Altadena · Whole-home renovation
Whole-home renovations in Altadena — scoped honestly, priced honestly, done once.
Drag the divider — a stylized concept illustration of the before/after moment, not a photo of a past project.
Real numbers first
Remodeling goes wrong when the budget is a wish. In the 2026 LA area, major whole-home renovation commonly runs $200–$500+ per square foot — so we start there, then tighten the range around your actual house.
Per square foot, major whole-home renovation — 2026 LA-area ranges. Kitchen, bath, and historic work push toward the top of the band.
Living on-site, moving out, or phasing the work room by room — each choice moves the number more than most finish upgrades do.
Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and insulation hide inside a gut budget. Opening walls is where honest scoping earns its keep.
Knob-and-tube wiring, unpermitted additions, settling foundations — Altadena's older homes keep secrets. We budget for them up front.
Old houses, loved well
We like old houses — their joists, their quirks, their stubbornness. A renovation that erases a 1920s floor plan is a loss, not an upgrade.
Original millwork, clinker brick, river-rock hearths — kept, repaired, and made to work with the new plan instead of against it.
New wiring, plumbing, seismic strengthening, and insulation disappear into the walls so the next fifty years are quieter than the last.
Period homes reward candor. We assume surprises, price them, and tell you before the wall comes open — not after.
The three-way decision
Same money, three different lives. Here is how the options actually compare for a typical Altadena owner weighing a major project.
| Renovate | Move | Tear down & rebuild | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep | Your neighborhood, your trees, your view — and the bones worth keeping. | School ties and commute, maybe. The house, no. | The lot. Everything above it goes to the landfill. |
| Typical cost | $200–$500+ / sq ft for major whole-home work. | Agent, moving, and LA-area purchase premiums — often the largest line of all. | New-build costs plus demolition, disposal, and new service connections. |
| Timeline reality | Design, permits, and construction in sequence — lived through once. | Search, offer, escrow, and a move you also have to survive. | The longest runway of the three, permits to keys. |
| Best when | The location is right and the bones are good. Which is most of Altadena. | The house fights every goal you have and another street already fits. | The structure is beyond economic repair. Rare — get a second opinion. |
Featured remodeler
Large-scope whole-home work — guts, systems, additions, historic revival. Not the call for handyman jobs; exactly the call when the project owns the whole house.
Featured placement — disclosed.
No pressure, ever
Answer seven questions about your house — including budget — and get an honest planning range, plus a concept render of where it could land.
Take the remodel scope quiz