Colonial Pine Hills Full Home Remodels
Remodeling a whole hillside house means three or four projects stacked on top of each other and tied together by stairs. Bruce Miller has spent 50 years learning which floor gets opened first, where the family sleeps while the crew works, and how to keep the trades moving on a lot where the trees come right up to the driveway.
Sequence
Putting the Levels of a Hillside House in Order
Most homes in Colonial Pine Hills step down the slope, so a whole-house project covers a lower level, a main level, and often a floor or half-floor above that. Each has its own rooms. Each also leans on the one below it for structure, for drainage, and for the pipes and ducts that climb up through the house.
Those connections set the order of work. Anything structural or mechanical that touches more than one floor gets done early, while walls are open on every level at the same time. A new drain line serving an upstairs room, a duct that rises two stories, a beam picking up weight from above: that work goes at the front of the schedule. Paint and trim on the top floor wait until the dusty work underneath is finished.
Exterior work fits into the same plan. Window replacements facing the trees and any roof tie-in for an addition need to be closed up and weathertight before interior finishes go in, so no storm ever reaches fresh drywall.
Bruce lays the sequence out on paper before any demolition. You see which rooms are affected in each phase, what stays usable, and where the inspections fall. Custom homes almost never have two floors with the same layout, so your plan gets written from a clean sheet for your house.
When the Lower Level Has a Moisture Question, Start There
On a sloped lot the lower level sits partly inside the hill. Under dense ponderosa canopy the ground stays shaded and holds water longer, and that water has to go somewhere. If a basement room smells damp, shows staining low on a wall, or stays cold and clammy through the summer, it gets looked at before anyone chooses finishes for the rest of the house.
The reasoning is plain. Finishing a lower level over an unsolved water problem throws away whatever you spend on it. Outside drainage fixes are muddy work, and you want them finished before new floors go in upstairs and people start tracking dirt across them.
We check the drainage and the condition of the below-grade walls on the first walkthrough. Some houses need nothing more than good vapor control and ventilation when the lower level gets finished. Others need outside work first. Either way you know which one you have before the schedule is set, and the lower level gets done in the order that protects everything above it.
Living on One Floor While Another Comes Apart
Most families remodeling a whole house here stay in it. A multi-level home makes that far easier than a single-story house would, because a closed door and a flight of stairs put real distance between you and the demolition. It still takes planning.
Before the crew starts, we pick the floor you will live on for each phase and make sure it covers what a household needs day to day:
- A bathroom that stays in service through that phase
- Somewhere to cook, even a folding table with a microwave and a hot plate
- Bedrooms far enough from the work that nobody wakes to a saw
- A way in and out of the house that never crosses the work zone
Dust control is the part people underrate. Plastic walls with zipper doors, sealed returns on the heating system, and floor protection on every stair the crew uses keep the floor you live on clean. When a phase moves to the level you have been living in, you move to the one that just got finished, and the process runs again.
The calendar shapes the phases as well. Drainage and outside work go best before the ground freezes, while interior phases carry on through winter because the crew is working inside a heated house. Bruce builds the schedule around that, so the outdoor pieces never sit stranded waiting on spring.
Access
Trucks and Trades on a Wooded Lot
A whole-house remodel brings a parade of vehicles. Framers, an electrician, a plumber, the heating crew, drywall and paint, flooring, a cabinet delivery, a dumpster, a lumber drop. On a lot shaded by tall pines with a driveway that climbs or bends, there is no room for all of that at once, and nobody wants a loaded truck parked on tree roots.
This is where one contractor running the whole job pays off. Bruce staggers the trades so they show up in sequence, places the dumpster and material drops where a truck can reach them without tearing up the yard, and keeps enough of the driveway clear for you to get your own car out in the morning. Deliveries arrive close to the day the material gets used, which keeps lumber and boxes from piling up under the trees.
He is also the one person every trade answers to. When the electrician needs the framer back for a header, or the flooring crew finds a soft spot in the subfloor, it gets worked out on site between the people doing the work. You hear about it from Bruce, with a written change order if it moves the price.
Bruce on Site From the First Wall to the Last Trim Piece
After the military, Bruce spent many years learning the trade and then went out on his own. The reason was simple: he wanted customers to get a more personal experience and he wanted to do good work for his own community. On a whole-house job, that means Bruce is at your house through the whole project, from the first day of demolition to the final walkthrough.
Having him there every day matters most on a house with several levels, because what happens on one floor shows up on another. A beam change in the lower level affects the floor above it. A rerouted duct moves a wall upstairs. Someone who has been in the house every day catches those links early, while they are still easy to handle.
Each finished phase also gets a walkthrough with you before the crew moves on. Anything needing a touch-up gets written down and taken care of while the tools and the right trade are still at the house, which saves chasing a painter back out long after everyone has left.
It also means one phone number for everything. You call Bruce about the schedule, about a finish you want to change, about something you noticed after the crew left for the day. With 50 years behind him and a veteran’s habit of doing what he said he would, he keeps the job organized and tells you straight where it stands.
Single-Room Projects Around Colonial Pine Hills
Colonial Pine Hills Kitchen Remodeling
Kitchens planned around tree-view windows and split-level stairs.
Colonial Pine Hills Bathroom Remodeling
Bathrooms fitted to the room you already have.
Colonial Pine Hills Tub-to-Shower Conversions
An old tub swapped for a shower that is easier to step into.
We build walk-in showers in Colonial Pine Hills too, and Bruce takes on full home remodels all over Pennington County. Look through whole-house work in the project gallery, or send a free price request with a few notes about your house.
Questions
What People Ask Before a Whole-House Remodel
Which floor do you start on in a multi-level home?
Usually the lowest level that has structural, drainage, or mechanical work affecting the floors above. Anything running through several stories gets done while the walls are open. Finish work on upper floors comes later so dust and foot traffic from below cannot damage it.
Can we live in the house during a full remodel?
Most families do. We choose one floor for you to live on during each phase and make sure it has a working bathroom, a place to cook, and a clear way in and out. Plastic walls and sealed heating returns keep the work area’s dust away from that floor.
What if my lower level feels damp?
Tell us at the first visit. Bruce checks the below-grade walls and the drainage around the house. Some lower levels only need vapor control and ventilation during finishing. Others need outside drainage work first, and that work goes at the front of the schedule before any finishes are installed.
How do you handle parking and deliveries on a wooded lot?
Bruce staggers the trades so they are never all on site at once and has material delivered close to when it gets used. The dumpster goes where a truck can reach it without driving over roots, and part of your driveway stays open for your own car through the job.
Who do I talk to while the work is going on?
Bruce. He is on site through the whole project and coordinates every trade himself. Questions about the schedule, a finish change, or something you spotted in the evening all go straight to him, and any change that affects the price comes to you in writing first.
Do you pull permits for a whole-house remodel?
Yes. As a licensed general contractor, Bruce handles permits and inspection scheduling for structural, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work. Inspections are built into the phase plan, so waiting on an inspector for one level does not stall work on the rest of the house.
Start With a Walkthrough of Every Level
Bruce goes floor by floor with you, looks at the lower level first, and talks through the order that makes sense for your house. You get a written price broken out by phase so you can see where the work lands. Call (605) 636-2284 or use the contact form to set a time.