Renovation

Photo by PoPville flickr user Tyrannous

“Dear PoP,

I bought a condo in Shaw last year. It is a new building, and while I love most things about the place, the developer installed my shower stall incorrectly. The grout is jacked up, and the floor needs to be completely replaced. I only intend to renovate the shower, though – the rest of the bathroom is fine.

I started my research with Washingtonian’s home improvement issue, but most of those firms either don’t work in Shaw or handle much larger, more expensive projects than mine. So, that’s where the commenters come in. Has anyone had a good experience hiring a local contractor to do a small-scale bathroom project? If so, how much did you pay, and how long did it take?”

Anyone have a small scale bathroom renovation done? (If so in addition to the reader’s questions – if you like the reno please send an email of a before and after photo to princeofpetworth(at)gmail.)

Photo by PoPville flickr user fromcaliw/love

“Dear PoP,

We own a row house in Columbia Heights with the usual small front and back patio options that are common in the neighborhood. We’re looking to re-design and improve, but it seems like most of the companies you find in the usual Google/AngiesList/etc searching are Virginia/Maryland focused outfits that are more used to larger spaces. We’re not looking for anything specialized — a brick/stone patio and some landscaping will likely do. But we’re worried these larger companies may not meet our needs.

Wondering if any readers have used a local company that specializes in maximizing our smaller, unique spaces?”

Anyone have a small outdoor space redone? Who’d you use and roughly how much did it cost?

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC

“Dear PoP,

I own a fairly traditional rowhouse in Parkview and I’m contemplating a complete removal of my front porch roof. The whole structure is a mess and it would take probably $4000-$5000 to rehab it. A couple of homes on my street were recently renovated and had their front porches removed. They look pretty good. Another issue is that I live on a pretty busy street, so I don’t spend much time hanging out on the front porch. It also is north facing, so sun isn’t much of an issue.

I’m wondering if anyone else has done this. Are there any issues to consider that I haven’t flagged? Does anyone have recommendations of folks that could do this demo?”

What do you guys think – keep the porch roof or remove it? Anyone have their porch removed?

Update: This just in from a reader – is this a good alternative?

“This is from a picture I took of a Capitol Hill rowhouse that I think looked pretty good.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user JosephLeonardo

“Dear PoP,

I know you have fielded a lot of requests about roofing lately but I am curious if any of your readers have used any of the faux slate products for replacement roofs.”

Anyone have experience with faux slate products for roofs?

Photo by PoPville flickr user christopher.poole

“Dear PoP,

I own a renovated Victorian rowhome in Columbia Heights and my husband and I have a ton of books. We need more space for them. We want to have built-in bookcases installed in the dining room and/or the living room. Can any of your readers give recommendations on excellent woodwork/carpentry companies that they have dealt with? Thanks!”

If folks have recommendations, can you also say how much the project cost?

Ed. Note: If anyone has photos they’d be willing to share please email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail.com I’m always looking for photos of renovations to share from small carpentry projects to bigger kitchen, bathroom or other renovations. Even better if you have before and after photos.

Photo by PoPville flickr user caroline.angelo

“Dear PoP,

We’re looking for a reliable contractor to soundproof the bedroom ceilings in our condo. We have tried everything in terms of getting our upstairs neighbor to reduce her noise level, but we can still hear her quite regularly. Do you know of any contractors who do this kind of work in DC? I saw a thread from 2009 about soundproofing a wall of the home, but we need to soundproof our ceilings, and we would like to see if we can get a contractor to do it rather than having to do it ourselves.”

We looked at a few options here and here.

But does anyone have specific tips to soundproof ceilings?

Photo by PoPville flickr user Bogotron

“Dear PoP,

I’m in the process of renovating an old crackhouse that I bought out of foreclosure about 15 months ago in the Truxton Circle neighborhood.

I’m planning to install double French patio-style doors from my dining room to a porch in my backyard garden. There’s plenty of crime in my neighborhood, including an unsuccessful attempted break-in to my basement. So security of the French doors is a major concern. I’m contemplating two options: (1) standard iron bar security doors or (2) a roll-up security grille of the sort you see at the entrance to retail stores in malls, installed on the interior of my French doors. My concern with option (1) is that I’m not crazy about the look of bars on doors/windows and the only option I’ve found so far seemingly requires a permanent metal post in the middle of the doorway, which defeats my purpose of putting in French doors (e.g., I want to be able to move appliances and furniture into the house through the French doors, because my front door is only 32″ wide). My concern with option (2) is cost, though I haven’t yet gotten an estimate. Do any PoP readers have secured French doors in the city or ideas about how to do it?”