Nantucket remodels, planned before anything ships
Nantucket's homes are mostly detached single-family houses, and about one in five went up after 2000, so a remodel here often means reworking a newer house rather than gutting an old one. What matters most is the planning, because every board and fixture has to cross the water first.
What the census figures say about island housing
Census figures put Nantucket at about 14,000 residents and roughly 12,300 housing units. That ratio stands out. In most Massachusetts towns there are two or more people for every home; here it is close to one, which suggests a good share of the houses are not lived in by the same people all year. For a remodel that changes who we are working with. Often the owner is somewhere else for much of the job, and the updates have to be clear enough that you can follow the work from a phone without guessing.
The median home was built around 1984, about 20 percent have gone up since 2000, and roughly 18 percent predate 1940. So the island is mostly houses forty years old or younger, with a real minority of genuinely old ones. The newer houses usually need what any 1980s or 1990s house needs by now: kitchens and baths at the end of their first life, windows and trim that have taken years of wind, and floor plans chopped into small rooms. The older houses are a different job. Plaster, balloon framing and wiring nobody has opened in decades are normal there, and anything built before 1978 gets lead-safe work practices from the first day of demo.
About 85 percent of the homes are single-family detached, which is high even by suburban standards. That points the work toward whole-house updates, additions, finished lower levels and decks on houses where one owner makes the calls.
Building 66 miles out, with more water than land
Nantucket sits about 66 miles southeast of our shop in Raynham, out past Cape Cod, and nothing gets there without a boat. Inside the town boundary there is more water, about 59 square miles, than land, about 46. Lumber, tile, cabinets and a window that arrives cracked are all on a schedule we do not control. That is why the walkthrough and the written scope happen earlier than they would on the mainland, and why selections get locked down before the first wall opens. Changing your mind about a tile in week three is a small thing on the mainland. On an island it can stall a crew for days.
The weather is the other half of it. Salt air, fog and wind off open ocean work on every exterior surface. Fasteners corrode, paint lets go at the edges, and flashing that would last decades inland gets tested early. When we write up a deck, a roof or new exterior trim here, the materials and fasteners are chosen for coastal exposure, and we will tell you plainly where a lesser product will not hold up.
Moisture shows up indoors too, in crawl spaces, in basements and in bathrooms with weak ventilation. We look for it before anything gets closed in, because insulation and drywall installed over a damp problem only hide it for a season or two.
How the job runs when you are off the island
Steve built Modern Remodeling around one standard: "Better communication and will make sure the job is done right." With an owner who may be in Boston or farther away for most of the project, that standard carries a lot of weight. You get a written scope before work starts, one name to call, and photo updates at the points that matter: after demo, at rough framing, before insulation is covered and at the final.
Permits go through the town building department under 780 CMR, the Massachusetts State Building Code, with inspections along the way. Structural work is supervised under Steve's unrestricted Massachusetts Construction Supervisor License, and electrical and plumbing go to licensed trades, as state law requires. If the house sits inside a historic district, exterior changes go to the commission before we order anything, and that review is built into the schedule from the start. Adding a bedroom on a septic system brings in a Title 5 design flow review as well.
Changes during the job are written down and priced before the work happens. The site is cleaned at the end of each day. And if a wall turns out to carry more load than anyone expected, you hear about it before anyone swings a hammer. Customers put it this way: "If its not right; Steve wont put his name on it!"
Work that fits Nantucket houses
Kitchen Remodeling
84% of homes in Nantucket are single-family houses, where the kitchen is usually the first big job.
Home Additions
Single-family lots make up 84% of Nantucket, and that is where an addition fits.
Open Floor Plan Remodeling
About 20% of Nantucket homes went up after 2000, and those layouts are the ones people open up.
Bathroom Remodeling
The median Nantucket home dates to 1984; its original baths are due.
Exterior Remodeling
Nantucket has 59.1 square miles of water inside its borders, and the outside of the house feels it.
Basement Finishing
Most of the 12,287 homes in Nantucket sit on a basement worth finishing.
Close to Nantucket
The nearest towns we cover, by straight-line distance. Nantucket is part of Nantucket County.
- Edgartown20 miles west. About 5,159 people; median home built 1983.
- Chatham24 miles north. About 6,607 people; median home built 1976.
- Oak Bluffs26 miles northwest. About 5,327 people; median home built 1976.
- Yarmouth27 miles north. About 25,017 people; median home built 1973.
- Harwich28 miles north. About 13,440 people; median home built 1975.
- Barnstable29 miles northwest. About 48,922 people; median home built 1977.
Nantucket questions
Do you take on remodels on Nantucket when you are based in Raynham?
Yes. Our service area covers Cape Cod and the Islands. Because of the distance and the boat, island jobs get more lead time and earlier material selections than a mainland job would.
My house was built in the 1980s. What usually needs attention?
Houses from that era are often due for their first full kitchen and bath replacement, along with windows, trim and siding worn down by salt air. Many also have small closed-off rooms that can be opened up once we confirm which walls carry load.
Can you manage the project if I am not on the island during the work?
Yes, and we set the job up that way from the first walkthrough. You get a written scope, one point of contact and photo updates at each inspection stage, so you can follow progress without being on site.
What changes if my house was built before 1940?
Expect plaster walls, balloon framing and older wiring that a licensed electrician may need to replace once the walls are open. Anything built before 1978 is treated as possibly containing lead paint, so lead-safe work practices apply from the start.
Are Nantucket houses mostly old or new?
By census figures the median Nantucket home was built in 1984. About 18% of the housing predates 1940 and about 20% went up after 2000. We plan the inspection of framing, wiring and plumbing around that age.
Do most people in Nantucket own their homes?
About 71% of Nantucket homes are owner-occupied and about 84% are single-family detached houses. That split decides whether a job is planned around a family living in the house or a lease date.
Does Modern Remodeling work in Nantucket?
Yes. Nantucket is about 66 miles southeast 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.