King County · Washington
General Contractor in Kenmore, WA
Kenmore sits at the north end of Lake Washington where two creeks and a river meet the lake. Wetland and shoreline provisions reach into more properties here than the modest terrain suggests.
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Professional Home Remodeling Services in Kenmore
Kenmore is a compact city of mostly post-war housing between Lake Forest Park and Bothell, with the lake on one side and wetlands where the Sammamish River and Swamp Creek come in. The buildings are conventional; the environmental constraints are the reason projects get redesigned.
The post-war residential body
Most Kenmore housing was built between the late 1940s and the 1970s — ramblers, split-entries and modest two-story houses on regular lots, spread across Inglewood, Moorlands and the neighborhoods either side of Bothell Way. Structurally these are good remodeling candidates: simple load paths, accessible crawl spaces, real setbacks and room to extend. Conditions run true to the era — aluminum branch wiring in a narrow band of mid-1960s houses, single-pane aluminum windows, thin insulation, original cast-iron or early plastic drain lines, and asbestos-containing sheet vinyl and ceiling texture that we test before demolition.
The lakefront and the slopes
Along Lake Washington the economics change and so do the constraints: shoreline management provisions, steeper lots, engineered foundations and drainage, and real attention to views from neighboring properties. The hillsides rising north from the lake are steep in places, with slope provisions and occasionally geotechnical input.
Wetlands and the river delta
This is the constraint that surprises people. The Sammamish River enters Lake Washington at Kenmore, Swamp Creek comes in nearby, and the low ground around them is genuinely wet with substantial wetland areas and associated buffers. Both watercourses are salmon-bearing, which adds habitat provisions. On parcels near that low ground the buffer, not the setback, determines where an addition can go, and a wetland delineation is sometimes needed before design rather than after review.
Septic pockets from the county era
Kenmore incorporated only in 1998, and some properties developed under King County rules remain on septic. That matters for any project adding bedrooms or fixtures, because system capacity has to support it. We confirm before scoping.
What We Build in Kenmore
Six core services cover most of what Kenmore homeowners ask us for. Every one is handled in-house, on one permit, by one project manager.
Kitchen Remodeling
Custom cabinetry, counters, lighting and full layout changes, permitted and built to code.
Bathroom Remodeling
Wet-room waterproofing, tile, vanities and fixture upgrades on older plumbing.
Home Renovation
Whole-house remodels that update systems, layout and finishes in one coordinated build.
Custom Homes
Ground-up design-build on infill lots and view parcels, from feasibility to final permit.
Room Additions & ADU
Bump-outs, second stories, attached ADUs and detached DADUs for added living space.
Patio Building & Remodeling
Covered patios, decks and outdoor living that stand up to Puget Sound winters.
Ready to Start Your Kenmore Home Project?
Whether it’s a single bathroom or a whole-house remodel, the first step is the same — a walkthrough, an honest scope and a number you can plan around. We’ll tell you what your Kenmore home actually needs, not what’s easiest to sell.
Remodeling in Kenmore: What the Area Demands
Kenmore occupies the north shore of Lake Washington where the Sammamish River flows in, about twelve miles northeast of Seattle, with hills rising behind the shoreline.
Geography and how it affects a build
The low ground at the river mouth is wet, soft and constrained by wetland and habitat buffers, with a high water table. From there the land climbs north and west into ordinary glacial plateau, with poorly draining till in much of it, so perimeter drainage and downspout tightlining are routine. The slopes between are steep in places, bringing slope provisions. Swamp Creek and the Sammamish River are both salmon-bearing. The lakeshore itself is subject to shoreline management, and Kenmore Air Harbor operates seaplanes from the waterfront, which is part of the local soundscape.
Neighborhood character
Kenmore is quiet, established and unshowy, valued for being close in while costing less than its lakeside neighbors. The Burke-Gilman Trail runs through and is heavily used. Bastyr University and a growing town center along Bothell Way give the city more of a center than it had two decades ago. Inglewood and the hill neighborhoods are conventional post-war suburbia. The lakefront strip is the prestige address, with a mix of older cottages and substantial rebuilds.
Construction considerations specific to Kenmore
Wetland and habitat buffers around the river mouth and Swamp Creek, which decide addition placement more often than zoning does. Shoreline provisions on the lake. Slope and drainage on the hillsides. Septic capacity on parcels that developed under county rules. Poorly draining till making drainage a real line item.
Nearby areas we also serve
About Kenmore, WA
Kenmore was named by an early property owner after Kenmore, Ontario, and it grew as a mill and shingle settlement at the north end of Lake Washington, where the Sammamish River came in. When the Lake Washington Ship Canal opened in 1916 the lake dropped roughly nine feet, permanently changing the shoreline and the river mouth — and creating much of the low, wet ground that now carries wetland designations.
For most of the twentieth century Kenmore was unincorporated King County: a highway community with a lakefront, a seaplane base established in 1946 that still operates scheduled flights, and steadily filling post-war subdivisions on the hills behind. The Burke-Gilman Trail arrived on the old railway alignment, and Bastyr University took over a former seminary campus.
Residents voted to incorporate in 1998, one of the last of the north King County cities to do so, largely to gain control over land use and the shape of the Bothell Way corridor. Kenmore is now around 24,000 people and has been steadily building a town center it never previously had. For homeowners the picture is solid post-war housing at prices below the neighboring lakeside cities, on lots that are often generous — with the wetlands and the shoreline as the constraints worth checking first.
Remodeling in Kenmore — Common Questions
Why do wetlands come up so often in Kenmore?
Because the Sammamish River enters Lake Washington here and Swamp Creek joins nearby, and the ship canal lowered the lake in 1916 leaving a great deal of low, wet ground. Substantial wetland areas and buffers follow from that, and both watercourses are salmon-bearing so habitat provisions apply too.
On parcels near that low ground the buffer, not the setback, decides where an addition can go. We check the mapping before design and commission a delineation where it matters.
The ground on my lot feels soft. Is that a problem for an addition?
It can be, and Kenmore is one of the places we take it seriously. The low ground at the north end of Lake Washington, where Swamp Creek and the Sammamish River reach the lake, includes organic and peat soils that compress under load in a way sandy glacial soil does not.
The consequence is settlement, and specifically differential settlement, where the new addition moves and the original house does not. That shows up as cracked drywall at the joint and doors that stop latching. The remedy is not exotic but it has to be designed: a geotechnical evaluation, then either a stiffened foundation or piles carrying load to firm material. On the slopes above the lake the problem inverts to drainage and slope stability instead.
What should I expect in a 1960s Kenmore rambler?
Predictable era conditions: single-pane aluminum windows, thin insulation by current standards, original cast-iron or early plastic drain lines, and asbestos-containing sheet vinyl or ceiling texture that we test before demolition. A narrow band of mid-1960s houses also has aluminum branch wiring.
The structures cooperate, which makes these efficient projects.
Can I add a second story for a lake view?
Sometimes, and it is a common ask on the hillside streets. Feasibility depends on the existing foundation and framing, height limits, and on the lakeward side, slope provisions and neighboring view considerations.
We assess the foundation first. A second story is only as good as what it lands on.
What do shoreline provisions restrict on the lakefront?
Setbacks from the water, impervious surface, vegetation and what can be built within the shoreline zone. They apply to work on and near the lakeshore and they are enforced.
On a narrow lakefront lot the shoreline setback often decides the whole plan, so we establish it before design.
Is my Kenmore lot big enough to add a second home rather than an addition?
Occasionally yes, and it is worth checking before you settle on an addition. Some older Kenmore parcels are generous by current standards, which opens two different paths: an accessory dwelling on the same lot, or an actual subdivision creating a separate buildable parcel. They are not the same project. Subdivision is a land use process with its own timeline, access and utility requirements, and it changes the tax and financing picture.
What usually decides it is access and utilities rather than square footage: frontage, driveway geometry, stormwater management, sewer availability, and critical areas along the creeks and steeper slopes. We look at those constraints first and tell you plainly which of the two is realistic on your parcel.
Proudly Serving Kenmore, WA and Surrounding Areas
We work throughout Kenmore — Inglewood, Moorlands, the Bothell Way corridor, the lakefront and the hill neighborhoods — and across the neighboring communities of Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Woodinville, Shoreline, Kirkland and Edmonds.
Licensed, bonded and insured in Washington, with one project manager throughout.
| Zip Code | Area Code | City | County | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98028 | 425 | Kenmore | King County | Washington |