Remodeling Orem's mid-century ranches and split-entries — including the split-entry floor plans that resist open-concept hardest.
Orem is largely 1950s through 1980s: brick ranches, split-entries and tri-levels built on former orchard land. Solid, well-built, and laid out for a way of living in a house that has since changed completely.
Every town in the metro has its own habits. These are the ones that change a plan or a price in Orem.
The Orem split-entry puts a wall at the top of the stairs that is usually doing structural work. Opening it up is very possible, but it is a beam-and-column conversation rather than a demolition one, and the honest estimate is higher than homeowners expect.
A lot of Orem basements were finished once, in the seventies, by a previous owner without permits. Demolition is cheap; the discovery of what was buried in those walls is the part that moves the schedule. We budget for it rather than pretending it will not happen.
Much of Orem was planted ground before it was neighborhoods. Older additions and patios on the valley floor sometimes show settlement, which matters when a remodel ties new structure into old.
A 1968 Orem ranch was not wired for an induction range, a basement theater and an EV charger. Panel capacity gets checked early, because a service upgrade changes both the budget and the utility scheduling.
We do all of it everywhere we work. This is simply what comes up most often here, given the housing stock.
Usually yes, but the wall at the top of the stairs is often load-bearing and sometimes carries a beam pocket that has to be engineered. We get a structural opinion before quoting, so the number we give you is the real one.
It is extremely common here and not a crisis. We open it up, see what is actually behind the walls, and bring the work to current code as part of the remodel. We tell you what we find as we find it.
Every project starts with a walkthrough and an honest conversation about budget. No pressure, no obligation, and no number pulled out of thin air.
