Emerald Isle Construction is a locally owned remodeling contractor in Boise, Idaho, doing whole-home, kitchen, bathroom and basement remodels. One team handles the design, the City of Boise permit and inspection process, historic-district review where it applies, and the build, start to finish.
Boise homeowners search for a remodeling contractor, not a kitchen specialist, and that matches how the work actually arrives: a house that needs its plan opened up, a primary suite reconfigured, a basement turned into bedrooms, or a whole floor brought up to how a family lives now. We do all of it under one contract, with structural, plumbing, electrical and mechanical changes permitted through the City of Boise and inspected as the work goes.
Boise is the largest jurisdiction in the valley and it runs its own building department, its own code adoptions and its own historic-preservation review. Three things follow from that for anyone remodeling here, and each one moves the schedule.
The City of Boise’s Planning and Development Services handles residential permits through its online Permitting and Licensing System, with the Building Division at (208) 608-7070 on weekdays. The line between “cosmetic” and “permitted” is drawn tighter than in the surrounding towns. Paint, flooring, cabinets and countertops need no permit — until the work removes wall coverings to expose the framing, or moves a plumbing line, at which point it does. Replacing a fixture needs a plumbing permit. Adding a circuit needs an electrical permit. Moving a duct or a dryer vent needs a mechanical permit. Most real remodels touch at least one of those, which is why almost every job we do in Boise is permitted work. Anyone doing licensed-trade work who is not the homeowner must be a State of Idaho registered contractor licensed in that trade.
As of the City’s April 2024 adoption list, residential work is inspected to the 2018 International Residential Code, the 2018 International Existing Building Code, the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code, the 2017 Idaho State Plumbing Code and — adopted 26 April 2024 — the 2023 National Electrical Code. Two of those matter constantly in remodels. The IRC decides what a finished basement bedroom needs to be legal, including its emergency escape opening. The 2023 NEC is recent enough that panels and circuits added under it differ from what an electrician wired to the previous edition, and inspectors know the difference. See the City’s currently adopted codes.
Boise has ten historic districts — the North End, East End, Hyde Park, Harrison Boulevard, Hays Street, Warm Springs Avenue, Old Boise, South Eighth Street, East Main Street and Spaulding Ranch. They are also where the city’s older housing sits, which makes them where a lot of remodel candidates are. The City is direct about the rule: most exterior changes in the historic districts need a Certificate of Appropriateness — window replacement, siding, additions, porches, decks, fencing, accessory structures over 120 square feet. Minor work is reviewed by staff, who have 15 days; major work goes to a hearing. Either way there is a 10-day appeal period after the decision before a building permit can be pulled. Interior-only work is not subject to it. On a North End remodel that touches the outside, that is close to a month added before construction can start, and we schedule for it rather than discover it. See the City’s Certificate of Appropriateness page.
According to the City of Boise’s homeowner’s guide, a building permit is required to:
Trade permits sit alongside those: plumbing when a fixture is replaced, electrical when wiring is added, mechanical when a vent or duct is added, replaced or relocated.
These reflect the City’s published guidance at the time of writing. Thresholds and code editions change; we confirm current requirements with Planning and Development Services on every project.
Because we know which wall can move and which cannot before anyone falls in love with a drawing, which rooms need a permit and which do not, and whether an address sits inside a historic district before the schedule is set. We are locally owned, Boise is our home market, and we work across the Treasure Valley from here.
And we will tell you the truth about a job before we start it — including when a change is not worth what it costs to make.
A selection of recent interior remodeling projects. Tap any image to view it larger.
For most real remodels, yes. Moving walls, finishing a basement, changing a window or door opening, and re-roofing all need a building permit. Paint, flooring, cabinets and countertops do not — unless the work exposes framing or moves plumbing. Fixture replacement needs a plumbing permit, new wiring an electrical permit, duct changes a mechanical permit. We pull them and book the inspections; you do not have to.
Judge any of us the same way: an Idaho-registered contractor with individually licensed trades, who pulls City of Boise permits rather than working around them, and who can tell you which code edition the inspector is checking against. We do whole homes, kitchens, bathrooms and basements under one contract, and we handle the permit, code and historic-district process on every job. If you want a real answer about a specific house, get in touch.
The 2018 IRC, IEBC, IECC, IMC and IFGC, the 2017 Idaho State Plumbing Code, and since April 2024 the 2023 NEC. The IRC governs what a below-grade bedroom needs; the 2023 NEC governs every new circuit.
Only if the property is in one of the ten districts and the work changes the exterior. Then a Certificate of Appropriateness comes first: 15-day staff review for minor work, a hearing for major, and a 10-day appeal period before the building permit can be pulled. Interior-only work is not reviewed. We check the district map before design.
It depends on scope, plan review, and whether historic review applies — which alone can add close to a month before construction starts. We do not quote a duration here because a schedule without a scope is a guess. We set a real one after design and build the city’s inspection windows into it.
We bring interior remodeling to homeowners all over the valley. Find your city to see how we can help right where you live.
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