We work as a general contractor in Brewer, ME on houses people already live in: additions, kitchens, baths, and the sills and framing that carry them. On the river side of town, where Victorian-era houses like the 1847 Daniel Sargent House still stand, our price starts in the cellar.
In short
This page covers remodeling, adding on to and repairing existing houses in Brewer, Maine. The work runs from one bathroom or kitchen to a whole older home, including the sills, joists and permits behind the finish.
Close to a third of Brewer's housing was built in 1939 or earlier, and about four in ten households rent. We look at the foundation, the carrying beam and any old wiring before a number is written, so the price reflects the house rather than a guess.
The figure to keep: averaged over many local projects, a Brewer kitchen runs $14,000 to $76,000+ depending on scope, and a bathroom starts at $12,000 per room.
A Brewer remodel should start under the floor because 1,302 of the city's 4,402 housing units date to 1939 or earlier, and their sills decide what a new kitchen or bath can carry. Price the structure first, because that is where old-house budgets slip.
Pre-1940 river-side houses checked from the sill up before any price
Brewer permits filed before work starts, since the city doubles the fee after
Lots near the Penobscot, Felts Brook or Eaton Brook checked against the shoreland zone
You are looking at
Brewer, ME
0.6 miles from Bangor
Neighboring towns
See every town we serveBrewer's older houses need sound structure, then a whole-house plan, then a working kitchen.
Brewer made brick in the 1800s, and a house from that century usually stands on brick or fieldstone, with the sill rotting first where wet soil meets wood.
We jack a sagging floor slowly, set a new pressure-treated sill and sister the weak joists, all under the permit Brewer requires for structural work.
Brewer's Office Residential district holds house styles from the 19th century, and a house that old may carry lead paint covered by the EPA's lead-safe renovation rule.
We work in order (structure, then wiring and plumbing, then finishes), one floor at a time so you can live in the rest.
Half of Brewer's housing dates to 1959 or earlier, so a kitchen wall here can hide knob-and-tube wiring or a galvanized drain.
Layout is the biggest budget fork: keep the sink and walls, or move them. We price both, and the range hood vents outside, never into the attic.
Our general contracting services in Brewer cover six kinds of work; these three finish the list.
Brewer's Code Enforcement Office charges $0.50 per square foot of finished space, and nobody moves into renovated space before its $50 Certificate of Occupancy.
Sills, carrying beam, floors, venting and any old wiring in view get checked before a price.
Your drawings or our design partner's sketch become a written price and contract, and the permit is filed after you sign.
You get a weekly update, and at the end we walk the house with you room by room.
You choose a general contractor in Brewer, ME by asking what they check before they price, and a good answer starts in the cellar. Anyone who prices a kitchen without looking under it is guessing.
Ask who pulls the permit and how they handle paint in a pre-1978 house; Brewer requires a permit to remove a wall or resize a window.
Under 10 MRSA §1487, a home construction contract over $3,000 must be in writing and signed, with the first payment capped at one third. Maine licenses no general contractors, so those answers are your screen.
A Brewer owner hires a general contractor when one job crosses several trades at once. Landlords need one too; about 40 percent of Brewer households rent.
A Brewer remodel gets extra review in the shoreland zone: 250 feet from the Penobscot, 75 from Sedgeunkedunk Stream, 85 from Felts and Eaton Brooks. In FEMA Zone AE, a substantially improved house needs its lowest floor a foot above base flood.
A Brewer project should go to the city a month before work, since review can take up to 30 days. Interior work runs all winter; an addition's foundation waits for thawed ground.
A Brewer kitchen costs $14,000 to $76,000+ and a bath starts at $12,000, averaged over many local jobs and never a quote.
| Kitchen scope | What it usually means | Average range |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic refresh | Paint, counters and fixtures; cabinets stay | $14,000 to $22,000 |
| Mid-range update | New cabinets and counters, plumbing in place | $22,000 to $40,500 |
| Full gut | To the studs, new layout, old wiring and drains out | $45,500 to $76,000+ |
Averages across many kitchens, not a quote; old Brewer walls can push a job up a tier.
A bathroom remodel in Brewer starts at $12,000 per bath for a small room with basic updates, and a larger bath with updates only runs $18,000 to $25,000. The vent stack, the subfloor and moved plumbing set where yours lands.
We don't post a price for a Brewer addition because the foundation, the roof tie-in, heat and, off the sewer, septic bedroom capacity swing it too far for a fair range. We price that work from drawings, and the city's permit adds $0.50 per finished square foot.
Layout moves a Brewer kitchen most, since moving a sink or a wall outweighs any cabinet choice. Then come cabinet grade, counters and what the plaster hides.
We can look at your Brewer house as soon as your free estimate request is in. Tell us roughly when it was built, and leave the cellar light on.
