We hired Byrd Design & Build (BDB) for a whole-house renovation of a Baltimore rowhouse governed by Maryland Historic Trust & Baltimore City CHAP regulations. We were happy with their work for us and think you should hire them too. Here’s why.
The most important thing about working with BDB is value: they achieve the most bang for your renovation buck through their talented & conscientious in-house staff and their relationships with a team of dependable subcontractors. The BDB team were impeccably professional at each stage in our project, from job evaluation & bidding, to design, and on through construction and follow-up. They employ top-notch supervisors and have relationships with expert subs to get the job done right — importantly, at the right price.
With bidding, they ably worked with our architect’s designs and found some practical building solutions to help manage budget, maximizing the impact of every dollar invested in our home improvement project. They were already familiar with historic preservation guidelines — and the paramount importance of that to us as clients — so there was no concern about running afoul of those regulations.
At the design stage, working with BDB means you get to work with their in-house design expert, priced into the project, so there’s no need to deal with an external vendor. This means lower cost and more seamless communications with BDB project supervisors into the building phase.
Through construction, BDB use an online communication platform (akin to social media) to share updates along the way. When I heard about this it struck me as slightly gimmicky, bells & whistles stuff, but it turns out it was really quite useful; it meant better client communications and helped ensure work proceeded on schedule.
Beyond completion of the work, BDB really want clients to be satisfied with every last detail. If there’s any little lingering aspect that needs attention, they take care of it. For example, we had one stubborn, ancient radiator that gave us trouble at the end of our project, but BDB brought in an expert sub from the Rockville area (who works on such old systems in DC townhouses) to ensure this last detail was done the right way.
I encourage you to take a look at photos of their projects on their website and social media. They can work in a variety of styles and contexts, and we saw among them images matching both the style and level of quality we required.
Let me add this final thought. I was a little nervous about the prospect of getting into such a large contract with any contractor, handing over such sums to get the work started. In my case I was able to calm those concerns because multiple co-workers of mine had already used BDB on their own home improvement projects; BDB had proved themselves to be dependable in those cases, as they later did in my own project. They’re a well-established local team with a solid track record. I’ve since recommended them to multiple neighbors, without reservation.
Give them an call or email. Substantial home improvement projects are a lot of work, but like they say, really absolutely worth it in the end. You’ll be glad you did.