Homeowners choose gut renovations for many reasons — to add modern amenities and systems to an older home, gain access to an affordable house in an otherwise expensive neighborhood, or to address major issues.
While a gut renovation can be a smart investment in your home, how much does it cost to strip a house down to the studs and start fresh? Keep reading to learn:
- What a gut renovation is
- The average cost to gut a house
- What impacts the cost of a gut renovation
- Considerations of a gut remodel
- How to Get Started with a Gut Remodel
What is a Gut Renovation?
A gut renovation involves “gutting” your house of everything except structural elements. This means everything except the foundation, load-bearing walls, and roof is demolished, leaving you with a clean slate to rebuild.
A complete gut renovation allows for comprehensive work to be done — like replacing mechanical and electrical systems, ensuring the building is fully up to code, and allowing for remediation of issues if necessary. It also enables homeowners to modernize the house and customize it to their specific requirements.
For instance — if an old Victorian home has been sitting for years in a worn-out state of disrepair, a full gut renovation can bring new life into the space and modern, energy-efficient systems, while still keeping the footprint and original charm of the home.
Average Cost to Gut a House?
A gut renovation is a massive project, with a high possibility that once you strip away the finishes, you’ll uncover concerns in your house’s underbelly. This is part of why folks choose gut renos in the first place — if you don’t know what’s going on under your house, you have a chance to identify and remediate issues for peace of mind and long-term confidence in your home’s value.
In the Boston area, you can expect a gut renovation to start at $150 for a simple, uncomplicated gut reno with standard, builder-grade finishes. On the high end, a gut renovation can easily get up to $800 a square foot with complicated work to reconfigure layouts and load-bearing walls, selecting the highest-quality luxury finishes, and encountering worst-case-scenario circumstances like unstable foundations, rot, and mold.
The real answer is that the true cost of a gut renovation lies somewhere in between, and varies based on your goals and the condition of your home. For most Boston area gut renovation, we expect a gut renovation to be between $250-400 a square foot.
What Impacts the Cost of a Gut Reno?
House condition
The condition of your home will have a lot of impact on your full gut renovation budget. If your house is pristine and all that’s needed is the straightforward work to complete the renovation, your costs will be lower.
If you uncover mold, structural issues, rot, water intrusion, asbestos, or other concerns, you will have to add remediation and repair to your budget. This may be frustrating, but we always work with homeowners when estimating projects to ensure they can afford to work through these issues, rather than forcing them to make hard decisions during the construction process.
Scope of work
The scope of work to achieve your dream home will also impact the cost of your gut renovation. If your space is smaller and has a simple layout, you will likely have a lower cost. If you have a large home and plan to remove load-bearing walls and replace them with structural beams, add on to the main footprint of the house, and achieve a smart home with complex plumbing and electric requirements, your cost will rise accordingly.
Materials and finishes
The cost of the renovation also includes the finishes you choose — like your cabinets, countertops, light fixtures, faucets, and more. While working with a reputable, well-connected contractor can gain you access to wholesale pricing and economies of scale, you’ll still pay a premium for luxury finishes.
Labor
Nearly all of the factors above impact the final element that will impact your cost: the labor. Difficult conditions, a complex scope of work, and finishes that may be difficult to install will all add labor to your project, thus increasing the cost.
Budget Considerations for a Gut Remodel
Benefits of a gut renovation vs new build
A gut renovation is often more efficient than a new build in terms of budget. However, a new build does offer the ability for complete customization from the ground up. For price comparison, a custom new build in Boston typically starts at $200 a square foot after purchasing land and will be subject to many of the same considerations like scope, materials and finishes, and labor costs.
Whether you choose a gut renovation or a new build, you should always choose a trusted partner to ensure confidence and transparency at every step.
Where to live during a gut renovation
Unlike some smaller scale renovations and additions, you can’t live on site while undergoing a gut renovation. Be sure to budget in advance for a rental, or ensure you have living arrangements sorted out before work begins.
Local regulations and permitting
Local regulations and HOAs may require specific finishes on the exterior of your home — especially if you are in a historic district. Research this in advance, so you’ll be well aware of the budgetary implications of adhering to these guidelines.
In addition, there is a cost associated with the permitting process. Your builder will help you file for permits, but you can learn more about the cost of permits for gut renovations from your municipality’s building department.
How to Get Started with a Gut Remodel
If you have a house that you are ready to renovate, get in touch with Beantown Builders for a consultation.
We are a full-service general contractor experienced in Boston home renovations. Our process starts with developing a plan to accomplish your goals for your gut renovation, along with a detailed estimate of the costs and scope of work. When approved, we coordinate our team of licensed, skilled contractors and crews to complete the work efficiently, so you can get back to your lifestyle.
Not yet ready to start your renovation? Learn more about our gut renovation services in the meantime.
