Whole-home remodeling in South Jersey

Nearly a third of Camden County's homes come from two postwar decades: 31%² were built between 1950 and 1969. In the ranchers, Capes and bi-levels of that era, original wiring, steel pipe and old resilient flooring often survive under later updates. Unless a lead-based paint inspection shows otherwise, the EPA says to treat paint in homes built before 1978 as if it contains lead.¹⁴ For homes built before 1978, the EPA advises hiring contractors who use only lead-safe certified renovators.¹⁵

Beyond flooring, the EPA lists vermiculite attic and wall insulation, roofing and siding shingles, textured paint and patching compounds on walls and ceilings, and hot water and steam pipes wrapped in asbestos blanket or tape among the places asbestos may be found in a home.¹⁶ Having suspect tile, mastic and duct wrap sampled before a demolition date is set keeps a lab result from halting the crew halfway through the week. The EPA advises having an accredited asbestos professional inspect before a remodel that could disturb suspect materials, and not sanding or power-stripping suspect flooring yourself.¹⁷

The EPA notes that lead can collect inside galvanized pipe and later reach drinking water, and that solder made before 1986 contained high levels of lead.¹⁸ With every wall open, swapping old steel supply lines for new pipe costs a fraction of what it will once the plaster goes back.

In Haddonfield's historic district, a certificate of appropriateness is required for demolition, for any exterior improvement to a historic building and for any change in a building's exterior appearance by addition, alteration or replacement; the borough's code counts reroofing, window replacement and repointing as alterations.¹⁹ Haddonfield doesn't require a certificate of appropriateness for maintenance and repair of existing windows, doors or roofing in the same material and design, or for exterior painting of existing structures.¹⁹

Haddonfield's historic district rules restrict synthetic siding and state that vinyl siding is not an acceptable alternative.¹⁹ Haddonfield's Historic Preservation Commission reviews each application and recommends approval, approval with conditions or denial, the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment decides at a public hearing, and the review considers only a building's exterior features.¹⁹ Haddonfield's Historic Preservation Commission meets monthly, and applications for a certificate of appropriateness go to the borough's Zoning & Construction Office at Borough Hall.²⁰ Put those hearing dates into the schedule before windows or siding are ordered.

Under the New Jersey Register of Historic Places Act, only public undertakings that would encroach on a listed property need state approval; strictly private projects aren't reviewable under that law.²¹ The borough ordinance, not the state register, is what governs here. Elsewhere in the county, ask your construction office whether the house sits in a local district before anyone draws a dormer or new siding.

Under New Jersey's flood hazard rules, a regulated flood hazard area and riparian zone exist along every regulated water that drains 50 acres or more.²² Lots along the Cooper River, Pennsauken Creek and the smaller streams that feed them can fall inside a regulated flood hazard area.

Cherry Hill's flood damage prevention chapter, added in July 2023, treats work as a substantial improvement when the cumulative cost of reconstruction, rehabilitation, additions or other improvements over a ten-year period reaches 50 percent of the building's market value, and its floodplain administrator reviews permits from the previous 10 years to decide.²³ In Cherry Hill, anyone planning development in a flood hazard area must first apply to the floodplain administrator and obtain the required permit, which can be needed in addition to a building permit.²³ A whole-house renovation is exactly the kind of project that can cross that line, so ask for the determination before the design is final.

NJDEP's Inland Flood Protection Rule, in effect since July 17, 2023, raises the non-tidal flood elevations DEP maps by two feet and applies to new development and reconstruction, not to existing development.²⁴

For very dusty work such as demolition, the EPA describes isolating the work area: sealing it off with no direct access to the occupied rooms, with workers using a separate entrance until cleanup is done.¹⁴ In a bi-level, a family can often live upstairs while the lower floor is gutted, as long as a toilet, a sink and some way to cook stay on the occupied level.

If the plan empties the whole house, the job has become a reconstruction, and the town has to issue a new certificate of occupancy first. Schedule the final inspections before the moving truck, not after it.

More than one in four adults 65 and older fall each year.²⁵ Open walls make it cheap to add blocking for future grab bars, widen the hall-bath doorway or fit a full bath on the entry floor of a two-story colonial. NAHB's Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) credential trains remodelers in home modifications for aging in place.²⁶

Calling the number on this page connects you, on a recorded line, with one independent company that handles whole-home remodels in the South Jersey area. Which rooms, in what order and for what price are worked out between you and that company.

We're paid by that company for the call. You pay us nothing, and no one from our side calls or texts you later. How we make money

New Jersey registers home improvement contractors instead of licensing them, so look the company up before a deposit changes hands. New Jersey's Contractors' Business Registration Act requires every home improvement contractor business, from a sole proprietorship up, to register with the Division of Consumer Affairs every year before selling or making home improvements, unless the law exempts it.²⁷ The Division of Consumer Affairs' License Verification System is a real-time lookup; its Business Search finds home improvement contractor businesses by business name, license number or city and lists each one's registration number, license type, status and city.²⁸ Check a New Jersey license

A New Jersey home improvement contract for more than $500, and any change to its terms, must be in writing and signed by all parties, and must list the contractor business's legal name, business address and registration number, include a copy of its liability insurance certificate with the insurer's phone number, and state the total price including any finance charges.²⁹ A New Jersey homeowner may cancel a home improvement contract for any reason until midnight of the third business day after receiving a copy of it, by written notice sent by certified or registered mail or delivered in person, and the contractor must refund all payments within 30 days of receiving the notice.²⁹