General Contracting in Arlington

Two very different housing eras sit inside the 98223 zip code. Downtown Arlington near the Stillaguamish River has Craftsman bungalows from the 1930s through the 1950s. Open a wall and you find knob-and-tube wiring. Post-and-pier foundations need evaluation before finish work starts. Out toward Smokey Point, the 1990s-2000s subdivisions are hitting the 30-year mark. KitchenAid range hood rough-ins and bathroom overhauls in those homes need Snohomish County PDS permits before the first framer arrives.

Arlington splits into two building worlds. The older core along Olympic Avenue NE and Division Street — homes from the 1920s through the 1950s — has balloon-frame walls. No vapor barrier in the crawlspaces. Galvanized supply lines that corrode from the inside out. Hardie cement-board siding replacements come up often once water damage appears behind original cedar shakes on north-facing walls. The area pulls in 37 inches of rain a year. That moisture hides behind finishes until demo day. Legion Memorial Park sits a few blocks from some of the oldest housing stock in downtown Arlington. Streets like 3rd Street NE and Burke Avenue have homes that routinely surprise contractors mid-project. Sister joist and rim joist repairs are common mid-demo finds in that area. North-facing walls near the old downtown core show moss and rot faster than anything in the Smokey Point subdivisions. Unincorporated parcels outside Arlington city limits go through Snohomish County PDS. Plan review on a kitchen addition or structural remodel runs 6-10 weeks. Inside city limits, Arlington Community Development handles permitting. Different submittal process, different inspection schedule — confusing if you haven't done it before. Out along Highway 9 toward Silvana and the Cascade foothills, rural residential lots add setback and FAR calculations that trip up contractors unfamiliar with Snohomish County's unincorporated rules. Freeze-thaw cycles run hard from November through March in this corridor. Footings, deck ledger boards, and ground-contact PT lumber need to meet IRC requirements for that exposure — not just what passes a quick visual check.