Whole-home remodeling in Cincinnati

41%² of the city's homes were standing before 1940: brick Italianates and Queen Annes in the basin and on the hillsides above it, and frame houses in the streetcar neighborhoods. Expect the original wiring and pipes to be partly replaced already and partly not, often in the same wall.

Unless a lead-based paint inspection shows otherwise, the EPA says to treat paint in homes built before 1978 as if it contains lead.¹⁸ For homes built before 1978, the EPA advises hiring contractors who use only lead-safe certified renovators.¹⁹ A simple dust barrier, the EPA says, is 6-mil plastic sheeting taped over doors and other openings, with sheeting also taped over the room's heating, cooling or ventilation registers so dust doesn't spread or get into the ducts.¹⁸

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.²⁰ 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.²¹ Testing before demolition costs far less than stopping a crew halfway through.

Much of the city is built on steep ground, and an addition, a new foundation or a rebuilt retaining wall can disturb soil that is prone to slipping. Cincinnati requires a geotechnical report for sites with active landslides, slopes steeper than 3 horizontal to 1 vertical, excavation deeper than 12 feet, structural fill over five feet, earthwork over two acres, or projects in the Hillside District zoning overlay.²²

A permit for excavation or fill in a Cincinnati Hillside Overlay District needs a preliminary geotechnical evaluation sealed by an Ohio professional engineer, and a full geotechnical soils report is required when the building permit is applied for.²³ In Cincinnati, retaining walls and demolition each need their own permit, whether or not the work is part of a job done under a building permit.¹⁴

Ask the company whether your lot is in the overlay district or on the city's landslide maps before you pay for drawings, and whether it has worked with a geotechnical engineer on a hillside job before.

A Certificate of Appropriateness is required to alter a locally designated Cincinnati landmark or a property in a local historic district; the Historic Conservation Office generally reviews exterior work, demolition, new construction and site work, and interior work that has no effect on the exterior needs none.¹⁶ A whole-house renovation usually reaches the exterior at some point, with new windows, a rebuilt porch, a rear addition or a changed roofline.

In a Cincinnati historic district, work that is exempt from a building permit still needs a Certificate of Appropriateness, while a building permit application is referred to the Historic Conservation Office automatically.¹⁶ Cincinnati charges $158.55 for a staff review of a minor alteration in a historic district and $658.55, including a $500 hearing fee, for a major alteration reviewed by the Historic Conservation Board.¹⁶

Board hearings follow a published calendar with filing deadlines well before each hearing, so put the hearing date into the schedule before demolition is booked.

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.¹⁸ After paint, finishes or new flooring go in, the EPA's typical recommendation is maximum ventilation during installation and for at least 72 hours afterward.¹⁸

In a narrow row house with one bathroom, a phased plan matters. Ask the company to keep a working toilet, shower and sink until the new ones pass inspection, or plan to move out during demolition and the first coats of finish.

More than one in four adults 65 and older fall each year.²⁴ When the walls are already open, adding blocking for grab bars or a wider bathroom door costs little.

On a hillside lot the front steps may be the hardest part of the house to change, so think about a first-floor bedroom and bath near the most level entry. NAHB's Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) credential trains remodelers in home modifications for aging in place.²⁵

When you call the number on this page, your recorded call goes to one independent company that handles whole-home remodels in the Cincinnati area. The rooms, the sequence and the price are worked out between you and that company.

We are paid for the call. You pay us nothing, and we never call or text you. How we make money

A contract this size deserves your own check of the company first. Every contractor working within Cincinnati city limits must keep a current city registration, renewed each year, and the city cannot issue building permits until all the contractors on the job are registered.¹⁷ Check an Ohio license