Remodeling in Tuscaloosa
Kitchens, bathrooms and single rooms, within a scope we tell you up front.
You call us, we do the work, and you deal with one company from the first look to the last coat. One call, one contractor, somebody actually answers.
What you should know before you book
Checkable facts about this work in Tuscaloosa, with sources. Not sales copy.
- Alabama sets the line at ten thousand dollars. Ala. Code 34-14A-2(12) defines a residential home builder as, among other things, one who undertakes “the repair, improvement, or reimprovement” of a residence “to be used by another as a residence when the cost of the undertaking exceeds ten thousand dollars ($10,000).” The threshold is about the cost of the undertaking — not the size of the room, and not how complicated it looks. source
- The threshold is a rule about who may contract for the work, so it is worth asking any contractor where their ceiling is before you plan around them. The Home Builders Licensure Board publishes the statute itself, which is the version to read rather than anyone’s summary of it — this one included. source
- Doing it yourself is treated differently in the statute. Ala. Code 34-14A-6(5)(a) exempts “owners of property when acting as their own contractor and providing all material supervision themselves, when building or improving one-family or two-family residences on such property for the occupancy or use of such owners and not offered for sale.” The exemption is narrow — your own house, your own supervision, not for sale — and it does not transfer to anyone you hire. source
- The city permits the work regardless of who does it. “Residential Interior Alteration,” “Residential Addition” and “Finish out basement” are all named on Tuscaloosa’s permit list, and every permit is reviewed against the 2021 ICC codes — the current edition, not the one in force when the house was built. A 1960s kitchen being reworked is judged by a 2021 standard. source
- The permit itself is cheap and quick. The residential fee is the job’s valuation divided by 1,000, multiplied by $3.50, and most residential permits are processed within 24 to 48 hours. Commercial work is charged at $12.21 per $1,000 instead. There is no minimum fee. On a $9,000 remodel the permit is about $32 and a two-day wait, which is never the real reason a job goes unpermitted. source
- Remodeling in a pre-1978 house is never exempt from the federal lead rule on size. The minor repair and maintenance exemption caps at 6 square feet of painted surface per room indoors, and the regulation separately excludes “window replacement and demolition of painted surface areas” from the exemption altogether. Most remodeling is demolition first. source
What it costs
You get the price before we start.
From $5,500
“From” is a floor, not a quote. It is the least a job of this kind costs us to do properly — it is not what your job will cost, and most jobs land above it. The figure is derived from national market data for the smallest realistic job in this trade, adjusted for Alabama, and it is published so you can rule us in or out before filling in a form rather than after. Your actual number is set in writing once we have looked at the work, and it does not change unless the job does.
- We quote the job, not an hourly rate.
- The number you agree to is the number you pay, unless the job itself changes.
- No trip fee inside 25 miles.
What moves the number
- The scope, against the ten-thousand-dollar line. Alabama treats residential work over $10,000 as home building rather than repair, and that is the first thing to settle — before design, before materials.
- How much of it is demolition. Taking out is often more of the schedule than putting in, and in a pre-1978 house demolition is never exempt from the lead rules at any size.
- Whether anything moves. Keeping plumbing and electrical where they are keeps a job small. Moving them brings in permitted trades and a different timeline.
- What the 2021 code requires that the house currently does not. Every permit is reviewed against the current edition, not the one the house was built to.
- Material choice, which is the part you control most and the part that moves the number most.
| Distance from Tuscaloosa | Trip fee |
|---|---|
| 0-25 miles | No trip fee |
| 25-45 miles | $65 |
| 45-60 miles | $110 |
Trip fee is waived on any job over $1,500.
How you get a price
- Send photos. Send photos with the form and you get a range the same business day, usually without anyone needing to drive out. That is faster for you, and it is why the form asks for pictures.
- We come out when the job needs it. Some jobs cannot be judged from a photo. Anything structural, anything still wet, decks, and whole-house work get looked at in person before we put a number on them.
- Then you get a firm number, in writing. No charge to come out inside 25 miles. Past that the trip fee above applies, and it comes off the job if you book it.
About the prices on this page. The figures shown are typical national ranges for this kind of work. They are not quotes, not offers, and not a promise that your job falls inside them — material prices, labor hours, access, hidden damage and permit requirements all move the number, in either direction. Your actual price is set in writing after we look at the work, before anything starts. About the permit and regulatory information. Current as of August 2026 and offered as general guidance, not legal, code or compliance advice. Requirements change, and how they apply depends on the specifics of your property and your job. Confirm anything you plan to rely on with the City of Tuscaloosa Building & Inspections, or the relevant agency, before acting on it.
Worth reading before you book
Two numbers govern a remodel before anyone picks a tile: the state threshold and the city permit.
Tell us about the job
Tell us what is going on and send a photo if you can.
Water or damage: we call you back within 2 hours, any day. Everything else: a real answer the same business day.
We are insured — general liability coverage, so damage we cause while working in your home is covered.
Office hours
- Mon-Fri
- 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Saturday
- 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- Sunday
- Closed
Send the form whenever suits you — outside those hours it lands in the same inbox and we pick it up when we open. Water or damage should not wait on the form: call, any day.
Would rather talk? Call (205) 723-3595 or send a text.