A full renovation of a pre-1940 New Jersey home runs about $25,000 for a single room brought properly up to date, and $150,000 to $250,000 and up for a whole-house renovation with new systems. Expect roughly 15 to 25 percent more than the same work in a 1990s house — that's the plaster, the knob-and-tube, the cast iron and the fact that nothing is a standard size.
We work in the housing stock North Jersey is actually made of: 1890s Victorians, 1920s center-hall colonials, Tudors, four-squares and brownstones across Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Union and Morris counties. The goal is a house that works in 2026 and still looks like it was built when it was built.
Free in-home consultation · itemized price on the spot · no deposit
Licensed & insured · 2,000+ NJ projects · 7 years · a real person answers 24/7
A full renovation of a pre-1940 New Jersey home runs about $25,000 for a single room brought properly up to date, and $150,000 to $250,000 and up for a whole-house renovation with new systems. Typical price: $25K – $250K+. Licensed & insured, written itemized price before work starts, no deposit, one dedicated crew. Serving all 21 New Jersey counties from Paramus. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free estimate.
It depends on whether your house is in a locally designated historic district, which is a municipal designation — not the same thing as being old, and not the same thing as being on the state or national register. Towns like Cape May, Montclair, Morristown, Princeton, Bordentown, Haddonfield, Lambertville and parts of Ridgewood and Rutherford have local districts with a historic preservation commission.
Where a district applies, exterior changes visible from the street usually need a certificate of appropriateness before the construction permit is issued. That covers windows, siding, roofing material, porches, doors, railings and additions. Interior work almost never needs it — you can gut a kitchen in a historic district without a commission hearing.
We find out which applies before you spend money on drawings. We prepare the application, the photos and the product specs, and we go to the meeting. Commissions say yes far more often than people expect when the submission shows matching profiles and materials instead of a vinyl catalog page.
Original wood windows: usually keep. A sash with wavy glass and old-growth wood can be re-corded, re-glazed and weather-stripped for less than a replacement, and with a good storm window it performs close to a modern double-pane. If the sash is rotted through or the frame is gone, we replace — and in a district, we match the sightlines, the muntin pattern and the material.
Plaster: keep and repair. Skim coating over sound plaster costs less than gutting to drywall and it keeps the wall thickness, the casing reveals and the sound deadening. We only take plaster down where it's separated from the lath or where the wall has to open for wiring or plumbing anyway.
Knob-and-tube and cast iron: replace. Every time. These aren't character, they're the two things most likely to cost you a claim or a fire. We open walls surgically — in closets, behind base, from above and below — and we patch plaster rather than drywalling the whole room.
Original trim, doors and hardware: keep. We strip, repair and rehang. Where new trim is needed, we gauge the existing profile and build it up to match rather than buying the closest thing at a lumberyard.
Anything painted before 1978 can have lead, and in pre-war North Jersey it almost always does. We use lead-safe work practices as standard: containment, wet methods, HEPA vacuums, no dry sanding on suspect surfaces, daily cleanup.
Asbestos shows up in pipe and boiler wrap, 9x9 floor tile and the black mastic under it, some popcorn ceilings, and cement siding. We test before demolition when the material is suspect. If it's positive, licensed abatement happens before we open the area, and it's a written line on your price with its own schedule — usually a few days and a few thousand dollars, sometimes more on a big boiler room.
Neither of these is a reason not to renovate. They're a reason to find out in week one instead of week six, which is the difference between a scheduled step and a stopped job.
Paramus-based, renovating pre-war homes across all 21 New Jersey counties. Master plumber, electricians and finish carpenters are all on our own crew — which matters more in a 1920s house than anywhere else, because the surprises come from all three trades at once.
Text photos of the house to (201) 676-3099 or email your inspection report to info@firstcallcontractingnj.com — we read those properly, and they tell us most of what we need before we walk in.
typical fixed-price range — your exact number goes in writing after a free visit
How we beat the big chains: Restoration-branded firms price old houses with a fear premium and a designer retainer, then subcontract the actual trades. No franchise fees, no commissioned salesmen, no rented subcontractors — that's typically 15–30% under national-brand quotes for the same or better spec. Bring us any written quote and we'll match the scope line by line.
“They gutted the plaster in a 1912 house and drywalled it. The casings stick out past the walls now and every room echoes.”
“Halfway through the kitchen they found knob-and-tube and asbestos pipe wrap, and the job stopped for six weeks while the price got renegotiated.”
“The contractor installed vinyl windows on a house in a historic district and the town made us take them out.”
You found a crew that is actually near you. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus, in Bergen County, and our own licensed techs handle historic homes in all 21 New Jersey counties — no call center, no subcontractor sent from two states away. Most of Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex is 15 to 30 minutes from our shop, and emergencies go to the nearest crew, 24/7.
Closest to us: Bergen CountyPassaic CountyHudson CountyEssex CountyMorris CountyUnion CountyAll 21 counties & 219+ towns →
Call (201) 676-3099, text us a photo, or book a free in-home estimate — you get a written price before any work starts.
Budget roughly 15 to 25 percent more than the same scope in a newer house. A properly updated single room starts around $25,000, a kitchen or bath in a pre-war home runs $35,000 to $80,000, and a whole-house renovation with new wiring, plumbing and plaster work typically runs $150,000 to $250,000 and up.
If you're renovating, insulating, or adding meaningful load, yes. Knob-and-tube has no ground, its cloth insulation fails with age, and it cannot be covered with insulation. Many insurers also won't write a policy on a house that still has it live. Our electricians replace it and pull the permit.
Usually, and usually you should. Old-growth sash can be re-corded, re-glazed and weather-stripped, and with a good storm window it performs close to a modern insulated unit for less money. If a sash or frame is rotted beyond repair we replace and match the sightlines and muntin pattern — especially in a historic district.
Only if your property is in a locally designated historic district, and then generally only for exterior work visible from the street — windows, siding, roofing, porches, doors, additions. Interior renovations almost never need it. We confirm your address, prepare the certificate of appropriateness application and attend the meeting.
We test suspect material before demolition — pipe wrap, old floor tile and mastic, some ceilings, cement siding. Positive results go to licensed abatement before we open the area, priced as its own written line. Lead-safe practices are standard on every pre-1978 house we work in.
A single room, two to four weeks. A pre-war kitchen or bath, six to ten. A whole-house renovation with systems replacement, four to eight months. Old houses take longer because nothing is a stock size and because opening a wall usually finds another decision — we build that reality into the schedule instead of apologizing for it later.
If you're anywhere in New Jersey, yes. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus and handles historic homes across all 21 counties with our own licensed crew. Most of Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex is 15 to 30 minutes from our shop, and emergencies are dispatched to the nearest crew 24/7. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free in-home estimate.
Plaster repaired · knob-and-tube and cast iron out · profiles matched · commission applications handled
Or call Alex direct: (201) 676-3099
A real person picks up every hour of every day. We tell you what to shut off first, then send the nearest crew.