Remodeling · City of San Diego
Whole-home remodeling in San Diego
A whole-home remodel reworks most of your house at once: the layout, the kitchen, the baths, the systems and the finishes. In the City of San Diego almost all of it needs a building permit. How long that takes depends on three rules: the No-Plan permit, the historic review and, near the coast, the exterior wall rule.
BHI Builders designs, permits and builds whole-home remodels, along with kitchens, baths, room additions and second stories, across San Diego County, as one team with one contract, under California contractor license 738313, issued in 1997.
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Right for your house when
Most of the rooms and the systems need work at the same time: the layout no longer fits how you live, the kitchen and baths are dated, and the wiring, plumbing or windows are at the end of their life.
The wrong choice when
One room is the real problem. A kitchen or a bath on its own is faster to permit and easier to live through, and the rest of the house can wait for its own turn.
On the call we tell you which kind of work your house needs, including when it is less than you planned.
The rules for a remodel
| Rule | What applies |
|---|---|
| When you need a permit | Almost always. Building, altering, repairing or converting any part of a house needs a building permit unless the code exempts the work. Painting, floor covering, cabinet work and small repairs with like materials are exempt, but never from the electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits. |
| No-Plan permit | A kitchen or bath remodel can use a No-Plan permit when it changes no structure, wall framing or exterior walls and adds no plumbing fixtures, in a house that was permitted and finaled. The inspector can still ask for plans. |
| Historic review | If any structure on the lot is 45 years old or older, every construction permit, No-Plan permits included, goes through a historic resource review first. Work that's only inside, with no exterior change, is exempt. The review usually takes about 10 business days. |
| Near the coast | In the Coastal Overlay Zone, removing or altering 50% or more of the exterior walls, counted in linear feet floor by floor, means the remodel needs a Coastal Development Permit. |
Outside the City of San Diego, your city or the County issues the permit, under its own rules. Who issues my permit?
Questions about remodeling
Do I need a permit for a kitchen or bath remodel?
Usually, yes, but it can be the simpler No-Plan permit when you change no structure, framing or exterior walls and add no plumbing fixtures. New cabinets and flooring alone need no building permit, though electrical and plumbing work still does.
Will historic review apply to my house?
If your house, or any structure on the lot, is 45 years old or older, most permits go through the City's historic resource review first, No-Plan permits included. Work that's only inside, with no exterior change, is exempt. The review usually takes about 10 business days.
Can we live at home during the work?
It depends on how much of the house is open at once. Working room by room lets many families stay. A remodel that opens the kitchen, the baths and the systems together usually means some time away.
Should we remodel or rebuild?
It depends on what stays. Keeping the foundation and most of the walls keeps the house you know and its permit history; a remodel that replaces most of the structure is close to a new house anyway. Near the coast, removing half or more of the exterior walls also brings a Coastal Development Permit.
What do you find inside an older house?
Often wiring that predates today's code, galvanized or failing pipes, framing cut for earlier remodels, and rooms added without a permit. We read the permit history and look at what can be seen before design, so most of it is known before the walls open.
Does a historic review hold up every future project?
No. If the City's staff find no potentially significant resource on the parcel, it is cleared from further historic review for five years, so later permits in that window skip the screening.
Who designs a whole-home remodel?
Residential architects and engineers we have built with before, or your own. BHI holds one contract and coordinates the drawings, the engineering, the permit and the construction, and helps you choose layouts, materials and fixtures.
Talk to us about your house.
Tell us what you want to change and where the house is. We'll walk it with you and tell you what the rules allow.
