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Where Do I Start a Remodel in Phoenix?

You've got a project in your head and no idea what the first move is. That's where almost everyone starts, and it's the right place to slow down.

By Scott Hochuli, Founder & President · Updated October 2026

Hiring a contractor shouldn't be a gamble.

Answer a few short questions below. You'll get a straight read on where you are, a reading list built for your project, and, if you're ready, a time on our calendar. No email required.

Answer seven short screens.The project, the money, the time, and how you want to work.
Read your list, in order.Built for your project, with a straight read on where you are.
Talk when you're ready.Book a time from your results, or keep reading. It's your call.

Find my starting point

The short answer

Where should I start with a remodel in Phoenix?

The best place to start a remodel in Phoenix in 2026 is with three answers, before you call any contractor: what a project like yours costs, how long it takes, and whether walls or plumbing are moving. The third matters most, because moving a wall or a drain changes the design, the engineering, the permits, and the price. Hochuli Design & Remodeling's projects start at $75,000, and a Phoenix-area kitchen takes 4 to 7 months from first call to move-in.

$75,000Where our projects start

4 to 7 monthsA kitchen, first call to move-in

7 screensTo your own reading list

Last updated: October 2026

If you'd rather read

The four places most people start

The questions above build a reading list from your answers. Here's where they send the four situations we hear most often.

You're still collecting ideas.

Start with the money and the time, before you fall in love with a design. A kitchen in the Phoenix area typically runs $75,000 to $200,000 and up, and takes 4 to 7 months from your first call to the day you move back in. A bathroom takes 3 to 5 months. Our projects start at $75,000. Knowing those numbers now keeps you from designing something you'd never build. Read the pricing page for your project, then how long a remodel takes, then spend some time with finished projects like yours.

You know what's bothering you. You just don't know what to do about it.

That's the best place to start, and most people don't know it. You don't need a design yet. You need someone to design it with you before anyone puts a price on it. With design-build, one team designs the project, defines every piece of the scope, and then gives you one fixed price to build it. The design phase is paid, from $5,000 for a primary bath to $12,500 for a whole house, an addition, or an ADU, and it counts in full toward your construction price when you build with us. Read how design-build works, then our process, from the first call to move-in.

You already have drawings.

Find out whether they're ready to price before you ask anyone to price them. Plans from a designer or architect often show what a room looks like without defining what goes into it: the selections, the hidden conditions, the details a contractor fills in with a guess. Every guess is a change order waiting to happen. Are your plans ready to price? walks through what a construction-ready plan set includes, and how to tell if yours is one.

You have bids from contractors, and they don't line up.

The problem probably isn't the contractors. Bids without a finished design mean every contractor is pricing a different project in their head. The low number usually wins, and the difference shows up later as change orders. Compare prices only on the same finished plan. Read why the lowest bid usually costs more, then how to choose a remodeling contractor, which covers what to check before you trust anyone with your house, us included.

Not sure which one is you? That's what the questions above are for.

Scott Hochuli, founder of Hochuli Design & Remodeling Team — **Scott Hochuli**Founder & President. In construction since 1992.

Who's asking

We built this from the calls that went nowhere.

For years, the first phone call went the same way. Somewhere in the first ten minutes, we'd find out the number in someone's head was half the real one, or the date was six months too soon, or nobody had told them design comes before the price. None of that was their fault. Nobody had told them. These questions are the ones we'd ask on that call, in the order we'd ask them.

Scott Hochuli has been in construction since 1992. He and Lorrie Hochuli, our lead designer, founded Hochuli Design & Remodeling Team in 2001. We're rated 4.9 from 102 reviews, and most of our work comes from referrals and past clients.

We're not the right team for every project. Our projects start at $75,000, we design before we price, and we work best when one team owns the whole thing. If that isn't you, that's okay. The reading list is still yours.

How to read reviews, ours included

Before you start

Questions people ask before they start a remodel

Should I call a contractor or a designer first?

If walls, plumbing, or the footprint might change, start with a team that designs and builds together, so the design is priced as it's drawn. When a designer finishes the plans first, nobody prices them until they're done, and the bids that follow often land well above what you pictured. Either way, know your rough cost and timeline before the first meeting.

Do I need a number in mind before I call a remodeler?

No. Some of our best clients didn't have one. What helps is knowing the published range for a project like yours, so the first conversation starts from real numbers. In the Phoenix area, a kitchen with Hochuli Design & Remodeling runs $75,000 to $200,000 and up, and every project starts at $75,000.

How far ahead should I start planning a remodel?

About as far ahead as the project takes, start to finish. In the Phoenix area, a kitchen takes 4 to 7 months from the first call to move-in, a bathroom 3 to 5 months, a whole house 6 to 12 months, and an addition 7 to 12 months. Design and permits are a big share of that, and they happen before anyone touches the house.

Why does Hochuli charge for design?

Because a fixed price needs a finished design. Before we price anything, we design it and define every piece of the scope, so the price holds and the job doesn't stall waiting on a decision. The design fee is flat by project type, from $5,000 for a primary bath to $12,500 for a whole house, an addition, or an ADU, and it counts in full toward construction when you build with us.

Can I get a price without a design?

You can get a range. Our online estimators give one in a few minutes for a kitchen, a bathroom, a whole house, an addition, an ADU, or several rooms at once. A fixed price comes after the design, because until every selection and detail is decided, any single number is a guess, and a guess usually shows up later as a change order.

What's the smallest project Hochuli takes on?

Our projects start at $75,000. A kitchen or a primary bath with real scope can get there on its own. A powder room, a hall bath, or a laundry room usually doesn't, so we fold those into a larger remodel rather than take them on alone.

Do I have to give my email to use Where Do I Start?

No. The questions run start to finish without an email. We only see your answers if you book a time with us or ask us to email you your reading list.