Pre-Construction Services

What happens before anyone files for a permit

The worst surprises on a remodel are the ones that could have been found in the first week. A setback that rules out the addition you have been picturing. A main beam in the basement that is already sagging. A septic system that will not support another bedroom. Pre-construction is the work of finding these things before you have signed on to a design or a contract.

For most owners it starts with a site walk with Steve. He has 20 years in the trade and has run Modern Remodeling for six, and the walk is where that experience earns its keep. We talk about what you want, then look at the house top to bottom with that in mind. The walk is for telling you honestly what the house will and will not let you do, and what it will take.

From there the work depends on the job. A kitchen in a 1990s colonial may need little more than a careful look at the framing and the electrical panel. An addition on an older Cape that sits on septic, inside a historic district, may need several steps before a design can be trusted.

You will also have a chance to ask hard questions, such as how much of the house will be out of use or what tends to go wrong on this kind of job. We answer plainly, including when the honest answer is that we will not know until a wall is open.

Existing conditions: framing, foundation, wiring and plumbing

We look at the structure first. In the basement: the sill, the carrying beam and its posts, the condition of the foundation, signs of water. In the attic: rafter size and spacing, the ridge, any sag, stains from past leaks or ice dams. In between, we look at how the house is framed. Older New England houses are often balloon framed, with studs running from sill to roof and open bays between floors, which changes how walls can be opened and how fire blocking has to be added.

We look at the systems next, knowing the licensed trades will make the final calls. An old fuse panel, knob-and-tube wiring visible in the basement or attic, galvanized supply lines, cast iron drains, an aging boiler sitting right where the new bathroom wants to go. Each of these can change a scope, and it is better to know now. Where a closer look is needed, we bring in a licensed electrician, a licensed plumber or a structural engineer before the scope is written.

If the house was built before 1978, we plan for lead-safe work practices from the start, because lead paint is common in houses of that age and the rules affect how demolition is done.

We take photos and measurements as we go, so the existing conditions are documented. Those notes become the basis for the design and the scope, and they are useful to you later whatever you decide to do.

We check the lot against the bylaw early, often before any sketch exists, so you know the envelope you are designing inside.

Zoning, setbacks and historic district review

Every town sets its own zoning: setbacks from property lines, maximum lot coverage, height limits, and sometimes a cap on how large an addition can be. A house that already sits closer to the line than current zoning allows may need relief from the zoning board before the building department will accept a permit application. In many towns a corner lot carries two front setbacks.

We check the lot against the bylaw early, often before any sketch exists, so you know the envelope you are designing inside. If the property sits in a local historic district, exterior changes such as windows, siding, porches and rooflines may need approval from the historic district commission. That review has its own calendar and its own expectations about materials, and it belongs in the plan from the first week, not as a surprise after the drawings are done.

Work near wetlands can also need review by the town's conservation commission, and some neighborhoods carry deed restrictions or homeowner association rules. We will not guess at those. We point out where a check is needed and make sure it happens before the design goes too far.

Septic systems and Title 5

Plenty of houses outside the cities in this part of Massachusetts are on private septic. Adding a bedroom on a septic system brings a Title 5 design-flow review, because septic capacity is sized by bedroom count. A new bedroom, a finished basement with a room that could count as one, or an in-law suite can all raise the question.

Sometimes the existing system is adequate. Sometimes it has to be inspected, upgraded or redesigned before the building permit can move ahead, which brings in the local board of health and a septic designer. We raise this at the start so it shapes the design rather than stopping it halfway.

The same thinking applies to anything that adds load to the house's systems. A large addition may need a bigger electrical service, and a new kitchen with gas appliances may need a larger gas line. These are questions for the licensed trades, and pre-construction is when we ask them.

A written scope you can decide on

Pre-construction ends with a written scope. It describes what will be built, what we expect to find when walls open, which approvals and inspections apply, what the licensed trades will do, and which decisions are still yours. It comes with a price that matches that scope and with allowances spelled out for finishes you have not chosen yet.

Some owners go straight from there into design and construction with us. Some take the scope and think about it for a season. Some decide the project is not worth it once they see what the house needs, and that is a good outcome too, because they learned it before any demo started.

Either way you have something solid to decide on. That was the standard Steve set when he started the company: honest communication from the first visit, and no surprise that could have been found ahead of time.

See the rest of our construction work, or browse the gallery for rooms we have finished.