Home Remodeling FAQs

Renovating updates what is already there: flooring, paint, fixtures, countertops. The walls stay where they are. Remodeling changes the structure or the layout by moving plumbing, removing a load-bearing wall, or converting a tub to a walk-in shower. The distinction matters to your budget more than to your vocabulary, because remodeling usually means permits, inspections, and a longer schedule.

It depends on what is moving. A bathroom typically runs 4 to 8 weeks from demolition to walkthrough. Kitchens run longer, mostly because cabinetry is built to order and the shop sets that schedule. Additions and whole-home remodels run in months rather than weeks, since framing and structural inspections sit on the critical path. You get a week-by-week calendar before demolition starts. Our bathroom remodel timeline guide breaks down where the weeks actually go.

Usually. Added square footage is the most dependable value add there is, but the return depends on what you add and how well it is integrated. An addition that reads as original to the house holds its value best, and that comes down to matching rooflines, siding, and window proportions. See which renovation projects return the most in Cary, or start with home additions.

Leave the plumbing where it is. Relocating a toilet, shower drain, or vanity means opening the floor and reworking supply and drain lines. In North Carolina that is permitted work. Moving a toilet even a few inches triggers a plumbing permit, and the county inspects it. That single decision is the biggest line separating a refresh from a full reconfiguration. Keep the layout, and put the money into waterproofing, tile, and fixtures you will still like in ten years. More on bathroom remodeling.

Four things move the number: whether cabinetry is stock, semi-custom, or built to order; whether walls or plumbing move; the countertop material; and the appliance spec. Everything else is rounding.

We price yours after seeing it. A number set sight-unseen is a number you would end up arguing with at estimate time. We walk the space, price the actual scope, and give it to you in writing. Get a kitchen estimate.

Set it by deciding which of those four drivers you actually care about, then hold a contingency for what is behind the walls. Ten to fifteen percent is the normal reserve, and older houses draw on it more often than new ones. Homeowners who run out of money usually did it by spending the contingency on upgrades in week two, before anyone knew what the demolition would find. Our guide to planning a kitchen remodel walks through the sequence.

Yes: covered porches, screened porches, and composite decks. All of it is structural work, meaning footings, framing, and a roof tie-in to the existing house, under permit. The tie-in is the detail that decides whether a porch looks original or looks added on, and it is the part worth getting right. See porches and decks, or what a screened porch costs around Raleigh and Cary.

A sunroom is an addition, so it carries footings, framing, and inspections rather than just an enclosure. Permitting is the variable homeowners underestimate. The clock starts when the permit is issued, which can be weeks after you sign. Our sunroom cost guide covers the ranges, and sunrooms covers the build.

Yes. Pulling permits, scheduling inspections, and dealing with the building department are part of the job, and we handle all of it on your behalf. A licensed general contractor pulling the permit also puts the work on record, which is what a buyer’s inspector goes looking for when you eventually sell.

Yes. We handle ADU design, permitting, and construction: detached units, garage conversions, and finished space above a garage. An ADU is the most zoning-sensitive thing we build, so setbacks, lot coverage, and how utilities reach the unit get checked before anything gets designed. See ADU construction.

They add value two ways: the square footage itself, and the rental or multigenerational use the space makes possible. The second is what separates an ADU from an ordinary addition, and it is also why the build has to be permitted and inspected. An unpermitted unit turns into a problem at closing.

Yes. Whole-home remodels and new construction are the core of the business: planning, permits, trade coordination, and final inspections under one contract, with one person accountable for the schedule. See whole-home remodeling and custom homes.

Because someone has to own the sequence. Plumbing roughs in before drywall, drywall before tile, tile before shower glass can even be measured. Every one of those is a different trade with its own calendar. Miss the order and you pay for the same work twice.

A general contractor also carries the license and insurance the work is performed under. AG-CM holds North Carolina General Contractor License #100043 and is insured through Builders Mutual. Here are eight questions worth asking any remodeler before you sign.

Call (984) 222-9198 or send us the project. Abdallah walks the space himself. AG-CM is owner-operated, so the person who prices the job is the person who runs it. You get a written scope and a schedule before anything gets demolished.

We build across Cary, Raleigh, Apex, Morrisville, Holly Springs, Durham, and Chapel Hill. See all service areas.