Berthoud home remodeling means working in a small town with a strong sense of its own history. Berthoud lies mostly in Larimer County, with a portion in Weld County, south of Loveland. This page covers the Town's own building department and contractor licensing, the historic downtown along Mountain Avenue, and the contrast between those older blocks and the newer golf community at Heron Lakes.
Berthoud Runs Its Own Building Department
Inside town limits, the Town of Berthoud's Building Department issues residential permits for remodels, additions, decks, basement finishes and major repairs such as roof replacement. Contractors must be licensed with the Town before they can pull a permit, and that license is separate from any license held in Loveland or Fort Collins.
Berthoud has also adopted recent code editions, including the 2024 International Residential Code and 2024 International Energy Conservation Code. Newer energy codes can raise insulation, air sealing and duct requirements when a remodel opens exterior walls or adds conditioned space, so the edition in force is worth confirming with the Town while the drawings are still flexible.
Remodeling Near Berthoud's Historic Downtown
Berthoud has a large number of historic buildings along Mountain Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue, the main business streets. Many buildings in the Berthoud Commercial Historic District on Mountain Avenue were landmarked in 2008, and the Town's Historic Preservation Advisory Committee, formed in 2002, advises the Town on preservation. The Mountain Avenue Corridor Overlay Plan divides the avenue into sections and guides the character of new development along it.
The residential blocks near downtown hold Berthoud's oldest houses. Remodeling them brings the predictable findings of age: lead paint in pre-1978 homes, plaster walls, older wiring and floors that have settled out of level. Many have been added onto more than once. We'd rather trace the old exterior walls during design, because a former outside wall buried in the middle of a house often carries load and old wiring. If the house is on or near Mountain Avenue, ask the Town early whether any design guidance applies to exterior changes.
Remodeling Homes Across Berthoud's Neighborhoods
Berthoud's housing falls into a few distinct groups:
- The historic downtown blocks around Mountain Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue
- Heron Lakes, a master-planned golf and lake community on the west side, built around TPC Colorado
- Newer subdivisions on the edges of town
Heron Lakes houses are recent, often mountain contemporary or modern farmhouse in style, and range from villas and townhomes to custom homes. Remodels there are about refinement: a kitchen remodel in Berthoud that fits how the owners actually cook, or basement finishing in a Heron Lakes home. HOA design review applies to exterior work.
If your house is in the older blocks near downtown
Then plan for lead-safe work practices and a thorough look at wiring and framing before design.
If you live in Heron Lakes
Then read the community's design guidelines before planning any exterior change.
If your parcel is on the Weld County side or outside town limits
Then confirm whether the Town or the county issues the permit.
Where Berthoud Fits in Northern Colorado
For the regional picture, see our Northern Colorado service area page. To the north, Loveland runs its own municipal utility and historic survey, and our remodeling process explains how we sort out permits, review and design in the right order.
Thinking about an older home near Mountain Avenue or a newer one at Heron Lakes? Ask us about your Berthoud remodel