Remodeling in the Des Moines metro

Kitchens, baths, whole-home updates, additions and basement finishes — run by the same people who build our custom homes, to the same written scope.

Why remodels go wrong, and how we keep them from it

A remodel is harder than new construction. You are working inside a finished house, around a family that still lives there, on top of decisions somebody made thirty years ago and covered with drywall. Every surprise is behind a wall until the day it is not.

So we scope harder up front. We open what needs opening before we price it, we write down what happens if we find knob-and-tube or a bearing wall where the plan says there is not one, and we set a daily start and stop time so you get your house back every evening.

Written scope and fixed price before demo, not a time-and-materials open tab
Selections made and ordered before we open a wall — no living in a shell waiting on cabinets
Dust control, floor protection and a clean site at the end of every day
One contact who tells you what is happening tomorrow

Remodeled kitchen with a shiplap hood, patterned tile backsplash and a long quartz island in the Des Moines metro

Three we do most

Basements, decks and siding, kitchens

These are the three remodels we are asked for most often, and the three where the difference between a good crew and a cheap one shows up fastest.

Finished basement family room with a wet bar, beverage fridge, floating shelves and an egress window — **Basement finishes**Egress windows, framing, mechanical rerouting, wet bars, bath rough-in and theater rooms. The cheapest square footage available in a house that already has the space — usually $55 to $95 a foot against $250-plus for an addition.

Composite deck with black aluminum railing against white lap siding on a Central Iowa home — **Decks and siding**Composite decking, aluminum rail, lap and board-and-batten siding, covered porches. Siding is also the one time the wall is open, so it is the right moment to fix flashing and add exterior insulation.

Remodeled kitchen with taupe cabinetry, a grey island and quartz counters opening to a stairwell — **Kitchen remodels**Layout changes, cabinetry, counters, appliance and plumbing relocation, lighting. The most disruptive room in the house and the one with the best return, which is why it is worth doing once and doing it properly.

Everything else we take on

Bathrooms

Primary suites and hall baths. Tile showers detailed to drain and stay dry, real ventilation, and waterproofing you will never see and never think about again.

Whole-home updates

Opening up a closed 1990s floor plan, replacing flooring and trim throughout, updating mechanicals. Often the smartest money on a house in a location you love.

Additions

Primary suites, family rooms, garages and four-season rooms. Foundation, roof tie-in and siding matched so the addition does not read as an addition.

Post-storm and insurance work

Iowa weather being what it is: hail, wind and water damage repair, coordinated with your adjuster and documented properly.

Remodeled primary bathroom with a glass steam shower, backlit mirror and floating vanity — A primary bath taken back to studs and rebuilt — the same crews that build our custom homes.

Remodel or move?

We get asked this constantly, and the honest answer depends on two things: how much you like where you live, and how far the house is from what you need.

If the location is right and the bones are sound, remodeling almost always wins — you keep the lot, the trees, the school district and the neighbors, and you fix exactly what bothers you. If the house needs its layout, its mechanicals and its envelope all reconsidered at once, you are approaching the cost of building, and a custom home deserves a look.

We will tell you which one we think it is, even when the answer is the one that does not hire us.

Get a remodel estimate