Up until now, the steps we’ve discussed about the building progress of Deborah Massey’s house would apply to any Mid-Atlantic Builders home.  However, since our Veteran has different needs than the average homeowner, there were special design changes made to her house.  Ms. Massey’s two favorites are her elevator and the special floor built into her garage.

This is the first Somerset that has had an elevator installed.  The house was specially designed so that an elevator shaft could fit and go to all three floors.  Ms. Massey loves this feature of the house because it allows her to enjoy all three floors of her house without any difficulty.

The garage slab was also specially designed.  In all of our other homes, there are normally two to three steps leading up to the house from the garage.  This is not the case in Ms. Massey’s house, where the slab has been raised so that the entrance to the house and the garage are level.  Ms. Massey’s garage has also been expanded slightly so that a wheelchair can comfortably access and move around the car and into the house.

These are only two of the many design changes that Mid-Atlantic Builders made to make Ms. Massey’s home perfect for her.  We will be discussing other changes in posts to come.

If you have any questions about our homes or anything else, please feel free to call me at 301-674-2837 or email me.

We have reached an important stage in Deborah Massey’s home.  We have now hung her drywall!  In order to get cleared for this step, a Prince George’s County building inspector has checked to ensure the HVAC, plumbing, electrical components, fire suppression system, fire stop, and insulation are all installed correctly and up to code.

Raw dry wall panels are gray and smooth when installed.  When screwed into the walls and the ceiling, the panels show obvious seams and have a segmented look.  In order to get the drywall to look seamless and prep it for painting, there are a couple things that need to be done.  First, the seams are taped and spackled.  Spackling is also placed over the areas where the panels were attached.  The screws create an indentation that needs to be filled.

Second, the seams are sanded.  This makes a level surface, so that when it is time for paint, the walls appear continuous instead of like a series of panels.

Our Veteran’s home is well on its way to being completed!  From here on out, things get much more exciting.  We have moved past the structural elements of the house to the finishing touches, the items that she will actually be able to feel and handle.  These are the items that she chose during the design process and that will make Ms. Massey’s home uniquely hers.

If you have any questions about our homes or anything else, please feel free to call me at 301-674-2837 or email me.