the value of teamwork. A big part of that is consistent, open communication amongst the team and with the client. Starting with our initial in-home consultation, we encourage the clients we work with, to be honest about their budget’s bottom line. In return, we promise to give a straightforward, realistic opinion on the likelihood of accomplishing your wants and needs within that figure. Our goal is to help you get the kitchen you want at a cost you can afford.

A question we often hear from new clients is “how much should I set aside as a contingency?” While there will usually be a surprise or two during a remodel, especially with older homes, the beauty of the design-build approach is that the cost and risk analysis that’s done as the design develops helps to substantially reduce or eliminate the need for that hefty 20% contingency figure you often read about.

Learn More About Kitchen Remodel Costs

Want to learn more about determining the amount you should expect to spend on your kitchen remodel? Schedule a conversation with us today to talk about your family’s remodeling needs and desires. We look forward to working with you!

A good contractor is like a good mechanic, dentist, or doctor: find the right one and you’ll have a home remodeling partner for years to come. Just like the other people you now go to regularly for checkups, tune-ups, or repairs, finding the best home remodeling contractor can take some time. Choosing the right one, though, is a crucial remodeling step.

Whether you’re looking to do a whole house, bathroom, or kitchen remodel, here’s how to know you’re getting the best remodeling contractor for the job.

What Makes a Home Remodeling Contractor the “Best?”

The best home remodeling contractors inspire trust: they know you are inviting a stranger into your home, asking them to make major changes, and relying on them to deliver as promised. There are five essential qualities you should look for if you want to increase your odds of finding a trustworthy remodeling contractor.

1. They’re local. The closer to home a remodeling contractor is, the more important it becomes to maintain a great reputation. Good local contractors live in the community with their clients and consider it an honor to help them realize their remodeling dreams.

2. They have a portfolio of work. We live in a visual world and photos are the best way to quickly gauge a contractor’s style and commitment to quality. A contractor’s portfolio should also inspire you and make you feel the remodel you have in mind is possible.

3. They provide references. References build trust and credibility. Testimonials, reviews, videos, and other online mentions like Houzz reviews, are also important. The best home remodeling contractors will provide you with a list of clients you can contact to ask questions and get feedback about their experience.

4. They have a process. From initial consultation to final walkthrough, the best remodeling contractor will detail the process they use for small and large remodeling projects, as well as new home construction and home additions. Clients usually know what they want, but they’re not well-versed on how to accomplish it. A proven process provides you with a sense of comfort and understanding that the contractor has the experience and expertise to complete your project.

At Foley Development, our process includes the budget, scope of project, existing home analysis, plan philosophy and design, specifications, and more. We believe this process makes the overall remodeling process a smoother and more enjoyable one for our clients.

5. The put a value on communication. Inefficient communication between people working on your remodeling project can be one of the biggest barriers to its successful completion. If you want great results, you need a contractor who excels at keeping your project on time and on budget. We’ve done enough projects to know that the key to meeting those goals is good communication. The design build process encourages clear, open, and continual communication from the start. Builder and designer work together in a well-rounded, effective manner that keeps the lines of communication open between them and the client.

Northern Virginia Home Remodeling Contractors

Foley Development is a family-owned business with a real understanding of the communities we serve, including local construction practices, rules, and regulations. We live in the neighborhoods we serve and consider our clients our friends. We’re invested in giving you a personalized remodeling experience that emphasizes value, quality work, and personal integrity.

What makes Foley one of the best home remodeling contractors in Fairfax County? We believe it’s our service-focused design build process, professionalism, and expertise. Most importantly, our people share one common goal: to make your home remodeling vision come to life while making the experience an enjoyable and stress-free one.

Want to learn more about choosing the best home remodeling contractor and why we believe we should be your first choice? Schedule a conversation with us today to talk about your family’s remodeling needs and desires. We look forward to working with you!

The custom home building process is much more than the construction of your new home. It’s one of the most fulfilling experiences you’ll ever have. So many design possibilities, unlimited material choices, and the ability to “have it your way.” Foley Development Group’s extensive history, level of expertise, award-winning design, and commitment to customer service allows us to put your needs, tastes, and lifestyle first and foremost.

Custom Home Building Process

While actual construction averages eight months or less, your ideal custom home can be years in the making. Though many people fear it can be a confusing and predictable path, working with the right design build team can make it a smooth, even fun, process. The key to making it an enjoyable experience is knowing all you can about the process itself.

If you’re trying to decide whether building a custom home is right for you, one of the first things you might want to do is talk to other people who have already been through the process themselves. Nearly everyone who’s built a custom home has a story to share and they often love sharing it with others.

We believe the more you know about the huge task you’re about to undertake, the better your overall experience will be. Here’s how a typical custom home building process plays out.

Pre-Construction

The pre-construction phase involves preparing a budget, purchasing and developing the land, designing home plans, financing, and choosing what we sometimes call “the shiny stuff.” We go into much greater detail on our website, but here are the highlights for each part of this phase.

• The budget drives the entire process. It may be dictated by your personal comfort level or by your bank! Open communication with your designer and builder about your budget is key to establishing building guidelines. To create a budget that works for your financial situation and gets you the home you dream of, consider these elements:
• Your lot is the single largest line item in your budget. In Fairfax County, the land for your new home is typically 25 to 50 percent of the overall price of the home. It’s crucial to not purchase a piece of land until you understand how the rest of your budget will play out. We love working with our clients to find the perfect lot that’s suitable for the home they have in mind.
• Land development is an extensive, and not inexpensive, process that involves excavation, clearing trees, bringing in and connecting utilities, driveways, landscaping, engineering, and permits. Since land development can be the second highest line item in your budget, you should be aware of these costs before designing your custom home.
• Home plans can be obtained from plan books or you can create your own custom design by combining different ideas from different sources. Before creating plans, you and your designer should come to an agreement as to the size of the home, the general specifications, and your budget. This way, you guarantee that the home you want can be built where and how you want it to be.
• The “shiny stuff,” or specifications and selections include everything from plumbing and light fixtures to cabinets and countertops. A carefully constructed budget makes sure you’ll be able to put the finishing touches you desire into your new home.
• Financing, while a small amount of your overall budget, should actually be thought of before any of the other four categories. It’s often the case that what your lender is willing to finance will drive your budget. We provide our clients with a list of lending institutions who specialize in custom home financing and are happy to educate you about how these types of loans differ from a conventional mortgage.

The Importance of Scheduling

Every custom home construction project has a schedule. How long yours will be depends on a few factors:

• How involved the land development is.
• The complexity of the home’s structure.
• The size of the home.
• The level of finishing that will go into the home.

At FDG, we based our delivery date on the above parameters. Experience has taught us that it takes a minimum of eight months to finish a 5,000-square foot home and an additional few weeks for every extra thousand square feet over that.

Learn More

We hope this outline gives you a better idea of how the custom home process works, and makes the idea of designing and building a new home a welcome one! We invite you to view our portfolio of new homes and then contact us to schedule a conversation. We look forward to meeting you!

A whole house remodel is a big decision – and investment – so getting it right can be a major concern. Whatever your reason for remodeling, there is a ton of options for updating and altering your existing space.

Many whole house remodels come out of a family’s desire for more space. Often, the current layout doesn’t quite fit their needs. We’ve also had numerous projects that started as one-room remodels that ended up spilling into other parts of the house. Frequently, older homes with multiple small rooms are opened up and fixtures, appliances, flooring, and cabinets are updated to reflect today’s aesthetics.

What to Do First When Remodeling a House

There’s plenty of upside to doing a whole house remodel, including getting everything accomplished at the same time. Still, when faced with such a large undertaking, it can be difficult to know just what to do first. Any remodel, no matter how extensive, should enhance your home’s comfort and functionality and increase its value. The best place to start? Creating a plan.

Planning Your House Remodel

A whole house remodel has numerous, sometimes seemingly disparate, features to consider, each requiring detailed planning. Too often, there’s a tendency to dive right in without considering whether all the elements will come together in a cohesive, attractive, and functional way. Everything you’d like to change or add should be carefully researched and discussed. To cover every component in depth would take multiple posts, but here are some of the major considerations that should be included in your overall remodeling plan.

What’s Your Vision? Everyone has a vision of their “perfect home.” Look through magazines, visit home improvement stores, start a Houzz Ideabook, and use Pinterest boards for inspiration. Then consider whether all your ideas will work in your home’s current layout and stay within your budget. Write down your top five must haves.

What’s Your Size? How extensive will your remodel be? Will it be two, three, or more rooms? Will you be adding an addition or second floor? Are you okay working with the square footage you already have if it will accommodate your top priorities? If you’ll be adding on, make sure you know what permits you need, or if there are local covenants to take into account.

What’s Your Style? Every client we work with has a unique personal style. It’s important to have your home reflect the design you have in mind, but think about picking elements that will also stand the test of time. There’s a difference between trends and being trendy, so try to avoid choosing elements that will need updating three to five years from now. With so many styles available to choose from – including traditional, modern, eclectic, rustic, or industrial – once you land on what’s right for you, use it as the foundation for designing the rest of the house.

What’s Your Budget? The sky may be the limit when talking about a whole house remodel, but few people have unlimited funds to work with. Many factors will influence your bottom line:

• Size of the remodel
• Design elements
• Extent of demolition
• Customization
• Fixtures and furnishings

And much, much more. It helps to start with a figure that represents how much you’re willing to invest. If you discover your dream remodel is larger than your budget, you can scale back your wants, or delay part of the project until a later date.

Looking Forward. If you’ll be putting off some part of the project, plan now for those future phases. Think about things like duct work, electrical, and plumbing changes or needs. Even smaller details, like placement of electrical outlets should be thought about. Now is also the time to think about how you’ll use your home as you grow older. Aging in place, or universal design remodeling is worth considering, as it allows you to accommodate your family’s lifestyle now and in the future.

Learn More

Obviously, there are a lot of steps and a great deal of planning that goes into any remodeling project. At Foley Development Group, we can help walk you through each of these steps on the way to making your dream space a reality. We offer a personal, hands-on approach to design build that helps your remodeling project run smoothly and quickly. We invite you to view some of our work and then contact us to schedule a conversation. We look forward to meeting you!

Thinking about building a home addition? Adding on to your existing home is a great way to stay put in a house and location you already love while gaining the space you need. Whether it’s a bigger kitchen, adding a master suite or family room, or building up to add bedrooms and baths, an addition allows you to enjoy your home in a whole new way.

House Addition Ideas

It’s a big endeavor, but a well-thought-out addition pays for itself time and again. Why not increase your home’s value and make it a more enjoyable space by extending its square footage with a carefully designed addition? You can maximize your investment by choosing the ideal materials and architectural details that best complement your existing home.

Read about these popular home addition ideas that combine more space with good looks and get inspired for your own add-on.

1.Connect to the Outdoors

Many owners of older homes in particular look to build additional space by adding on the back of the house. Typical requests are for kitchen and/or family room add-ons. A great advantage to this type of addition is being able to strengthen your home’s connection to its backyard. People often include a new patio, deck, or outdoor kitchen when they do a rear addition. A backyard addition is also a fun way to experiment with different materials. Instead of trying to match existing brickwork, for example, you can choose a complementing material that still preserves your home’s architectural integrity.

2.Kitchen Additions

Kitchen additions allow you to enlarge and modernize what is arguably the most important room in the house. They bring an excellent return on investment. Popular new features include customized storage, clean lines (no fussy details!), muted colors like grey and faded blue, and seamless integration with other living areas. Darker floors with light cabinets, copper accents like range hoods, and statement floor tile are fresh ways to make a big visual impact.

3. Bathroom Additions

Nearly tied with kitchens on ROI, one or more bathroom additions can dramatically improve your family’s lifestyle. It allows each person to have their own space for getting ready in the morning, gives them more privacy, and lets you claim the master bath as an exclusive retreat. What’s new for this year? Curbless showers, floating vanities, shower nooks and benches, freestanding soaking tubs, undermount sinks, and a decided shift to neutral colors. Creative use of tile adds a dramatic or colorful touch, depending on your personal style.

4. Master Suite Additions

A master suite addition not only increases square footage and quality of living, it also adds great value. Today’s trend is a luxury space that goes far beyond the traditional master suite. Upscale and equipped with the latest in bathroom technology, these additions often include sitting areas, fireplaces, TVs, surround-sound stereo systems, and shower features that rival any resort spa.

5. Two-Story and Third Story Additions

If you lack the room to build out, why not go up? A second or third floor addition has an excellent return and there are endless possibilities for what to do with the space. Many homeowners add bedrooms and baths for the children and guests, but others build a two-story addition that includes a family room or kitchen below and home gym above. If you can imagine it, it can be built!

Learn More

A remodeling project can only accomplish so much within the confines of your home’s existing footprint. To get the home you really want, an addition often makes a lot of sense. Choosing to add on means you finally get to have that gourmet kitchen you’ve always dreamed of or sleeping and bathing spaces for every family member. You can even double your living space if you so choose!

To learn more about home additions in Northern VA, schedule a conversation with us today. We’ve spent over 30 years remodeling, renovating, and adding on to homes throughout Fairfax County. We look forward to meeting you!

Building a custom home is one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences a homeowner can have. As thrilling as it is, there are still a lot of decisions to be made that require careful thought and consideration. The process demands focused attention to detail – most of it before you even think about breaking ground.

Creating a house checklist is one of the easiest ways to make your custom home building experience as seamless and enjoyable as possible. Use these five tips to ensure you have a smooth homebuilding process. Checking each one off will move you ever closer to realizing your custom home dream.

Step 1: Goals and Guidelines

Be clear on what you want from your new home from the start. Write down your answers to these questions. They’ll help you focus on what your true goals are for your new home.

• What do you want your new home to look like?
• What are the must-haves in your new home?
• Where do you want your new home to be located?
• What will your new home cost?

Step 2: Determine a Budget

Ideally, you should make a budget in consultation with whomever you choose to design and build your custom home. One of the greatest benefits to working with a design build firm like ours is that the level of coordination between all involved parties keeps your design and budget realistic. In other words, there’s no “sticker-shock” because the design build approach makes sure your budget is an essential part of the design process, included in all design and building decisions.

Don’t forget line items like:

• The cost of your lot
• Local taxes
• Building and permit fees
• Engineering and construction costs
• Site preparation
• Landscaping and hardscaping costs

A spreadsheet can help you keep track of expenses and makes for easier adjustments as the project moves forward.

Step 3: Choose the Perfect Location

The location of your new home is just as important as its physical features. Consider the following:

• What are your favorite neighborhoods?
• What is your ideal setting? Do you want plenty of established trees, or do you enjoy the wide-open look? Will you be building on a sloped lot?
• What is your family’s lifestyle? Whether you spend a lot of time outdoors, want to be close to urban amenities, would like to eventually install a pool, the location, size, and shape of your lot will affect these needs and wants.

Be sure to do a walkthrough of the lot with your builder who can help you find a site that requires minimal work while giving you everything you’re looking for.

Step 4: Select Your House Plans

The more detailed your houses plans are, the more you’ll fully understand what your new home will look like. Plans and specifications are the directions a builder uses to construct your new home, so having complete plans reduces unforeseen change orders or delays.

Things to keep in mind as you’re choosing a plan:

• The size and layout of rooms and how they complement your family’s lifestyle. Does your family entertain a lot? You might want an open concept plan. Will you be bringing furnishings from another home? Make sure the new rooms will accommodate them.
• How many bedrooms and bathrooms you want
• Weigh the pros and cons of features like bay windows, skylights, outdoor living areas, finished basement, or luxury master suite.

Finally, make sure the plans you choose will suit the lot you’ve chosen.

Step 5: Establish a Timeline

No building a house checklist is complete without a timeline. Work with your design build team to create a realistic schedule:

• How long will it take? While the average time to build a custom home is six months, homes with custom features may take longer.
• When would you like to move in? If you’ll be selling your existing home, it can help to know when you might need to list it. Do you want to move in before school starts? Prioritize your reasons for completing your new home by a specific date.
• When’s a good time to start? A home can be built at any time of the year, but rainy or colder seasons may mean more delays than if you build in the warmer months.

Find Your Dream Design Build Team

Of course, selecting the right design build firm is one of the most important steps for any custom home project. The one you choose should understand your unique building situation and be able to provide you with the skills and experience that it takes to deliver a quality custom home to your family.
To learn more about creating a checklist that keeps your custom home building process on track, schedule a conversation with us today. We look forward to meeting you!

Residential green construction is the environmentally conscious approach to home building, remodeling, and renovation. To achieve LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, certification, builders adhere to standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Foley Development has been incorporating green methods into our design build process for years. When rating the “green factor” of a home that we build or remodel in Northern Virginia, we rely on the National Green Building Certification by the National Association of Homebuilders.

Advantages of Eco Friendly Construction

A green home is one that is designed, built, or remodeled in an eco friendly and resource-efficient way. Along with environmentally sound design practices, it involves using sustainable materials that help improve homeowners’ lives, conserve energy resources, and protect the planet by:

• Conserving natural resources with more efficient water and lighting fixtures.
• Saving money on energy costs.
• Enhancing and protecting a property’s natural surroundings.
• Improving indoor air quality and, consequently, your family’s health.
• Minimizing the impact on local infrastructure.
• Reducing construction waste that’s sent to landfills.

Eco Friendly Building Materials

New energy efficient, earth-friendly materials enter the market every year. While some homeowners – and builders – shy away from using them because of the costs they add to a new home construction or remodeling project, energy conservation experts argue they lead to lowered costs of heating and cooling a house. Even if you’re on a tight or limited budget, there are creative ways to use eco friendly building materials in your construction project.

Here are some of the most popular eco friendly building materials you might want to consider for your Fairfax County home build or remodel.

Reclaimed Lumber

Foregoing freshly felled wood, homeowners are choosing reclaimed wood for furnishings, flooring, paneling, and more. The wood comes from old buildings, barns, factories, and warehouses and there are a host of environmental benefits that come with this choice. Preservation of our forests and the creatures who live in them and a reduction in materials being sent to landfills are just two. A bonus benefit: reclaimed wood has a denser grain, which makes it sturdier and more durable than wood from newer trees.

Bamboo

Bamboo is an amazingly versatile material that proponents of green building have embraced and promoted for years. It can be shaped and formed into any number of building components, including wall and ceiling panels, cabinets and flooring. It’s used outdoors for fencing and decks, and indoors for furniture and kitchen essentials like utensils and cutting boards. The popularity of bamboo for residential construction continues to grow. It’s sourced from eco friendly sustainable plants, is incredibly strong, recyclable, and withstands high winds even better than concrete and steel!

Dimension Stone

Green-friendly construction with natural materials has been popular for several decades. While most homeowners are familiar with how stone can be used during construction, they’re often surprised at the wide variety of stone that’s available, including what’s known as dimension stone. Though rarely used as a construction material, stone is popular when applied as a veneer. It’s also used for patios, paving, roofing, and retaining walls.

Natural stone offers homeowners many attractive and environmentally friendly attributes. The principal rock types are granite, limestone, marble, sandstone, and slate. As to it eco-friendliness, in Virginia, compliance with LEED requires that any dimension stone used in green construction be quarried within a 500-mile radius of where the work is taking place.

Green Roofing

Asphalt shingles, wood, metal, and even rubber: there are a variety of durable and eco friendly roofing materials to choose from. The most important traits to consider with eco friendly roofing is its recycled material content, its durability, and how long it will last. Shingles made from recycled waste materials are among the most popular green roofing products, and most are composed of recycled plastic, rubber, or wood fiber. They are amazingly durable and attractive. Benefits include diverting landfill waste and reducing the need to extract and process raw materials.

Learn More

For homeowners who want to live a sustainable lifestyle, designing and building eco friendly homes helps reduce construction’s negative impact on the planet. If you’d like to learn more about sustainable building materials, or are ready to begin a new construction or remodeling project for your Fairfax County home, schedule a conversation with us today. We look forward to meeting you!

The timeline for a “typical” whole house remodel varies. That’s because no two remodels are ever alike. Until the scope of the project is determined, it’s just a guessing game. Once your design team has a clear idea of your vision and budget, though, a good design build firm can – barring any surprises – confidently give you an estimated completion date.

At Foley Development Group, each whole house, bathroom, basement, or kitchen remodeling project we do is unique. A whole house remodel can often feel like driving your car on a crowded highway – there’s times of movement followed by periods of idling, waiting for the pace to pick up again. The design and materials selection phase is a busy one, but obtaining permits and setting a construction schedule is a much slower process. Then comes the busy period of demo followed by electrical and plumbing work that’s largely out of view.

We know it can be frustrating to go through the lulls – most homeowners need to see things progressing to believe there’s an end in sight. Rest assured, your team is doing everything it can to make sure your whole house remodel stays on schedule and budget.

A Remodeling Timeline

Knowing what to expect can be half the battle in navigating your whole house remodel. Keep in mind that typically, the construction phase takes up only about a third of the time needed to complete the remodel. The time your own remodel will take is contingent on several factors, including:

• The type of remodel.
• The scope of the project.
• How long the design process takes.

Does your project include an addition? Will you be tearing down walls and replacing all the electrical? It isn’t the square footage of your house that defines how long the job will take as much as it is the layout and changes you’ll be making. For example, if sinks, toilets, and major appliances aren’t being moved, that can mean a shorter schedule than if you’re changing the entire footprint of the kitchen or bathrooms.

For remodels that involve structural changes and altered layouts, the design and construction phases can last longer. If the work requires permits, as most whole house remodels do, that can add weeks to the process as well. The good news is that when you choose a design build firm to do your whole house remodel, the process will be faster than if you use the design-bid-build model. Because the work is done in house, complete designs can be finished in weeks instead of months!

That said, our experience – and our proven process – has given us a pretty good idea of how long certain projects or phases take. Once we have your design in place, we can give you an accurate timeline.  

The Construction Schedule

The average whole house remodel takes between four to eight months. Obviously, some will take less or more time. When the work begins will depend on the schedules of both you and your contractor. Remodeling is never an exact science, and any number of circumstances can have an impact on your project. That’s why it’s so important to work with a design build firm that does all the necessary up-front work, like having a set schedule and all materials on site beforehand, both of which help avoid delays and surprises while the job is in progress.

Here at FDG, we provide you with a detailed timeline for both the design and constructions phases, and we refine it as necessary as your whole house remodel progresses. Everything we do schedule-wise is focused on keeping things moving forward in a timely fashion.

To learn more about our scheduling process and how it ensures you get the home you want, when you want it, schedule a conversation with us today. We look forward to meeting you!

A whole house remodel visually, structurally, and functionally transforms your Fairfax County home in a way smaller renovations do not. Executed properly, it maintains everything you love about your current home, but makes it better suited to your family’s current lifestyle. It also has the potential to increase your home’s value.

Does your growing family need more space? Do you need living quarters for aging parents? Maybe you bought your home because you loved the neighborhood, but you want it to better reflect the way your family lives.

Remodeling your entire house is a great way to improve its comfort, style, and function. Whatever your reasons for taking on this big project, a whole house remodel may be just what the family ordered!

Design Build for Whole House Projects

The design build process in a whole house project provides a way to protect the integrity of the build while staying on budget. When all design work is done in one location, questions are answered more quickly, design decisions are integrated, and surprises are dealt with on the spot. An integrated communication process means your whole house remodel stays on track regardless of its scope.

How to Plan for Your Whole House Remodel

Whole house remodels are complex and typically involve multiple design plans, as well as all the systems of your home including electrical, plumbing, heating, and HVAC. You may want to replace your roofing, add decking or stairs, or add on another room.

When it’s time to sit down and plan your whole house remodel, keep these factors in mind and the process will be that much less stressful. It should be fun planning the home you really want to live in!

Plan Your Budget

Start the budgeting process with setting priorities based on your “must have” and “nice to have” design ideas. This will help your designers focus on the options that most matter to you. There’s typically quite a bit of compromising in a whole house remodel budget and your design team can be extremely helpful in laying out options that allow you to get the look you desire while staying within your budget.

Square foot pricing is convenient, but it rarely matches reality. There are always mitigating factors that affect your remodel’s total cost. Wall removal, fireplace installation, furnishings, fixtures, add-ons, and upgraded systems all affect your bottom line.

Plan for Design

A design build team consists of a group of talented experts working as one to bring your vision to fruition. The different designers involved in your remodel bring their distinct strengths to each step. Your project may include one or more designers, including:

• Interior Designers
• Kitchen and Bathroom Designers
• Structural Designers/Architects/Engineers
• Lighting Design
• Landscape Designers
• Audio/Visual Design

Your builder manages your project from start to finish, guides the entire team on design solutions, chooses and consults with tradespeople, handles permits and inspections, coordinates scheduling, provides accountability, and much more.

The ideal design build firm is one that takes the burden off you for making decisions in areas you’re not knowledgeable about, but keeps you at the center of every decision. Think of your design build team as a fresh set of eyes that can answer your questions and help you see your way through the myriad of choices more clearly.

Plan the Timeline

What day do you want your whole house remodel to be completed? Barring any surprises, your design build team can then plan a realistic schedule and start date.

Plan the Scope

What is the current layout of your home and how do you want to use it moving forward? Most whole house remodels include at least some of these changes:

• Kitchen remodels with custom cabinets and countertops, new fixtures and appliances.
• Dining room expansion.
• Laundry room addition.
• Updated living room with French doors, fireplace, wall removal, built-in storage.
• Home office or studio.
• Second floor addition.
• Decks and porches.
• Converted garage or garage addition.
• Master suite with spa-like bathroom.
• Bathroom remodels.

Changes throughout the house may include replacing flooring, updating electrical fixtures, installing new lighting, adding new window surrounds and trim, and more.

Foley Development Group is an award-winning residential design build firm that has been designing, building and remodeling homes in the greater Northern VA area for over 30 years. Our firm’s design build process ensures you get the home you want, on-time, on budget, with the least amount of stress or surprises.

Need some further inspiration on how to transform your home? Visit our case studies gallery to explore the possibilities, and then schedule a free consultation to go more in-depth with our design team.

A whole house remodel can be an exciting project. It can increase your home’s value and, most importantly, improve its function, style, and comfort to match your current lifestyle. Diving into one, though, can cause some anxiety, especially about how much money you’ll need to invest. The scope and features of your remodel will determine the skills, labor, materials, and equipment needed for the job.

Remodeling an entire house is much different than remodeling a kitchen or bathroom alone. The cost to remodel various rooms depends greatly on their size, original condition, and what you want to accomplish with the remodel. The cost vs. value report put out each year by Remodeling Magazine is a great resource for learning what the average midrange and upscale costs are for different home improvement projects. Keep in mind, though, that there are good reasons to do the whole house at once, particularly when you consider labor costs.

The Cost of a Whole House Remodel in Fairfax County

There are so many variables that go in to a whole house remodel that it’s impossible to estimate exactly what it will cost. Each portion of the remodel comes with its own particulars: will you also be adding on? Will you need to remove the roof? The greater the amount of detail involved, the bigger your budget will be. Remember, too, that there might also be re-working of the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems in the remodeled areas.

One of our favorite whole house renovation projects included a garage conversion, building a 2-story addition that included a luxury master suite, remodeling all the interior bathrooms,  transforming the master suite into a child’s bedroom, raising the roof, adding dormers, and re-designing the front entry!

How to Budget for a Whole House Remodel

Our step-by-step guide to the remodeling process covers all the bases for a whole house remodel: budget, scope, analysis, and design. The top factor in planning any remodeling budget, large or small, is knowing upfront how much you have to invest overall, as well as in each individual aspect of the project. We help you prioritize your current needs so that you don’t waste valuable time or resources on features you don’t really need, or want.

When you take the time to figure out what your remodeling priorities are, you can keep your choices within the budget you have in mind. Writing out a plan to help you through the process is a good place to start.

The Earlier the Better for Planning

Establishing a remodeling budget takes time – the sooner you begin, the better. So you don’t waste time getting your heart and mind set on something that won’t work financially, it helps to speak to a design build firm like Foley to get a good idea of what you can achieve for the budget you have in mind.

Scope of Work

It’s important to consider the nature of your remodel as it pertains to the costs involved. Will your remodel involve structural changes? They usually come at a higher cost. Look at the bigger picture when evaluating your own project’s cost. Yes, a more extensive remodel involves more total square footage, but a price per square foot model rarely gives an accurate estimate of a whole house remodel’s true costs.

Understanding what a whole house remodel will cost requires thinking about each aspect of the job: hard costs such as labor, materials, and fixtures, plus soft costs like fees and appliances, all affect your total cost.

Don’t Sacrifice Quality for Savings

The old saying of “You get what you pay for” is as true in remodeling as it is everywhere else. A total figure for a whole house remodel may initially come as a shock, but don’t react by choosing cheaper fixtures, materials, or finishes. The same goes for who you hire to do the work. Nothing is saved in the long-term if it means lower-quality work and craftmanship. Working with an experienced design build firm is always worth the investment if you wind up with the beautiful, built-to-last-a-lifetime home you’ve dreamed of.

This is where your early planning will pay off. The more homework you do before the design starts, the better you’ll be able to keep the costs of your remodel in line with your budget.

Learn More

At Foley, we know that budgeting for your Fairfax County whole house remodel can be overwhelming, but we’re here to guide you through the process. To learn more about how we can help you financially plan for the whole house remodel you have in mind, schedule a conversation with us today. We look forward to meeting you!