Construction

Changes in color, size and shape are all characteristics that come with the organic nature of wood. Exposure to extreme heat or cold will change wood over time. Each species behaves a bit differently. These reasons are why wood species are so uniquely beautiful. From the crazy striped Zebrawood to the rich chocolate toned Black Walnut, they all have character and charm. [Read more…] about The Secret Behind The Beauty of Teak

Many homeowners live the same nightmare day in and day out. Cracked tile, mold growing rampant, leaking faucets and dingy fixtures all contribute to the reoccurring issue. The bathroom needs a facelift and it cannot wait another minute. Before you start pulling off those crumbling tiles and sled hammering the vanity in rage, consider hiring a contractor. [Read more…] about Execute The Perfect Bathroom Remodel

Often used for structural purposes, Douglas Fir timbers continue to be high demand. Other uses, such as house and garage doors, siding, flooring, and paneling require particular sizes, as well. The two basic types of Douglas Firs are Rocky Mountain and Coastal varieties. Because the latter type grows lager and yields more structural timbers able to be used in framing, J. Gibson McIlvain uses mostly timbers from western Canada and the Pacific Northwest U.S., and we buy our wood directly from the mills located in those areas. [Read more…] about Douglas Fir Timbers – Applications & Wholesale Supplier Info

The soothing—and even healing—powers of water have been appreciated throughout the ages. In most cultures, embracing such strength has meant retreating to hot springs or public baths; such ancient practices have given birth to modern spa retreats. Now, many Americans have opportunities for daily rejuvenation in their very own homes. [Read more…] about Creating a Spa-Style Retreat

As the heat of summer surrounds you, you may find it a good idea to venture out to the community swimming pool. As you arrive, you notice that many of your neighbors had the same thought. There are kids running and doing cannon balls into the swimming pool. As they splash water high into the air, it falls outside of the pool onto the concrete walkway. Beach towel in hand, you place one rubber-sandal clad foot onto the walkway and end up falling hard onto the concrete. [Read more…] about Ensure Swimming Pool Safety with Perforated Metal Products

Security is extremely important for an office building. The building may contain expensive electronic equipment, furniture, confidential files, and many other items that burglars or unscrupulous competitors would love to get their hands on. Executives may drive expensive cars to work and feel uncomfortable about leaving their vehicles exposed in an open parking lot in the middle of a city. Of course, anyone driving to work and parking in a metropolis area may feel some concern about having a car broken into. For these reasons, many companies opt to build fences all around their property.

A sturdy metal fence around the premises can be the first line of defense against would-be robbers. Often just seeing an intimidating fence surrounding property will deter a crook from trying to break through. He’ll go on to the next building that does not have fencing around it and commit burglary there. Although a fence isn’t a perfect deterrent, it’s inconvenient to have to climb over a fence to get in if there is another place that is easier to rob. [Read more…] about Custom Stylish Metal Fencing for Commercial Architecture

In any thriving suburban area you will notice several things about it. One will be continual growth in population. With the growth in population will be the growth of social organizations such as gyms, neighborhood associations, churches and so on. Each organization will experience their own growing pains throughout this process, whether it is not enough space, limited availability to the community or restricted access to the club. A lot of these growing pains can be dealt with in various manners and such is the case with churches. As their membership grows (hopefully according to the local populous) so does their needs for funding and facilities. Such is the case for a lot of churches in my area. They have outstretched the maximum seating capacity and needed to look at constructing a facility that will not only meet their current needs but hopefully their needs for the next twenty or so years.

Planners, engineers and accountants all need to be involved in such monumental decisions. Questions such as will a sanctuary that seats a 1000 people be sufficient for the next 15 or 20 years when the current membership total stands at 300 and growing by one percent monthly? Then of course there are the questions of exactly what kind of facilities need to be built? Will just a sanctuary do or do we also need a kitchen? A gym? More classrooms? And so on it goes. Then there are the engineering designs that need to be considered. Can a flat roof work as well as a gabled roof and will shingles do instead of a metal roof? And of course, the major player in this game is the accountant. He or she will be the ultimate determinate as to exactly what can be afforded.

All these people can be instrumental in a building project. That is why the D. R. Hartman Construction company (website) can be instrumental in working through these complex problems. They can work with the planner and the accountant to lay out a course of action and then make it happen. They can help you determine exactly what kind of structure would be suitable to your organizations needs along with the obtaining the correct permits to do so. They will finish the job right down to the last nail in the baseboard and make sure that their customers receive a courteous and friendly person to liaise with.

Should you determine that your organization cannot finance a major operation such as a new construction project, D.R. Hartman Construction company can work with you to complete a remodeling project within the facilities you now occupy to give your organization anything from a new face lift to maximizing your capacity to your advantage. DRHCI builds churches and remodels existing churches in the Bethesda, Gaithersburg & Washington, D.C. regions. Why not contact them today for a free remodeling quote and see what they can do for your organization?

…newly married, with a new baby, living in our first home together….

My husband grew up in a typical suburban neighborhood, where his parents, now, reminisce (with almost all the neighbors) about the days when all their children would be out playing together in the evenings. Our little one is joining the ranks of the neighborhood grandchildren who are more likely to be seen outside playing.

My family, on the other hand, lived in nine places during the years between my birth and my marriage. The longest I have ever lived in one place was five years, out in Colorado, and all but four of those places were fixer-upper houses, some more than others. Even before I was born, Mom and Dad’s first post-college home was a fixer-upper rental (as “fixer-upper” as it gets!).

So, the “Needy-Home” Syndrome is in my blood…. What can I say? For my husband and me, having a fixer-upper is as much necessity as it is desire. To have the land we want, we can’t afford much more house. Works out, though, since we both would much rather have a house we can make our own, from the basement to the attic. For me, it’s merely a continuation of my heritage; for my husband, it’s a natural outgrowth of his strong artistic, creative gifts.

My childhood well prepared me for having a home in an almost constant state of repair and remodel. From painting, which was always a first step (even if it would be done again later) to moving walls, it seems there was always something else to do, whether critical or cosmetic. In those houses were it seemed we were in better shape, as soon as we thought we were done, something else would turn up, ready to be repaired, redone, or replaced. Life was always an adventure.

In one house, we spent years with missing ceiling tiles. It was a dropped ceiling below a bathroom, and the bathroom had issues. Even after the bathroom was redone, we still enjoyed the view of the underside of the tub for quite some time. Never was quite sure why, but I think it had something to do with waiting for the right replacement tiles.

Another house was most memorable for painting. We were discovering the world of faux finishes, and we tried all the most popular finishes–sponging in my bedroom, striping in the living room, and smooshing (not smooching) in the dining room. The clearest memory is of the smooshing. Because red is supposed to stimulate conversation–recommended for areas of the home designed for chatting–Mom decided to go with a red base in the dining room. Whatever picture she had seen just didn’t turn out to be the match for what we got. The goal was something in the marble family, but the result was closer to a butchery. Somehow, the white glaze mixture wasn’t enough of a calming agent for the bright cherry red. As much work as it took, none of us were ready to paint over it all, so we moved in multiple pieces of furniture and got a really big mirror for the wall. With a window on one wall, a double-wide doorway on another, and a single-wide doorway on a third, we ended up breaking the wall into multiple smaller doses of red. Not quite what we expected, but it sure did stimulate conversation!

Remodeling isn’t for everyone. If you are looking for a general contractor in Maryland, contact D.R. Hartman Construction, Inc. Whether you’re planning on adding a second floor in Bethesda, building a free-standing garage in Potomac, or any of a hundred other construction projects, they will help you work through the entire process, from the design stages to the finishing touches.

Certain jobs either require certain tools or make life miserable if you don’t have those certain tools. Installing trim is one of those jobs.

For example, if you don’t have a compound mitre saw, at least, life can be pretty rough as you’re starting to put in the trim. With the angles necessary for a smooth flow of baseboard, chair rail, or crown molding, 45-degree cuts are common, and some of the deeper, wider, bigger trim requires some fancy work, in order to have it fit well, once everything is up on the wall (or down on the wall, as the case may be).

Another tool that makes house-trimming life a whole lot more pleasant is a nail gun designed for the little nails that are just right for trim. Hammering in all the necessary trim nails, individually, manually, … makes installing trim rather tedious, to say the least. Especially if you’re doing more than just a little section, the nail gun may be something of a life saver, in the long run as well as in the short run. One comment about this tool is that it’s wise to get a quick release for the air hose, to be able to detach the nail gun quickly.

Depending on what kind of trim you’re hanging and where it is ultimately headed, a level may or may not be necessary, to be sure the trim really is installed both correctly and safely. The longer the run of trim, the more a longer level will come in handy, although a short level, used correctly, should work, if a longer level just is not an option. Sometimes, granted, the walls and/or floors are so extremely not level that to have the trim level would look bizarre. There are times when it’s better to install trim so it looks right, rather than installing it so it is right (i.e., “level”).

Not everybody has all these tools, and even some of those who do have them don’t really know how to use them. Just because someone doesn’t have all the specialty tools doesn’t mean he (or she) should give up in despair! After all, the tools don’t make or break the project (They don’t even really “make the man”!), but they sure can make it a whole lot easier, or, by their absence, make it a whole lot harder.

For people who don’t have the tools or the motivation to struggle through a project without them, there are companies like D.R. Hartman Construction, Inc. (DRHCI), a general contractor based in Bethesda, Maryland. If you’re working on renovating your home, and you need some help with part or all of it, consider contacting D.R. Hartman Construction, Inc. for a free, no-obligation quote.

D.R. Hartman Construction, Inc. focuses on customer service, both for new bathrooms in Potomac and for renovated kitchens in Rockville. If you have a project that is just a little more than you want to tackle, whether because of a lack of the right tools or a lack of confidence or even just a lack of time, check out this family company for a quote and some ideas on how to proceed or maybe just where to start.

When the kids grow up, they move out of the house, get married, and soon have kids of their own. You’re left with an empty house, more room, more space. Empty bedrooms turn into storage areas. And if you keep living in the same house, it starts to wear down. Floorboards sag and creak as you walk on them. The walls get scrapes and scratches. The ceiling sags downward.

Eventually, you might be embarrassed to have the kids come visit Mom and Dad at home because of the state of the house. It’s just not going to be like they remembered it while growing up. They’ll stay in their old bedrooms, only to find holes in the walls and fading paint.

Wouldn’t it be nice to update the house for when your kids and grandkids visit? Wouldn’t you like to be able to show off old rooms looking new again? Well, what could you do? You could remodel the rooms yourself. But that takes a lot of work, and a lot of time. You have to move furniture, and rip out old boards and sheetrock, and put new materials in. Before you even start, you have to plan what you need to remove and what you need to put in its place and what you need to buy.

But you don’t have to do the work yourself. You could hire a general contractor to do the remodeling work for you. One Bethesda general contracting company with an excellent reputation is D. R. Hartman Construction, a family-run business.

If you contact them, they can give a free quote for how much it will cost for what you want done with your house. They’re experienced in remodeling rooms from bathrooms to kitchens to whatever else you might want renovated.

Once they’ve looked at the house, talked with you to determine what needs to be done, and given a reasonable estimate for cost, the work is ready to begin. It’s time to rip out the ugly old walls and floors and put in new ones. Of course, you might be getting rid of some old memories. Those pencil marks from little Joey’s art on the wall. That hole where he rammed his toy truck as he was testing its top speed. But those are memories you’re quite willing to do away with to make his bedroom look nice and new.

Hartman Construction will work quickly and efficiently. You won’t regret hiring this general contractor to redo your home. Enduring the construction-in-progress can be a constant annoyance when you still have to live in your house. Breezes blow in through openings in the walls and ceilings. Sawdust, sheetrock dust, and wood splinters lie everywhere. Power tools drone on and hammers pound as you go about your daily routine. But it’s quite worth it in the end, when you can pull the plastic tarp off the wall and survey the brand-new room. You’ll be more than ready to call the kids and have them come for a visit now, to stay in an old room made new.