To borrow a line from Passive House Consultant Adam Cohen via Hammer and Hand, one of my favorite building-science influencers (yes, that’s a thing), “I don’t know, how much does a bag of groceries cost?” Are you shopping at Aldi or
A construction allowance is a sum of money included in a construction contract to account for items that need to be provided in the project but which may not have been specified by an architect at the time the bid
If you’re planning a home addition in Montgomery County, you’re going to need a property survey. Same thing for rear decks, screened porches, new construction homes and Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU). So what kind of survey do you need? I have
Doing a complete tear down and rebuild of your house sounds good, in theory. The Demolition of Buildings Law went into effect in Montgomery County in August 2023. While I have an entire rant about how poorly thought out and executed
Check out an updated and expanded version of this post and other questions in my 2025 Montgomery County Accessory Dwelling Unit FAQ post. For general information regarding Accessory Dwelling Units in Montgomery County Maryland, check out Part I of this post,
I love it when clients come to me with a sketch of what they want their post-renovated space to be. This helps us all get on the same page right away and gives me a great starting point for developing
Check out an updated and expanded version of this post and other questions in my 2025 Montgomery County Accessory Dwelling Unit FAQ post. Accessory Dwelling Units are all the rage right now, ain't they? In this newly retitled Part One I'm
I want to do an addition. Am I supposed to call an architect? Or a builder? What does Design Build mean? These are common question people ask when considering an addition or large home renovation project. The general term for this topic
If you’re considering an addition or new construction project or just want some new windows, you may need to go through Historic Review first. This involves submitting a Historic Area Work Permit In this post I’ll give you an overview