^^^My biggest issue is with the builder. He is not NARI certified and charges top, top dollar. (My bad). I would never use a builder again who isn't NARI certified. There is a difference between being a NARI member and being NARI certified. Go to the NARI website, click on Find a Professional and make sure your contractor is listed. Both design/build firms and custom home builders are listed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make sure there is language in the contract about how they clean-up after demolition both inside your house and out. After close to a decade our yard is still turning up pieces of glass and dust, and debris still settles from the area by our basement staircase beside a fireplace demo. Beware of contractors suggested by your architect especially if you are paying the architect for project management. They get too cozy with the contractor. We used a Bethesda custom home and renovation contractor and were very unhappy. And if a builder lists NARI as a credential make sure they are certified by NARI and not just a member.

I disagree with avoiding contractors recommendedby the architect. The contractor is only going to do one project with me, but hopes to do many more with the architect, so he needs to please her to get more work. That said, still get three bids. My architect recommended three contractors and I received three bids.

I would avoid "design and build" firms for a big renovation.

There are design/build firms with the highest credentials. On the other hand, uor architect no longer does work with our fancy schmancy Bethesda builder. It speaks volumes.

Who is the architect you are referencing PP?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are looking in the close-in MD 'burbs (mostly Bethesda) and are having trouble finding anything we like in our price range $1M-$1.2 (houses where we are looking seem to either be less expensive and smaller or much bigger and much more expensive). We're now thinking about possibly buying something smaller and renovating. We'd likely buy a small-ish house and do the typical new kitchen/family room/master suite addition in the back of the house. Possibly also we'd dig out the basement. This seems pretty standard but I'm wondering what the range of pricing looks like. Curious if anyone here has done something similar and how much it was. Also, any tips? Things you wish you'd thought of when buying the house to renovate? Things you wouldn't do this time around? Thanks.

We added a 3 story addition to our Bethesda home. Basement on 1st level, den/kitchen extensionon 2nd level, and master suite on 3rd level. 400 sq ft. x 3 levels. Nice finishes. 225 K. Very happy with the results.

This is very hard to believe. That price is not what anybody I know paid for something like that. Who would have done the work for that price?

+1

That is about the quote that we got for 3 story addition with a kitchen, master bedroom, 2 baths and a bath renovation, but we are using a contractor out of Anne Arundel County, MD. Much cheaper, but very high quality. We are very familiar with his workl

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make sure there is language in the contract about how they clean-up after demolition both inside your house and out. After close to a decade our yard is still turning up pieces of glass and dust, and debris still settles from the area by our basement staircase beside a fireplace demo. Beware of contractors suggested by your architect especially if you are paying the architect for project management. They get too cozy with the contractor. We used a Bethesda custom home and renovation contractor and were very unhappy. And if a builder lists NARI as a credential make sure they are certified by NARI and not just a member.

I disagree with avoiding contractors recommendedby the architect. The contractor is only going to do one project with me, but hopes to do many more with the architect, so he needs to please her to get more work. That said, still get three bids. My architect recommended three contractors and I received three bids.

I would avoid "design and build" firms for a big renovation.

There are design/build firms with the highest credentials. On the other hand, uor architect no longer does work with our fancy schmancy Bethesda builder. It speaks volumes.

The general problem of adding another floor (onto any type of home) is the structural work involved. We added next top and on top of our home, and it required re-building the columns supporting the existing first level. The only thing that made it feasible was tying into those new beams for the rear and side expansions. But that structural work alone was close to $35,000.

You can search the boards for architect references. We used Michael Bruckwick at Katinas Bruckwick, you will find his name in some of those searches. He is based in Bethesda (where we live), not sure if he works in Virginia.

FWIW, our bids ranged from $275k to $450k, so there is a huge variation between and among contractors...my advice, solicit references from your architect, friends, neighbors, and make sure you get many different bids. A lot seems to depend on how busy a particular contractor is at any one time.