Decide which scope band you're actually in

The four bands

Whole-house projects in Seattle land in one of four bands. Knowing which band you're in shapes everything that follows — designer selection, GC selection, permit type, schedule.

Band	Range (2025–2026)	What it is
Kitchen-and-bath refresh	$50K–$120K	Cabinets, counters, appliances, fixtures, paint. Light electrical/plumbing reconfiguration. No structural changes, no addition. Not this workflow.
Interior remodel (no addition)	$150K–$350K	Open up walls, redo kitchen + 1–2 baths, refinish floors, MEP touch-up. Structural work limited to interior wall removal with new beams. This workflow, with the addition steps skipped.
Interior + small addition	$350K–$650K	200–500 sf addition + interior remodel + new kitchen + primary bath. The center of gravity for this workflow.
Down-to-studs + meaningful addition	$600K–$1.1M	500+ sf addition, gutted interior, full MEP, structural reconfiguration. The upper end of this workflow.

How to pick

Three questions, in order:

1. Are you adding square footage? No → kitchen-and-bath refresh or interior-only remodel. Yes → keep going.
2. How much square footage? Under 200 sf is a "bump-out" and lives at the bottom of band 3. Over 500 sf is band 4. Most projects land 300–450 sf and squarely in band 3.
3. Are you redoing every system? New panel, all new wiring, new plumbing, new HVAC → band 4. Replacing some, leaving the rest → band 3. Cosmetic-only inside the existing systems → band 2.

The honest answer drops you into one of the three bands this workflow serves.

Writing the scope memo

A one-page document that names:

• The band you're in.
• What's in — addition size, kitchen, primary bath, secondary bath, system upgrades.
• What's out — landscape, garage, basement, exterior siding, roof (unless the addition forces a roof tie-in).
• Working budget — a single number with a $50K contingency line.
• Move-out posture — sheltering in place, partial move-out for the noisy phase, or full move-out for the duration.

This memo gets attached to every later document. When the designer in Phase 2 says "while we're at it, you should redo the basement bathroom," the memo is what answers.

Why bands matter for who you hire

The GCs who do band 2 work well are not always the GCs who do band 4 work well. A general residential remodeler thrives at $200–$400K. A design-build firm starts at $500K+ and is overpriced below that. Knowing the band tells you who to call in Phase 4.