Sligo Park Hills, MD - Basement Remodel

NARI CotY "Grand" Award Winner 2007

Brief Explanation of the Scope of Work

These homeowners hired our company to design and build a screened porch and deck which would take advantage of the unique features of their one story transitional brick and Cedar sided home.


Unusual Constraints/Challenges & Creative Solutions


The site presented a unique challenge. Their home is asymmetrically sited in the middle of a hill with one side of the home much lower than the other. The front entry is at grade while the basement is a walk-out to the rear.

A retaining wall made from boulders at the upper side of the rear yard curves around and allows the hill to slope to grade. By adding a flagstone walk on the ridge above, we provided a rational and nice looking path from the uphill side yard to the rear. We designed the screen porch to feature the exposed retaining wall. The room succeeds in integrating the natural surroundings right into the space which was one of the customers' interests.

We extended and repaired, but were otherwise able to keep the flagstone patio as the floor of the new screened porch. A narrow flower box in incorporated at the base of the retaining wall.

Once the screen porch was designed, an organic shape presented itself for the deck above. This deck also reaches out over the small basement bump-out. For structural reasons, entire perimeter of the deck had to be supported by steel headers.

As part of the project, we replaced the existing first floor rear windows with new Pella insulated glass units and added French doors to the new deck.

The vertical Cedar siding at the rear of the existing home is carried through to the new deck and the screened porch. The deck features Trex decking and Cedar with a stainless steel cable rail system which lets the view comes through. The screened has a bead board ceiling dotted with recessed lights. The cedar posts and trim help integrate the room with the view and the home.

Overall Results

This couple is ecstatic with their new outdoor spaces. Through great effort and careful collaboration with the clients, the finished product has been the talk of the neighborhood.