01
Load-bearing walls, headers and point loads change the price and the schedule more than any finish does. Read the scope explainer before you budget.
Structural or cosmetic02
We publish the arithmetic: what an allowance covers, what it does not, and exactly how a change order is priced when selections move.
See the worked example03
The people who draw your plans stay on the job through framing, inspections and punch list. Nothing is handed off to a stranger at permit.
How the studio works04
Bellevue, Kirkland and Redmond each run their own review desk and inspection queue. We keep a current read on all three.
Permit sequence by cityBellevue, Washington · design-build since 2009
Additions, basements, main-floor reworks, floors, paint and the two rooms everyone else specialises in. One contract, one superintendent, one set of drawings that agrees with itself.
Since 2009 (sample figures)
Typical permit review
Nine scopes, one contract
Kitchens and bathrooms are on this list. They are not the list. Most of our work starts with a wall, a foundation or a roof line, and ends with paint.
Niche substance · permits
Pick the work you are planning. The permits, the review window and every inspection appear in the sequence an inspector will actually want them.
n/a
Nobody from the city visits. Quality control is entirely ours: a defined drywall finish level, a documented sheen schedule and a punch walk with you at the end.
After the first coat
We put a work light flat against each wall before the second coat. Anything that shows gets patched, sanded and re-primed before we carry on.
Walls open, before insulation
Drain, waste and vent under test, water lines pressurised, correct slope on the drain, vent sizing and the trap arm length for each fixture.
Walls open, before insulation
Box fill, cable support, small-appliance circuits, dedicated circuits, AFCI and GFCI coverage and the grounding electrode conductor if the panel was touched.
Walls open, before insulation
Duct sizing and routing for the hood and bath fan, termination to the outside, and the make-up air path if the hood exceeds the threshold.
Before tile, bathrooms only
A flood-tested pan held for 24 hours. We photograph the test and the reading goes in the project record.
Fixtures installed
Everything operating, labelled, and the fan actually moving air measured at the grille.
Before the pour is covered
Depth, bearing soil, dimensions and rebar for any new pad footing under a post. Once concrete covers it, nobody can verify it, so this inspection is never skipped.
Beam and posts in, before anything closes
Beam size and species against the stamped drawings, hardware model numbers, fastener schedule, post continuity and the full load path down to the footing.
Sheathing on, before siding or drywall
Where a wall is re-sheathed to replace lost shear capacity, the nail pattern, edge distance and hold-down hardware are checked panel by panel.
After framing passes
Every service that used to live inside the removed wall, in its new route.
Before drywall
Only where the work touched an exterior wall or an unconditioned ceiling.
Board up, before taping
Screw pattern and spacing on shear walls and fire-rated assemblies.
Trim and finishes complete
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, guards, egress, and a walk of the completed work against the approved set.
After the wall is cut, before framing closes it
Net clear opening area, minimum width and height, sill height above the finished floor, and the well dimensions plus its ladder or steps.
Trench open, before the slab is repoured
Only where a bathroom below the sewer invert needs an ejector pit. Pipe slope, bedding and the pit itself are checked before concrete.
Walls and soffits up
Fire blocking, headers over openings, and clearances around the furnace or water heater.
Before insulation
Circuits, smoke and carbon monoxide alarm locations, bath exhaust and the heat source serving the new space.
Before drywall
Foam against the foundation wall, with the assembly matching the approved energy path. This is where a batts-on-concrete detail gets rejected.
Complete
Alarms, egress operation without a key or tool, handrails and guards on the stair, and ceiling height verified in the field.
Before excavation
Silt fence, construction entrance, and stakes proving the new footprint sits where the approved site plan says it does.
Forms and rebar in, before the pour
Depth below grade, bearing, dimensions, rebar size and lap, and anchor bolt layout.
Before backfill
Wall reinforcement, anchor bolts, damp-proofing and the footing drain with its rock and filter fabric.
Before the slab or subfloor closes
Plumbing groundwork, vapour barrier and any insulation under the slab.
Sheathed and dried in
Nailing pattern, hold-downs, straps, beam and header sizes, and the connection where new framing meets old.
Before insulation
All three, usually on the same day, plus a gas pressure test where gas is extended.
Before drywall
Envelope insulation values, air sealing details and the energy-code credits the permit claimed.
Board up, before tape
Screw spacing on shear walls and at any fire-rated separation.
Complete
Life safety, egress, guards, ventilation rates, and the approved-set walk-through.
Holes dug, before the pour
Depth, diameter, bearing and the post base hardware that will be set into the concrete.
Structure up, before decking
Ledger fastener type and spacing, flashing, the condition of the rim joist behind it, beam and joist sizes, and lateral load connectors back into the house.
Before covering
Wet-rated boxes, GFCI protection and cable routing.
Complete
Guard height, baluster spacing, graspable handrail, riser consistency and the roof tie-in flashing.
Niche substance · lead times
Three items hold up more renovations than every other cause combined: custom cabinetry, clad wood windows and utility coordination for a service upgrade. All three are ordered the week the permit is issued.
Weeks are from order release to delivery, for the Seattle market. They are sample figures and they move.
The full lead-time registerAvailable in fixed sizes. Filler strips do the fitting.
Sizes to the inch, limited door and finish range.
The single most common cause of a delayed finish date. Shop drawings must be approved against framed dimensions.
Fine for secondary elevations and basements.
Framing cannot be closed until these are in and installed.
Rough opening depends on the actual unit, so the order drives the framing.
Specs are needed early even if delivery is late, because cabinetry is built to them.
West Bellevue, 2025
Drag the handle. The finishes are the part you notice; the beam, the footings and the panel are the part that cost the money.
A 22 ft W12x40 steel beam replaced the walls between kitchen, dining and living. Flush framed, so the ceiling plane is continuous.
PSL posts at both ends, blocked through the floor system, landing on two new 36 in pad footings poured in the crawlspace.
The 1962 furnace and its 1990s duct extension came out together. A ducted heat pump and a 200-amp panel replaced them.
White oak runs from the entry to the rear slider with no transition. Three days of levelling compound made that possible.
Niche substance · structure
Finishes are the visible money. Load paths are the real money. Work out which tier your project sits in before you price a single tile.
Finishes change, nothing that holds the house up is touched. Floors, paint, trim, fixtures replaced in place, cabinetry in the same footprint.
A partition that carries only itself. Removing one changes the plan but not the load path. It is still a permit job, because the services inside it have to be relocated properly.
The wall carries floor or roof load. Removing it means a header or beam, posts, a continuous load path through the floor framing, and a footing at the bottom of it.
Dormers, raised ceilings, new large openings in an exterior wall, or anything that changes the roof structure. Both structure and energy compliance come into play.
New footings, underpinning, lowering a basement slab, or extending a foundation for an addition. The most expensive and the least visible money in any renovation.
Niche substance · living through it
About half our clients stay put. It is usually cheaper than renting and always harder than expected. Here is what goes offline, when the dust peaks, and what we put in place before demolition starts.
The full survival plan
Low dustLight
Offline: One parking space on the drive, for the duration. The room that becomes the temporary kitchen.
Zip walls with self-closing zippers go up at every boundary between the work zone and the rest of the house, and the HVAC returns inside the zone get sealed so dust does not ride the ducts into your bedroom.
You decide: Where the temporary kitchen lives, where the dumpster sits, and which door the crew uses.
Peak dustLoud
Offline: Water to the work zone, intermittently. Any bathroom inside the zone, permanently from day one. Heating to the zone.
This is the loudest and dustiest fortnight of the project, and it is also the shortest. Plan to be out of the house during the day if anyone works from home or naps.
You decide: Nothing new. This is the one phase where the decisions are already behind you.
High dustLoud in bursts
Offline: The route past the shored area. Power circuits serving the zone, on named days.
Temporary shoring walls appear on both sides of any wall we are removing. They are not decorative and they will be in the way. We will show you the path around them.
You decide: Whether any beam is flush or dropped. It has to be settled before the framing is closed.
Moderate dustModerate
Offline: Hot water for a day during the water heater tie-in. Gas for a day during the pressure test. The second bathroom, once the first is finished.
Three trades work in sequence and then three inspectors visit, sometimes on the same morning. This is the phase where the schedule is most sensitive to the jurisdiction's inspection queue, not to our crew.
You decide: Final locations for switches, outlets, sconces and shower valves. Walk the rough-in with us before drywall.
Peak dustLow
Offline: Nothing, but the zone is sealed tight.
Drywall sanding is the second dust peak and the finer of the two. The containment stays up and the negative air machine runs continuously, including overnight.
You decide: Paint colours, confirmed against large on-site samples in both morning and evening light.
Low dustLow to moderate
Offline: Rooms are handed back one at a time as they complete.
The house starts to feel like a house again. Trim, paint, cabinetry, stone, tile, flooring and lighting overlap, so there are often four trades on site at once.
You decide: Hardware, light bulb colour temperature, and where the touch-up cans will live.
Low dustQuiet
Offline: Nothing.
Final inspections happen first. Then we walk the whole job with you and write the punch list together, in one document, with a date against each item.
You decide: Nothing. Put the furniture back.
Occupied job?
The consultation brief asks about pets, home working, school runs and which bathroom has to stay live.
Book a consultationNiche substance · contracts
An allowance is not a discount and it is not a guess. It is a named placeholder with a stated scope, and the arithmetic when it moves should be visible before you sign anything.
The contract carries 1,100 square feet of tile across three bathrooms, a mudroom and a laundry. That figure already includes 12 percent waste for cuts and pattern.
The allowance is for delivered material only. Setting material, waterproofing membrane, trim and bullnose pieces, and all labour are fixed-price lines elsewhere in the contract, so they do not move when your selection moves.
At $18,000 for 1,100 square feet, the allowance buys material at $16.36 per square foot.
Labour effect: No change. Same format, same setting time.
A credit of $5,020 appears on the next progress billing. Allowance credits are returned in full. We do not keep the difference.
Labour effect: +$3,400. Natural stone needs back-buttering, a flatter substrate, sealing and slower setting.
A change order for $8,950 material plus $3,400 labour, then 15 percent overhead and profit on the added cost, giving $14,202.50 added to the contract. It is signed before the tile is ordered.
| Material at $24.50 x 1,100 sq ft | $26,950.00 |
|---|---|
| Less the allowance carried in the contract | -$18,000.00 |
| Material overage | $8,950.00 |
| Added setting labour for natural stone | $3,400.00 |
| Subtotal of added cost | $12,350.00 |
| Overhead and profit at 15 percent | $1,852.50 |
| Change order total | $14,202.50 |
Six Eastside cities
We stay inside a 40-minute radius of the studio on purpose. One superintendent cannot cover more than that and still be on site every day.
4.9 average from 128 reviews (sample)
Every review below is sample content for this demo. The themes are the ones we hear most: honesty about structure, and communication during the months in between.
They documented two unpermitted alterations during the survey and priced the correction before we signed. No surprises in month four.
Fourteen months in the house with two kids. The containment and the temporary kitchen made it survivable.
I argued about paying for a flush beam instead of a dropped one. Standing in the room now, it was the right call.
They showed the shear re-sheathing as its own line in the estimate. It never felt like a change order.
They tested the slab humidity before quoting the floor. Two other bidders did not.
We asked for a kitchen. They told us the foundation came first. That honesty cost them four months of billing.
Three contractors offered to cut our roof trusses. Atelier found the original manufacturer instead.
Lead-safe work on a 1928 house, done properly, with the cleaning verification documented each time.
The egress window took longer than anyone hoped. Communication about it was excellent, which is not the same as fast.
The wall in the studio
Every print on this wall is a finished project on the Eastside. Hover or tap one to see what it actually took.
West BellevueWhole-home renovation, 2,940 sq ft
Newport Hills, BellevueSingle-storey addition plus main-floor rework
Somerset, BellevueMain-floor rework, kitchen and two bathrooms
Norkirk, KirklandSecond-storey addition, 780 sq ft
Trossachs, SammamishBasement finishing with guest suite
First Hill, Mercer IslandWhole-home renovation with foundation work
Education Hill, RedmondMain-floor rework with truss modification
Olde Town, IssaquahWhole-home renovation, 1,610 sq ftBook the walk-through
Two questions here, three on the next step. You will hear back within one working day with two proposed times.
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