Category Archives: Atlanta Design & Build

MAGIC Camp Builds Confidence at Gwinnett Tech

August 28, 2017Atlanta Design & BuildDale Contant

Once again this summer, Atlanta Design & Build (ADB) sponsored Project Manager Sydney Contant-Nunes as a keynote speaker and hands-on instructor for Gwinnett Technical College’s MAGIC (Mentoring a Girl in Construction) Camp. The program, established by contractor Renee Conner in 2007, has now expanded to four different locations in Georgia. It is a free, one-week day camp designed to introduce high school girls to exciting careers in construction.

(Photo above shows Sydney in the lab, explaining how to use the brad nailer to attach the sides of the box. The girls were walked through the project before they began.)

Three years ago, Kathleen Torrance, who is a Lab Assistant in Residential Construction and Carpentry at Gwinnett Technical College, contacted the NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Industry) Atlanta office. She spoke to Executive Director Jesse Morado, who then called H. Dale Contant of ADB to ask if Sydney would be interested in getting involved in MAGIC Camp. “Sydney was willing from the very beginning,” Kathleen stated. “She had the courage to come out of her comfort zone to help.”

Each of the five days of camp is focused on a different construction specialty, so the girls get a broad exposure to the industry. Monday is OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) training day that helps the girls develop a safety-first attitude. Tuesday is carpentry day. Wednesday is electrical day where they learn to do basic wiring. Thursday is split into morning and afternoon sessions with emphases on welding and using heavy equipment. Friday the girls tour an active construction job site. Friday there is also a banquet for students and parents, during which time the girls’ projects are displayed and a highly regarded industry professional is the speaker.

Sydney’s role in past years has been as keynote speaker on carpentry day. It can be a tough challenge to walk into a classroom and face a group of high school girls who have not yet become cohesive, since it is only their second day of camp. This summer, however, Kathleen asked if Sydney could also be one of those who is responsible to instruct the girls in the carpentry lab before the lecture, and she agreed. “It was a wonderful time,” Kathleen exclaimed. “Sydney is very experienced, comfortable with tools, so encouraging, and sets the girls at ease. They loved her in the lab, and afterwards they were glad to listen to her talk. Although they were polite, they asked so many questions that she could barely make it through her presentation!”

Sydney shows the girls the new 3M sandpaper. She brought a roll with her and cut off a piece for each girl to use/keep. It was a big hit.

Girls beginning to lay out the measurements on their wood as Sydney assists. There were 14 girls present that day, so we spread them out 3 or 4 to a table and helped guide them.

Once the wood was cut to length, the girls routered the edges. Here one of the campers is using the router table to round over the edges of the wood for either the top or bottom of her memory box. Sydney is instructing her how to hold the wood safely, and which direction to move it to get a clean cut. The camper in the background is waiting to router her two pieces, and in the far background, you can see one of the girls using a sander. This photo also gives you a bit of a view of the Gwinnett Tech carpentry lab.

A camper lining up wood to cut on the miter saw, under the direction of Dennis Bowers, Program Director, Carpentry & Residential Construction Management.

Sydney in the classroom, where she gave her presentation to the girls at lunch time.

Team carpentry L to R – Sydney, Kathleen, and Dennis. Jay Tafari, who works in the computer lab at Gwinnett Tech, also left his regular duties to help at the beginning, but had gone back to work at this point.

Continue reading MAGIC Camp Builds Confidence at Gwinnett Tech →

Atlanta Design & Build Celebrates National Home Improvement Month

May 1, 2017ADB Remodeling Information, Atlanta Design & Build, H. Dale Contant with NARIDale Contant

May is National Home Improvement Month and it is a great time to begin your home transformation. Remodeling in the Atlanta area offers numerous benefits to home owners who want to change their living environment without uprooting their family and moving. Home improvements can add more space for a growing family or older parent, improve energy efficiency and increase the resale value of your home.

“The planning and researching phases of a project are the most critical steps in the remodeling process,” Dale advises “The more knowledgeable and prepared a homeowner is, the more they protect themselves.” Atlanta Design & Build’s proprietary HOMEStyle System and processes were built with these safeguards in mind. We provide design and selection assistance to our clients. Communication is a priority of the HOMEStyle system. Our purpose is to listen and understand, design and plan to transform your home and enrich your life.

Below, NARI provides 10 steps homeowners should take before breaking ground on their next remodel.

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Vicki Wadsworth Receives President’s Award at NARI

April 20, 2017Atlanta Design & Build, H. Dale Contant with NARI, The ADB TeamDale Contant

Watch the presentation of the President’s Award to Vicki Wadsworth

Big congratulations are in order for Atlanta Design & Build’s wonderful Director of Administration, Vicki Wadsworth!

She was honored by receiving (in absentia) the NARI President’s Award from H. Dale Contant in Scottsdale, AZ at the NARI Spring Business Meeting, April 5-8, 2017. For 15 years, Vicki has served our company in multiple capacities, and since 2015 she has functioned as Dale’s irreplaceable assistant. We simply couldn’t do business without her. Thank you, Vicki for all you do!

Read the NARI blog for the official announcement of this award.

Open Kitchen Remodel Designed for Entertaining

March 19, 2017ADB Remodeling Information, All Posts, Atlanta Design & Build, Kitchen RemodelingAtlanta Design & Build, Cobb County Design Build, Cobb County Kitchen Remodeling, Cobb County Remodeling, Marietta Kitchen Remodeling, Marietta RemodelerDale Contant

2016 NARI-Atlanta CotY Award Winner

The main living area of our clients’ 1990s home was divided by walls into segmented rooms for the kitchen, dining room and family room. This resulted in confined spaces that interrupted traffic flow when hosting get-togethers. Our clients came to Atlanta Design & Build expressing the desire for an open kitchen remodel that would enhance their entertainment of family and friends. They wanted their kitchen to be brighter and more welcoming. They also felt the need for increased storage, including the creation of a large “to-die-for” walk-in pantry in the space taken by the laundry room, which they wanted to relocate upstairs.

The ADB team designed a new open floor plan that perfectly met our clients’ needs and desires for their kitchen, and it impacted their other living spaces as well.

The plan involved the removal of a primary load-bearing wall expanding from the front exterior wall to the back exterior wall of the home. Both an 18-foot steel beam and a 10-foot LVL beam were placed into the ceiling to support the load. Also removing the wall separating the kitchen and dining room, created the free-flowing expansive openness desired. See the before and after floor plans here.

The spacious new kitchen has now been completely opened up to the dining room and family room, with no barriers between them. The one large open space with improved traffic flow offers ample area for work, eating and entertaining. Removal of the walls has brought more natural light into the kitchen from both sides. A single narrow wall was purposely maintained in just the right location to furnish beam support and privacy to the powder room—removing it from the sight-line of the kitchen. Continue reading Open Kitchen Remodel Designed for Entertaining →

Marietta Master Suite Addition with Beauty and Style

February 21, 2017All Posts, Atlanta Design & BuildAtlanta Home Remodeling, Cobb County Design Build, Cobb County Remodeling, east cobb home addition, Marietta Remodeler, master suite addition, universal designDale Contant

2016 NARI-Atlanta CotY Award Winner

Our clients wished to stay in their home during their later years, since it was in a great location close to family members. However, the husband had developed some mobility issues that made accessing their upstairs master suite difficult for him. They requested Atlanta Design & Build create a master suite addition on the main floor that would offer the accessibility the husband needed, as well as the elegance the couple desired.

“We wanted a master bedroom on the main floor. We love our home and decided to ‘age in place’. The only way to do that was to add an addition that provided a suite specific for that purpose.”

According to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), Universal design is easily incorporated into remodeling projects; in the same way clients choose materials or products, they also customize their living space to fit their current and future needs. Universal design takes thoughtful planning and creative thinking to design spaces for access across entire life span. Elements of universal design are integrated into the overall design becoming virtually invisible. Read about the 7 principles of Universal Design here.

The master suite addition was thoughtfully planned so it could be entered from the dining room inside our clients’ home. From the driveway to the master suite entrance there are no steps or other obstacles. The walking distance from the home’s front door to the master suite is a manageable 15 ft. To ensure privacy and maintain separate identities for the dining room and the master suite, the entrance is disguised through the use of a frameless, trimless, flush door with a flush handle.

Utilizing Universal Design Throughout the Master Suite

Inside the master suite, everything was carefully designed to meet Universal Design criteria. Continue reading Marietta Master Suite Addition with Beauty and Style →

Roswell Sunroom Addition for Entertaining

January 25, 2017ADB Remodeling Information, All Posts, Atlanta Design & BuildAtlanta Design & Build, roswell addition, screen porch additionDale Contant

NARI-Atlanta CotY Award Winner

Like most homeowners today, our clients love to entertain family and friends in their home. But, their small cozy den didn’t provide enough space to gather for special occasions. Extending their living space with a new Sunroom Addition was their desire, which involved the removal of the den’s exterior wall and their existing deck.

We are thrilled to have received a 2016 NARI-Atlanta Contractor of the Year (CotY) Award for this project in the category of Residential Addition Under $100,000. This award was given by NARI Atlanta, the local chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. Read about our other NARI-Atlanta CotY Award winners here.

Removing the exterior wall required installing an engineer-approved 600lb. steel I-beam to span the opening and support the second story. The work progressed very carefully during the wall removal and beam installation, since it was taking place directly beneath a recently renovated upstairs master bath. Absolutely no movement of the upstairs level could be allowed in order to prevent damage to the master bath tile and the second floor. Our team accomplished this flawlessly.

Due to ample new windows and a French door to their new deck, natural light floods the sunroom and also brightens the den. Natural oak hardwood flooring installed in the sunroom ties into the existing flooring, creating continuity with the rest of the home.

After Photos courtesy of Barbara Brown Photography

Continue reading Roswell Sunroom Addition for Entertaining →