As a general contractor in Orono, ME, we renovate and add onto older houses, from village homes near Main Street to the 1970s and 1980s houses that make up about a third of the town. Before any price, we look under the floors at the sills and the beam.
In short
Remodeling, renovating and adding onto existing homes in Orono, Maine, home of the University of Maine, is the work this page covers, from one older room to a whole village house. A single general contractor answers for the carpentry and the licensed trades, and the house gets looked over before a price is written.
Orono divides at I-95 and Kelley Road for this work. Public sewer serves much of the built-up area east and north of that line, while land west of the highway relies on septic, where a new bedroom has to fit the system's design.
The figure to keep: an Orono kitchen remodel averages $14,000 to $76,500+ across many jobs, and bathrooms begin at $12,000 apiece.
Hiring one contractor for an older Orono house puts one party in charge of framing, permit and trades. That matters in Orono, where about 40 percent of homes were over 50 years old in 2014.
Village houses near Main Street checked for soft sills and old wiring
Additions planned for sewer or septic, which split at I-95 and Kelley Road
Basements near the Stillwater and Penobscot dried out before finishing
You are looking at
Orono, ME
7.4 miles from Bangor
Neighboring towns
See every town we serveOlder Orono houses need three things most: a whole-house plan, room to grow, a dry basement.
About 19 percent of Orono's homes date to 1939 or earlier, and the Main Street Historic District went on the National Register in 1977. We renovate those older houses in order: structure and wiring, insulation, finishes.
The median Orono home dates to about 1977, right at the 1978 line for lead paint, so in the older half of Orono's houses, work that disturbs paint falls under the EPA's RRP rule.
Public sewer serves much of Orono east of I-95 and north of Kelley Road, while land west and south runs on septic. There, a new bedroom must fit the system's design, set by bedroom count on Maine's HHE-200 form.
Soils near Caribou Bog, around much of Pushaw Lake and on outer Forest Avenue rate poor for septic, so we settle the septic question first. Then footings go below frost and the new roof ties into the old.
Orono's 2014 plan maps flood areas at Pushaw Lake, Caribou Bog and the Stillwater and Penobscot banks. Check FEMA's flood map for your address before planning a basement.
Before framing, we fix the water, starting with grading and gutters. A radon test comes next, since radon is common in Maine, and a bedroom down there needs an egress window.
Three more jobs round out our Orono work.
Orono's Code Enforcement Office reviews plans before work and wants a permit for structural repairs or a new window opening, not for new sheetrock. The office closes Fridays, so we file early in the week.
Together we go over the sills, beam and floors, and learn if the house has sewer or septic.
Drawings, a written price and a contract come before anything is torn out. Then we file plans for review.
Licensed trades do the plumbing and wiring as the law requires, you get weekly updates, and we walk the finished job together.
You choose a general contractor in Orono, ME by asking how they will get your plans through town review, since Orono wants drawings before work begins. Either of you may pull the permit, so write down who will.
Orono must enforce MUBEC, the state building and energy code, because it has more than 4,000 residents. Ask which edition the contractor builds to.
With no state license to check, the contract protects you. Maine's home construction contract law puts jobs over $3,000 in writing, signed by both of you, with a down payment of a third at most.
Owners and landlords both bring in general contractors in Orono, where owners hold about 47 percent of occupied units and student rentals cluster in the village and the Webster neighborhood.
Extra rules in Orono apply near water: within 250 feet of the Stillwater, the Penobscot or Pushaw Lake, shoreland zoning limits setbacks and expansions.
An Orono project should start a season before digging: drawings and review in winter, an addition's footings after the thaw. Kitchens and baths run any month.
A kitchen remodel in Orono costs $14,000 to $76,500+ and a bathroom starts at $12,000, averaged over many projects. Treat both as planning ranges.
| Kitchen scope | What it usually means | Average range |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic refresh | Paint, counters and fixtures in a 1970s kitchen | $14,000 to $22,500 |
| Mid-range update | New cabinets and counters, sink where it was | $22,500 to $40,500 |
| Full gut | A village kitchen stripped to studs, new wiring | $46,000 to $76,500+ |
Each range averages many kitchens and is never a quote. Old Orono walls can move the number.
An Orono bathroom budget starts at $12,000 per bath for small, basic updates, and a medium bath usually comes in around $15,000. Moved plumbing, subfloor rot, the vent stack and tile over a surround push it up.
An Orono addition has no posted price because its foundation, the tie-in to your roof, heat and septic capacity swing the cost too far. We price an addition from drawings, once we know if the lot has sewer or septic.
The layout pushes an Orono kitchen up its range most, since the sink, hood vent and sometimes a wall move with it. Cabinet and counter grade is next, then what the old wall holds.
We look over your Orono house after a free estimate request reaches us. Tell us what you want changed, and whether the house has sewer or septic.
