Condo Renovation in Brookline, MA
You’re planning to renovate a condo, whether that’s one room or the whole unit, and you need a contractor who actually works inside occupied buildings. This page covers what condo renovation involves in Brookline, what it costs, and how the job runs from estimate to finished walkthrough.
Why Brookline homeowners call us for condo renovation
Most of Brookline’s condo stock is carved out of pre-war apartment buildings in Coolidge Corner, Brookline Village, and Washington Square, elegant brick and masonry buildings from the early 1900s converted to individual units decades later. These buildings run on steam or hot water radiators rather than forced-air heat, have plaster walls instead of drywall, and often carry electrical panels and plumbing stacks that are shared with the units around you. None of that is a problem for a renovation, but it changes how the work is planned, and it means every job starts with your condo association’s approval before a single wall gets opened.
Brookline’s newer mid-rise buildings from the 1960s and 70s, along with more recent condo conversions, are more straightforward structurally, but they still answer to a board and a set of building rules. Either way, we build the association’s approval process, insurance requirements, and any freight elevator or loading dock scheduling into the project timeline from the start rather than treating it as a delay once we hit it.
Shared walls and floors are the other constant across nearly every Brookline condo, regardless of era. Cutting into a wall that a neighboring unit shares, or working on a plumbing stack that serves more than one unit, means coordinating timing and access in a way a single-family renovation never has to. We plan around that from the estimate onward instead of discovering it mid-project.
What We Do
A condo renovation with us includes work performed inside your unit:
- Demolition of the areas being renovated, with debris removed through your building's approved channels
- Electrical work within your unit, including panel or circuit upgrades where your unit's capacity needs it
- Plumbing work within your unit, coordinated around any shared stacks or lines
- Drywall and plaster repair where walls are opened or altered
- Flooring, painting, and trim or finish carpentry
- Kitchen and bathroom renovation, from a single-fixture update to a full gut
- Preparing and submitting the paperwork your condo association requires before work starts
- Permit filing with the town
What it costs, roughly
Condo renovation in Brookline generally runs $45,000 to $175,000, depending on whether you're refreshing one room or gutting the whole unit, your building's specific rules, and the finish level you choose. For the full breakdown by project scope, see the cost page.
How the job runs
We start with a free in-home estimate, where we look at your unit, ask about your building's renovation rules, and go over scope and finish options with you. Before demolition starts, we submit whatever your condo association requires, insurance certificates, plans, and a work schedule, since most boards need that reviewed before they'll sign off, and that review can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on how often your board meets. Once that's cleared and permits are filed, materials are ordered and the work itself typically runs several weeks depending on scope.
Most buildings also set rules on when work can happen and how materials move in and out, whether that’s a freight elevator booking window or a restriction on which hours a crew can be on site. We confirm those specifics with your building at the estimate so they’re built into the schedule rather than causing delays once we’re underway.
We finish with a walkthrough where we check every finished space with you before calling the job done.
Recent Work in Brookline
A pre-war unit in a Coolidge Corner building had an original kitchen and bath from the building’s 1920s construction, with a plumbing stack shared with the unit below. We coordinated the stack work with the association’s approved plumber schedule, gutted both rooms, and rebuilt them with a modern layout that kept the original plaster archway between the kitchen and living room. The association’s review of the plumbing work added about two weeks to the front of the schedule, which we’d already accounted for in the timeline we gave the owners.
A 1960s mid-rise condo near Washington Square needed a straightforward refresh: new flooring, paint, and an updated bathroom, with all materials brought in through the building’s freight elevator on a schedule the property manager approved in advance.
A converted triple-decker unit wanted an open-concept layout, which meant removing a wall the building’s engineer needed to confirm wasn’t load-bearing before the association would approve the plan. Once that was cleared, we opened the space, upgraded the electrical panel to handle new kitchen appliances, and finished with a single continuous floor across what used to be two rooms.
Serving Brookline and the Surrounding Towns
We work throughout Brookline and in the neighboring Boston neighborhoods of Brighton, Allston, and Jamaica Plain, as well as Newton.
Areas We Serve:
- Brookline
- Brighton
- Allston
- Jamaica Plain
- Newton
Get a free estimate
Book a free in-home estimate to find out what your condo renovation actually involves, including what your building will require before work can start. We’ll walk your unit, ask the right questions about your association’s process, and give you a real number and a realistic timeline before we leave. Call 857-832-6869, or reach us through the contact page.
What Brookline Clients Say
Brookline Condo Renovation completely transformed our outdated condo into a beautiful, modern living space. The team listened to our ideas, guided us through the process, and delivered outstanding attention to detail. We love how functional and stylish our home feels now.
Jessica M.
— Brookline, MA
We are extremely happy with our condo renovation. The team helped us create a design that matched our lifestyle and completed every part of the project with care and precision. Our new space feels brighter, more comfortable, and perfectly designed for our needs.
David R.
— Brookline, MA
The craftsmanship and service were exceptional from start to finish. Brookline Condo Renovation made the entire remodeling process smooth and stress-free. The final results exceeded our expectations, and our condo now feels like a completely refreshed home.
Sarah L.
— Brookline, MA