What To Do With All That Water Montgomery County has issued rules about rain water management as relates to residential remodeling–especially for projects involving home additions. If the design plan shows an addition exceeds 400 square feet, the architect has to produce a rain water management plan for the property. Chevy Chase Village takes a more strict...
Learn MoreHome remodeling, that is. The design process tends to be very exciting and pleasurable throughout. There’s almost always some jitters as we gingerly make our way through final pricing. Then comes a big surge of relief and renewed excitement when we arrive on day one to prepare the site for demolition and construction. You wouldn’t expect this but some...
Learn MoreThe Great Outdoors -or- The Great After-Thought Gilday Renovations completed a two-story addition to a Washington DC residence several years ago. We squeezed the budget in this ambitious design build remodeling project to achieve all of the things our clients so passionately desired. The homeowners were thrilled with their larger kitchen, new sitting room, and...
Learn MoreSomething Is Missing Curb appeal. What is it? Not this. This is what we call the blank stare. You look at a house from the street and it doesn’t look back at you. It doesn’t speak to you. It doesn’t say anything to your heart like “welcome to the neighborhood.” Maybe it says (in a ragged whisper) “help me,...
Learn MoreA previous owner of this Chevy Chase Maryland home had put on a very, very small breakfast room addition. It was the right idea but didn’t go far enough. This stingy little remodeling project did nothing to improve the functionality of the kitchen. The new owners asked Gilday to design a kitchen addition that would accommodate their family of five. They also...
Learn MoreHumble Beginnings New additions all look pretty much the same to me at the beginning–as do new people. It takes time and good genes (or in this case, a sound design build approach to remodeling) for a distinctive look and personality to develop. So. A brilliantly designed kitchen and family room addition starts out looking….. unfinished? slightly...
Learn MoreWhen we talk about the fine points of home additions we tend to make it all about the designers. In fact, a design plan is just the beginning. An enormous amount of thought and skill is required to put what is on the page into the build. That is why we at Gilday Renovations have invested years in building a tremendously gifted staff. Our craftsman are superb at...
Learn MoreThis drawing shows the second floor plan of a two story addition for a Washington DC colonial. The addition, which bumps out to the side as well as the rear of the house, makes just enough room to expand (and relocate) the two existing baths in the existing house as well as delivering on a luxurious master bath addition. As you can see, this addition project is an...
Learn MoreCost Per Square Foot: Home Addition vs New Home Sometimes a prospective client will ask “what’s the cost per square foot for building an addition.” My standard answer is: We’ll find out after we’ve built it–when we divide the finished square footage by the total tab. I’m not being a smart aleck. Honestly. How could we know...
Learn MoreIt was around the 5th century, I believe, when the Greeks (who invented Greek Tragedy) introduced the expression: ”Aieeeeeee!” The exclamation is wailed out by the the proud protagonist at that moment in the drama when his/her crippling tragic flaw is revealed. When there are no words to describe the surprising, excruciating twist of fate that befalls...
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