Whole-home remodeling in Virginia Beach

Only 2%⁵ of Virginia Beach homes predate 1950, so the typical whole-house project here is a two-story or ranch from the 1970s or 1980s rather than a prewar house. The surprises are different: original panels and wiring stretched by decades of additions, ducts running through a hot attic or a damp crawlspace, and builder-grade windows near the end of their life.

Homes built before 1978 can still carry lead paint under later coats. Unless a lead-based paint inspection shows otherwise, the EPA says to treat paint in homes built before 1978 as if it contains lead.¹³ 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.¹⁴ Ask the contractor how they'll contain dust while the downstairs is open.

Opening wiring triggers newer safety rules too. When alterations, repairs or additions that need a permit are made, the 2021 International Residential Code requires the home to have smoke alarms where a new house would, including in each bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every story; exterior-only work and plumbing or mechanical work are exempt.¹⁵ Budget for interconnected alarms as part of the electrical scope rather than an add-on at the end.

Older flooring and wall finishes deserve a test before demolition. 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 The city's residential alteration permit already asks the owner or contractor to sign off on asbestos. For a residential alteration permit, Virginia Beach asks for an asbestos exemption form with the owner's name and address, signed by the contractor's representative or by the owner doing the work.⁸

Before you settle on a scope, look the house up on the city's flood map. On Virginia Beach's flood maps, an AE zone has a 1% chance of flooding in any year, or 26% over a 30-year mortgage, and a VE zone adds the hazard of storm waves.⁹ If it sits in one of those zones, the substantial improvement rule compares the cost of your project with the building's market value. When work on a building in a Virginia Beach Special Flood Hazard Area costs 50% of the building's market value or more, the changes must conform to the city's floodplain regulations and the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code; below 50%, the structure must be elevated or flood-protected to the greatest extent possible, as Permits and Inspections determines.⁹

Crossing that line can mean raising the lowest floor, not just finishing it. Virginia Beach requires new or improved homes in a Special Flood Hazard Area to be elevated so the lowest floor sits above the base flood elevation on the FEMA flood map, plus freeboard that varies by flood zone and location in the city.⁹ An elevation certificate shows how the floor compares with expected flood heights, and asking for one early keeps a kitchen-and-bath plan from turning into a house-raising project halfway through.

Being outside a mapped zone isn't a guarantee of staying dry. The city notes that each year 25% to 30% of flood insurance claims come from outside Special Flood Hazard Areas.⁹ Federal rules require flood insurance for buildings partly or fully in a Special Flood Hazard Area that carry a federally backed mortgage, and a standard homeowner's policy does not cover flooding.⁹

Jet noise from Naval Air Station Oceana shapes building rules across much of the city. Under the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, Virginia Beach requires noise attenuation for new residential construction, including additions, in Naval Air Station Oceana noise zones of 65 Ldn or greater; zones below 65 Ldn are exempt.¹⁰ That covers additions, so a new primary suite or second-story bump-out in a high-noise zone may need upgraded windows, insulation and wall assemblies on top of the usual framing.

The city's addition checklist names sound attenuation alongside the plans. For a residential addition, Virginia Beach asks for a zoning-approved site plan, a through-wall section showing the floor, foundation and elevations, a description of materials, proof of paid fixture-unit fees if plumbing is added, and sound attenuation measures.¹⁷ Waterfront and low-lying lots can add a review of their own. New structures on Virginia Beach properties in the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area, a flood zone or the Southern Rivers Watershed may need additional environmental approvals before a building permit is issued.¹⁷ If you're planning more space instead of only reworking what's there, ask the contractor to confirm the noise zone before drawings start.

A gut renovation is the cheapest time to add blocking for grab bars, widen a doorway or level a shower floor. More than one in four adults 65 and older fall each year.¹⁸ In a two-story house where the only full bath is upstairs, consider whether the new plan should put one on the ground floor. NAHB's Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) credential trains remodelers in home modifications for aging in place.¹⁹

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Tell them which rooms are on the list, roughly when the house was built and whether it's in a flood zone or near Oceana, then ask about timing and a ballpark price.

A whole-house contract can run large enough to need a higher license class, so look the company up before you sign. Virginia's Board for Contractors licenses contracting businesses as Class A, B or C; the class sets the dollar value of jobs a firm may take on, and its classification or specialty sets the type of work it may do.²⁰ Check a Virginia license

Ask who will pull each permit and match the registration number on it to the state's record. 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.²¹