Whole Home Renovation in Southeast Michigan

A Different Kind of Project, Not a Bigger One

A whole home renovation is not several room remodels performed in a row. It is a single project in which decisions in one room constrain another: the panel serves everything, the ductwork runs through everything, the floor is usually continuous, and the plumbing stack is shared.

That interdependence is what makes whole home work reward planning. Done in the right order, a full renovation is more efficient per square foot than doing the same rooms one at a time over five years, because the disruptive work happens once and the trades are already on site.

Done in the wrong order, the same project involves opening finished walls to run a circuit that should have gone in during rough in, and that cost is entirely avoidable.

Typical Project Scope

Whole home renovations vary enormously. A representative scope covers:

• Full assessment of structure, electrical service, plumbing, HVAC and envelope
• Layout planning across the whole floor plan rather than room by room
• Selective or full demolition, with salvage of anything worth keeping
• Structural work: beams, headers, load path corrections, floor system repair
• Electrical: service and panel evaluation, whole home rewiring where warranted, device and lighting layout
• Plumbing: supply line replacement, drain and vent corrections, fixture relocation
• HVAC coordination: system capacity for the new plan, duct modification, returns and zoning
• Insulation and air sealing appropriate to the age and construction of the house
• Window and exterior door replacement where included
• Drywall throughout, including ceiling work
• Flooring across the full plan with correct transitions
• Kitchen and bathroom construction as part of the overall sequence
• Interior doors, trim, millwork, stairs and railings
• Painting, fixtures, hardware and full punch list

Not every project includes every item. Scope is written for your specific house and stated plainly before pricing.

The Praxis Building Group Approach

One plan for the whole house

Before demolition, we work out the full plan: which walls move, where mechanicals run, what the electrical load will be, where the kitchen and bathrooms land, and how the flooring runs. Every later decision references that plan, which is what prevents work from being redone.

Systems before finishes, always

In a whole home project there is one window in which walls are open. Everything that belongs in a wall goes in during that window: circuits, future circuits worth pulling, low voltage, blocking, plumbing changes and duct modifications. This is the single largest source of avoidable cost on renovation projects.

Phasing when it is warranted

Some whole home projects run continuously and some make more sense in phases, particularly when the household is occupying part of the house. Phasing carries real costs in remobilization and it is not always the cheaper path, but where it is the right answer, Praxis Building Group will structure it deliberately rather than letting it happen by accident.

The old house gets a realistic assessment

Older Southeast Michigan homes carry known conditions: knob and tube remnants, galvanized supply lines, undersized service, balloon framing, plaster over lath, and prior renovations of varying quality. We identify what has to be addressed, what should be addressed, and what can reasonably be left alone.

Construction Considerations

Electrical service capacity

A whole home renovation frequently adds load: more circuits, more lighting, kitchen appliances, HVAC changes, sometimes EV charging. Whether the existing service is adequate is one of the first questions, because a service upgrade involves the utility and has its own timeline.

Living in the house or moving out

This is a real cost decision, not just a comfort one. Working around an occupied household slows the schedule, requires dust containment and protection, and limits which trades can run simultaneously. Vacating usually shortens the project meaningfully. Neither choice is wrong, but it should be made deliberately.

Plaster, lath and older wall assemblies

Many Ann Arbor and older Oakland County homes have plaster over lath rather than drywall. It is heavier, messier to remove, and it changes wall thickness and trim reveals. Whether to repair plaster or convert to drywall is a decision with cost, schedule and character implications.

Keeping what is worth keeping

Original millwork, stair parts, hardwood floors, doors and hardware are often better than anything available new at a comparable price. We identify these early so they are protected during demolition rather than thrown in a dumpster on day two.

Planning This Project

Whole home renovations reward front loading decisions. The more that is decided before demolition, the fewer times a trade has to return. Selections, appliance specifications, lighting layout and flooring should all be settled during preconstruction.

Budget contingency should be higher on a whole home project than on a single room, particularly in older homes, because the number of assemblies being opened is larger and each one can present something. This is not pessimism, it is arithmetic.