Skip to main content Skip to content Real 2026 Portland pricing for cosmetic-plus refreshes, full renovations, and down-to-studs transformations, with a working calculator and itemized budgets from a 5.0-rated design-build firm.
A whole-home renovation in Portland runs $90K to $1.25M and up in 2026, or about $90 to $450 per square foot. Most full renovations of a 2,000 to 2,500 square foot home land between $260K and $480K with a new kitchen and baths, new or refinished floors throughout, and updated systems. A cosmetic-plus refresh that leaves systems in place stays under $260K. Down-to-studs and estate-scale projects reach $650K and up. The five ranges at right reflect real WCG projects across the Portland metro over the last twelve months.
Cost CalculatorA whole-home renovation is not one project. It is a sequence of decisions about square footage, systems, and how every room serves the next fifteen years. The number on the 2026 estimate reflects every one of them.
Ten real-world levers tuned to Portland project data. Choose your home size, renovation depth, and scope, and the live estimate updates with every selection. Your choices carry into the consultation form.
This is an estimate built on 2026 Portland data. For the true cost of your renovation, schedule a free in-home estimate.
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Estimate range based on 2026 Portland project data. Final pricing requires an in-home consultation and itemized estimate, delivered within one business day.
Every line on a WCG whole-home estimate ties back to one of these six factors. Some you control. Some the house tells us.
Square footage is the single biggest driver of a whole-home budget. More floor area means more flooring, more systems runs, more rooms to finish. A 1,400 square foot bungalow and a 3,600 square foot estate are different projects at every line.
HVAC, a full electrical rewire, and re-plumbing an older Portland home are often non-negotiable on a gut. They are mostly hidden, rarely glamorous, and a large share of any down-to-studs budget.
Keeping the existing floor plan is the cheapest path. Removing load-bearing walls brings beams and engineering. Reconfiguring the layout or adding square footage is where structural cost concentrates.
The kitchen and bathrooms are the most finish-dense, trade-heavy rooms in the house. A custom kitchen plus several updated or spa-grade baths is one of the largest shares of a whole-home budget.
Foundation, roof, windows, and siding. The house tells us. Older Portland homes often need envelope work surfaced once walls are open, from new windows to structural repairs.
Design-build means one contract for design and construction across the whole house. You get an itemized estimate before demolition, fewer change orders mid-project, and a price that holds because selections are finalized first.
A Portland home of the same size can land at $180K, $360K, or $720K depending on the depth of the renovation. The choice is not better or worse. It is how far you take the house for the next fifteen years.
Three tiers cover most Portland whole-home projects in 2026. Where you land depends on square footage, how much of the systems you replace, and whether the layout changes. The table below maps each tier to what it includes and the range it typically runs.
| Tier | What it includes | 2026 Range |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic-Plus Good | Kitchen and baths updated, new or refinished floors throughout, fresh paint, trim, and lighting. Systems left in place, no walls moved. | $140K to $260K |
| Full Renovation Better | New kitchen and baths, floors throughout, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing updated, new windows where needed, some layout reconfiguration, and interior millwork and lighting. | $260K to $550K |
| Down-to-Studs Best | Taken to the framing. New systems throughout, custom kitchen and spa baths, structural reconfiguration or an addition, premium envelope, and designer finishes. | $550K to $1.25M+ |
Ranges reflect 2026 Portland metro projects. A larger home or a deeper, down-to-studs scope pushes toward the high end of each tier.
The price differences are not abstract. They sit in the floors, the kitchen and baths, the systems behind the walls, and the envelope. Here are four choices that most often separate a $260K renovation from a $720K one.
One continuous floor ties a renovated home together. Wide-plank white oak or engineered hardwood through the main level, porcelain or stone in the wet rooms, every transition planned so the eye never catches a seam. On a whole-home project this is thousands of square feet, not one room.
Refinishing existing hardwood runs $4 to $8 per square foot. New wide-plank hardwood across a 2,200 square foot home reaches $25K to $50K installed once you count material, subfloor prep, and transitions.
On a whole-home renovation the kitchen sets the tone for every other room. Custom cabinetry, a stone island, and millwork carried into the dining and living spaces so the house reads as one design rather than a series of projects.
A full custom kitchen runs $60K to $130K on its own. Carrying that millwork language into built-ins, paneling, and trim across the main level adds $15K to $45K.
A whole-home renovation usually touches every bathroom. A primary suite with a wet room, freestanding tub, heated floors, and a custom vanity, plus updated secondary and guest baths so the whole house moves up a tier together.
An updated secondary bath runs $18K to $35K. A spa-grade primary suite with heated floors, a curbless shower, and a custom vanity reaches $45K to $90K.
The work you do not always see and never regret. New windows for light and efficiency, repaired or replaced siding, a sound roof, and the structural fixes an older Portland home surfaces once the walls are open. The envelope is what makes the renovation last.
A full window replacement runs $18K to $45K depending on count and grade. Add siding, exterior trim, and curb-appeal work and the envelope package reaches $30K to $90K.
None of these are required. All of them show up on the renovations we are proudest of. We surface them in the design phase so you can choose what fits the 2026 budget and what waits for a later phase.
See Full GalleryBelow are the actual itemized totals from three WCG whole-home renovations completed within the past twelve months in Portland. Names changed; numbers and scope real.
Schedule Free Consultation The visible scope is the kitchen, baths, and floors. The complete 2026 budget covers eight more line items that catch homeowners off guard the first time they price a whole-home renovation. We itemize all of them in the estimate.
Schedule Free Consultation6 to 12 weeks of design before construction. Drawings, 3D renders, structural and energy calcs, and full material selections.
Building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and structural permits across Multnomah, Washington, or Clackamas county on a whole-home scope.
Most down-to-studs projects are not livable. A full renovation can take 5 to 9 months, so the household moves out for the duration.
Older Portland homes often need a 200-amp service to carry a modern whole-home load across new kitchen, baths, HVAC, and circuits.
Knob-and-tube wiring, galvanized pipe, rot, and asbestos or lead abatement surfaced once the walls are open. Common in pre-1980 homes.
Required when load-bearing walls come down or the layout is reconfigured. Engineering, beams, posts, and foundation work.
8 to 12 percent of total scope. A larger reserve than a single-room remodel, because there are more unknowns behind more walls.
Repairing grounds, driveways, and access after heavy construction. Whole-home projects are hard on the site around the house.
Construction & design experience in Portland
Portland-area homes transformed
Across Google, Houzz & Yelp reviews
Craftsmanship warranty on every project
We interviewed three Portland design-build firms for our whole-home renovation. Woodland was the only one who showed up with a real schedule, a real budget, and a real PM at the consultation. Eight months later we have the house we drew on a napkin in 2024. It came in on budget, finished on time, and the warranty walk-through was actually pleasant.
The single-PM thing is not marketing. We had one phone number from demo day to the final walk-through of a full gut. Every Friday a photo update, every Monday a budget check. After living through one bad renovation before, this felt like a different industry.
The design work made the whole thing worth it. We had a chopped-up 1962 floor plan we thought we would have to live with. Instead we have a home that still feels like ours, just twenty years better.
A whole-home renovation in Portland costs $90,000 to $1,250,000 and up in 2026, or about $90 to $450 per square foot. Most full renovations of a 2,000 to 2,500 square foot home land between $260,000 and $480,000 with a new kitchen and baths, new or refinished floors throughout, and updated systems. A cosmetic-plus refresh that leaves systems in place stays under $260,000, while down-to-studs and estate-scale projects reach $650,000 and up. Square footage, depth of scope, and systems replacement drive most of the spread.
The kitchen and bathrooms together are usually the largest share of a whole-home budget because they are the most finish-dense and trade-heavy rooms. On a gut renovation, full systems replacement (HVAC, electrical rewiring, and re-plumbing) and any structural reconfiguration are the next biggest drivers. Square footage scales every one of these line items.
Most Portland whole-home renovations take 4 to 9 months of construction after a 6 to 12 week design and engineering phase. A cosmetic-plus refresh can finish in about 3 months. A down-to-studs or estate-scale project that replaces systems, reconfigures the layout, or adds square footage runs 8 to 12 months. We finalize selections and drawings before demolition so the schedule holds.
Renovating is usually less expensive than a teardown and rebuild in Portland, and it preserves the home's character and any grandfathered zoning. A new build runs $300 to $500 per square foot plus demolition, a longer permit timeline, and system development charges. Renovation makes sense when the foundation and framing are sound. A teardown makes sense when the structure is failing or the layout cannot be saved.
Yes. A well-scoped whole-home renovation in the Portland market typically returns 60 to 80 percent of its cost at resale, and updated kitchens, baths, systems, and floor plans are among the features buyers value most. The return is highest when the renovation matches the home's price tier and neighborhood rather than over-improving for the block.
Yes. A whole-home renovation almost always requires multiple permits across building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and sometimes structural, pulled through Multnomah, Washington, or Clackamas county. As your design-build contractor, we pull every permit and schedule every inspection so the work is code-compliant and documented. See our whole-home renovation process for how we run a project start to finish.
It depends on scope. During a cosmetic-plus refresh or a phased renovation, many families stay in part of the home. A down-to-studs gut with systems offline is not livable, so most homeowners move out for 4 to 9 months. We map the phasing and a realistic move-out window during design so there are no surprises.
The estimates above reflect 2026 labor and material costs across the Portland metro. We design and build whole-home renovations throughout these communities. Find your city for local project examples.
You have a number. The next step is a free in-home consultation and an itemized estimate, delivered within one business day. Now booking 2026 whole-home renovation projects across the Portland metro.
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