OUR BLOG
OUR BLOG
Check out what’s happening with Myers Constructs as well as the latest news and trends in home renovation.
City Paper Features Myers Constructs Project
We're pleased to have one of our recent projects — a Roxborough his and hers art studio — showcased in the City Paper blog The Great Indoors. Read the article here.
Video Clip: Tamara Myers Interview
Tamara, who serves as Chair of the Membership Committee for the DelChester chapter of NARI, recently sat down with NARI's Morgan Zenner at the National NARI 2012 CotY judging to discuss Myers Constructs, and the role NARI membership and certification plays within the company. Watch it here.
Project Slideshow: Center City Kitchen Upgrade
With their five children grown and leaving the nest, our clients in this Center City rowhome are preparing for the next stage of their lives — and those plans include a brand new kitchen to replace the 30-year-old builder grade space they had been using. The clients wanted newer, more savvy appliances and fixtures, as well as a room that would accommodate their changing lifestyle, which includes entertaining their grown children and extended families. Even though the footprint of the kitchen was on the smaller side, they needed to max out its performance! After removing everything from the old kitchen, we ran all new wiring and vented the oven hood exhaust to the outside (something the original builder had failed to do). We then installed Euro-styled flat-panel cabinets in a dark wood stain, along with new Bosch appliances that the homeowners had selected. We replaced the old kitchen floor with[...]
Updated Project Slideshow: East Falls Kitchen Renovation
This home is a lovely, large 1920s stone single in East Falls. The homeowners, who are now "empty nesters," asked us to renovate their large kitchen, laundry, and breakfast areas at the rear of the house. They felt that these rooms, last remodeled in the late 1970s, were very cold and poorly designed and fitted. In talking to the clients, we learned that they planned to live in this home for many more years before considering selling. We also discovered that they often entertain their children and grandchildren, so it was important to have room for everyone, even though moving walls would not be possible. The couple wanted traditionally styled, long-lasting, high-quality materials in their new spaces. Our designers' first step was reorganizing the layout inside the existing walls for maximum comfort and use and reconfiguring the spaces for better circulation. They selected cabinetry that better fit the minimal, but[...]
Bucks County Multi-Room Makeover
We are in the process of completing a renovation on this 16+ year old Toll Bros. house in Bucks County. The family has lived in the house since it was new, and they plan to remain there as their kids go though high school and college. When we visited the home, we found that many products used in its construction, like cabinets and flooring, were "out of the box," low-quality goods that had already exceeded their life expectancy. Our team listened to the needs of the homeowners and discovered the following: They like to entertain anywhere from 4-40 people at a time. Room for enjoying cocktails, wine, good food and casual living was a priority. The first floor was broken up into an unused dining room, a large vapid foyer area, unusual diagonal hallways, and a fragmented kitchen area. They wanted a "cool" house and the removal of what they[...]
Myers Constructs: Community Outreach
Most people know Myers Constructs, Inc., as a source for complete design to build services for home projects, such as kitchens, baths, additions and whole-house renovations. But you may be surprised to learn that we also assist several local nonprofit organizations with their older buildings, as well. We have worked with the following institutions: The Fleisher Art Memorial — The Fleisher restoration project entailed repairing and replacing 83 wooden windows – most of which were nearly a century old – with the goals of maintaining the historical integrity of the buildings, achieving energy efficiencies, and providing a safer and more secure environment for the 17,000 people who visit the institution throughout the year. Because the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Board was required to replace their historic windows with similarly styled models. We were able to help them by sourcing locally made, historically styled[...]
Signs, Signs, Everywhere There’s Signs
Check out the new Myers Constructs yard signs! Better yet, if you see one of these on our various projects around town, take a photo and email it to us at info@myersconstructs.com. We'll send you an official MCI t-shirt in return!
Tamara Myers to Judge 2012 NARI Contractor of the Year CotY Awards
I am honored to have been asked to be a judge for the Contractor of the Year (CotY) 2012 Awards. These are national awards bestowed by NARI, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, to projects that represent excellence in our industry. This coming Monday, January 9th, I will join other NARI members to begin the 3-day job of reviewing the entries and casting our votes. Later this year, a formal ceremony — the academy awards of our industry — will take place at the Spring national meeting, which is being held this year in Dallas, Texas. I had the honor of attending the awards ceremony for 2011 in Jersey City, NJ, in April, and it was an impressive and fun evening. As designers and remodelers, we love having the opportunity to support with our vote the projects of our peers that shine and show the melding of good design,[...]
When It Comes to Home Renovation, the Band-Aid Approach Just Won’t Do
When working on old houses, problems invariably arise. More often than not, they involve compromised systems in the home. Recently, for example, we worked on a very nice mid-century house, where we gutted and replaced the old kitchen. In the process of that project, some of the home’s systems came up for special scrutiny. Structural problems were found in the roof rafters over the kitchen. They were all cut by the builder 4 feet too short to reach out over the kitchen bump out, where the sink was located. The builder tied on to the rafters a few 4-foot lengths of 2×4, to extend the roof there. That resulted in the bump out dropping over an inch. While we had the ceiling open, it was a fairly easy fix for us to create properly sized rafter tail extensions and jack up the droopy bump out. All of the water pipes[...]
Season’s Greetings from Myers Constructs
We wish you a home filled with warm memories this holiday season — and peace and happiness in the coming new year! Fondly, The Myers Constructs Team
