Updating the houses Dennis built around 1970
Dennis houses have a median build year of 1970, older than most of the Cape, and very little new construction has gone up since. Most remodels there begin with what fifty years has done to the kitchen, the baths and the wiring.
A town built mostly in one era
The median Dennis house dates to 1970, according to the census. Fewer than one home in eleven predates 1940, and only about one in sixteen has been built since 2000, so the bulk of the housing went up in a few busy decades in the middle of the last century. Small Capes, ranches and cottages from that stretch are what we would expect to see most.
Houses of that age share a pattern. Kitchens were built small and closed off. Bathrooms often have original tile, original supply lines and a fan that vents into the attic, if there is a fan at all. Electrical service was sized for a household with far fewer appliances, and a licensed electrician frequently has to upgrade the panel and circuits once walls are open. Insulation, where it exists, is thin.
None of that is a reason to tear down. A house from 1970 usually has framing that can be opened, reinforced and rebuilt. The work is in doing it in the right order, so plumbing, wiring and insulation are right before the finishes go on.
Bay to sound, and more homes than residents
Dennis runs across the Cape from Cape Cod Bay to Nantucket Sound, so many of its houses take salt air from one side or the other. There are about 15,300 homes for roughly 14,700 residents, which tells you a lot of those houses are second homes or rented by the season rather than lived in all year. On the bay side and the sound side alike, exterior trim and decks deserve a closer look than the same house would need inland.
About four in five homes are detached single-family houses, and a bit under four in five occupied homes are owner-occupied. For owners who rent their place for part of the year, a remodel has a hard edge: it has to be finished and cleaned before the first renters arrive. We put the sequence on paper so you can see what happens when, and we flag anything that threatens the date the moment it shows up.
Owners who live there all year usually have a different list: a kitchen that seats the family, a bathroom with real ventilation and a shower that does not leak into the floor below, an attic or basement turned into usable space. Both kinds of owner get the same walkthrough and a written scope before anyone orders a cabinet.
Forty-eight miles from Raynham
Dennis is about 48 miles east of our shop. On a job that far out the biggest risk is lost days, so materials are ordered ahead and checked on arrival, and inspections are booked so the crew is not idle waiting on a sign-off.
The rest is how Steve has always wanted the work done: a walkthrough before any number is written, a scope that says plainly what is in and what is out, and a clean site at the end of each day. His customers say he will not put his name on a job that is not right, and that is the standard on a fifty-year-old bathroom the same as on a new addition.
Because so little new building has gone up in Dennis, the same houses get worked on decade after decade. That means layers: a 1990s kitchen over a 1970s one, flooring over flooring, wiring added by whoever owned the place in between. Sorting out those layers is part of the job, and it is why demolition goes slowly at first.
Work that fits Dennis houses
Kitchen Remodeling
80% of homes in Dennis are single-family houses, where the kitchen is usually the first big job.
Home Additions
Single-family lots make up 80% of Dennis, and that is where an addition fits.
Bathroom Remodeling
The median Dennis home dates to 1970; its original baths are due.
Exterior Remodeling
Dennis has 1.8 square miles of water inside its borders, and the outside of the house feels it.
Basement Finishing
Most of the 15,322 homes in Dennis sit on a basement worth finishing.
Deck Construction
Decks in Dennis take weather off the water.
Close to Dennis
The nearest towns we cover, by straight-line distance. Dennis is part of Barnstable County.
- Yarmouth4 miles southwest. About 25,017 people; median home built 1973.
- Harwich5 miles east. About 13,440 people; median home built 1975.
- Brewster6 miles northeast. About 10,341 people; median home built 1982.
- Barnstable10 miles west. About 48,922 people; median home built 1977.
- Orleans11 miles east. About 6,322 people; median home built 1974.
- Chatham11 miles southeast. About 6,607 people; median home built 1976.
Dennis questions
Will my 1970 house need an electrical upgrade?
Often, especially if the remodel adds appliances, a bathroom or heated space. A licensed electrician evaluates the panel and circuits once walls are open, and we build that into the scope instead of surprising you with it later.
Can the work be finished before the rental season?
We plan the sequence around the date you need and tell you up front if the scope, permits and inspections make it tight. If something behind a wall threatens the date, you hear about it right away.
Is a house from around 1970 likely to have lead paint?
It may, in original trim, doors and windows. Any work that disturbs those surfaces follows lead-safe work practices under the EPA renovation rule.
Is it better to expand a small Cape up or out?
It depends on the framing, the lot and, on a septic system, whether a new bedroom triggers a Title 5 review. Going up uses the existing footprint, while going out needs new footings below frost depth, so we compare both after seeing the house.
How old are the houses in Dennis?
By census figures the median Dennis home was built in 1970. About 9% of the housing predates 1940 and about 6% went up after 2000. Those numbers shape what we check first at the walkthrough.
Is Dennis mostly owners or renters?
About 78% of Dennis homes are owner-occupied and about 80% are single-family detached houses. We ask early which kind of job it is, because it changes the materials and the schedule.
Does Modern Remodeling work in Dennis?
Yes. Dennis is about 48 miles east of our base in Raynham, inside the roughly hundred-mile area we cover. Call (781) 974-4263 to set up a walkthrough.
Tell Steve what you have in mind
Monday to Friday 7 to 5, Saturday 8 to noon. Based in Raynham and working within about a hundred miles of it. See finished rooms in the gallery.