Whole-Home Renovation in Chevy Chase, MD

What a whole-home renovation in Chevy Chase actually involves

Houses of this age in Chevy Chase carry plaster over lath, knob-and-tube remnants in some attics, and original single-glazed windows. Any interior project has to plan for what opening those walls exposes. In the historic district, exterior material and design decisions are review decisions. Window profiles, porch details, railing style and siding exposure all get looked at, so the design has to be developed with that review in mind rather than corrected after a rejection.

• Design, engineering and a real budget. Drawings that reflect what will actually be built, structural design where walls come out, and a line-item budget with allowances that are honest rather than lowballed to win the job.
• Systems replacement. This is where a whole-home renovation earns its keep. Rewiring, replumbing, HVAC replacement or redesign, and insulation and air sealing done while the walls are open — because they will never be this accessible again.
• Structural and layout changes. Wall removals, beam installations, new openings, stair modifications and floor-level reconciliation, all engineered and inspected.
• Finish out and closeout. Kitchen, baths, flooring, trim, paint and fixtures, then a documented punch process, the permits closed out, and the warranty and manual package handed over.

Lead paint: the rule that applies to most of Chevy Chase

Federal law — the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule — requires that work disturbing painted surfaces in a home built before 1978 be performed by a certified firm using contained work practices, with specific cleanup afterward. Most of Chevy Chase's housing stock predates 1978, so assume this applies to your house unless someone has established otherwise. We are certified for this work and it is built into how we set up, not bolted on. Worth asking every other contractor bidding your job whether they are, and asking to see it.

What drives the cost on a Chevy Chase whole-home renovation

Anyone can publish a range. Almost nobody can publish one that survives contact with an actual house, which is why we do not. The list below is the honest version: the specific things that decide whether your project lands at the bottom or the top of whatever range you have in your head.

• Whether the house is occupied during the work. Working around a family in residence is slower and requires phasing.
• Structural scope — how many walls come out, and whether the existing framing and foundation support what you want to do.
• The age of the house and what is behind the plaster. Pre-1978 homes require lead-safe work practices throughout, and homes of certain eras may contain asbestos in flooring, mastic or pipe insulation that requires proper handling.
• Generous but shallow lots with deep front setbacks, mature canopy and detached garages set well back. That is a Chevy Chase-specific factor and it belongs in the conversation early.

Months, not weeks, and the honest answer depends on scope, whether you are living in it, and how the reviewing jurisdiction handles the permit package. What we can commit to is a written schedule with milestones, and telling you promptly when something moves rather than at the end.

The mistakes we get called in to fix

• Hiring on price without verifying license status, insurance certificates and whether the contractor has ever pulled a permit under their own name in your jurisdiction.
• Accepting a contract with no schedule, no allowance detail and no change-order process. Every dispute in this business happens in that gap.
• Ignoring air sealing and insulation while the walls are open. It is the cheapest it will ever be and the difference is permanent.

One licensed team, one contract, one point of contact

We would rather over-disclose than be asked. Maryland: MHIC #111971, issued by the Home Improvement Commission and searchable in the state licensing database. General liability and workers' compensation in force, with certificates sent by our carrier on request and before signing, not after. The licensed trades on your project hold their own licenses and their own policies and pull their own trade permits, which is the legal requirement rather than a preference. Your contract is with us, and so is the responsibility.

Where we work in Chevy Chase

• 20815
• Chevy Chase Village
• Town of Chevy Chase
• Somerset
• Martin's Additions
• Section Five
• Rollingwood

How a Chevy Chase project runs

1. Free on-site consultation and a written scope. We walk the space with you, measure, look at what is behind the finishes where we can, and write down what you actually want out of the project rather than what is easiest to sell.
2. Feasibility against Chevy Chase rules, before design. We establish what the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services, plus your municipality will require for whole-home renovation at your address, and what your lot, your zoning and your existing house will allow. Where historic review applies, that submission is prepared and filed first, because the building permit is not useful until it clears.
3. Fixed written scope, then permits. A line-item scope with allowances stated plainly and a change-order process agreed in advance. We prepare and submit the permit package and handle review comments ourselves.
4. Supervised production and a clean finish. MHIC #111971, one point of contact for the whole job, trades sequenced against the inspection calendar, and a closeout that includes the punch walk, the closed permits and the product documentation in one package.

Whole-Home Renovation across Chevy Chase and Montgomery County

Our crews cover Chevy Chase Village, Town of Chevy Chase, Somerset, Martin's Additions, Section Five and Rollingwood, across 20815. What buyers and appraisers in this market respond to is period-correct exteriors with fully modern interiors, and kitchens that work without gutting the character out of the house — worth knowing whether you are renovating to stay or renovating to sell.

Homeowners here usually reach us for more than one thing at a time. Related work in Chevy Chase: home additions in Chevy Chase, kitchen remodeling in Chevy Chase, bathroom remodeling in Chevy Chase, window replacement in Chevy Chase.

We came to general contracting from the outside of the house in, which is the part most remodelers subcontract and hope for the best on. That means the same company handling your interior can also handle roof replacement, siding, aluminum siding, gutters, soffit and fascia and window replacement — under one contract, with one warranty conversation instead of three companies pointing at each other about where the water came from.

Chevy Chase whole-home renovation questions