Whole-home renovation · Staten Island
Home renovation on Staten Island, from refresh to full interior
We plan home renovation on Staten Island for one- and two-family houses that need more than one room updated. Many South Shore and mid-island houses date from the 1960s to the 1980s, so the first decision is often which rooms need a full renovation and which only need a refresh; one sequence then ties them together.
- A written room-by-room call on refresh versus full renovation
- Attached and two-family houses phased around shared walls
- Deliveries and containers planned to stay clear of trees and grade
Scope
What we plan in Staten Island houses
Each project is one interior scope that can mix light refresh rooms and fully renovated rooms under the same schedule.
- Interior renovation of two or more rooms in detached, attached or two-family houses
- Kitchen and bathroom renovation sequenced with lighter refresh rooms
- Drywall, ceilings, trim and interior doors repaired or replaced
- Flooring and painting coordinated across each whole floor
- Electrical and plumbing upgrades where the scope opens walls
- Access, staging and debris plans that respect the lot
- Not offered: additions, decks, structural or exterior work
Process
How MMA Construction & Remodeling runs a whole-home renovation project
Written scope, written proposal, permits identified up front, and one project lead from start to finish.
Conversation
You describe the home and what you want to change. We ask about budget range and timing so expectations are clear early.
Site visit and scope
We look at the space, the structure of the house and any HOA, co-op or condo rules that apply, then write a scope of work.
Design and selections
Layout, materials and fixtures are agreed in writing before work is priced in full.
Written proposal
A written price and schedule for the agreed scope. Permits and any approvals are identified at this stage.
Build
One project lead coordinates the trades and keeps you updated. Some regulated work may require appropriately licensed specialty contractors.
Walkthrough
We review the finished work with you and resolve anything outstanding.
Staten Island
Staten Island realities for a multi-room renovation
1960s–1980s houses: decide room by room
Roughly three in ten Staten Island homes went up in the 1970s or 1980s. In Great Kills-Eltingville, the share built from 1960 through 1989 reaches 58.6%. Houses of that era often need updating more than rebuilding, so not every room has to be opened. We sort your list into rooms that get a cosmetic refresh, rooms that get new systems and rooms where the layout changes, then run them in one sequence so the deeper rooms set the timing and the lighter ones fill around them.
Attached houses and second households
About a quarter of Staten Island homes are single-family attached houses, and more than a fifth are in two-unit buildings. Two-unit buildings hold about 31% of homes in the statistical area covering Annadale, Huguenot, Prince's Bay and Woodrow. That brings a shared wall, a second household or both into many projects. We schedule noisy work and shutoffs in writing, keep the occupied side's entrance clear, and record which unit each part of the scope belongs to, so estimates and phases stay separate.
South Richmond trees and grading: plan the staging
By City Planning's count, the South Richmond Development District takes in a third of the island's land, including South Shore neighborhoods such as Tottenville, Great Kills, Eltingville and Annadale. Its zoning rules treat removal of a tree of six-inch caliper or more, regrading and excavation as a site alteration, whether or not DOB requires a permit. An interior renovation should need none of that, so we place containers, deliveries and material storage away from trees and grade, and confirm the lot's district status.
Hill neighborhoods and individually designated houses
In the central hills, the Zoning Resolution names Todt Hill, Emerson Hill, Lighthouse Hill and Dongan Hills in Special Natural Area District NA-1. In the Tottenville-Charleston area, city lot data lists 19 individual-landmark lots, 11 of them with one- or two-family building classes, and no historic district. For houses like these, the lot is checked before staging is planned, and the address goes through LPC's landmarks map lookup early.
Decisions
Refresh or full renovation: how to tell which you need
Many Staten Island houses from the 1970s and 1980s need new finishes in most rooms and deeper work in one or two. The line between a refresh and a renovation is usually drawn by three questions.
- Does the layout work? If the rooms flow and the kitchen and baths are where you want them, finishes may be enough.
- Are the systems sound? Original wiring, supply lines and drains that are near the end of their life are cheaper to replace while walls are open than afterwards.
- How many rooms change together? Painting, flooring and trim done once across the house cost less than room by room.
The permit picture follows the answer. The NYC Department of Buildings lists painting, plastering, new cabinets, replacing plumbing fixtures and resurfacing floors among jobs that don't need a work permit; moving fixtures or changing systems usually does. We scope both paths in writing when the answer is unclear.
Sorting refresh rooms from renovation rooms?
Send the list of rooms and the year the house was built. At the site visit our project lead marks each room as refresh, systems or layout work, and the written scope follows that split.
Local evidence
Staten Island housing, zoning districts and flood lookups
| NTA | One- or two-family buildings | One-family attached | Built 1960-1989 | Built 1990 or later |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Dorp-Midland Beach | 90.0% | 27.0% | 34.9% | 25.8% |
| Great Kills-Eltingville | 96.0% | 37.0% | 58.6% | 23.6% |
| Tottenville-Charleston | 91.6% | 19.1% | 23.1% | 48.1% |
| Annadale-Huguenot-Prince's Bay-Woodrow | 98.7% | 19.7% | 45.3% | 42.8% |
Across the borough, roughly 82% of homes are one- or two-family buildings and about 60% predate 1980. That leaves a large share of houses older than 1978, the year EPA uses as the line for lead-safe requirements when paid work disturbs paint. In New York City, a DEP-certified investigator's asbestos survey determines whether work may disturb asbestos-containing material.
Permits: Staten Island is under the NYC Department of Buildings. The DOB list of jobs needing no permit matters for a refresh-heavy plan: repainting, new cabinets and resurfaced floors are on it, while a reworked kitchen or bath may call for a licensed architect or engineer to file plans. Home improvement contractors working in the city need a DCWP license.
Planning a whole-home renovation in Staten Island? Call or email us to talk it through and arrange a consultation.
Questions
Whole-home renovation in Staten Island: questions
Our 1980s Staten Island house mostly needs updating. Is that a whole-home renovation?
Where does the dumpster go on a South Shore lot with mature trees?
We have a two-family house in Annadale. How do you split the estimate?
Does a Todt Hill or Emerson Hill address add rules to an interior job?
Keep exploring
Sources
- B25024 Units in Structure, Richmond County (Staten Island), ACS 2024 1-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau via Census Reporter (2025 (ACS 2024 1-year release)). Accessed 2026-11-02.
- B25034 Year Structure Built, Richmond County (Staten Island), ACS 2024 1-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau via Census Reporter (2025 (ACS 2024 1-year release)). Accessed 2026-11-02.
- Renovating Kitchens & Bathrooms, NYC Department of Buildings. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- Do I Need a Permit?, NYC Department of Buildings. Accessed 2026-11-09.
- License Checklist: Home Improvement Contractor, NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- FEMA Flood Map Service Center, Federal Emergency Management Agency. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- NYC Flood Maps, City of New York. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program Rules, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- B25024 Units in Structure and B25034 Year Structure Built, census tracts, ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024), U.S. Census Bureau via Census Reporter API (ACS 2024 5-year release (acs2024_5yr)). Accessed 2026-11-08.
- 2020 Census Tracts to 2020 NTAs and CDTAs Equivalency, NYC Department of City Planning via NYC Open Data (rows updated 2021-09-20). Accessed 2026-11-08.
- 2020 Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (NTAs), NYC Department of City Planning via NYC Open Data (dataset (2020 NTA definitions)). Accessed 2026-11-08.
- Staten Island Special Districts: Background and Goals (DRAFT), NYC Department of City Planning (April 2020 (marked DRAFT)). Accessed 2026-11-08.
- Zoning Resolution 105-94 Special Natural Area Districts Specified, NYC Department of City Planning / City Planning Commission (105-941 last amended 1977-06-23; 105-942 last amended 1975-05-21; 105-943 last amended 1977-12-01; PDF generated 2026-11-08). Accessed 2026-11-08.
- South Richmond Zoning Relief: Special South Richmond Development District, Proposal Summary, NYC Department of City Planning (March 2023). Accessed 2026-11-08.
- Zoning Resolution Article X Chapter 7: Special South Richmond Development District (107-00 General Purposes; 107-01 Definitions; 107-02, 107-03), NYC Department of City Planning / City Planning Commission (107-00 last amended 2024-08-15; 107-01 last amended 2024-12-05; PDF generated 2026-11-08). Accessed 2026-11-08.
- Primary Land Use Tax Lot Output (PLUTO), version 26v2, NYC Department of City Planning via NYC Open Data (version 26v2 (rows updated 2026-08-24)). Accessed 2026-11-08.
- Landmark Status Letter, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. Accessed 2026-11-08.
- Asbestos Abatement, NYC Department of Environmental Protection. Accessed 2026-11-02.
Talk to us about your renovation project in Staten Island
Call or email us to talk it through and arrange a consultation.