Solicit bids from 3-5 Seattle whole-house remodel GCs

Match GCs to your scope band

Your scope memo from feasibility step 0.3 tells you which band you're in. The GCs who do that band well are the ones to call:

• Band 2 (interior remodel, no addition). General residential remodelers; often 1–3 person operations + subs. Not the firm that did the $1.5M Capitol Hill house.
• Band 3 (interior + small addition, $350K–$650K). This is the broadest band. Mid-sized residential GCs (5–20 person crews) thrive here. Many smaller design-build firms also fit, but verify they're not pricing at the top of their range.
• Band 4 (down-to-studs + meaningful addition, $600K–$1.1M). Larger residential GCs and design-build firms. They have the project-management infrastructure for the longer schedule and the more complex coordination.

Where to find good GCs

You're looking for builders who've finished a comparable whole-house remodel + addition in your band in the last few years. Three places:

1. Recent permit history. The SDCI Permit and Site History Research Tool lets you search permits by type and neighborhood. Filter for "Addition" and "Alteration" permits in the last 3 years; the contractor names that show up over and over are your local specialists. This is the single best list.
2. Your designer's short list. Your designer has worked with several GCs and knows who's good to work with. Ask. The list will be biased toward GCs who collaborate well — which is what you want.
3. GCs who publish their work. Some Seattle builders post detailed project diaries — read how they think before you call them.

Aim for three to five bids. Three gives you a real comparison. Five gives you negotiating room.

Send everyone the same package

Every GC has to be bidding the same thing. Otherwise you're not comparing prices — you're comparing different projects.

The "same thing" means:

• The same permit-ready plan set (same sheets, same revision, same date).
• The same abatement scope (lead and asbestos report from step 0.5 attached).
• The same substantial-alteration scope (any retrofit work the analysis triggered, called out as a separate line).
• The same allowance lines for finishes, cabinets, fixtures, appliances — with the same dollar amounts called out.
• The same exclusions stated up front (e.g., "no landscape," "no exterior paint outside the addition footprint").

Reading the bids when they come back

When three to five GCs price the same package, the bids will usually cluster within 10–15% of each other. That's a healthy spread.

If one bid comes in 25%+ below the rest, walk it line-by-line against the median. Almost always the gap is missing scope (substantial-alteration retrofit left out, abatement under-priced, an allowance dropped) — not a more efficient builder. Add the missing scope back and re-compare.

What it actually costs in 2025–2026

The honest range right now for Seattle whole-house remodel + addition:

• Interior remodel only, no addition (1,500 sf interior touched, 2 baths, kitchen): $200,000–$350,000.
• Interior + small addition (300–500 sf addition, full interior, kitchen, primary suite): $400,000–$650,000.
• Down-to-studs + larger addition (500–800 sf addition, gut interior, full MEP, exterior siding): $650,000–$1,000,000.
• Substantial-alteration full scope (everything above + whole-building retrofit): $800,000–$1,200,000.

You'll see "$300/sf" headlines from blogs. They're misleading on this project type — most of the cost is fixed (kitchen, MEP, abatement, permits) and doesn't scale linearly with square footage.