Permits and licensing
In Indianapolis, the permit is the contractor's job
The City is plain about it: when you hire a contractor, the contractor applies for and gets the permits, and for permitted work you should hire only licensed, listed or registered contractors. That's us. We hold Marion County general contractor license GL1900213, and we're licensed and insured.
For a remodel, the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services asks for a floor plan with a legend of all proposed work, the rooms labeled and the smoke detectors located. Alex draws that floor plan at the start of every design, so the drawing the City needs already exists by the time we apply.
- BNS licenses contractors working in the Consolidated City of Indianapolis, which leaves out the excluded cities of Lawrence, Beech Grove, Speedway and Southport.
- You can check any contractor yourself on the City's licensed contractor lists or in the Citizen Access Portal.
- In a locally protected historic district, the checklist adds a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission when the work is on the exterior.
What we build in Indianapolis
Historic houses, honest surprises and a plan before demolition
A bathroom in an Arts and Crafts house in Irvington or a Lockerbie Square home has often been remodeled once or twice already, by different people with different standards. Plaster walls, older drain lines and floors that have settled out of level are common in houses like these. None of that stops a remodel. It just means we plan for it, price what we can see, and tell you the same day if opening a wall turns up something we couldn't.
The work itself is what we do across the metro: the old tub or shower out and a custom tile shower in, a freestanding tub where the room allows one, a new vanity, countertop, faucet, mirrors and lighting, a tile or LVP floor, and new drywall and paint. In a small hall bath, a tub-to-shower conversion often buys the most room. Every finish is picked with Alex before demo, at our vendors, so the estimate doesn't lean on allowances.
Budget discipline counts for a lot in this city, which has the lowest median home value of our nine places. Every estimate starts with mid-line, cost-efficient materials, and Alex shows you what each step up adds before you take it, so the money lands on the parts of the room you use every day. That's the return we plan for: across the remodeling projects in NAR's survey, 64% of owners said they wanted to be in their home more once the work was done.
- Older-home bathroom remodelsPlaster, out-of-level floors and past remodels, planned for up front.
- Tile showers by a tile setterCustom tile is where Jordan got his name.
- Hall bath conversionsA cramped tub alcove opened into a walk-in shower.
- Indianapolis kitchensLayouts, cabinets and islands from the same designer-builder pair.
- Design and renderingsThe floor plan BNS asks for, plus mood boards and 3D views.
From our Google reviews
“He never tried to cover up problems”
Chris and his wife hired us for a kitchen, not a bathroom, and the review is from our Google profile rather than a specific Indianapolis address. We put it here because older houses are where early, honest problem reports matter most.
See every Google reviewJordan and Alex designed and remodeled our kitchen 1.5 years ago now. … Two things stand out to me during the construction process: the constant communication which helped manage our expectations, and the early identification of problems and issues. He never tried to cover up problems, instead came right to us with it, gave us an honest assessment of it, and provided options to figure out the best fix.
Indianapolis FAQ
What Indianapolis homeowners ask a remodel contractor
Homes in Indianapolis
Indianapolis homes and what a remodel gives back, sourced
- Median home value: $224,800
- The Census Bureau's 2020-2024 estimate for owner-occupied homes in Indianapolis city (balance). Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, table B25077
- A 9.8 Joy Score for bathrooms
- NAR's 2025 Remodeling Impact Report gave a bathroom renovation a Joy Score of 9.8 out of 10, built from the share of owners who were happy and satisfied with the finished project. Source: NAR 2025 Remodeling Impact Report
- 64% want to be home more
- Across all projects in NAR's 2025 Remodeling Impact Report, 64% of owners have a greater desire to be in their home after remodeling. Source: NAR 2025 Remodeling Impact Report
- Protected historic districts
- Lockerbie Square, the oldest surviving neighborhood in the city; Irvington, with more blocks of brick streets than any other and its Arts and Crafts houses; and the Old Northside are all IHPC districts. Source: City of Indianapolis, historic and conservation districts
- Altering a house takes a permit
- BNS requires a structural permit when an existing structure is altered, unless the work is exempt under Sec. 536-201 of the Building Standards and Procedures. Source: City of Indianapolis, residential permit checklist
Home base, and the eight places beyond it
Our office sits on the west side near Eagle Creek Park, one of the nation's largest city parks, and we work in Indianapolis neighborhoods from the Old Northside to the Geist shore. Outside the city, our list runs to Brownsburg, where we started, Zionsville and Whitestown in Boone County, Carmel, Westfield, Fishers and Noblesville in Hamilton County, and the lake communities of Geist.
More for Indianapolis homeowners
Indianapolis consultations
Get both of us at your Indianapolis house
Your designer and your contractor arrive together, measure the room and hear what you'd change. You get a rough number on the spot, and later you can visit our Indy Ct office for the full design presentation.
- (317) 809-1577, Mon to Sat, 7 AM to 8 PM
- jordan@interiorsmith.com