Home Remodeling FAQ

We are a locally owned, family-owned design-build remodeler based in Farmington, serving the south metro since 2015. We handle design, planning and construction ourselves, so you have one accountable team from the first sketch to the final walkthrough. More about MDR.

Call us at 952-846-8115 or request a free consultation online. The first call is short: we talk through what you are hoping to do, answer early questions and put an in-home consultation on the calendar. Scheduling that visit usually takes a few days to a couple of weeks, and spring and early summer are the busiest stretch.

Yes. It is a free, no-pressure visit. We review the layout of the space, design ideas, finish materials, your needs and wants, and your budget, and you leave with a rough budget range. There are no drawings or line-item prices at that stage, just an honest read on whether the project and the number belong together.

If you want to move forward, we enter into a Pre-Construction Services Agreement. It covers permit-ready floor plans, coordination of your design and finish material selections, a detailed investment cost, a progress payment schedule and an estimated construction time frame, and its cost varies with the size of the project. Once plans, selections and the detailed estimate are approved, permits are applied for, material is ordered and the schedule is set. See our full process.

We remodel homes across the south Minneapolis metro, including Apple Valley, Bloomington, Burnsville, Cottage Grove, Credit River, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Elko New Market, Farmington, Hastings, Inver Grove Heights, Lakeville, Mendota Heights, Prior Lake, Rosemount, Savage, Shakopee and Woodbury. See all service areas.

Kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling, basement finishing, home additions and whole home remodeling, all designed and built by one team. See our services.

Our 2026 ballparks for the south metro: kitchens run about $25,000 to $45,000 for a refresh, $45,000 to $85,000 for a full mid-range remodel and $85,000 and up for high-end work. Bathrooms run about $12,000 to $25,000 for a guest or hall bath, $25,000 to $50,000 for a full or primary bath and $55,000 and up for a spa-level suite. Finished basements run about $35,000 to $70,000 for open space, $70,000 to $110,000 with a bath and wet bar and $110,000 and up for a full suite with egress. Additions run about $200 to $500 or more per square foot. These are planning ranges, not a quote. Read the cost guide.

Size and scope set the floor. Layout changes, like moving walls, plumbing or gas lines, add real cost, and keeping the existing footprint saves the most. Material and finish level is the biggest lever you control. Mechanical and structural work, the age and condition of the home, and permitted, licensed work all play a part too.

After the free consultation you get a rough investment range. The detailed, line-item estimate comes out of preconstruction, once plans and selections are set, so the number reflects what you actually chose.

We can point you toward home-improvement financing options and help you build a scope and payment schedule that fit your budget. Ask about it at your consultation, and see our financing page for how we plan budgets.

Most projects use a milestone payment schedule written into the contract, so payments line up with real progress. We review the full schedule with you before any work begins.

An allowance is a placeholder dollar amount for a material you have not chosen yet. It is a common practice, but it is not a price, and the difference usually shows up mid-project. We would rather finish selections during preconstruction and give you a detailed investment cost built on what you actually picked. How selections work.

You can. Changes go through a written Change Order before the work happens, and it spells out any effect on price, scope and completion date. The same process covers anything unexpected we find behind a wall: you hear about it right away and approve the fix in writing first.

Typical construction windows in the south metro: a bathroom about three to six weeks, a kitchen about six to ten weeks, a finished basement about six to twelve weeks, an addition about three to six months and a whole-home remodel about four to nine months. Planning comes first, so most kitchens and baths run several months from first call to finished. Read the timeline guide.

It depends mostly on how quickly decisions get made. Preconstruction commonly takes a few weeks, depending on the size of the project and the pace of your selections, and permits and material ordering follow. Homeowners who book their showroom appointments right away tend to start noticeably sooner.

Late selections, by a wide margin. After that come long-lead items like custom cabinetry and specialty windows, inspection timing, and what demolition uncovers in older homes. Our contract treats dates as estimates until a final schedule is set, and they can move for weather, material availability, owner-requested changes, hidden conditions and permit or inspection delays.

Interior work happens year-round in Minnesota, and winter is often an easier time to get on a schedule. Additions and anything involving excavation are more weather-dependent, so those usually break ground in the warmer months. Starting the conversation a few months before you want work to begin is about right.

Anything that touches the structure, electrical, plumbing, mechanical systems or the building envelope generally needs one, which covers most kitchen remodels, bathroom remodels, basement finishing and additions. Cosmetic work like painting, flooring or trim usually does not. Rules vary by city, and we will tell you what your project needs at the consultation. Read the permits guide.

We do. A licensed contractor pulls the permit in its own name and takes responsibility for the work passing inspection. If a contractor asks you to pull the permit yourself, treat it as a red flag. We also schedule the inspections and meet the inspector on site.

Yes. MDR Design-Build-Remodel LLC is fully licensed and insured under Minnesota license #BC694036, is an EPA Lead-Safe certified firm and is BBB accredited.

Our workmanship is warranted for one year from the date of substantial completion, so if something shows up after you have lived in the space, you call and we come back. Manufacturer warranties pass directly to you.

Unpermitted work can complicate a future sale and sometimes needs to be corrected after the fact, but it can often be brought up to code and documented properly. Mention it at your consultation and we will help you understand your options.

One team handles design, planning and construction under one contract. The people who draw your project are the people who price it and build it, so you have one point of contact and one team accountable from the first sketch to the final walkthrough. Design-build vs. a general contractor.

Not necessarily. You pay for design either way. With design-build, pricing runs alongside design, so the budget stays in view the whole way instead of arriving with a round of bids that can send the plans back for a redesign.

No. Design happens in-house: we measure the space, draw the layout and guide you through cabinets, counters, tile, fixtures, lighting and finishes, pricing as we go. When a project calls for it, like a load-bearing wall coming out, we bring in engineering.

No. You get a contact sheet of local suppliers we work with regularly across Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Rosemount, Lakeville and Farmington, mainly to save you time. You are welcome to source elsewhere. We just need full specifications so we can check fit, pricing and lead time before anything is ordered.

Most homeowners stay through a kitchen, bathroom or basement project. Whole-home remodels and large additions are where people more often move out for part of the schedule. What it is actually like.

Construction hours are 7am to 5pm, Monday through Friday, and they are written into our construction agreement. The loudest phases, like demolition, framing and tile, tend to come early in the project.

Before demolition we lay floor protection, build dust barriers around the work area and cover HVAC registers, then run air scrubbers inside the sealed zone and clean up at the end of every workday. That cuts dust down a great deal, but dust, noise and vibration come with remodeling and cannot be eliminated entirely.

Clear the work area of furniture, wall hangings and personal belongings, secure your pets, provide reasonable access to the property and keep a clear path to the electrical panel and the water main shutoff. If you are in an association, start any HOA approval early, since that is the homeowner's responsibility unless we specifically included it.

Start with how you use the room, decide whether to keep the footprint, then settle the cabinets first, since the layout and the order both depend on them. Construction runs about six to ten weeks, and cabinet lead time usually sets the start date. Read the kitchen planning guide.

Most bathroom remodels run about three to six weeks of construction, and the room is out of service from demolition through final plumbing trim. A powder room can be quicker, and a primary suite with a custom tiled shower takes longer. Read the bathroom planning guide.

Yes. Under the Minnesota Residential Code, every new bedroom created in an existing basement needs an emergency escape and rescue opening, usually an egress window with a window well. We design it into the plan and handle the excavation, the window and the permit. Our egress window guide covers the requirements.

Yes. Elevated radon is common across Minnesota and varies house to house, so test before you start and again after the work is done. If mitigation is needed, it is much easier to install while the basement is open, and we can coordinate it into the schedule. Basement finishing with MDR.