The project
A 1992 two-story colonial in the Sunset Ridge neighborhood of Holly Springs — purchased as a fixer-upper by a young family who wanted to modernize the entire home before moving in. The house was structurally sound but cosmetically and mechanically outdated. Original everything: oak-strip kitchen cabinets with a dark stain, pink tile in both bathrooms, brass fixtures throughout, aluminum wiring on several branch circuits, polybutylene supply plumbing, and a 150-amp panel that was out of space.
The scope was comprehensive: gut the kitchen, gut both bathrooms, replace all the aluminum wiring with copper, replace the polybutylene supply plumbing with PEX, upgrade the electrical panel to 200 amps, refinish all hardwood floors, and repaint every room. The homeowners were living in an apartment and wanted the entire project done before their lease ended in 14 weeks.
Fourteen weeks for a whole-home renovation is aggressive but achievable when you control all three trades in-house. No waiting for a plumber who’s booked three weeks out. No scheduling conflicts between the electrician and the GC. One crew, one schedule, one project manager.
What we did
Kitchen
- Full gut demo — removed cabinets, countertops, backsplash, flooring, soffit, and drywall on exterior walls for insulation access
- New custom shaker cabinets — painted white, full overlay, soft-close, 42-inch uppers to the ceiling with crown molding
- Quartz countertops — 3cm Calacatta-look quartz with eased edge, undermount stainless sink
- Tile backsplash — 3-by-6-inch white subway tile in a standard brick pattern, matching white grout
- New appliance package — the homeowners purchased appliances separately; we handled all connections, including a new 50-amp range circuit and dedicated dishwasher circuit
- Opened the kitchen to the family room — removed a non-bearing partition wall and installed a 6-foot bar-height peninsula for seating
Bathrooms
- Master bathroom gut — removed the pink tile, fiberglass tub, pedestal sink, and vinyl floor. Installed a 48-by-36-inch tiled walk-in shower, double-sink vanity (60 inches, quartz top), comfort-height toilet, and heated porcelain tile floor
- Hall bathroom gut — removed the pink tile, tub-shower combo, and vanity. Installed a new tub-shower combo with ceramic tile surround, 36-inch vanity with quartz top, new toilet, and LVP flooring
- New fixtures throughout — brushed nickel faucets, showerheads, towel bars, and accessories in both bathrooms
Electrical — full rewire
- Replaced all aluminum branch circuits with copper — 22 circuits total, all run with 12/2 or 14/2 Romex as appropriate for the circuit amperage
- New 200-amp Square D panel — replaced the 150-amp panel, added whole-home surge protection, AFCI breakers on all habitable rooms, GFCI protection in all wet locations
- New lighting throughout — recessed LED lights in every room, under-cabinet lights in the kitchen, vanity lights in both bathrooms, exterior porch lights front and back
- New outlets and switches — replaced every outlet and switch in the house with white Decora-style devices. Added outlets where the original 1992 layout was lacking — behind the TV wall, at the kitchen island, in the master closet
- Smart switches — installed Lutron Caseta dimmers in the kitchen, family room, and master bedroom
Plumbing — full re-pipe
- Replaced all polybutylene supply lines with PEX — trunk-and-branch layout with a PEX manifold in the utility closet, individual shutoff for every fixture
- New supply valves at every fixture — quarter-turn ball valves replacing the original gate valves that were corroded and unreliable
- New water heater — 50-gallon A.O. Smith ProLine natural gas tank, replacing the original unit that was 20 years past its expected life
- New hose bibs — two new frost-free hose bibs, front and back, replacing the original non-frost-free sillcocks
Floors and paint
- Refinished all hardwood floors — sanded the original red oak hardwood throughout the first floor, applied two coats of oil-based polyurethane in a satin finish
- Painted every room — walls, ceilings, trim, doors. Two coats of eggshell on walls, semi-gloss on trim, flat on ceilings. Neutral palette chosen by the homeowners
Trades involved
This project required all three of our licenses on every phase:
- GC (NCLBGC #87341): Permitting, all demolition, framing modifications, cabinet and countertop installation, tile work, flooring, drywall repair, trim, paint, and overall project management across a 14-week schedule
- Electrical (NC #28-LA-9214): Complete rewire of 22 circuits, 200-amp panel upgrade, surge protection, AFCI and GFCI protection, recessed lighting, smart switches, appliance circuits, and outlet/switch replacement throughout
- Plumbing (NC #P1-22847): Complete re-pipe from polybutylene to PEX, manifold installation, water heater replacement, fixture installation in the kitchen and both bathrooms, hose bibs, and supply valve replacement at every fixture
Seven permits were pulled through the Town of Holly Springs: Building, Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical for the main project, plus separate permits for the panel upgrade, water heater, and kitchen gas line. All inspections passed on the first visit.
Timeline and budget
- Duration: 14 weeks, start to finish — 70 working days
- Budget: On budget — the final invoice came in within the written estimate range
- Crew: Four-person crew during the rough-in phase (weeks 2 through 6), three-person crew during finish (weeks 7 through 12), two-person crew for punch list and detail work (weeks 13 and 14)
- Permits: 7 permits total — all inspections passed first visit
- Sequencing: We worked top-down: rough electrical and plumbing first (so wires and pipes could be inspected before drywall), then drywall and paint, then cabinets and countertops, then fixtures and appliances, then floors last. Hardwood refinishing was the final step — we poly’d the floors and nobody walked on them for 72 hours before the homeowners moved in
The 14-week schedule required front-loading all material orders. Cabinets were the longest lead item at 5 weeks. We ordered them during week 1 and they arrived during week 6, exactly when the kitchen drywall was ready. No delays.
The result
A 1992 house that now functions like a 2026 house. The aluminum wiring is gone. The polybutylene plumbing is gone. The pink bathrooms are gone. Every room has proper lighting, modern outlets, and fresh paint. The kitchen opens to the family room, the master bath has a walk-in shower, and the hardwood floors look like they were installed yesterday.
The homeowners moved in on schedule — the day after their apartment lease ended. They walked into a house with new plumbing, new wiring, new kitchen, new bathrooms, refinished floors, and fresh paint. No punch list items remained. No follow-up visits were needed.
Whole-home renovations are complex because every trade overlaps. Plumbing and electrical run through the same walls. Tile and fixtures can’t go in until rough inspections pass. Floors can’t be done until all overhead work is finished. Managing that sequence is the difference between a 14-week project and a 6-month project. We finished in 14 weeks because all three trades reported to the same project manager, worked from the same schedule, and coordinated in person every morning.