General Contractor in Atlanta: 2026 Remodel Costs, Permits and Vetted Pros

What a remodel costs in Atlanta

These ranges start from national remodeling data and apply the Atlanta Area cost factor of 0.85 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They cover labor, materials and the general contractor's markup for a typical single-family home.

Estimates for 2026, including labor and standard parts. Atlanta prices use the metro's construction cost factor of 0.85 (US average = 1.00) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Area Cost Factors. Your quote depends on access, materials and the condition of the home.

Atlanta bids often land below the national average because construction costs here run lower than in coastal metros. The age of the house also raises the quote. Decatur's median home dates to 1975 and nearly a quarter of its housing was built before 1940, so a kitchen remodel there can turn into a rewire and a re-plumb once the walls open. Alpharetta and much of Gwinnett were mostly built after 1990, so the work is more often cosmetic.

The cost estimator gives a figure based on your ZIP code and scope. National averages by room are in our home remodeling cost guide.

Additions and basement finishes

A second-story addition in DeKalb County needs an Engineer's Letter from a Georgia-licensed engineer describing the existing structure and foundation and confirming it can carry the new construction, after a site inspection. The letter is a line item in the budget and comes before plan review.

What the general contractor's share pays for

The GC's markup covers scheduling the trades, buying materials, pulling permits, meeting inspectors, carrying insurance and fixing what goes wrong between trades. A typical markup runs 10% to 20% of construction cost, and you pay that share when you hire a GC instead of four separate trades.

What a general contractor does, and when Georgia requires one

A general contractor runs a project that involves several trades. A typical Atlanta whole-house remodel needs demolition, framing, plumbing, electrical, drywall, cabinets, tile and paint. The GC hires and sequences those trades so the electrician does not wait on the framer and the tile setter does not work over an uninspected drain.

Georgia licenses this work through the State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors under O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 41. The threshold depends on the dollar value of the work, not on the type of project:

• A residential contractor is anyone doing residential-basic or residential-light commercial work where the total value of the work or the compensation, whichever is higher, exceeds $2,500.
• Residential-basic means detached one-family and two-family homes and one-family townhouses up to three stories, plus their accessory structures.
• Residential-light commercial adds multifamily and light commercial buildings under four stories and under 25,000 square feet.
• A general contractor license is unlimited as to the type of work.

A residential or general contractor may put electrical, plumbing, conditioned air or low-voltage work in the contract, but that work has to be done by a person licensed under Chapter 14, the trade boards. In practice your GC holds the residential or general license and hires licensed electricians, plumbers and HVAC contractors.

The $2,500 rule and what happens without a license

Licensing has been enforceable since July 1, 2008. A contract signed on or after that date by a contractor who lacked the required license cannot be enforced by that contractor in law or in equity, and the unlicensed contractor has no lien or bond claim. Check the license before you sign.

There is a narrow repair exemption. An unlicensed person may do repair work for an owner if they tell the owner in writing that they do not hold a license and the work does not affect the structural integrity of the property. A remodel does not qualify as a repair.

Specialty trade contractors are exempt from the residential and general contractor license and may do incidental other work up to the greater of $10,000 or 25% of the contract value. A Chapter 14 trade licensee may take incidental non-trade work within the same limit.

Owner-builder

An owner may build or remodel a structure for use solely by the owner and family, not for sale or lease, acting as their own contractor. If they sold such a building within the prior 24 months they lose the exemption. All work still has to meet codes, permits and inspections. If you act as your own GC on a whole-house remodel, you schedule the trades, meet the inspectors and carry the risk.

Do you need a permit?

Almost any remodel in metro Atlanta needs a permit. Who issues the permit depends on where the house sits. Inside a city, the city issues permits. In unincorporated areas the county does. Check the parcel's jurisdiction before you design anything. DeKalb and Marietta both warn about this on their permit pages.

City of Atlanta

All permit types go through the Accela Citizen portal, except Express permits, which are accepted only in person. The Residential Permits Division handles additions, basement and attic build-outs, conversions, interior and exterior alterations and interior demolition. Walk-in service for residential additions and alterations under 1,500 square feet runs Monday to Friday, 8:15 AM to 3:00 PM, at 55 Trinity Ave. SW.

Since June 25, 2025, every applicant whose project may affect trees must hold an arborist meeting with Office of Buildings Arborist Plan Review staff before applying. This applies to more remodels than people expect, because a rear addition often means a tree comes down or a root zone gets disturbed.

The minimum permit cost is around $175 including a $25 technology fee, and permits that need plan review pay 50% of the total building permit fee up front. Building permit fees run $7.00 per $1,000 of valuation, with valuation from the ICC Building Valuation Data table. Interior alterations without engineered structural work are valued at 20% of new-construction value, and with structural engineering at 40%.

Work exempt from a permit includes any repair under $10,000 total valuation, replacing kitchen or bath cabinets and countertops without moving outlets, appliances or plumbing fixtures, interior doors, drywall up to three sheets, floor and wall coverings, and painting. In a landmark or historic district under Chapter 20 of the zoning ordinance, those exemptions do not apply to exterior work. Only repair work under $2,500 needs no certificate of appropriateness or permit.

The Office of Buildings will not issue a building permit unless a notarized Contractor License Affidavit or an Affidavit Concerning Exception to Contractor Licensing Requirements is on file.

Cobb County and Marietta

Cobb County changed how it calculates permit fees on July 1, 2024, under House Bill 461. Fees now include factors beyond job costs. One- and two-family building permit fees are $6.00 per $1,000 of estimated construction cost using ICC Building Valuation Data, and a $100 site plan review fee applies to additions, decks, pools and accessory structures. Trade permits for electrical, plumbing, HVAC or gas cost $80, and a $15 technology fee applies to all permit types. Building without a permit carries a penalty of double the permit fee, up to $1,000.

Cobb also lets applicants use approved third-party providers for plan review and inspections under House Bill 493, but the choice has to be made when applying. Permits obtained through the standard process cannot use third-party inspections.

In the City of Marietta, a permit is needed to build, enlarge, alter, repair or demolish a building or install or alter any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system. Painting, flooring and fencing do not need one. The homeowner residential permit fee is $5 per $1,000 of total construction cost with a $50 base fee and no plan review fee. Homeowners cannot apply for mechanical, electrical or plumbing permits; the license holder must apply.

DeKalb County

DeKalb adopted the 2024 ICC codes effective January 1, 2026. For permitting, residential means single-family detached homes and duplexes only. Everything else is commercial. The minimum permit fees total $245, made up of a $195 minimum permit fee and a $50 certificate of occupancy or completion fee. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing permits must be submitted by a licensed contractor in that trade.

Finishing a basement requires a to-scale sketch showing two means of egress. An addition within 75 feet of a stream has to comply with the DeKalb County Stream Buffer Ordinance. Homes on septic need Board of Health authorization for any addition. Before the certificate of occupancy, all disturbed areas need at least 90% vegetative cover.

Gwinnett County and Lawrenceville

Gwinnett issues building permits for unincorporated Gwinnett through its ZIP Portal. No permit is needed for cosmetic work such as painting, new flooring, cabinets or vinyl siding, or for storage buildings of 120 square feet or less. The City of Lawrenceville issues its own permits through the Licensing, Permits, and Plans Portal, and a new structure that needs a water or sewer connection first needs a Gwinnett Department of Water Resources connection permit.

Sandy Springs

A residential building permit is required whenever an owner constructs, alters, enlarges or repairs a building or accessory structure. Cosmetic work such as painting or carpeting does not need one, and detached structures under 120 square feet are exempt from the permit though they may still be subject to the development code. Applications go through the Build Sandy Springs portal, and paying fees by card adds a 5% processing fee. Each resubmission starts a new plan review round that may take about 3 to 10 business days, and a $200 resubmittal fee is assessed on the third resubmission.

State codes and inspections

Georgia's current mandatory codes are the 2024 IRC, IBC, IPC, IMC, IFGC and IFC with Georgia amendments, the 2023 National Electrical Code with Georgia amendments, and the 2015 IECC with Georgia supplements for energy. The 2024 ICC editions took effect January 1, 2026. Inspections run in stages: foundation and footing, framing and rough-in before anything is covered, and final when the work is done. Keep the approved plans and permit card on site. DeKalb will not proceed with an inspection if the permit is not posted in a box and visible.

Additions, basements and what the site throws at you

Setbacks, lot coverage and trees

Zoning sets the setbacks and lot coverage, and each city runs its own development code. Sandy Springs reviews applications against the International Building Codes, state environmental requirements and the Sandy Springs Development Code. Properties within 2,000 feet of the Chattahoochee River banks sit in the river corridor, which can affect what you can build. In Atlanta, the arborist meeting comes before the application.

Red clay and drainage

Georgia red clay, the Cecil soil series, is dominated by kaolinite clay, which does not shrink and swell greatly the way some other clays do. The practical issue is water. Clay holds it and sheds runoff toward foundations. Footing drains, grading away from the house and gutter discharge matter on an addition. Cobb County's Erosion Control Division enforces sediment and erosion rules on residential sites and inspects complaints and building sites.

Termites

Georgia sits in what UGA Extension calls the termite belt, and the yard of most Georgia homes holds one or more subterranean termite colonies. Swarmers fly most commonly from February to April. Any remodel that opens a crawlspace or replaces sill plates is a good time to look for mud tubes and get a treatment. Structural pest control contracts are required in Georgia, and the Georgia Department of Agriculture's Structural Pest Division will inspect if a termite letter is incomplete or a company disagrees.

Lead paint in older homes

Companies doing renovation, repair and painting that disturbs lead-based paint in homes built before 1978 must be certified through Georgia EPD, use certified renovators and follow lead-safe work practices. Georgia runs its own program and does not accept EPA certifications. Decatur's housing stock makes this apply to most of its remodels.

Historic districts and HOAs

In Atlanta's historic and landmark districts, exterior work needs a certificate of appropriateness from the Urban Design Commission or Office of Design staff before the building permit. The City's Property Info map shows whether a property carries historic or landmark zoning. In the suburbs, check your HOA covenants before exterior work. Many Gwinnett, Cobb and north Fulton subdivisions require architectural approval.

Contracts and payments in Georgia

Georgia does not cap remodeling deposits, so the contract itself is your protection. The law does give you these protections:

• An unlicensed contractor's contract is unenforceable by that contractor, and the contractor has no lien rights.
• A mechanics lien must be filed in the superior court clerk's office of the county where the property sits within 90 days after completion of the work or delivery of materials, and a copy must reach the owner within two business days of filing.
• Lien rights cannot be waived before labor or materials are furnished. Any advance waiver is void, and waivers must follow the statutory forms.
• Ask for the statutory lien waiver with each payment. Keep every change order in writing with the price before the work is done.

Our guide to paying a contractor covers milestone schedules and lien waivers.

Areas we cover

GOLDGCP matches homeowners with licensed remodeling contractors across the Atlanta metro, including these cities:

• Atlanta
• Marietta
• Alpharetta
• Sandy Springs
• Decatur
• Roswell
• Lawrenceville

Enter your ZIP code to see local prices and contractors who serve your area.