Written by the team at YBL Design & Build, a licensed design-build contractor (CSLB #1152391) based in Los Angeles. The permit and code details below are verified against LADBS, LA City Planning, and the CSLB as of August 2026. Requirements differ by jurisdiction, so confirm the rules with the department that will issue your permit before you commit.
The short answer
A full-home remodel means reworking most of your house at once — kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, and often the electrical, plumbing, and layout — rather than adding square footage. In Los Angeles, what you pay is driven by three things: how deep the scope goes (a cosmetic refresh versus a full gut), how many kitchens and bathrooms are involved, and the age and condition of the home. Almost any full remodel needs permits. And before you start, it is worth pressure-testing one question — is a remodel actually the right move, or would an addition or a rebuild serve you better?
Part of our homeowner guides to ADUs, additions, and remodels across Los Angeles and Orange County.
What counts as a full-home remodel?
“Remodel” covers a wide range, and where your project sits on that range is the single biggest factor in cost. It helps to think in three tiers:
- Cosmetic refresh — new finishes such as paint, flooring, fixtures, and cabinets, with the layout and systems largely left in place
- Mid-range full remodel — a new kitchen and bathrooms, updated finishes throughout, some system work, and a few walls moved
- Full gut renovation — taken down to the studs, with new electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, a reworked layout, and often structural work
A full-home remodel is different from an addition, which adds new square footage, and from a rebuild, which replaces the house entirely. We cover the addition path in our Los Angeles home additions guide.
What does a full-home remodel cost in Los Angeles?
Cost is driven by scope, the number and level of your kitchens and bathrooms, and the age of the home — far more than by any single per-square-foot number. As a planning starting point, here are general market ranges for Los Angeles. These are ballpark figures, not YBL prices or quotes.
| Remodel scope | General market range (per sq ft) | What it usually includes |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic refresh | $150–$250 | Finishes, paint, flooring, fixtures; layout and systems largely unchanged |
| Mid-range full remodel | $250–$400 | New kitchen and baths, updated finishes, some system work, select layout changes |
| High-end / full gut | $450–$800+ | Down to the studs, new electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, premium finishes, structural work |
Put in whole-project terms, current LA guides commonly put a comprehensive remodel of a roughly 2,000-square-foot home in the range of about $300,000–$550,000 once design and permits are included, with high-end gut renovations running well beyond that. Kitchens and bathrooms — the “wet rooms” — carry the highest cost per square foot, so the number and level of those spaces moves your total more than the bedrooms do.
These are general market ranges observed across current Los Angeles remodel cost guides, not YBL prices. Hillside lots, older homes, and higher-end finishes push toward and past the top of these ranges. A fixed price should come only after your home is assessed and the design is complete.
What actually drives the cost
Systems: electrical, plumbing, and HVAC
The parts you do not see are often the biggest line items. Replacing old wiring, re-piping, upgrading an undersized electrical panel, and installing new HVAC add up quickly — and a full gut usually means doing all of them. When you touch systems, current energy code (Title 24) requirements come into play as well, which can add insulation, windows, or equipment upgrades.
Kitchens and bathrooms
Wet rooms are the most expensive square footage in the house because they combine cabinetry, stone, tile, plumbing, and appliances in a small area. A remodel with two or three bathrooms and a large kitchen will always cost more than one with a single bath, at the same finish level.
Layout and structural changes
Moving a wall is cheap; removing a load-bearing wall to open a floor plan is not. Beams, posts, and revised framing require engineering and inspection. Open-concept layouts are popular in LA remodels, but each removed wall that carries load adds structural cost.
The age and condition of your home
Much of LA’s housing is decades old, and a remodel has to work with whatever is already there. Older foundations, aged plumbing, and pre-1978 materials all affect the number. We go deeper on those conditions in our additions and whole-home remodels guide.
Remodel, addition, or tear down and rebuild?
Homeowners often assume remodeling is automatically the cheaper path. Usually it is — reusing your foundation, framing, and roof saves a great deal. But there is a point where it flips. When a remodel grows into moving most of the walls, replacing every system, and re-engineering the structure, the cost can approach new construction while you still have an old shell around it. If the layout is the real problem and the bones are sound, remodel. If you need more space and the lot allows it, an addition may be the better value. And if nearly everything has to change, it is worth pricing a ground-up rebuild before committing. The honest answer only comes from putting real scope against real numbers — which is exactly what the design phase is for.
Permits and how long a remodel takes
A full-home remodel almost always needs a building permit plus electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits. In the City of Los Angeles those come from LADBS; in the county’s other cities and its unincorporated areas, a different department issues them — our additions guide breaks down who issues your permit by address. Structural and layout changes trigger a full plan check, and any work that touches systems brings current energy-code requirements into the picture.
On timeline, design and engineering usually take several weeks to a couple of months, plan check varies by department and scope, and construction on a substantial remodel commonly runs several months to a year. Start to finish, a full-home remodel is often a 6-to-16-month project. The most common cause of delay is not the city — it is an incomplete plan set that draws correction cycles, so time spent getting the drawings right up front is the cheapest time in the project.
Living through it, or moving out
This is a real decision unique to whole-home remodels. A lighter, phased remodel can sometimes let you stay in part of the house while work moves room to room. A full gut — with the kitchen, bathrooms, and power offline — usually means moving out for the duration, so budget for rent and storage as part of the true cost. Deciding this early prevents an expensive mid-project scramble.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit for a full-home remodel in Los Angeles?
Yes, for almost any full remodel. Structural changes, moving walls, and any new electrical, plumbing, or mechanical work require permits and approved plans. Purely cosmetic work like paint and flooring may not, but a whole-home remodel almost always crosses into permitted work.
Is it cheaper to remodel or rebuild?
Usually remodeling, because you reuse the foundation, framing, and roof. But when the scope grows to replacing every system and re-engineering the structure, a rebuild can become competitive. When the project is that extensive, it is worth pricing both before deciding.
Can I live in my house during a full-home remodel?
Sometimes, for a lighter phased remodel. For a full gut, where the kitchen, bathrooms, and utilities are offline, most homeowners move out for the duration. It depends entirely on the scope.
How long does a full-home remodel take in Los Angeles?
Commonly 6 to 16 months from first design conversation to completion, including design, permitting, and construction. A full gut of an older home sits at the longer end.
What is the most expensive part of a remodel?
Kitchens and bathrooms and the systems behind the walls — electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. The number and level of your wet rooms, and how much of the systems you replace, move the total more than anything else.
Planning a full-home remodel in Los Angeles?
YBL Design & Build is a licensed design-build contractor (CSLB #1152391) serving Los Angeles and Orange County. We take your remodel from a clear design and scope through permits and construction with one team and one fixed price — so the number is set before demolition, not discovered during it. Explore our remodeling service, see what we build across Los Angeles, or get a free estimate.
