Projects
Six houses, with the problems left in
Every case study below names what we found behind the walls, what it cost to solve and how long it took. The interesting part of a renovation is rarely the finished photograph.
Bozeman, South Willson · 2025
A 1908 foursquare brought back to one plan
Four previous remodels had left this house with three floor levels on one storey, a 100 amp service and a bearing wall that somebody had removed without a beam.
- Scope
- Whole-home renovation
- Duration
- 22 weeks on site
- Size
- 2,640 sq ft
- Budget band
- $410,000 to $460,000
Bridger Canyon · 2025
A second storey on a 1978 ranch
Adding a floor meant proving the existing foundation and first-floor walls could carry it, then keeping the family dry through a canyon winter.
- Scope
- Home addition
- Duration
- 27 weeks on site
- Size
- 1,180 sq ft added
- Budget band
- $338,000 to $372,000
Bozeman, Sourdough · 2024
A basement that had to stop being wet first
Efflorescence at the cold joint, a 51 inch sill height and a trunk duct sitting at 6 feet 9 inches. All three had to be solved before any drywall went up.
- Scope
- Basement finishing
- Duration
- 13 weeks on site
- Size
- 1,020 sq ft
- Budget band
- $148,000 to $164,000
Bozeman, Peets Hill · 2024
Opening a main floor without losing the house
Three walls came out of a 1952 ranch. Two of them were carrying load, and one of those was carrying the ridge.
- Scope
- Structural renovation
- Duration
- 16 weeks on site
- Size
- 1,480 sq ft reworked
- Budget band
- $226,000 to $248,000
Belgrade · 2024
Flooring, service and a floor that finally sits flat
The new floor the owners wanted could not go down until the subfloor was flat, the joists stopped bouncing and the panel stopped tripping.
- Scope
- Flooring and electrical
- Duration
- 9 weeks on site
- Size
- 2,150 sq ft
- Budget band
- $96,000 to $112,000
Big Sky · 2023
A timber-frame great room inside an existing shell
Douglas fir timbers cut and joined in our Griffin Drive shop, then raised inside a house that had to keep standing while it happened.
- Scope
- Structural renovation and addition
- Duration
- 30 weeks on site
- Size
- 980 sq ft reworked, 340 added
- Budget band
- $465,000 to $520,000
