Home remodeling in Jessup & Savage, Maryland

Small lots make setbacks the deciding factor

In most of Howard County a homeowner's addition is limited by budget. In the older parts of Savage and Jessup it is frequently limited by the lot. Many of these parcels are narrow, some of the houses already sit closer to a property line than current standards would allow, and a rear addition can run into the rear setback within a few feet.

That changes what makes sense:

• Bump-outs instead of additions. Four to twelve feet, often cantilevered off the existing floor framing, no new foundation. Cheaper, faster, and frequently enough.
• Going up instead of out where height limits allow it — which requires a structural look at the existing foundation and bearing walls first.
• Reworking what is there. Opening a kitchen into a dining room, converting an unused porch to conditioned space, finishing a basement properly with compliant egress.

Where a design cannot meet the dimensional standards, a variance is possible — but a variance is a formal process with a hearing and no guaranteed result. Plan for the design that complies.

What is behind the walls in an older Savage or Jessup house

Most of the surprises on these houses are the same handful of things, and they are worth budgeting for rather than being shocked by:

• Electrical service and wiring that was adequate for a 1950s house and is not for a modern kitchen. A kitchen remodel here is frequently an electrical project wearing a cabinet catalog.
• Galvanized or mixed plumbing that shows its age the moment a bathroom is opened up.
• Plaster over lath rather than drywall, which changes how walls are opened and patched.
• Framing that is not where drawings say it is. Old houses were built by hand and altered by owners. This is an argument for a contractor who can make a structural decision on site rather than stopping to find one.
• Unpermitted previous work. Enclosed porches, finished basements and added baths with no record. We are regularly asked to assess and correct these — see the permit guide.

None of this is a reason not to remodel these houses. They are generally better built than what replaced them. It is a reason to hire someone who has opened a lot of them.