A house on Fidalgo Island has a lot to answer to: salt air, winter wind coming hard off the water, and sometimes a century of remodels by whoever owned it before you. For twenty years we've been opening up Anacortes homes, from early-1900s houses near Old Town to mid-century ramblers and view homes up on the hill, and putting them back together so they work for the people living in them now.
Most of the people who call us about a whole-home remodel aren't looking to move. They've got the view, the neighbors, the walk to the marina or coffee on Commercial. What they don't have is a house that fits how they live: a kitchen walled off from the family room, a primary bath built in 1978, a back bedroom that's been cold every January since they bought the place.
A whole-home remodel fixes that as one project instead of five. When a wall comes out, the wiring, plumbing, heat, insulation, and trim around it all get decided at the same time, so we're not reopening that wall two summers from now. Before anything gets torn out, we work through design, selections, engineering, and permits in a paid pre-construction phase, and we price the job twice: once from concept drawings and once when every selection is locked. If the budget and the wish list aren't in the same room, you'll hear it from us in the first meeting, not halfway through the drywall.
Written by the Dihedral Builders team in Anacortes · Reviewed by Chad Gailey, founder · Updated October 2026
We walk the house with you and ask the unglamorous questions. Where do wet boots and rain gear land after a walk at Washington Park? Which room do you actually sit in to watch the ferries go by? Where's the draft? Then we work with your architect or designer, or introduce you to one, so the new layout comes from your days in this house rather than a magazine.
Plenty of our clients stay home through a remodel. On the Seaward Remodel, the family kept cooking dinner one room away from the demolition while their entire first floor was rebuilt. We sequence the work so the rooms you depend on stay usable as long as possible, and you can follow every step through a client portal with photos, job logs, and live budget tracking.
Open walls are your one good chance to fix what an island house hides. We upgrade insulation, air sealing, ventilation, and the details that keep wind-driven rain out, then finish with custom cabinetry, fireplaces, built-ins, and millwork that make the new rooms look like they were always part of the house.
Anacortes isn't a generic Puget Sound suburb, and remodeling here isn't generic either. These are the conditions we plan around on nearly every job.
Anacortes was laid out in the 1890s boom, went quiet after the Panic of 1893, and then built most of its historic core between 1900 and 1910. Some of the Queen Anne-era houses near downtown date back to the city's founding. Open their walls and you can find old wiring, balloon framing, no insulation at all, and layers of earlier remodels.
Old Town is its own zone under the city's 2019 development code, with design standards meant to keep its character, so exterior changes there get a closer look. Homes listed on the Anacortes Register of Historic Places may also qualify for a property-tax advantage under state law. And any house built before 1978 may have lead paint, which federal rules require be handled with lead-safe work practices.
The houses that came later, from post-war ramblers to homes built for the water views on Skyline, around Burrows Bay, and along Guemes Channel, have different problems. Original single-pane glass, vaulted ceilings with very little insulation, low-slope roofs, and decks that have taken decades of salt air. These homes often have great bones and a great view. The layout and the envelope just haven't kept up.
Anacortes sits on the northeast edge of the Olympic rain shadow, so it averages roughly 26 inches of rain a year, about ten fewer than Seattle. That doesn't make it easy on houses. Winter storms come in sideways off Rosario Strait and the channels, and the salt air goes after fasteners, flashing, and finishes. We detail remodels for that, with rainscreen walls, corrosion-resistant fasteners on the exterior, and ventilation sized to keep moisture out of the walls.
Inside city limits, the City of Anacortes requires a permit for remodels and additions, filed through its Planning, Community & Economic Development department's online portal. Outside city limits, Skagit County handles it. Homes within 200 feet of the shoreline can also come under the city's Shoreline Master Program, and steep or bluff lots can trigger critical-areas review. We sort out which rules apply during pre-construction and build the review time into your schedule.
Seaward Remodel
Anacortes · Whole-home remodel
We took walls down to open the kitchen and family room, then added new cabinetry, a fireplace framed with built-ins, flooring, and millwork. The family lived at home the whole time.
Jefferson Remodel
Anacortes · Whole-home remodel
A reworked kitchen and main floor with custom cherry cabinetry, heated tile underfoot for the damp months, and a real office. Done on time and at the price we quoted.
Skyline Remodel
Anacortes · Whole-home remodel
A reconfigured primary suite, plus new flooring, doors, millwork, and paint carried through the rest of the house.
We are very happy with the results of our remodel. From design and demolition to construction and the finishing touches, Chad transformed our vision of a more functional kitchen and living space into a beautiful reality. As this project essentially transformed our entire first floor, it's important to note that he successfully achieved our goals while we continued living in the home throughout the project.
Kyle Rash · Anacortes · Seaward Remodel
Chad and his crew took a kitchen remodel at my mother's house to a whole new level. From design to install I couldn't be more impressed. The attention to detail was phenomenal. Chad kept me informed throughout the entire process and completed the project on time and at cost. 100% recommend Dihedral for any building project.
Greg Allan · Anacortes · Jefferson Remodel
Chad Gailey grew up on job sites behind his father, a plumber and general contractor who checked every trade's work, not just his own crew's. After five years in the Coast Guard patrolling Alaska's waters, Chad started remodeling homes in Anchorage, then moved to Washington and founded Dihedral Builders in 2012. Anacortes and Fidalgo Island have been home ground ever since.
Dihedral stays small on purpose. Chad is involved in every remodel, the trades on site are people he's worked with for years, and if something comes up mid-project you call him, not a switchboard.
Yes. The City of Anacortes requires a building permit for remodels and additions, filed through the online portal run by its Planning, Community & Economic Development department. City permits are issued for 24 months and can be extended. If your home is outside city limits on Fidalgo Island, the permit goes through Skagit County instead. We prepare and file the permits as part of pre-construction.
Old Town has its own zone with design standards meant to protect the neighborhood's historic character, so exterior changes there get closer review than elsewhere in town. Homes listed on the Anacortes Register of Historic Places may also qualify for a property-tax advantage under state law. We check your property's zoning and listing status before design starts.
Much of the historic core of Anacortes was built between 1900 and 1910, and older homes often hide outdated wiring, balloon framing, missing insulation, or earlier remodels done poorly. Homes built before 1978 may contain lead paint, which federal rules require be handled with lead-safe work practices. We plan for these conditions during pre-construction, and our construction agreement spells out in writing how any changes and their costs are handled.
Homes within 200 feet of the shoreline can fall under the city's Shoreline Master Program, and steep or bluff lots can trigger critical-areas review, which adds time to permitting. The building itself also takes more weather. Winter storms arrive sideways off Rosario Strait and the channels, and salt air corrodes fasteners and flashing, so we use rainscreen walls, corrosion-resistant exterior fasteners, and careful flashing details on exposed sites.
It depends on how much of the house changes, whether walls or structure move, and how much plumbing, electrical, and mechanical work is involved. Design, selections, engineering, and permitting come first. Once the construction agreement is signed, work typically starts six to eight weeks later, after materials are ordered and trades are scheduled, and you get a detailed schedule before construction begins.
No contractor can give an honest price for a remodel that hasn't been designed and specified yet. We price every project twice: an early estimate from concept drawings, so options can be weighed while changes are cheap, and a final budget once every selection is locked. If your budget and your scope don't match, we tell you in the first conversation, before you've spent anything.
Often, yes. It depends on which parts of the house are under construction at once and whether the kitchen or the only bathroom is out of service. On our Seaward Remodel in Anacortes, the family lived at home while its entire first floor was rebuilt. We sequence the work and plan temporary arrangements with you during pre-construction.
Yes. We work across Skagit, Island, and San Juan counties. Each county runs its own permitting, and island jobs reached by the Anacortes ferry need materials, deliveries, and trade schedules planned around sailings. We account for both when we build the schedule.
Every project carries a three-year craftsmanship warranty on top of the manufacturers' warranties. We also come back for inspections at one month and at eleven months after completion, just before most one-year product warranties lapse, and we handle manufacturer warranty calls for you.
Come by the office on Commercial Ave, call (360) 209-6353, or send a note through our contact form to start a conversation about your whole-home remodel in Anacortes. Bring photos, a sketch, or just the list of things that have bugged you about the house for years.
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