The questions people actually ask

General whole-home renovation across the Gallatin Valley: whole-house remodels, additions, basement finishing, flooring, interior painting, and decks and outdoor structures. Kitchens and bathrooms are rooms we build inside those larger scopes rather than standalone jobs.

Because our crews, our shop and our schedule are built around multi-trade projects that run eight weeks or longer. A single-room job done by a general contractor costs more and takes longer than the same job done by a specialist. Bozeman has good kitchen and bath specialists and we will point you toward one.

Around $60,000 of construction value, or a project that runs at least five weeks on site. Below that we are not the efficient choice.

Occasionally, on referral, and only when we have capacity. Renovation and addition work is what we are set up to do well.

We work in Bozeman, Belgrade, Four Corners, Big Sky, Livingston and Manhattan, plus the county areas between them. Beyond that the travel stops making sense for either of us.

A fixed-price contract for the defined scope, plus a written allowance schedule for selections that are not finalised, plus a contingency you hold for discovery behind finished surfaces. Every figure is itemised. You are never handed a single number with no breakdown.

An allowance is a placeholder amount for something you have not chosen yet, such as tile or plumbing fixtures. If you select under the allowance you are credited the difference. If you select over it, the difference plus the installation impact appears on a change order before anything is ordered.

We recommend 12 to 18 percent of the contract value on a pre-1970 house, and 8 to 12 percent on newer construction. It is your money, held by you, and on most projects a meaningful part of it is never spent.

A deposit at contract signing, then progress draws tied to completed milestones rather than to the calendar. Final payment is due after the second punch walk is signed off, not before.

We do not lend. We work with local lenders who handle renovation loans, home equity lines and construction-to-permanent products, and we supply the documentation they need for draw inspections. Sample terms on our financing page are illustrative only.

We do, in our own name, for building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical. Permits pulled in a homeowner's name transfer liability to the homeowner, and we do not work that way.

Plan on four to eight weeks for a straightforward City of Bozeman building permit, longer for Gallatin County, and longer again where a Certificate of Appropriateness or a Big Sky design review is involved. Structural review adds time on top.

It covers much of Bozeman's older core. Exterior work visible from the street, including windows, siding and additions, needs a Certificate of Appropriateness before a building permit is issued. It is a real step with a real timeline and we build it into the schedule.

No. Unpermitted work shows up at resale, voids insurance claims and is unsafe when it involves structure, gas or electricity.

We correct it and call for re-inspection at our cost, unless the failure is caused by a client-directed change made against our written advice. Every inspection result goes into your project folder either way.

Often, if the plan lets us phase the house and keep one full bathroom and a kitchen zone live throughout. It does not work when the only bathroom, the main stack or the service panel is in the scope. We tell you which case you are on the first visit.

Zippered dust walls at every work-zone boundary, negative air machines with HEPA filtration inside the zone, floor protection on the whole access path, and a daily clean at the end of each day. On pre-1978 houses we follow lead-safe practices on top of that.

Crews are on site 7 am to 5 pm Monday to Thursday and 7 am to 3 pm Friday. Noisy work such as saw cutting and demolition starts after 8 am out of respect for neighbours.

Your lead carpenter, who is on your house from demolition to punch. You get their direct number. The project manager handles contracts, change orders and the trade calendar.

Two punch walks, a labelled panel schedule, a digital folder containing photographs of every wall before it was closed, all inspection records, product and paint schedules, warranty documents, and a one-year workmanship walkthrough.

Any time a load path changes. Removing a bearing wall, adding a storey, cutting an egress opening in a foundation wall, or changing a roof structure all need a stamped design, and the building department will ask for it.

Below the frost line. We build to 36 inches as a minimum in Bozeman and Belgrade and go to 42 inches on exposed benches, in the canyon and at elevation. Deck piers follow the same rule.

Deflection. A floor can be structurally safe and still feel alive underfoot. Most finishes need L/360 and natural stone needs L/720. We calculate it from the actual joist size, spacing and span rather than guessing.

Those are different problems with different fixes. A 48 hour plastic-sheet test on the slab separates vapour drive from liquid water, and a moisture survey of the walls tells us where it is arriving. We do this before pricing any basement finish.

It depends on the square footage, the heating type and the appliances. The NEC optional calculation gives a demand figure in amps, and our service capacity tool runs it. A 1,900 square foot house with gas heat is usually fine. Add induction cooking and a heat pump and it usually is not.