The family had been in the house for 14 years. Two parents, three kids — two in high school, one in middle school — a dog, and a tight floor plan that had stopped working about four years in. They’d been browsing real estate listings for a year. Every time they got close to making an offer on something newer, the math didn’t quite add up. So they did what we see more and more West Portsmouth homeowners doing: they decided to renovate the house they had.
The Math That Pushed Them Toward Renovation
The current house, a 1,950 square foot 1970s split-level on a half-acre lot, was paid off. Comparable homes in West Portsmouth and along the Ohio River bluffs were listing in the $245,000 to $290,000 range. To get the layout they wanted — open kitchen-living, four bedrooms, two full baths, finished lower level — they were looking at $310,000 to $355,000 for a newer build. That’s $310k+ of new mortgage at 2026 interest rates, plus closing costs, plus moving expenses, plus selling their current home.
We sat down with them in February and walked through what a full renovation would actually cost on the existing house. The number landed at $128,500 for the scope they wanted: kitchen gut, two full bathroom remodels, all flooring, full interior paint, replacement windows, and minor structural changes to open the kitchen to the living room. That’s roughly 40% of what a comparable newer home would cost — and they’d stay in the school district, keep the lot, and avoid a 28-year mortgage at 2026 rates.
The Scope
A whole-home renovation at this scale takes careful sequencing because the family was living in the house through the project. We staged the work in three phases:
- Phase 1 (weeks 1–4): Lower level + secondary bath. Refinished basement, new flooring in lower-level bedrooms, full remodel of the lower-level bathroom. Family used the upper-level bathroom and kitchen as normal.
- Phase 2 (weeks 5–9): Upper bath + windows + paint. Master bath gut. New replacement windows installed throughout. Full interior paint on a room-by-room rotation. Family rotated bathroom use to the now-finished lower-level bath.
- Phase 3 (weeks 10–14): Kitchen remodel and final flooring. Last and biggest phase. Family ate restaurant food and used a basement microwave-and-hot-plate setup for five weeks.
The Kitchen Was the Hardest Part
The original kitchen was a galley layout cut off from the living room by a 14-foot load-bearing wall. The homeowners wanted that wall opened up. We pulled in a structural engineer ($550) for a sealed drawing, designed a flush-mount LVL beam, and pulled a permit through Scioto County. The beam was installed before any new framing or cabinets came in. The end result was a 12-foot opening with a 4-inch reveal at the ceiling — the beam is invisible, the kitchen reads as part of the living space, and the structure is now permitted and signed off.
Cabinets were KraftMaid semi-custom in a soft white painted maple. Quartz countertops, subway tile backsplash, induction range, vented hood. Total kitchen line item: $42,300 — a midrange Portsmouth kitchen remodel.
The Bathrooms
The lower-level bathroom became a full guest bath: tile shower with niche, semi-custom vanity, LVP floor, new exhaust fan vented outside. Budget: $13,800. The upper-level master became a walk-in shower remodel — we removed an under-used soaker tub and replaced it with a curbless 60-inch walk-in tile shower with a linear drain. New vanity, new toilet, new tile floor, new lighting. Budget: $19,600.
Windows, Floors, Paint
Twelve replacement windows — vinyl double-hung, low-E argon, in a black exterior to match the trim refresh. The original 1970s aluminum-frame windows were single-pane and cold to the touch in winter; the new windows dropped the family’s January gas bill by an estimated 15%. New LVP flooring throughout the main level, real hardwood refinished on the stairs. Full interior paint in modern neutrals — Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray for walls, Pure White trim, Iron Ore on the front door.
Timeline and Final Cost
Total project: 14 weeks from demo to punch list. Final cost: $134,200, slightly over our $128,500 quote — the overage came from upgraded flooring choice and one structural surprise in the kitchen (a junction box buried in a wall we needed to open). The family lived in the house the entire time. No hotel costs, no storage units.
Why It Made Sense in This Market
Their alternative was a $310k+ new mortgage on a comparable newer home elsewhere in Scioto County. Instead, they spent $134k on a paid-off house and got a layout that fits their family for the next decade. They kept their lot, their school district, their commute, and their neighbors. The renovation also raised the home’s appraised value by an estimated $85k–$95k according to two independent comparables we ran a year later — meaning even if they decided to sell in five years, they’d recoup the bulk of the spend.
Considering Renovating Instead of Moving?
If you’re looking at real estate listings every weekend and never quite pulling the trigger, it’s worth running the numbers on a renovation. We do free in-home consultations across Scioto County and can give you a written ballpark within a week. Call (740) 357-9020.