Long Island is not one housing market. It is a patchwork of incorporated villages, towns and a few small cities, each with its own building department, its own rules and its own idea of what a permit takes. A kitchen remodel in a Garden City colonial runs through different paperwork than an addition in Levittown, a dock-side refresh in Freeport or an outbuilding in Huntington. That is why a ZIP code list alone is not enough, and why this guide pairs every area with a note on what the housing and jurisdiction mean for your project.
Below you will find every Nassau and Suffolk community N.Y. Renovation Services serves, grouped by area, plus an overview of permits, licensing, flood zones and 2026 planning costs. Prices are typical planning ranges as of October 2026, and a written, itemized quote always governs.
We serve all of Nassau County and the western part of Suffolk County, with the South Shore, the Five Towns, the central Nassau villages, the North Shore and the Town of Oyster Bay forming the core. Smithtown, Brookhaven and Southampton are farther out, and we take larger projects there by arrangement. We do not promise fast turnarounds in those areas, but we welcome the call.
Most Long Island clients fall into one of four groups:
If you also own a city property, our companion pages cover the NYC ZIP codes we serve and the New Jersey ZIP codes near NYC.
The South Shore is the most flood-sensitive part of the island and also home to some of its most renovation-ready housing. Ranches and capes dominate, many with finished basements, attached garages and decades of cumulative additions.
Long Beach sits on a barrier island, where flood-zone elevation rules shape what you can do to a first floor, basement or detached garage. Freeport, Baldwin, Oceanside, Merrick and Massapequa include waterfront pockets or canal-front streets where flood-resistant materials may be required for substantial work. Valley Stream, Lynbrook and Rockville Centre are villages with their own building departments, and Rockville Centre mixes colonials with co-ops. Levittown, East Meadow, Bellmore and Wantagh were built from post-war plans that homeowners have altered for generations, so existing conditions often differ from the original plans and drawings must match what is actually there. If you live in Rockville Centre, see our local page on Rockville Centre renovation contractors, and for Levittown see Levittown renovation contractors.
The Five Towns area on the Nassau-Queens border includes some of the island's largest colonials and waterfront estates.
Large colonials mean large budgets and larger surface areas for painting, flooring and tile. Many homes combine formal entertaining space with finished lower levels, so kitchens, baths and basements often get renovated together. Hewlett has flood-zone pockets, and Lawrence includes large waterfront homes, so elevation and moisture planning matter. Scheduling can also hinge on holiday calendars, which is a reason to plan early. Because floor areas are large, flooring and painting scopes often become the largest line items, and an itemized quote helps you compare square-foot pricing between bids.
Central Nassau is where village rules matter most.
Garden City is a Village with strict village permits and large colonials, so expect a thorough review of drawings and materials. Floral Park has Tudor and colonial homes with period details worth preserving. Mineola mixes capes with co-ops, which means board approvals in addition to village permits. New Hyde Park has capes, ranches and co-ops. Westbury and Farmingdale are villages with their own building offices. In each, the village or town, not the county, issues the permit and runs the inspections.
North of the Long Island Expressway, lot sizes grow and so do project budgets.
Great Neck, Manhasset, Port Washington and Roslyn combine large houses with co-ops, historic homes and waterfront settings. Roslyn has historic homes where original details are worth keeping. Port Washington has flood-zone pockets near the water. Sea Cliff has Victorian cottages on steep lots, where access and drainage affect cost. Glen Cove is a city with waterfront homes. Oyster Bay, Hicksville, Plainview, Syosset and Jericho fall under the Town of Oyster Bay, where colonials and ranches on large lots are common, and where one town's procedures apply across several ZIP codes. Our Manhasset page covers that community in more detail.
Suffolk County adds longer driving distances, bigger lots and more waterfront.
The south-shore villages of Amityville, Babylon and Lindenhurst include canal-front homes and flood pockets. Bay Shore and Islip are in the Town of Islip, with waterfront and colonial homes. Deer Park has ranches and capes in the Town of Babylon. Huntington and Northport have historic and waterfront homes, including waterfront Victorians in Northport. Commack has colonials and ranches. Smithtown, Brookhaven and Southampton are farther out, and we take larger projects there by arrangement, particularly estates and seasonal homes.
Building permits on Long Island come from the town, village or city building department where the property sits. That could be Garden City, the Town of Hempstead, the Town of Oyster Bay, Huntington or a smaller village. Always verify specifics with the municipality.
| Jurisdiction type | Examples | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Incorporated village | Garden City, Rockville Centre, Floral Park, Freeport | Own building department and procedures; often stricter design review |
| Town (unincorporated areas) | Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Huntington, Islip | Town building department; applications vary by hamlet |
| City | Glen Cove, Long Beach | Municipal building department and its own code process |
| Condo or co-op | Great Neck, Mineola | Board approval in addition to the municipality |
Nassau and Suffolk counties require home improvement contractor licensing through county consumer affairs. The Nassau County and Suffolk County websites are the starting point for verifying a license. Ask each contractor for the license number, then check it. If the permit application asks who the contractor is, the name and license should match your contract.
Structural changes, additions, new bathrooms, electrical and plumbing work, new decks and most gut renovations typically need permits. Cosmetic work such as painting generally does not. If you are not sure, Do I Need a Permit? is a good first stop, followed by a call to your building department. Our Long Island gut renovation guide explains the permit sequence for larger projects.
Moisture is the main Long Island renovation problem that does not appear on a drawing.
Many south-shore and canal-front parcels sit in FEMA flood zones. Elevation requirements and flood-resistant material rules may apply, especially when the cost of work crosses a municipal threshold. Verify the mapped zone and requirements with your municipality before you design a basement, a ground-floor kitchen or an addition.
Salt air and humidity also shorten exterior paint cycles for waterfront houses in Lawrence, Port Washington, Bay Shore and Lindenhurst.
| Scope | Typical planning range |
|---|---|
| Cosmetic refresh | $100 – $250 per sq ft |
| Mid renovation with kitchen and bath | $200 – $400 per sq ft |
| Full gut renovation | $250 – $500+ per sq ft |
| Bathroom full renovation | $30,000 – $60,000+ |
| Kitchen full renovation | $25,000 – $85,000+ |
| Hardwood installed | $12 – $28 per sq ft |
| Tile floors installed | $20 – $45 per sq ft |
| Exterior painting, smaller house | $4,000 – $12,000 |
| Exterior painting, larger or masonry | $12,000 – $30,000+ |
Design, engineering and permit fees often add about 15 to 25 percent. Access, hazardous materials, finish level and scope change prices. These are not quotes. The NYC renovation cost guide for 2026 gives more detail, and the Renovation ROI Calculator helps weigh spend against resale value in a market where kitchens and baths matter at sale time.
Long Island projects fail in a predictable way: someone starts without the right permit, the building department finds out, and the work stops. Fixing that can mean new drawings, double fees and demolition of work that was already paid for. A neighbor's complaint is enough.
A licensed, insured contractor reduces that risk. County licensing signals accountability. A written scope and itemized pricing prevent scope creep. And an in-house crew means one team is responsible for sequencing, protection and cleanup.
N.Y. Renovation Services designs and builds in-house, from blueprints to the final coat of paint. We prepare or coordinate permit paperwork with a registered design professional where one is required, we schedule inspections, and we test for hazardous materials before demolition in older homes. For south-shore flood-zone jobs, we ask about elevation and material rules early so you do not buy flooring that cannot be used.
Our focus areas fit Long Island housing well. Gut renovation and demolition for post-war capes and ranches. Tile and waterproofing for baths, kitchens and basements. Flooring for large colonials. Interior and exterior painting that withstands salt and weather. Add basements, additions and kitchens and baths on the same contract.
Consider the typical cost of cutting corners here. A basement finished without a permit can surface at sale, when a buyer's attorney asks for a certificate, and the fix may mean opening walls. A bathroom tiled without a waterproofing membrane can rot the framing beneath it, and repairs often cost several times the price of doing it right. A deck or addition built without a plan can be ordered removed. These are the problems a handyman rarely mentions in a quote, and they are the ones a licensed team is hired to avoid.
For owners who plan to sell within a few years, the order of operations matters too. Kitchens, baths and flooring tend to carry the most weight with buyers, and clean paint with fresh trim makes a house photograph better. We can help you choose which of those to do first and which to leave alone, based on the house you actually have rather than a generic checklist.
We keep prices transparent and communication regular, and 5% of the total project cost is donated to a nonprofit of the client's choice. A few specifics help you compare us with other bids. Our quotes name the number of coats, the tile and flooring allowances, the demolition and debris carting, the permit support we provide and the cleanup. If something changes after the walls open, we write the change down and agree on the price before we proceed. If the town requires a design professional's drawings, we say so in the quote instead of after you sign. N.Y. Renovation Services would rather lose a job over honest pricing than win it with a number that changes later.
Ready to see what that looks like for your house? Our free estimate form takes about two minutes. For kitchens, our kitchen remodeling page shows what we typically include, and our guide to hiring a renovation contractor lists the questions to ask any bidder.
If your town is on the list above, we serve it. If it is nearby but not listed, ask. We would rather confirm than guess.
Start with the quote request form. Include your address, whether you own a house, co-op or condo, the year the house was built if you know it, and a short description of what you want done. You can also call or text (347) 455-1741, Monday through Saturday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
You will receive a walk-through, an itemized written quote and plain answers on permits, flood rules, timing and cost, whether the house is a South Shore cape, a Five Towns colonial, a North Shore estate or a Suffolk waterfront home. We also tell you honestly when a project is better phased over two seasons, when a smaller scope will do, or when a project in a farther town is best taken by arrangement. When you are ready to move, N.Y. Renovation Services will line up the paperwork and the crew.