Metro Detroit Home Remodeling | Custom Edge Remodeling
Kitchen Remodeling in Birmingham
Birmingham's housing splits in two. Half of it went up before 1960, and nearly one house in five has been built since 2000. That means two completely different kitchen projects inside the same city, and they do not cost the same thing.
Request a walkthrough →What We Find Behind Birmingham Kitchen Walls
Birmingham's median house dates to 1960, but the average hides the real story. Four kinds of kitchen cover most of the city.
Pre-War Colonials and Tudors
About one Birmingham house in four went up before 1950. Original kitchens at the back of the plan, often with a butler pantry or a back stair still in place. There is usually more room here than the floor plan suggests.
1950s Ranches and Colonials
The largest single group, close to a quarter of the city. Closed kitchens with the dining room on the other side of the wall, and enough footprint to open up properly.
1960s and 1970s Infill
Roughly one house in five. Decent sized kitchens for the era, usually updated once in the 1990s and now due again.
Post-2000 Rebuilds
Nearly twenty percent of Birmingham housing, almost double Royal Oak's share. These kitchens are large and already open. The work is cabinetry, counters, lighting and appliances, not structure.
Six Things Birmingham Kitchens Have in Common
None of these are surprises. They are what decides the number on a Birmingham kitchen.
The City Says Renovations, Not Kitchens
Birmingham publishes that renovations to a single family home require a building permit. It never uses the word kitchen anywhere, which confuses people into thinking they are exempt. They are not. We file it before anything starts.
Your Electrician Pulls Their Own Permit
Birmingham requires the licensed electrical contractor to apply for the electrical permit, with a licensed electrician on site while the work happens. A licensed master plumber has to pull the plumbing permit. A general contractor cannot pull either one on their behalf, and neither can you.
Seven to Seven, Monday to Saturday
Birmingham codifies residential construction hours and names remodeling directly. Seven in the morning to seven at night, Monday through Saturday, no legal holidays and no Sunday. We schedule around it. Some contractors find out the hard way.
Plan Review Is Two to Three Weeks
Birmingham is the only city on our map that publishes a review window. Two to three weeks for the review itself, which is not the same as the permit in your hand. We build it into the schedule rather than discovering it.
Two Folded Sets of Drawings
Birmingham wants two complete sets of construction drawings at application, with the review fees paid before the project enters review. Under thirty-five hundred square feet you do not need an architect seal, and we produce the drawings.
Exterior Work Changes Everything
Historic district and design review in Birmingham are written around exterior appearance, so an interior kitchen sits outside both. Add a window, move a door or vent a hood through an exterior wall and it becomes a different review.
We Pull the Permit, You Do Not
Birmingham's Building Department is on Martin Street. The building application has to include a copy of a current state builder license, which we supply. Plumbing, heating, refrigeration and electrical alterations each require their own separate permit, and in Birmingham the licensed trade has to pull its own rather than riding along on ours.
- →Building permit filed with a current builder license attached
- →Two complete sets of drawings submitted and review fees paid up front
- →Electrical permit pulled by our licensed electrical contractor
- →Plumbing permit pulled by a licensed master plumber
- →Work scheduled inside the city seven to seven window, Monday through Saturday
Birmingham also publishes a Builders Code of Conduct asking builders to behave like guests in an existing neighborhood. We read it. Your neighbors will notice the difference.
What a Kitchen Remodel Costs in Birmingham
Most of our kitchens run $50,000 to $70,000. Birmingham's median sale price is around $1,020,000, which puts a mid-range kitchen at roughly six percent of the house. That is the lowest ratio anywhere we work, and it is why Birmingham kitchens get scoped up rather than down. Local kitchen budgets here commonly run well past our range. If your project has moved past what we are the right builder for, we will tell you that during the walkthrough instead of stretching to take it.
What We Build in a Birmingham Kitchen
A Bar or Kitchenette Downstairs
Common in the post-2000 houses, where the basement was poured tall enough to be worth finishing properly.
See the service →The Full Kitchen
Layout, cabinetry, counters, electrical, plumbing, ventilation, floors and trim. Eight to twelve weeks, four trades, one schedule.
See the service →The Powder Room Next Door
In the pre-war houses this is often a converted back hall or pantry. Worth doing while the walls are already open.
See the service →Bumping Out for the Kitchen
Birmingham adds an engineering site evaluation for additions that an interior remodel does not trigger. We tell you what that adds before you decide.
See the service →Taking Out the Wall
The pre-1960 half of Birmingham almost always has one. Beam, posts, load path to the footing, permitted and inspected.
See the service →The Kitchen Inside a Bigger Renovation
Frequently the right call on a pre-war house, where the wiring and the plumbing come due at the same time as the kitchen.
See the service →Birmingham Homeowners Ask Us This
Anything not answered here, call Tim directly at 313.236.0985.
Does Birmingham require a permit for a kitchen?
Yes. The city publishes that renovations require a building permit. It does not list kitchens by name, which is what confuses people. Separate electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits come on top of it.
Can my contractor pull the electrical permit?
Not in Birmingham. State law requires the licensed electrical contractor to apply for it, with a licensed electrician on site while the work is done. Same idea for plumbing, where a licensed master plumber pulls the permit.
Can you work Sunday to finish faster?
No. Birmingham restricts residential construction to seven to seven, Monday through Saturday, excluding legal holidays. It is in the city code and it names remodeling directly. We plan the schedule around it.
Will the historic district commission need to see my kitchen?
Not for interior work. Birmingham historic district and design review are written around exterior appearance. If the kitchen adds a window, moves a door or vents a hood through an exterior wall, that changes, and we raise it early rather than late.
How long until I have the permit?
Birmingham publishes two to three weeks for the plan review itself. That is the review, not the whole process. We file the day the drawings are done and tell you where it stands each week.
Do I need an architect?
Not for a kitchen. Birmingham does not require an architect or engineer seal on a one or two family dwelling under thirty-five hundred square feet of floor area. We produce the drawings ourselves.
Full service area across Oakland, Wayne, Macomb, Washtenaw and Monroe counties.
We Are Already in the Neighborhood
Tim walks the kitchen, tells you what the wall and the wiring will allow, and gives you a straight answer before anyone talks about price. Free, about an hour.