After 10 years in the same brick row house, our kids were old enough where we could start addressing some of the issues that started when we moved in. The truth is I was dragging my feet on a lot of the work, and only doing emergency repairs because I just couldn't deal with the idea of a large project.
That had to change as our floor was about 4 inches lower on one side than the other. I called in a structural engineer, foundation repair people, and general contractors with the hope they would give me some good news. None of the news was good, but after hearing from 4 separate companies, Brad at PACE construction said the things I needed to hear: I could either 1) sell my house, 2) hire someone else to do some quick fixes that would hold us over for several years or 3) address the root of the problem.
We had already decided we did not want to move for at least the next 10-15 years, and Brad was convinced the issues were the same as a similar house he worked on early, just a 5 minute walk away. For the cost of a 1/2 day of work, he offered to open up the floor to do some exploration to be 100% certain of the problem.
We walked through the costs of the project, from the bare minimum (repairing several of the joists under the floor, lining the dirt crawl space, replacing the floor) to something more expensive but cost effective (while the floor was open, updating the electrical, plumbing, installing new HVAC, and fixing our nightmare of a downstairs toilet). After a month long discussion about the kind of work we needed, our budget, and the long list of repairs I had put off, we decided to go all in and take care of as many issues as we could while repairing the structural issues, updating our appliances, and getting us back in the house ASAP. This meant a full renovation of the 1st floor and the 2nd floor bath.
I'm so happy with the decision to renovate with PACE. From the first day of demo and meeting Khyree, Terris, and other members of the small PACE crew, I had full trust in the work they did and they didn't let me down. Any problems were addressed immediately and without question or extra cost. Since a lot of the work was under the floor, I was told up front about the different things they could encounter with the plumbing and wiring and how that would affect the cost. After the project was over, they helped with lighting issues and appliance issues, again with no extra cost as it was covered under the scope of work, but the great part was that they wanted to know if I wasn't happy. They were great at listening to my concerns along the way, and seeing what my priorities were.
I'd recommend PACE for any home project, large or small. In DC there are a lot of handymen and general contractors, but at the end of the day you need to find a neighborhood firm that you can trust on your home. read more