According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the median age of an owner occupied home was 42 years in 2024. Upgrading or coming into compliance with new code can often account for nearly half of your remodeling budget, making it critical to make the most of the investment when looking at complete interior renovations.
There are three main areas of consideration: Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing upgrades (MEP), structural and framing reinforcements, and insulation, air sealing, and waterproofing.
1. Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing upgrades
Mechanical:
When you alter or reconfigure your walls there are often unconsidered changes to the home’s thermal dynamics. This means, your existing system can cause extreme head or cold spots if the changes aren’t accounted for. Air flow must be recalculated to prevent this. While you’re taking this into consideration, it is a great time to look at upgrading to new electric air source heat pumps and zone dampers for multi-zone heating and cooling systems for efficiency and long term costs.
Inspecting the existing duct work for cracks and leaks is an inexpensive way to increase efficiency and cut future costs. Since the walls are opened up, this should be a no brainer for every homeowner/contractor.
Electrical:
Often, the most difficult aspect of electrical work is access. When the walls are opened up, it is opportune timing to make up-grades and adhere to new code.
Modern appliances like heat pumps, EV chargers, and induction cook tops have high-draw requirements, requiring separate high-amperage lines. Because of this, as well as increased home automation electrical draws, ensure that your electrical panel can support the higher-load.
This is also a great opportunity for planning and layout. Consider layout for future devices, installing extra deep electrical boxes for smart switches and dimmers which may need heavy wiring. USB-C and GFCI/AFCI should also be planned out for future convenience and safety.
Plumbing:
When you have easy access, replacing old steel and copper pipes with modern PEX piping can help prevent future burst pipes due to corrosion resistance and less overall scaling. If drains or water lines need rerouting, this can severely impact room layout. Taking this into consideration can alleviate a future headache down the road.
Consider installing a dedicated return loop, manabolic system, and noise dampening for future comfort and convenience. It is also critical to pressure test any new plumbing and inspect them for leaks before sealing the walls back up.
2. Structural and Framing Reinforcements
Load bearing walls:
When working with a significant remodel it is absolutely critical to be cognizant of load bearing walls. Altering or removing them can affect the integrity of the house itself. Always consult a structural engineer before cutting into or removing a beam or post.
Solid wood blocking or backing:
This may be the most common missed opportunity when it comes to behind the walls renovations. On the wall TVs, mirrors, vanities, cabinets, shelving, cabinets, and more require a strong, sturdy surface to mount to. By taking this into consideration while the walls are still open, allows you to quickly and correctly install wood blocking between the studs for you to safely mount heavy items in the future.
Floor deflection:
It is not just the walls that should be taken into account for bracing, but planning out the material and weight of flooring you’re considering can prevent future issues down the road.
We spoke with Tom Moore, whose company provides flooring installation in Spokane, WA, about floor joist stiffness and why it’s critical for different materials failing, squeaking, and cracking. He pointed out that it’s not just when his tile installers are working with large format tile and natural stone tile that needs stiffer floors to prevent cracking with both the tiles themselves as well as the grout, but modern floor materials also have strict rigidity requirements.
Laminate flooring, luxury vinyl plank flooring (or LVP floors), LVT, and sheet vinyl all need a near perfectly flat surface. With older homes this can mean significant leveling compounds are needed to prevent snapping, bowing, and puncture which adds a significant amount of weight to the floor. Bracing joists can ensure that the floor can handle the load and improve a solid feel with engineered hardwood flooring and are often a consideration with hardwood flooring installation in new homes.
3. Insulation, Air Sealing, and Waterproofing
Older homes may have significantly less thermal control than newer homes due to insufficient insulation and gaps, while interior walls may have no insulation materials at all making it loud and uncomfortable in everyday living.
There is no better time to retrofit the exterior walls with high density spray foam or dense pack cellulose to reduce heating bills, cooling bills, and make your home more comfortable overall. Interior walls are a perfect fit for rockwool or other soundproofing materials to deaden internal noise.
Finally, providing adequate waterproofing measures for any space that will be moisture prone like a bathroom, kitchen, or mudroom are critical. Without these, rot and mold can take hold and be extremely easy to eliminate or fix without ripping out the existing surface.
There is a lot to consider when taking on an interior renovation. Looking into the above considerations and carefully making a plan will end up saving you money in the long run, help your house feel more comfortable and livable, and make sure the money that you are spending on the project is well spent.
