Some remodelers sell a vision. The better ones deliver the reality behind it, with clean job sites, schedules that hold, and work you don’t need to babysit. In the Des Moines area, Primetime Remodels has carved out a place in that second camp. Homeowners call them after living with dated kitchens or leaky showers a season too long, and they come back the next time because the last project turned out right. That trust is earned on small details: phone calls returned the same day, an estimate that doesn’t shift every Friday, tile lines that stay straight around imperfect walls, and a crew that treats your home like someone actually lives there.
What follows isn’t a brochure or a greatest-hits reel. This is a practical look at how a remodeler wins in a market like Des Moines, why Primetime Remodels tends to be recommended, and what you should expect, push for, and budget when you hire a firm for kitchens, baths, basements, and whole-home updates in central Iowa.
The Des Moines Context: Houses With Bones Worth Keeping
Housing stock here spans 1920s bungalows in Beaverdale, mid-century ranches in Urbandale, split-levels around Johnston, and late-90s builds in West Des Moines that came in fast and now need second-generation upgrades. The constraints differ house to house. Plaster walls hide knob-and-tube surprises. Soil shifts near the river telegraph through basement slabs. Winter and spring thaw cycle every system in a home, from ventilation to exterior doors, and you learn to pick materials that survive. Primetime Remodels understands these patterns because they’ve worked through them: bathroom exhaust that actually vents outside instead of into a cold attic, waterproofing details suited to our freeze-thaw, and framing tweaks that straighten out the waviness of an older house without gutting character.
When you hire a remodeler in this market, local judgment saves you money and hassle. A crew that knows which inspectors are sticklers about GFCI spacing or how Polk County handles egress window approvals will keep your project from idling while paperwork catches up. Primetime Remodels builds schedules that assume the realities of inspections, supplier lead times in the Midwest, and sub availability around peak seasons. That sets expectations on day one rather than rewriting them midstream.
What “Full-Service” Should Mean, and How Primetime Delivers It
Plenty of contractors say full-service. The test is what happens the second week of demolition, when the cabinet supplier emails about a delay or a joist shows a notch from a 1970s plumbing shortcut. Full-service means your remodeler handles design coordination, trade sequencing, procurement, and change management without turning every hiccup into a homeowner crisis.
Primetime Remodels runs projects with a lean, documented process you can actually follow. You’ll see it in four places that matter most to clients: scoped estimates, clear timelines, decision checkpoints, and finish quality. If you’ve ever been handed a one-page quote with line items like “kitchen - 38k,” you know that vagueness costs you. Primetime’s estimates itemize materials and labor by area and task, with allowances for items you’ll select later. Those allowances reflect real market prices, not lowball placeholders. If a bath tile allowance sits at nine to twelve dollars per square foot and you fall in love with a fourteen-dollar option, you know the delta before you commit.
Scheduling isn’t a promise etched in stone, but it should be more than wishful thinking. Primetime’s project calendars break out demolition, framing, mechanical rough-ins, inspections, drywall, install, and punch. Most kitchen or bath projects land in the four to eight week range depending on scope, with full basements often eleven to sixteen weeks. Window and cabinet lead times, which can run four to ten weeks depending on brand and finish, shape the critical path, so they push selections early and order before demo where possible. That’s how you avoid a three-week dead zone with a Remodeler services gutted room and nothing to install.
Decision checkpoints sound fancy, but they’re simple: a handful of meetings where you finalize key choices that control budget and sequence. Primetime puts these in writing and ties them to dates. Cabinets and appliances first. Then tile, plumbing fixtures, flooring, and paint. Countertops and lighting follow. Walk into those meetings with a few saved images, and you’ll move fast without regretting a choice later.
Finish quality is the part you live with, and it’s where the company’s pride shows. Reveals around windows align within an eighth of an inch. Miters close tight. Outlet heights line up along a backsplash. They prime check drywall so the paint lays evenly. None of that is glamorous, but it’s the difference between a remodel that wows you once and a space that makes you happy every morning you walk into it.
Remodeler Services That Fit Real Homes, Not Showrooms
Primetime Remodels handles a spectrum of interior work. If you’re looking for a Remodeler near me on a search engine, the lists can blur together. Here’s where their portfolio tends to shine.
Kitchens: The heartbeat of most projects. They work across price points, from efficient L-shaped updates in 1950s ranches to open-concept reconfigurations where they remove a load-bearing wall, insert a laminated veneer lumber beam, and stitch flooring between spaces. They’ll talk you through trade-offs you don’t always hear: quartz tops that resist staining but can chip at thin edges, full-height backsplashes that need planned outlet placement to keep the design clean, and cabinet lines that travel well through Midwest humidity. Appliance coordination matters too, especially for slide-in ranges and panel-ready dishwashers that demand precise cabinet specs.
Bathrooms: Water punishes bad decisions. Primetime builds showers with waterproofing systems that hold up, and they’ve moved away from traditional liners to modern sheet or liquid membranes that tie into drains correctly. They’ll suggest moving a vent stack if it opens a better layout, even if it’s not the cheapest route on paper. And they advocate heated floors where it makes sense, which in Iowa often means every main bath. Their experience with zero-threshold showers comes through in subtle slope and drain placement done to code while preserving accessibility.
Basements: This is where region-specific knowledge pays off. Before a single wall goes up, they check slab condition, vapor pressure, and any history of seepage. Framing off the concrete with treated plates and rigid foam thermal breaks, tucking in dehumidification capacity, and choosing floor systems that won’t trap moisture all contribute to a basement that stays comfortable. Egress windows get engineered and permitted, not hacked in. They’ll talk sound attenuation between floors if you’re building a media room and keep mechanical access panels where service technicians can actually reach them.
Whole-home and exterior touches: While interior work is the core, they manage siding swaps, window upgrades, and front entry refreshes that tie into interior style. Coordinating color stories between exterior and kitchen finishes sounds small, but it makes a home feel designed, not patched.
Why Homeowners Choose Them: The Practical Reasons
There’s no single magic trick. It’s a pattern of reliability that carries through jobs large and small. A few moments keep coming up when you talk to their clients.
Communication lands on a steady cadence. A project manager checks in even when nothing dramatic is happening. If an inspector’s availability forces a shift, you hear it that day. When a supplier ships the wrong finish, they own it and present a plan within a day or two, not after a week of silence. That responsiveness keeps stress down.
Budget drift is controlled rather than denied. Changes happen. Primetime treats them with written change orders that show incremental cost and schedule impact, then gets your approval before moving forward. It sounds procedural, but it prevents the nickel-and-dime feeling that sinks trust.
Crews respect your space. Floors get covered. Returns and vents are sealed during demolition so dust doesn’t cycle through the home. The site gets swept daily. Pets don’t escape because someone left a gate propped open. If you’ve experienced the opposite, you know how much this matters.
Punch lists tighten up quickly. No remodel finishes without a few items to address. They schedule a dedicated day or two for punch completion and walk the space with you using blue tape and a shared list. The aim is to minimize post-project drift, where you’re still texting about a touch-up a month later.
The Hidden Work That Makes a Remodel Last
Homeowners understandably focus on visible finishes. A good Remodeler company invests most of its discipline behind the walls. Primetime Remodels embraces that principle. You’ll see it in sistering joists where old notches weakened a span, adding blocking for future hardware that isn’t even chosen yet, and pulling dedicated circuits for appliance loads rather than gambling on existing wiring.
Moisture management remains the number one long-term risk in bathrooms and basements. Primetime pushes clients toward real ventilation solutions: bath fans sized correctly for the space, ducted straight to the exterior with a smooth-walled run to minimize static pressure. In basements, they advise on whole-home dehumidification or sealed basement systems if warranted by the home’s behavior across seasons. Even a simple move like elevating a basement wet bar’s cabinets an inch on composite shims to avoid potential slab moisture can add years to the install’s life.
Sound control matters more than most people expect. If you’re building a teenage hangout under a toddler’s bedroom, you’ll thank yourself for the extra investment in decoupled ceilings, insulation, and a layer of acoustic compound. Primetime quotes these options clearly, and while not everyone buys them, clients appreciate that the choice is put on the table early.
Lighting planning separates a pleasant room from a great one. Rather than simply peppering cans across a ceiling, they layer task, ambient, and accent light tied to sensible switch groupings and dimming. Over islands, they check pendant scale against sight lines. In showers, they center recessed trims to tiles or drains, a small alignment that reads as quality subconsciously.
Energy, Codes, and the Iowa Factor
Remodeler services that ignore energy performance leave comfort and money on the table. Primetime Remodels integrates practical upgrades where they intersect the scope. If a wall opens, they evaluate insulation type, air sealing at top and bottom plates, and opportunities to reduce thermal bridging. Window replacements get low-E glass tuned to orientation, and installation with proper flashing so that the performance promised on paper shows up in real life.
Code-wise, the company stays in lockstep with local requirements without treating them as boxes to check. For example, they design handrail heights and stair nosing that meet code and feel good underfoot, not just pass inspection. Kitchen electrical plans meet current spacing and dedicated circuit rules, which means you don’t trip a breaker when the coffee maker and toaster run together at 7 a.m.
Winter in Des Moines punishes poor planning. They stage projects so exterior penetrations get sealed promptly and temporary heating or ventilation supports drying times for mud and paint. When it’s minus five outside, your remodeler’s understanding of cure times and material movement keeps finishes from cracking a month later.
Cost Ranges You Can Actually Use
No two homes match, and pricing shifts with design decisions and supply markets. Still, ballparks help. In central Iowa, here’s what typical scopes tend to run when built to a quality standard with solid materials and reputable trades:
- Pull-and-replace bathrooms, keeping layout similar and using midrange fixtures and tile: roughly 18,000 to 32,000 depending on size and selections. Curbless showers or custom glass push toward the higher side. Kitchen updates with layout tweaks, midrange to upper-mid cabinets, quartz tops, tile backsplash, new lighting, and flooring patching or replacement: often 45,000 to 90,000. Moving walls, high-end appliances, and premium custom cabinetry move north from there. Basement finishes that add a family room, bedroom with legal egress, a 3/4 bath, and basic wet bar: commonly 55,000 to 110,000 depending on bath complexity and finishes.
Those numbers assume licensed trades, permits pulled, and products with real warranties. You can spend less with simple materials and DIY elements, or more with designer selections and structural changes. Primetime Remodels prices in line with these ranges, then refines after design development and site verification.
How to Prepare for a Remodel the Right Way
A smooth project starts months before demo. Primetime guides clients through prep steps that make a visible difference.
First, consolidate decisions. The longest delays happen when selections lag. Spend a few evenings narrowing your style. Build a small set of inspiration images that show consistent themes: wood tone, metal finish, tile pattern scale. You don’t need a designer’s vocabulary, just a feel. Primetime’s team translates that into product options within your allowance.
Second, think through living arrangements. A kitchen out of service for six weeks changes daily life. Some families set up a temporary kitchen with a microwave, toaster oven, and coffee maker in a dining room, plus a folding table for prep. Others plan a slightly longer project during a family vacation week to skip the noisiest days. Primetime helps sequence trades to minimize disruption, but a plan on your end makes it easier.
Third, define a decision-maker. Projects move faster when one or two people hold authority. If you want a broader group to weigh in, set deadlines so the schedule doesn’t slip while a fixture choice bounces in circles.
Fourth, protect valuables and declutter near the work area. Primetime covers and seals, but the less there is to move and work around, the faster the crew can perform and the lower the risk of incidental damage.
Finally, agree on communication. Daily text updates or twice-weekly calls both work; consistency is what matters. Primetime sets that cadence with you so surprises are rare.
Risks, Trade-Offs, and Honest Guidance
Every remodel has constraints. An old subfloor won’t always accept ultra-large format tile without expensive prep. An island you want might force awkward walkway clearances unless you rethink appliance placement. Opening a wall could reveal ductwork that’s hard to reroute. Primetime Remodels doesn’t gloss these over. They’ll present options with clear cost and timeline impacts, then recommend a route. Sometimes that means pivoting from a gas line extension to an induction range to avoid a months-long utility delay. Other times, it’s choosing a 30-inch range with better adjacent storage rather than cramming in a 36-inch unit that constricts traffic.
Budget trade-offs get spelled out in terms that matter. If you care about durability and daily feel, they’ll advise spending on cabinet construction, hardware, and counters, then picking a sensible backsplash rather than a statement stone that dominates the budget. If resale sits top of mind, they’ll steer toward classic finishes and functional upgrades like more lighting and better storage, which appraisers and buyers recognize.
The People Behind the Work
Process and pricing tell part of the story. The rest is people. On site, you’ll see lead carpenters who can swing a hammer and manage a day. That matters when a decision at 10 a.m. keeps a crew productive instead of waiting for the next meeting. Their subs tend to be steady partners rather than lowest-bid strangers, which builds the kind of shorthand that speeds coordination and reduces rework. Electricians and plumbers who know how the carpenters frame and vice versa produce cleaner rough-ins and fewer painful surprises at trim-out.
Back in the office, someone tracks orders, lead times, and deliveries with an eye for dependencies. For example, scheduling countertop templating only after cabinets are installed and shimmed to final position, or ensuring the fabricator has your sink and faucet on hand to set cutouts precisely. These are simple things, but they separate a clean install from a cascade of “almost right” fixes.
What Homeowners Say Between the Lines
Read enough reviews and you start to notice patterns. People mention finishing near the date originally promised, feeling informed about costs, and not being asked to make eleventh-hour choices without context. You’ll also see praise for small courtesies: crews arriving when they said they would, parking considerately, and leaving spaces workable each evening. If complaints arise, they tend to be about factors common across the industry, like backordered products. What matters is how a Remodeler Des Moines handles those hiccups. Primetime Remodels communicates early and presents alternatives. That temperament is worth as much as any product spec sheet.
When to Call and What to Bring
Reach out when you have a rough sense of scope and a budget window. You don’t need a full design, but knowing you want to remove a wall or keep the layout, upgrade fixtures or not, or finish 800 square feet versus the whole basement helps the first conversation be productive. Primetime Remodels will usually schedule an on-site visit, then provide a scoped estimate. From there, they’ll help you set a target start date that aligns with product lead times and your calendar.
If you’ve collected inspiration images, bring them. If you have survey documents, old plans, or any records of previous work, those help avoid surprises. And if there’s a hard deadline, like hosting family in November, say it up front. They’ll tell you whether it’s realistic and what choices keep you on track.
A Local Team You Can Reach
Contact Us
Primetime Remodels
Address: 6663 NW 5th St, Des Moines, IA 50313, United States
Phone: (515) 402-1699
If you prefer to start with a quick call, the team can answer whether your project fits their wheelhouse and what the next few weeks look like for site visits. For those who want to sanity-check a budget before diving in, they’ll provide ranges based on similar projects and refine once measurements and selections clarify scope.
The Bottom Line: Why Primetime Remodels Wins Repeat Work
It’s not just their ability to frame straight or lay tile with tight joints, though they do both well. It’s the consistency of the experience. Professional estimates. Schedules that respond to reality without falling apart. Crews who show respect for your home. Solutions grounded in the way Des Moines houses are built and the way Iowa seasons treat them. And a pattern of communication that keeps you in the loop without burying you in jargon.
If you’re scrolling through options for a Remodeler company, wondering which one will still pick up the phone after final payment, look for the builder whose process reads as carefully as their portfolio looks. Primetime Remodels fits that bill. They don’t promise perfection. They promise attention, craft, and accountability, which is about as close as remodeling gets.