West Hollywood Whole-Home Remodel

A full remodel in a concrete building, where every new electrical run had to be solved above the surface instead of inside the walls.

Neighborhood: West Hollywood
Project type: Whole-Home Remodeling
Permit authority: City of West Hollywood

The brief

A whole-home remodel in West Hollywood: electrical, floors, paint, lighting, and a full bathroom. The unusual part was the building itself. Ceiling, floors, and walls are all concrete.

The challenge

Concrete changes what is possible with electrical. You cannot fish a wire through it, and you cannot open it up the way you would a stud wall. Every new circuit had to be planned as something that runs on the surface and still meets code.

The panel also needed upgrading, with new arc fault breakers, which is current code and something most older buildings do not have.

The permit went through the City of West Hollywood, not LADBS. West Hollywood runs its own building department with its own standards, and the review is more demanding than most. Knowing that going in is the difference between a project that moves and one that stalls in plan check.

The solution

Track lighting solved most of the ceiling. It gave the rooms proper light without needing new boxes cut into concrete.

The new ceiling fan needed a dedicated run, so we brought it in through conduit, surface-mounted and routed deliberately rather than improvised.

For the additional switch, we used an extension box on the existing switch location instead of cutting a new opening into the concrete wall.

The rest followed: rewiring where it could be run, a new panel with arc fault breakers, new switches throughout, new flooring, a full bathroom remodel, and paint through the house including the bookshelf and cabinets.

The project took about a month.

Scope of work

Electrical panel upgrade
New arc fault breakers
Rewiring
Conduit run for new ceiling fan
Extension box for additional switch
Track lighting
New switches throughout
New flooring
Full bathroom remodel
Interior painting
Bookshelf and cabinet painting

Before & after

The original kitchen before the remodel, with cream cabinets, a black tile countertop, and an old white gas range — Before the remodel: the original kitchen, with dated cabinets, a black tile counter, and no backsplash.

The finished kitchen with white shaker cabinets, a quartz counter and backsplash, and a stainless range and refrigerator — After: the same wall rebuilt with white shaker cabinets, quartz counters and backsplash, and new stainless appliances.

The work

The original bathroom before the remodel, with its dated vanity and toilet.

A kitchen mid-demolition with upper cabinets partially removed and a worker installing new upper cabinetry — Kitchen demolition underway, with the old upper cabinets coming down and new cabinets going in.

Kitchen demolition debris, including the old dishwasher, sink, and stove, staged in the living room — Demolition debris from the kitchen, staged in the living room in front of the fireplace and built-in shelving.

A kitchen with the cabinets removed and the walls stripped down for the rebuild — The kitchen stripped down to bare walls ahead of the rebuild.

A close view of a stripped kitchen wall with wiring exposed where the cabinets used to be — Wiring exposed along the kitchen wall where the old cabinets were removed.

A bathroom mid-demolition with patterned wallpaper partially removed and the toilet disconnected — The first bathroom mid-demolition, with the old wallpaper coming down and the toilet disconnected.

A bathroom stripped down to bare walls and subfloor — The same bathroom stripped down to bare walls and subfloor.

A close view of a bathroom corner with a vent duct exposed during demolition — A vent duct exposed in the corner of the bathroom during demolition.

A bathroom wall opened down to bare studs during demolition — Another angle of the bathroom opened down to bare studs.

A plumber sweat-soldering a copper pipe joint with a torch inside an open wall — Sweat-soldering a copper joint during the bathroom repipe.

Copper supply lines roughed in overhead inside an open wall cavity — New copper supply lines roughed in overhead.

New vinyl plank flooring partially installed in a hallway with a balcony visible beyond — New flooring going in along the hallway.

New metal stud framing in a bathroom with copper pipe stub-outs run through it — New metal-stud framing in the bathroom, with copper stub-outs run through it.

A recessed ice-maker water valve box plumbed into new wall framing — A recessed ice-maker valve, plumbed into the new framing behind where the refrigerator sits.

A bathtub set in place with rough framing and an electrical box on the wall beside it — The tub set in place, with rough framing and a new electrical box on the wall beside it.

New tile flooring being laid around the bathtub — New tile going down around the tub.

A bathroom floor waterproofed with a teal membrane around the tub, with original wallpaper still on part of the wall — The bathroom floor waterproofed around the tub, with the original wallpaper still on the wall next to the new patch drywall.

A new walk-in shower stall framed in metal studs with the pan waterproofed in a teal membrane — The second bathroom's tub removed and reframed as a walk-in shower, with the pan waterproofed.

Another angle of the waterproofed shower pan and new metal-stud framing in the second bathroom — Another angle of the second bathroom's new shower framing and waterproofed pan.

A shower stall with a scratch-coat mortar bed on the walls, ready for tile, and the pan protected with plastic sheeting — The scratch coat applied to the shower walls, ready for tile, with the pan protected underneath.

A finished tiled shower pan with the tile still covered in protective sheeting — The finished shower tile, still covered for protection while work continued elsewhere.

The second bathroom with new drywall installed and a worker setting the toilet in place — The second bathroom with new drywall up and the toilet being set in place.

A room with new moisture-resistant drywall installed and new flooring partially laid — New moisture-resistant drywall and flooring going in together.

New framing and drywall for a kitchen peninsula base — New framing for the kitchen peninsula base.

Another angle of the kitchen peninsula framing with the hallway visible beyond — Another angle of the peninsula framing, with the hallway visible beyond.

A living room with furniture covered in plastic sheeting and a ladder set up for painting — The living room prepped for paint, furniture covered and ladder in place.

A new ceiling fan installed on a freshly painted ceiling — A new ceiling fan installed on the freshly painted ceiling.

An empty room with new flooring installed and construction materials still on the floor — New flooring installed, with materials still staged in the room.

A hallway with new flooring, new baseboards, and a ceiling fan visible ahead — The hallway with new flooring and baseboards in place.

A bedroom with new flooring and fresh paint complete, with paint supplies still staged for touch-ups — New flooring and fresh paint complete in a bedroom, paint supplies still staged for final touch-ups.

A new garbage disposal installed under the kitchen sink with the dishwasher drain line and outlet wired in — A new garbage disposal installed under the kitchen sink, with the dishwasher drain line and outlet wired in.

A wire pass-through grommet installed in the back of a cabinet next to an outlet — A wire pass-through grommet installed in a cabinet, part of routing new circuits without opening the concrete wall behind it.

A range hood exhaust duct routed through a cabinet to a new wall vent — The range hood's exhaust duct, routed through a cabinet to a new wall vent.

A second new ceiling fan and recessed light installed, with flooring materials staged below — A second new ceiling fan and recessed light, with flooring materials staged for the room.

The new electrical panel fitted with combination arc-fault and ground-fault breakers — The new panel, fitted with combination arc-fault and ground-fault breakers, current code for a full rewire.

The result

A closet with new mirrored sliding doors and new flooring — The closet with new mirrored sliding doors and flooring.

The finished first bathroom with a tiled tub surround, recessed light, and new toilet — The first bathroom finished, with its tiled tub surround and new fixtures.

The finished living room with built-in shelving around the fireplace and new flooring — The finished living room, with the built-in shelving and fireplace repainted and new flooring throughout.

Another angle of the finished living room with the fireplace and built-ins — Another angle of the finished living room.

The finished kitchen opening onto the living room with the fireplace and built-ins visible beyond — The finished kitchen opening onto the living room.

The finished kitchen with white shaker cabinets and stainless appliances — The finished kitchen, with white shaker cabinets and stainless appliances.

The finished kitchen sink and quartz counter — The finished sink and quartz counter.

The finished kitchen with the refrigerator and counter, hallway visible beyond — The finished kitchen, refrigerator and counter, with the hallway beyond.

The finished kitchen peninsula with a farmhouse sink and dishwasher, opening onto the living area — The finished kitchen peninsula, with a farmhouse sink and dishwasher, opening onto the living area.

The finished kitchen range, hood, and refrigerator from another angle — The finished range, hood, and refrigerator from another angle.

A wide view of the finished kitchen and living room with natural light — A wide view of the finished kitchen and living room.

The finished kitchen island with the dishwasher, living area visible beyond — The finished kitchen island and dishwasher, with the living area beyond.

A close view of the finished kitchen range and hood — A close view of the finished range and hood.

A close view of the finished tub surround tile and shower fixtures in the first bathroom — A close view of the finished tile and fixtures in the first bathroom.

A finished closet interior with a new shelf and rod — The finished closet, with a new shelf and rod.

A hallway with the mirrored closet doors and new flooring — The hallway with the mirrored closet doors and new flooring.

The finished second bathroom with a dark wood vanity and white countertop — The second bathroom finished, with its dark wood vanity and white countertop.

The finished second bathroom with the toilet, tile floor, and walk-in shower — The second bathroom finished, now a walk-in shower instead of the original tub.

A wide view of the finished kitchen island and cabinetry — A wide view of the finished kitchen and island.

The finished kitchen range and refrigerator from another angle — The finished range and refrigerator from another angle.

A wide view of the finished kitchen with natural light — A wide view of the finished kitchen in natural light.

A view from the front door into the finished hallway and living space with new flooring throughout — The view from the front door into the finished home, new flooring running throughout.

Common questions

Does West Hollywood have its own permitting process, separate from Los Angeles?

Yes. West Hollywood is its own city with its own building department, separate from LADBS, and the review runs more demanding than most. This project's permit went through the City of West Hollywood directly.

Can new electrical circuits be added in a concrete building without opening the walls?

Yes, but every run has to be planned as something that sits on the surface instead of fished through the wall. On this project that meant conduit for the new ceiling fan and an extension box for an added switch, instead of cutting into the concrete.

Does an electrical panel upgrade need arc fault breakers?

Yes, arc fault breakers are current code and something most older panels do not have. This project's panel upgrade included new arc fault breakers throughout.

How long does a whole-home remodel like this take?

It depends on the scope, but a rewire, new flooring, a full bathroom remodel, and paint throughout the house took about a month on this project.

Remodeling in a concrete West Hollywood building?

Call (310) 717-0432 or request a consultation — we will walk through what a concrete structure means for your electrical plan and City of West Hollywood permitting before you commit to a design.

Call (310) 717-0432