Millis homes, attached and detached, done right
Millis is a small town where about a third of homes are not detached single-family houses, yet most households own where they live. That puts owner-occupied condos and townhouses alongside 1970s single-family homes on the remodeling list.
A small town with a mix of ownership
Millis has about 8,600 residents and some 3,400 housing units on roughly twelve square miles, according to census figures. Just under two in three units are detached single-family houses. The remainder are attached homes, condos and buildings with more than one unit. For a small town that is a broad mix, and it means remodeling here splits into two different kinds of job.
What stands out is that ownership stays high anyway, at around 83 percent of households. A good part of the attached housing is owned by the people living in it, so a kitchen or bath update inside a unit is often an owner project with an association in the background rather than a landlord turnover. Owners in attached homes tend to invest in kitchens and baths the same way single-family owners do, within the limits the building sets.
The median home dates to about 1977, with roughly one in eight from before 1940 and about the same share from after 2000. So the town has a modest number of older houses with plaster and old wiring, a large middle from the 1970s and 1980s, and a share of homes and units built since.
Remodeling inside an owned unit
A townhouse or condo owner chooses the finishes but shares the building. Associations usually set the rules: approval of the scope, certificates of insurance, quiet hours, where a dumpster can sit. We ask for those documents early so the schedule respects them from the first day. Neighbors also get notice of noisy days, which keeps things in good shape with the people next door after we leave.
Separation between units matters more than it does in a single-family. Walls between units are rated assemblies and stay that way. Plumbing often stacks with the units above or beside yours, so moving a sink or toilet might be easy, hard or ruled out, and we find out which before you pick a layout. Hard flooring over a neighbor's ceiling may need a sound underlayment, and some associations require it in writing.
The work is still permitted through the town under 780 CMR and inspected along the way, with licensed trades on the electrical and plumbing. A unit renovation gets the same written scope and the same daily cleanup as a full house. If the association wants its own manager to see the work at certain stages, we schedule around that as well.
Single-family houses from the 1970s on
The detached houses in Millis lean toward the 1970s and later, with a smaller group of older homes. For the newer ones, a remodel commonly means opening a closed kitchen, redoing original baths, finishing a basement or building a deck on footings set below frost depth. Houses of this age usually sit on poured foundations, which makes finishing a basement simpler, though moisture is always checked first.
The older houses add plaster, possible lead paint in anything built before 1978, and the chance of outdated wiring behind the walls. Lead-safe practices apply. Anything unexpected found during demo is shown to you and priced in writing before it gets fixed. In the oldest homes, balloon framing and knob-and-tube wiring are possible finds, and a licensed electrician deals with anything electrical.
Millis is about 23 miles northwest of Raynham. The job runs the way Steve has run his company from the start: you know what is happening, who to call and what comes next. Changes get agreed on paper first, and nothing is covered up before the inspector has seen it.
Work that fits Millis houses
Kitchen Remodeling
65% of homes in Millis are single-family houses, where the kitchen is usually the first big job.
Home Additions
Single-family lots make up 65% of Millis, and that is where an addition fits.
Bathroom Remodeling
The median Millis home dates to 1977; its original baths are due.
Basement Finishing
Most of the 3,357 homes in Millis sit on a basement worth finishing.
Kitchen Renovations
83% of Millis homes are owner-occupied, the households that refresh a kitchen in place.
Window Installation
In a town whose median home dates to 1977, original windows are a common first project.
Close to Millis
The nearest towns we cover, by straight-line distance. Millis is part of Norfolk County.
- Medfield3 miles east. About 12,844 people; median home built 1972.
- Medway4 miles west. About 13,164 people; median home built 1976.
- Sherborn4 miles north. About 4,404 people; median home built 1969.
- Norfolk4 miles southeast. About 11,527 people; median home built 1982.
- Holliston5 miles west. About 14,902 people; median home built 1966.
- Dover6 miles northeast. About 5,886 people; median home built 1972.
Millis questions
Do we need association approval to remodel our condo bathroom?
Most associations require it, usually with a written scope and a certificate of insurance. We help put that package together and follow the rules on hours and common areas once work starts.
Can we move the kitchen sink in our townhouse?
It depends on where the drain and supply lines run and whether they are shared with a neighboring unit. Sometimes a short move is simple, and sometimes it is not practical. We check before you commit to a layout.
Can you build a deck on our townhouse?
That often depends on the association, since the ground may be common area. If it is approved, footings go below frost depth and the deck is permitted and inspected like any other.
Our single-family is from the 1970s. What usually needs updating?
Kitchens and baths are typically original or on their second round, insulation is often thin, and older decks may be near the end of their life. We look at the whole house during the walkthrough so the scope covers what matters most.
How old are the houses in Millis?
By census figures the median Millis home was built in 1977. About 13% of the housing predates 1940 and about 13% went up after 2000. Those numbers shape what we check first at the walkthrough.
Is Millis mostly owners or renters?
About 83% of Millis homes are owner-occupied and about 65% 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 Millis?
Yes. Millis is about 23 miles northwest of our base in Raynham, inside the roughly hundred-mile area we cover. Call (781) 974-4263 to set up a walkthrough.
Get the job in writing
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.