Remodeling my house!
You probably want a realtor with actual construction experience — someone who isn't afraid to get their hands dirty. Welcome to Part 1 of remodeling my own house, where I put my money (and my weekends) where my mouth is: we're taking out a wall and installing a massive steel I-beam to open up the whole main level.
What happened in Part 1
The house had the classic chopped-up layout — the kind where the kitchen can't see the living room and every space feels smaller than the square footage says. The fix is the single highest-ROI move in residential renovation: remove the dividing wall, open the floor plan. Except that wall was structural, which is where the steel comes in. An engineered I-beam now carries the load the wall used to — sized by an engineer, muscled into place by too few people (ask me about that), and buried in the ceiling so the finished space reads as effortless. That's the irony of structural work: the hardest, most expensive part of a remodel is the part nobody will ever see.
Why I show this side of the business
Two reasons. First, honesty: I'm a realtor, but I'm also an investor working my own projects — the ADU conversion, this remodel, the spec builds with High West Contracting. When I tell a client "that wall can come out for about $X" or "that layout is a $200K problem," it's not a guess — I've priced the beam, hired the crew, and swept the drywall dust myself. Second: half of Park City's value-add opportunity lives behind exactly this kind of wall. The dated-but-solid housing stock in Jeremy Ranch, Park Meadows, and Pinebrook is full of floor plans one I-beam away from modern — and buyers who can see through the walls buy better houses for less money.
Follow along
This series continues — finishes, fixtures, the inevitable surprises (there are always surprises; that's half the education). Subscribe if you want to watch it come together. And if you're eyeing a fixer and wondering which walls can move and what it'll actually cost, bring me the listing. I'll walk it with contractor eyes, not just agent eyes.
Thinking about buying, selling, or investing in Park City? Reach out anytime — call or text (801) 837-4445.