Denver Remodeling Guides & Construction News

All posts (40) Remodeling guides (26) Weekly roundups (14)

October 2026

October 18, 2026 · Guide

Where a Denver Addition Meets the Old House

The seam where an addition meets the old house decides whether the new rooms stay warm and whether the plan reviewer sends the drawings back. I explain the three connections, where the air barrier should run, what Denver's 2025 energy code asks for above the 20 percent or 300 square foot line, and what to settle before framing.

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October 15, 2026 · Guide

Flat Roofs on Denver’s Mid-Century Homes

Denver has thousands of flat and low-slope roofs from the 1950s and 60s, and most roofing advice ignores them. Here is how they fail, what goes on them now, and how to replace one without ruining the house.

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October 12, 2026 · Weekly roundup

Denver Construction Roundup: Oct. 12, 2026

RTD shifts its downtown rail rebuild to 19th and California, Denver Summit FC breaks ground on a 14-acre stadium site at Broadway and I-25, and 82 for-sale condos in Baker land a $6.3 million state grant. Plus a Mar Lee storm drain open house, the latest Denver cost index, and where Denver and Aurora zoning changes actually stand.

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October 12, 2026 · Guide

Range Hood Duct Planning for Denver Kitchens

Before ordering kitchen cabinets, select the range and hood together, verify the entire duct route outdoors, and resolve cabinet clearances, makeup air, permits, and finish repairs. I explain the decisions that keep ventilation from becoming a late layout change.

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October 9, 2026 · Guide

How to Phase a Whole-Home Remodel in Denver

Renovating in stages can work well when every phase points toward the same finished house. I begin with the whole plan, then decide where to pause.

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October 8, 2026 · Guide

Moving a Laundry Room Upstairs in Denver

Moving laundry closer to the bedrooms can simplify the routine, but the hidden routes and everyday clearances decide whether the new room works.

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October 7, 2026 · Guide

Windows Before Siding? Denver Remodel Guide

Window and siding projects meet at the same vulnerable edges. I plan those connections together even when the work happens in separate phases.

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October 6, 2026 · Guide

Resurface or Rebuild Your Denver Deck?

New deck boards cannot answer questions about the structure below. I start with framing, connections, stairs and the way you want to use the deck.

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October 5, 2026 · Weekly roundup

Denver Construction Roundup: Oct. 5, 2026

Denver narrowed its citywide duplex-to-fourplex zoning proposal to the blocks near transit streets and rail stations. Plus a federal ruling that keeps the Energize Denver lawsuit alive, a car wash proposed on a Belcaro church lot, a downsized 16th Street project, and a new city pool bid.

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October 5, 2026 · Guide

Basement or Addition? Denver Planning Guide

More square footage is not the same as more useful space. I compare the daily problem, access, existing conditions and total scope before recommending a direction.

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October 4, 2026 · Guide

Planning a Denver Basement Home Office

I start a basement office plan with the working day: calls, daylight, noise, equipment and the route through the house. The desk comes after those decisions.

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October 3, 2026 · Guide

Curbless Shower Planning in Denver Homes

I start a curbless shower discussion under the floor, not at the tile display. The structure, drainage and splash pattern decide whether the finished room will be comfortable to use.

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October 2, 2026 · Guide

Comparing Remodel Allowances in Denver

I compare the scope behind a number before I compare the number itself. Here is how to expose the allowances, missing labor and unfinished decisions that make two bids look farther apart than they are.

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October 1, 2026 · Guide

Living Through a Denver Kitchen Remodel

I plan an occupied kitchen remodel around breakfast, school mornings and the route to a working bathroom. Here is how to keep the household functioning while the room is rebuilt.

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September 2026

September 28, 2026 · Weekly roundup

Denver Construction Roundup: Sept. 28, 2026

Denver expanded Quick Permits for equipment replacement on Sept. 15, and spelled out that houses already had that fast lane. Plus the rewritten Energize Denver rules, the Energy Code process running now, I-70 at Kipling, and foreclosure filings running ahead of last year.

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September 15, 2026 · Weekly roundup

Denver Construction Roundup: Sept. 15, 2026

Denver's Universal Recycling and Composting Ordinance now covers construction debris, and it adds a plan and a refundable deposit to permits over 500 square feet. Plus two full weekend I-70 closures at Kipling, the I-270 record of decision, and 145 acres at Lowry going out to developers.

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September 7, 2026 · Weekly roundup

Denver Construction Roundup: September 7, 2026

Colorado moved to the 2026 National Electrical Code on August 1, and it applies to anything submitted for plan review since. Plus Denver's revised Energize Denver rules, the Burnham Yard stadium review, where the metro's money went this week, and CDOT's US 287 work.

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September 1, 2026 · Weekly roundup

Denver Construction Roundup: September 1, 2026

Denver's Universal Recycling and Composting Ordinance takes effect today, and it lands squarely on remodels and demolition. Plus CDOT's I-70 and C-470 work, RTD's rail rebuild through 2027, and where the permit clock really stands.

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August 2026

August 24, 2026 · Weekly roundup

Denver Construction Roundup: August 24, 2026

CDOT set two extended I-70 weekend closures at Kipling for September, Denver’s construction waste diversion rules are one week out, RTD rail work took lanes on Speer Boulevard, and the city has three construction contracts open for bid.

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August 24, 2026 · Guide

The Denver Contractor License, Explained

Colorado does not license general contractors at the state level. Denver does it locally, in classes, and the license is checked at the permit desk. Understand where that leaves you and you will never hire the wrong crew again.

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August 17, 2026 · Guide

How to Vet a Denver Contractor

The bad outcomes in this industry almost never start with bad craftsmanship. They start at the signature, with checks nobody made.

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August 17, 2026 · Weekly roundup

Denver Construction Roundup: August 17, 2026

Denver's construction and demolition waste diversion rules kick in Sept. 1 with a plan and a refundable deposit before permit issuance, the 2026 electrical code is already in force, and CDOT has September weekend closures coming on I-70 at Kipling.

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August 16, 2026 · Guide

What Actually Adds Value to a Denver Home

The projects with the best return are rarely the ones people dream about. The trick is knowing which category your project is in before you spend.

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August 15, 2026 · Guide

Radon and Your Colorado Basement

Radon is invisible, has no smell, and is the second leading cause of lung cancer. Colorado sits well above the national average, and a finished basement is where people spend the most time.

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August 14, 2026 · Guide

Your Right to Build an ADU in Colorado

A state law reset what Colorado cities are allowed to say no to. If you were told years ago that an ADU was not possible on your lot, that answer may simply be out of date.

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August 13, 2026 · Guide

Denver Permit Timelines in 2026

The single most common scheduling mistake we see is treating the permit as a formality that happens while you pick tile. In Denver in 2026, the permit is the schedule.

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August 12, 2026 · Guide

RCV vs ACV: The Roof Coverage Trap

Two policies can look identical and pay wildly differently. Replacement cost puts a new roof on your house. Actual cash value pays for the roof you already wore out.

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August 11, 2026 · Guide

Your Hail Deductible Changed in 2026

Most Colorado carriers have moved wind and hail off flat-dollar deductibles and onto a percentage of your dwelling coverage. On a $600,000 policy, a 2% deductible is $12,000, and a lot of roofs cost less than that.

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August 10, 2026 · Weekly roundup

Denver Construction Roundup: August 10, 2026

CDOT starts rebuilding the C-470 and Bowles interchange this week, Denver's 90-day affordable housing review opens a door for deed-restricted ADUs, and material cost pressure keeps shifting from framing lumber to metals and finishes.

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August 9, 2026 · Guide

Floating Walls in Colorado Basements

Walk into any half-finished Denver basement and you will find stud walls that do not quite touch the floor. That gap is not sloppy framing, it is the single detail that keeps a finished basement from being wrecked by the clay under the slab.

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August 9, 2026 · Guide

Denver Egress Window Requirements

A basement room is not a bedroom until it has a way out that does not run past the furnace. Here are the exact numbers Denver-metro inspectors measure, what a window well has to look like, and what it takes to add one to an existing foundation.

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August 9, 2026 · Guide

Colorado Hail Damage Beyond the Roof

Every Front Range homeowner knows to look at the roof after a hail storm. The gutters, siding, window wraps, screens and deck take the same beating, get left off more claims than anything else, and are the easiest money to lose.

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August 9, 2026 · Guide

Denver Kitchen Remodel Permits

Replacing cabinets in the same footprint is exempt. Moving the sink is not. Here is the line Denver actually draws, which trade permits a kitchen pulls, and why the unpermitted shortcut shows up years later at the closing table.

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August 9, 2026 · Guide

How Long a Denver Remodel Takes

Most remodel schedules people quote you only count the construction. The design, the selections and the permit review are where the calendar actually goes. Here are the ranges we plan around in the Denver metro, start to finish.

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August 4, 2026 · Weekly roundup

Denver Construction Roundup: August 4, 2026

RTD's downtown rail rebuild reaches the Cherry Creek Bridge and Colfax this week, Denver Water starts replacing nearly 8,000 feet of pipe on Sheridan Boulevard, and a DTC office tower's conversion to housing welcomes its first residents.

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July 2026

July 30, 2026 · Weekly roundup

Denver Construction Roundup: July 30, 2026

Denver Water's second tap-fee increase took effect July 1, Denver's 90-day permit lane opens to deed-restricted ADUs, the state funds five Denver housing projects, and CDOT and RTD keep four highways and half of downtown under construction.

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July 20, 2026 · Weekly roundup

Denver Construction Roundup: July 20, 2026

Denver moves to buy a Golden Triangle lot for a park, investors pay $71.55 million for a Lakewood apartment complex and budget a full renovation, downtown rail work runs through September, and Denver's ADU rules are more permissive than most homeowners realize.

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July 15, 2026 · Guide

Denver Real Estate Investor Remodeling Guide

Fix-and-flip scopes that pencil, BRRRR rehabs that survive the refinance appraisal, ADU income math and the permit realities that protect your exit, the Denver investor remodeling playbook, from the contractor side of the table.

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July 13, 2026 · Weekly roundup

Denver Construction Roundup: July 13, 2026

A neglected 1908 Ballpark corner reborn as the Western Hotel Denver, downtown office towers converting to apartments, RTD rebuilding its oldest rail, and why adaptive reuse is the homeowner's move this year.

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July 10, 2026 · Weekly roundup

Denver Construction Roundup: July 2026

Ball Arena's 6,000-apartment mini-downtown, DIA's endless makeover, a friendlier ADU rulebook, and permit queues you should plan around, the July 2026 state of building in the Denver metro.

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How we verify local construction news

A useful construction update starts with the original source. We confirm the publication date, the place affected, the agency or project team behind it and the exact rule, plan or milestone being reported before we summarize anything for Denver-metro homeowners.

That method separates a current permit change from an old proposal and a funded project from an early concept. It also lets us link the update back to the official record so readers can check the source instead of relying on a headline alone.

How local news becomes a project decision

Once the facts are verified, we translate them into the questions that affect a real home: whether the permitting path changed, whether a construction corridor may affect access, whether a zoning update opens a new option and whether the timing should change a design or budget conversation.

The goal is not to turn every city announcement into a sales pitch. It is to show which updates deserve a practical next step, which ones are worth monitoring and which ones do not change a homeowner's plan at all.

Every week we collect the Denver metro's new construction projects, building opportunities and rule changes that matter to homeowners, from Denver Community Planning and Development to the suburbs' own building divisions, and turn them into plain-English guidance. The Denver-metro permit guide and the cost guide hold the evergreen version of what the roundups report, and the construction news hub lists every roundup in order.