OUR BLOG

  Customers often find the drywall phase the most uncomfortable phase of any project. Drywall is dusty, and it gets everywhere. In the case of our Mt. Airy kitchen, the clients were smart to avoid this process by scheduling a short trip out of town. The upside? This is also an exciting period in any project. Once customers can see the walls, they can begin to picture the finished project in "real space." Our next tasks are to get the in-floor heating installed and the new level floor poured. After that, we are into paint, trim, counters, tile, and cabinets: the shiny bits! Be sure to visit our facebook page for regular updates and photos on this project. Revisit previous updates on this project: Step 1: Planning Step 2: Demolition Step 3: Insulation and Framing Step 4: Prepping for Inspection Step 5: Pre-Closing

  This week is all about framing, wiring, plumbing, and HVAC rough-ins. These items must be 100% complete before our Mt. Airy kitchen's scheduled mid-week inspections. after which we will seal the walls with insulation and drywall. It's always an exciting time to see the design plans taking shape, but as you can imagine, this is also a very time-sensitive period of the job. If even one sub or work phase is late, it can bump other sections of the job and potentially affect the completion date. Because we are the general contractor on this project, our own crew members are working hard to ensure they are ready for each subcontractor as their turn in the schedule comes up. Note that the panoramic view of this photo adds a curve to the appearance of the ceiling frame. In reality, it is perfectly straight! Be sure to visit our facebook page[...]

  There are many things happening this week in our Mt. Airy kitchen remodel as we prepare for inspection. This will require a lot of coordinating between the clients, all of our vendors, the design team, and the production team. We will all have to keep our "eyes on the ball." Here is a snapshot of our plans for the week ahead: Completion of mechanical and electrical rough-ins scheduling of inspection Finishing the exterior holes for the new oven vent completion of final framing work On-site measurements for the custom cabinetry Finalization of customer selections and placing final order items Once we are inspected and approved to close, we'll finish the insulation and then move on to drywall. Be sure to visit our facebook page for regular updates and photos on this project. Revisit previous updates on this project: Step 1: Planning Step 2: Demolition Step 3: Insulation and Framing

    As you can see, we are now well into the demolition phase of our project house in Mt. Airy. This is when all of the "old stuff" in the room is removed, and we get prepped for construction. These images show the plastic and plywood barriers our crew has installed to help protect the rest of the house from the inevitable dust and debris that results from demolition. Because the house was built in the 1920s, the EPAs RRP/Lead Safe Remodeling Rules apply here, as they do to any house built before 1978. The plastic is 4 mm+, and we use plenty of duct tape to seal all around the doorway and the floor. All of the other doorways and A/C outlets in the kitchen will also be taped up and covered with plastic, as well. This is because all the plaster and the trim on the walls[...]

As you'll recall, we recently started a master bathroom renovation in an early 1800s-era home on a historic street in Philadelphia. At this point, the wiring, plumbing, and framing are complete, the work to this stage has been inspected, and we are in the process of closing up the floors and walls. Today, the radiant floor heating will get wired, and our carpenter, Chris, will apply the floor-leveling compound over that. Next, we'll be ready to install the 12 x 24-inch metallic porcelain tile! We can't wait to see how amazing it looks. The client can now start to visualize what the room is going to look like in the end. Stay tuned; we'll be posting "after" photos when this project is complete.