Kitchen remodeling in Richmond

Inside the city, 28%³ of homes date from before 1940, against 9%³ across the metro. Richmond's Fan Area Historic District, nearly a hundred city blocks of turn-of-the-20th-century town houses with more than two thousand buildings, is listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register.¹⁵ Even so, only 8%¹⁶ of city homes are counted as single-family attached houses, far fewer than Baltimore's 50%¹⁶, so a Richmond kitchen is less often boxed in by a neighbor's wall on each side.

Old floor framing deserves a question before you fall for stone. Richmond asks that framing plans for alterations show the dead load used for the design, noting that floor tile, wall tile and granite counters can have a substantial impact on it.¹³ If the plan adds an island or heavy counters, ask whether someone will look at the joists under the kitchen first.

Paint is the other prewar question. EPA's lead renovation rule requires anyone paid to disturb painted surfaces in a home built before 1978 to be lead-safe certified, and the EPA says about three-quarters of U.S. homes built before 1978 still contain some lead-based paint.¹⁷ If an original sash window sits over the sink, it will be opened and closed often. The EPA notes that painted window sashes and frames in homes built before 1978 may contain lead-based paint, which opening and closing the window can release as dust, and that a kitchen remodel may be a good time to replace old windows.¹⁸

Richmond's Department of Public Utilities says its water contains no lead when it leaves the treatment plant, and that lead can reach tap water from lead service lines, lead solder and some brass fixtures; lead solder was banned in 1986 but may remain in older homes.¹¹ Richmond's Department of Public Utilities has released an interactive map inventorying the material of water service lines; part of each line is owned by the city and part by the property owner.¹¹ Look up your address before demolition, and if the private part of your line shows as lead or unknown, ask the plumber to price replacing it while the kitchen is apart.

If the house counts toward a listed historic district, a state credit may offset part of the cost. Virginia's state historic rehabilitation tax credit, open to owner-occupied homes, equals 25% of eligible rehabilitation expenses for a certified historic structure, such as a contributing building in a listed historic district, if the whole project meets the Secretary of the Interior's Standards.¹⁹ Virginia's Department of Historic Resources lists new plumbing systems and updating kitchens and bathrooms among eligible expenses, while appliances and additions are not.¹⁹ Ask whether the company has worked to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards before you build a budget around it.

Richmond enforces the 2021 Virginia Residential Code, the International Residential Code as amended by Virginia, which took effect on January 18, 2024.¹³ The national kitchen rules on our kitchen remodeling page therefore apply here as Virginia has amended them. The 2021 International Residential Code says a kitchen range exhaust must discharge outdoors through its own airtight duct with a backdraft damper, never into an attic, crawl space or other indoor area; listed ductless hoods are the exception.²⁰

Richmond Gas Works, run by the city's Department of Public Utilities, provides natural gas to the city of Richmond and portions of Henrico and Chesterfield counties.²¹ Richmond's Department of Public Utilities says the owner or occupant of a building supplied with natural gas is responsible for maintaining any piping between the gas meter and the appliances.²¹ If the range is moving or a gas cooktop is going in, ask who will pull the gas piping permit and when the new pipe will be inspected.

Trading gas for induction, or adding a wall oven, can call for more electrical capacity. Richmond requires the installing electrician or a qualified representative to be on site to de-energize, open and close the equipment for inspections of a service change and of service equipment after the utility connection is made.²² Find out whether the panel has room before you order appliances.

Cabinets that climb toward a prewar ceiling put the top shelves out of reach without a step stool, which is the very climb to avoid later on. More than one in four adults 65 and older fall each year.²³ The National Institute on Aging suggests keeping frequently used pots, pans and utensils where they are easy to reach, and preparing food while seated to prevent fatigue or loss of balance.²⁴

If you mean to stay for decades, mention it when you call, so drawer heights, lighting and a seated work spot can be planned in from the start. NAHB's Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) credential trains remodelers in home modifications for aging in place.²⁵

Calling the number on this page connects you, on a recorded line, with one independent company that handles kitchen remodels in the Richmond area. Tell them the age of the house, whether you cook on gas and what you want to change; scope, schedule and price are settled between you and them.

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Before you sign or pay a deposit, look the company up yourself. Virginia's Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation advises hiring only licensed contractors, and its License Lookup shows a license's status and any past disciplinary actions.²⁶ Richmond's homeowner permit guide suggests getting written estimates from more than two contractors, hiring only licensed contractors, putting the specific work and agreed start and finish dates in a written contract, and limiting the down payment.²⁷ Check a Virginia license