Byrd Design and Build

This is an updated review: My initial review of May/June 2022 was a single star. We had hired Byrd to convert a three-season sunroom into a four-season room/family space. At the time, the project manager (PM) assigned to our case left a lot to be desired in terms of communication, quality control, and scheduling. Often, the PM would schedule X-person/job at our house, and so we'd take the day off only for noone to show. The drywall work was wavy and dimpled - everywhere. The list goes on. The "build" portion of our project a really terrible experience overall, and at the end is when I left my initial, scathing review. However, soon after the project, the Byrd folks reached out to apologize and say the PM had been let go. We were then put in touch with a new PM (Jason) to do a walk through/quality check. He was great - responsive and professional. Jason offered to have the issues fixed then, or within their 1 year warranty period - our call. We opted to wait closer to the 1 year mark because we were ready to have our space back after months of contractors being in and out. We also figured it would allow time for the space to settle so they could take care of everything in one swing. In Jan/Feb, we touched base with Jason again to address the items of concern. He wasted no time in coming out to assess what needed work, generating a punch list, and scheduling a team to come out to complete everything in two days. Based on my experience with the past PM, I was VERY skeptical of Jason's promise to have the work done in two days. The past PM would say X-job would take two days, but it'd go two weeks. Wouldn't you know - it took two days. Just like he promised. And it looks great. The walls don't look puckered/popcorned/wavy/all the above anymore. The team who worked here was fabulous, covered our flooring and furniture before starting, and cleaned up well after they finished. So with all of that said - I amend my review from one to four-stars. Our initial experience with the old PM was a solid one-star, but this recent experience was 100% five-stars - so that is why I went with four. Had the initial experience been like our recent, it would have been a resounding five-stars all around. It's also worth mentioning that Byrd acknowledged the issues from our project, took accountability, and then took action to set things right. It is a reflection of their integrity and desire to do well by their client & client's home - which is why I am confident the problems we had would not be repeated for future clients and I can comfortably recommend them.

We originally contacted Byrd for a quote on a bath remodel due to a leak but we had a potential idea to add a bathroom using an extra closet. They talked us through both scenarios and helped us make the right choice for us, with realistic pricing that helped put the budget into perspective. It wasn’t their idea to grow the project— it was ours— but we took our initial bathroom remodel to a project that involved adding a bathroom, remodeling the other 2, adding a 2nd floor deck and a parking pad, building out a closet, replacing the upstairs floors, replacing the fence, and painting the entire house. Oh, and adding Ethernet wiring and updated smoke detectors. I was anxious to work through the paid design process initially, but the work involved at that stage simplified everything we did later— from financing through construction. There were no frantic decisions to make or details left undecided— it was already managed. It was worth the fee. It was all done beautifully. And the only additions to the budget were due to my add-ins. We stayed very much on track with our initial estimate and they were able to work with our Healthy Neighborhoods Renovation loan program— which was not simple. All during the early and ongoing stages of the pandemic— which limited our in person interactions and definitely made it harder to get building materials. Everyone at Byrd is great to work with and very customer-focused. I appreciate their ability to take our initial “what if” and make it a reality that is better than we could have imagined. The touches that we added to our home have made it ours and will keep us happy here for years to come.

We really love the job that Byrd did with our basement and two bathrooms! Our basement was unfinished and somewhere we hated even going. They turned it into a beautiful oasis and I can’t even believe that is our basement! The work they did on the bathrooms was great and we are in love with the choices they helped us pick! Any issue we had or change we wanted to make they were willing to work with us in our time. Any project is bound to have a few hiccups and when they arose, the team had no problem fixing them up and making sure we were happy with the results! The whole team always wore masks and treated my crazy dog with nothing but love. Something unrelated to their skills, but says a lot about their character! From the beginning, Ashley and Donnie felt more like friends than they did a hired company! This company is very personable and really helps you feel like you’re in good hands and your concerns or opinions are valued. I highly recommend this company to anyone looking for help with some home remodeling projects.

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.

My husband and I had debated for several months if we should move to a larger space, or renovate our current home for our expanding family. I had brought this up with Rick Byrd, the owner of Byrd Design and Build (BDB), and he immediately came to our house to talk with us through all of our options. He walked through our house and really gave us some amazing plans to make the space we already had more usable and more modern and up to date. This was the perfect option for us, considering we were expecting our first child. He laid out all of the different renovation plans we could have and really helped us envision a space catered to our wants and needs. My husband works from home, so we thought it was going to be a difficult journey to do an almost complete gut job of our basement and first floor kitchen/bedroom/bath, but BDB did an amazing job accommodating him and being cautious of the space we weren’t renovating. During the construction process, all of the subcontractors of BDB were extremely nice, non-invasive and very courteous of everything in the house. Darren, the project manager, was always attentive and mindful of our timeline, which was shortened due to the arrival of our new baby. We have the perfect new nursery, brand new kitchen and bathroom, and an entirely finished basement all just in time for our son. Everything was completed in a timely fashion and in pristine condition. We are obsessed with our basically “new” house!