The Snyders

Damascus, MD

At some point, one of the existing owners decided it would be a good idea to enclose the original carport and turn it into an extra room. Was it a dinning room, eat-in kitchen area, family room……..no one was quite sure. It also had a low ceiling and concrete floor, which didn’t tie-in to well with the rest of the house. This in turn was connected to what was an extremely small kitchen. The current owners were looking to increase the size of the kitchen along with making room for a separate dining room. The only way to accomplish this, with the limited space allowed, was to remove the closed-in carport and start with a clean slate.

During the design process it was found that the zoning side set-back on the side where the proposed expansion was to go, was pretty close to the limit. This meant that the front edge of the structure was pretty well defined. Based on that, the front wall could not go beyond the existing existing one by more than a few feet. With that in mind we designed it so most of the new portion was at the rear.

The new design had a slightly raised one car garage on the front, the left rear of the main level was large well lit kitchen and the right rear was a large dining room that exited onto a spacious sundeck. The existing kitchen area became a place to house a powder room, hallway and hostess closet.  Beneath the new kitchen & dining room was a spacious home office with a separate entrance and storage area. The exterior of this 1-2 level structure was covered in a natural stone veneer to match the existing house. Having the addition raised in the rear made for some spectacular views. With the garage being slightly forward of the main house, the front roof gable then extended over the entry door, creating a covered porch area. This became a great place to sit and keep an eye on the kids playing out front.

Interior finishes included oak flooring to match, clear pine casing & base trim, ceramic floor & walls in powder room and clear maple cabinets in the kitchen & home office.

The homeowners are very satisfied with the way things turned out and can’t wait to complete the landscaping around there new addition.

The homeowners are quite happy with the end result and really enjoy the new shower. As soon as the funds are replenished they are going to have us back to remodel the hall bathroom.

The first leak found was caused by the home builder not installing the correct flashing at the rear of the garage. Siding was removed and rotted wall sheathing was replaced. After the 5/4″ shirt boards were replaced they covered completely with a textured aluminum wrap. The wrap was then run up behind a couple of courses of siding. Doing this doesn’t allow for water to get in and travel behind the material. It is forced out and can then drain to the ground. Once everything was wrapped and flashed, the siding could then be re-installed.

The second leak was a little more difficult to find, but after a few hours of isolating various areas we were able to pinpoint it to just above the main entrance door. The previous contractor had replaced the door and side lights, but purchased the wrong door and installed it incorrectly. On top of that, the brick sill was sitting higher than the subfloor, which made the unit sit too high up. Either way, the door had to come out….and so it did. Once out, we could better see what kind of mess we had to deal with. The brick below the door were removed. Some were cut down and re-used, and a slate threshold was installed at the correct height. Rather than having the customer purchase another door, we cut the existing door down to the correct depth. A metal pan flashing was fabricated and installed where none was before. The opening was modified to fit the smaller door and it was then re-installed. Self adhering flashing was applied around and above the door. The problem with most window and door installations is improper or no flashing. A wet test was then done to make sure everything was water tight before trim and siding went back up.

The third leak is similar to the first but on the front of the garage. The same techniques were used in repairing this area.

The forth leak was also caused by the builder in that rain water was getting behind the siding and staining the garage ceiling and wall. A leak in the same area was due to a roofing contractor incorrectly installing flashing,  at house wall and chimney, a couple of years prior.