A Dedicated Staff of Carpenters

Education is Important. At Wentworth we encourage staff to attend events where they can learn to be better remodelers for our clients. Our Production Manager, Steven Barnard, is especially keen on these opportunities and for the second year in a row attended the JLC Live Residential Construction Show in Providence, Rhode Island March 20-21, 2010, along with our carpenters Yonal De La Rosa and Tim Haigh.

Organized by the magazine, Journal of Light Construction, the show features useful information about products, tools and techniques. Hands-on building clinics and classroom education round out the hundreds of product display booths. JLCLive prides itself on being the leading construction event serving the residential sector bringing construction professionals face-to-face with manufactures, distributors and service providers while providing education through live, interactive demonstrations, and a comprehensive conference program.

In 2009, while attending the JLCLive show, our production manager discovered a new product, Bison Deck Supports, which provides variable height roof deck supports for pre-made IPE wood decking tiles. Wentworth utilized this product for a remodeling project in Northwest Washington, DC. Sure evidence that the time was well invested.






























Dedication to continual improvement and training allow the Wentworth staff to excel in our construction services; A true benefit for our remodeling clients.

To see more of this project visit our website at www.wentworthstudio.com

A Civilized Shopping Center - Chevy Chase Lake

The offices for Wentworth, Inc. www.wentworthstudio.com are located at the Chevy Chase Lake shopping center at the corner of Manor Road and Connecticut Avenue in Chevy chase, Maryland. Our design sensitive staff appreciates the nice office environment. We like our second floor space with windows on three sides for eastern, southern, and western exposures, and appreciate the natural light and the convenience of the small scale complex.

Our landlord, the Chevy Chase Land Company, takes good care of their investment. The property gets its name from the former man-made Chevy Chase Lake amusement park which was just to the south of the complex. I get a kick knowing that my father visited the amusement park while he was growing up in College Park, Maryland.

Our residential clients even like coming to our offices because of the easy parking on the surface lot and the understated but charming environment. Many of our clients have remarked at the charm of the older brick buildings with the wrought iron canopy supports. The Chevy Chase lake complex was built in the late 1950s or early 1960s and was designed by an architect who was sophisticated with the Colonial Revival style.

The complex consists of two buildings, one larger building for the super market, and a second smaller two-story building, for the retail & office space. Although the shopping center is of modest scale by today’s standards, these buildings feature solid masonry construction, brick arches, crown and dentil details, slate shingles for the roofs and double hung windows for ventilation. All of which provide a quaint human scale.

The architect was thoughtful in his use of protective canopies for rain and sun. Each building has a covered area along its main façade and the two are linked by a free-standing arcade that protects pedestrians from rain, snow and sun. When it rains I can get half way to my car without getting wet. The free standing canopy visually breaks up the parking lot so it does not feel like a hulking asphalt lot. The complex of small brick buildings will eventually be replaced with something larger…but for now we can enjoy what we have.

To learn more about Chevy Chase history visit www.chevychasehistory.org To learn more about Wentworth’s design/build services, visit www.wentworthstudio.com

Prioritizing Your Home Remodeling Projects

By Bruce Wentworth, AIA

Homeowners are budget conscious when making home remodeling decisions. Wentworth can help you make these often difficult or confusing decisions at an in-home consultation, where priorities, design concepts, and construction issues can be clarified. Budget-minded simply means allocating financial resources in the best possible way. Excellent design solutions, coupled with quality craftsmanship and materials, are still a smart long-term home investment.

A well-located Washington area home remains a solid investment. After three decades in business, I can offer these tips to improve home value.

1. Kitchens: Kitchens more than 25 years old are functionally obsolete and aesthetically outdated. A well-designed kitchen enhances home value and improves family life.

2. Bathrooms: A well-designed master bath is an excellent investment, although cosmetically upgrading older baths will also improve home value.

3. Facades: If your home lacks curb appeal, exterior façade enhancements will add value. A new front door, windows, a front porch, or other architectural embellishments, all sensitive to your home’s architectural style, can be considered.

Thoughtful design analysis of your home makes appropriate, cost-effective remodeling decisions a reality. Call for a consultation today 240-395-0705 x 100.

EPA Sets Lead Paint Safety Requirements For Contractors

Wentworth, Inc. is now an EPA certified renovator to lead safety for renovation, repair and painting (RRP).

Bruce Wentworth, President and Steven Barnard, Production Manager, have both taken the 8 hour, 8 module course offered by The Training Network and accredited by EPA/HUD. Certification is good for five years at which time a refresher course shall be taken. EPA requirements became effective April, 22, 2010.

Lead paint in the United States was banned in 1978 and homes built prior to that typically used lead paint. Alterations to homes with lead paint are to be handled in approved ways primarily for the safety of children under the age of 6 and pregnant women.

The hazard areas are often: a. peeling and flaking lead paint, b. friction surfaces such as the bottom of a sash window, c. impact surfaces like treads, risers, jambs, and doors. Prior to commencing remodeling the home shall be tested for lead paint by a certified renovator. If lead paint is found in the area to be remodeled there are standard practices for dealing with the removal of materials, and dust with lead paint. To learn more about lead paint issues in your home read the EPA guide called “Renovate Right” available at www.EPA.gov/lead
Bruce Wentworth, AIACertificate Number R-I-18343-10-00591

And the Winners Are...

The staff at Wentworth loves to win awards for their home remodeling work and be recognized by their peers…so when the National Association of Remodeling Industry (NARI) announced that Wentworth, Inc. (www.wentworthstudio.com) had won four Contractor of the Year awards (COTY) we were all thrilled. The Metro DC Chapter of NARI awarded the Capital Cotys at a black tie event held at the Marriott in Bethesda on January 30, 2010.Wentworth, Inc. was represented at the ceremony by Bruce Wentworth, AIA, President, and Steven Barnard, Director of Construction. Four times they walked up to the podium to receive the award plaques.

Bruce Wentworth, AIA and Steven Barnard

accepting one of the four CotY Awards

Wentworth, Inc. was represented at the ceremony by Bruce Wentworth, AIA, President, and Steven Barnard, Director of Construction. Four times they walked up to the podium to receive the award plaques.

The Remodeled garage is now a family room.

A spacious master bath

Custom details

A facade remodel

Master Design Award Winner

2009 (Fort Atkinson, WI)- Wentworth, Inc. has been named a winner in the prestigious 31st Annual Qualified Remodeler (QR) Master Design Awards Contest. Wentworth, Inc. won GOLD in the Kitchen >$100,000 category.

Sponsored by Qualified Remodeler magazine, the Master Design Awards is the premier national contest recognizing outstanding achievement in residential remodeling projects in 22 categories. For information visit www.qualifiedremodeler.com.

About the Winning Project
A 1880s, end-unit, brick row house was desperately in need of a new kitchen. The old kitchen had been poorly remodeled in the 1970s and required a complete gutting to the brick walls and floor joists. The homeowners desired a new kitchen that took advantage of views into a newly landscaped rear garden, created a breakfast bar for two, an area for laptops with mail cubbies, and opened the wall between the new kitchen and dining room to make their home more suited to informal living. A rear door was relocated and made taller to suit the new cabinet layout and take-in garden views.

Challenges of this Project
The poor conditions required new framing to make the walls plumb & square, and the narrow space (11’-4” x 14’) required a careful design. The south wall has 12” deep, full height cabinets flanking a counter. A north wall accommodates all appliances, sink, and new casement window. Tight cabinet conditions required that the new rear door be repositioned which also helped with garden views.

Creative Solutions
Careful design accommodates a center island. A cherry counter top distinguishes the island from the adjacent stone countertops. Pendant lighting accents the island and leads the eye to the garden. A 12” deep wall of pantry cabinetry flanks a counter top used for laptops, mail cubbies, and cell phones. The symmetrical design is reinforced with a custom coffered-beam ceiling that accentuates the height and gives panache to an informal space.

Project Results
The overall results are exceptionally well suited to the modestly scaled historic row house. The living spaces now flow front to back – with the kitchen acting as the link to the rear garden and completes the home’s living space. Although a small scale house it now feels spacious. The new kitchen utilizes carefully planned, upscale detailing, that gives the home a sense of understated, practical luxury. All is appropriate.

Creative Solutions
Careful design accommodates a center island. A cherry counter top distinguishes the island from the adjacent stone countertops. Pendant lighting accents the island and leads the eye to the garden. A 12” deep wall of pantry cabinetry flanks a counter top used for laptops, mail cubbies, and cell phones. The symmetrical design is reinforced with a custom coffered-beam ceiling that accentuates the height and gives panache to an informal space.

Project Results
The overall results are exceptionally well suited to the modestly scaled historic row house. The living spaces now flow front to back – with the kitchen acting as the link to the rear garden and completes the home’s living space. Although a small scale house it now feels spacious. The new kitchen utilizes carefully planned, upscale detailing, that gives the home a sense of understated, practical luxury. All is appropriate.

Wentworth, Inc. Honored with Outstanding Award

Washington Spaces Honors Wentworth, Inc. with
Outstanding Award in the Best of Remodeling Competition.

Washington Spaces magazine named Wentworth, Inc. of Chevy Chase, Maryland, the Outstanding Recipient in the Washington Spaces Best of Remodeling Competition, in the category, interiors less than $100,000. The winning project is featured in the summer issue of Washington Spaces magazine.


About the Project
The winning design was a small but integral part of a first floor addition to a 1970s Colonial style home in Potomac, Maryland. Sometimes a small addition makes a big difference. This was the case for the 4’ x 30’ addition on this single family home. The existing narrow kitchen, small breakfast area, and screened porch did not fit the family’s needs. The homeowner requested a new larger kitchen with an island, a mud room with ample storage, and a breakfast space with banquette seating for six. The one-story rear addition made a significant difference in the home’s livability and functionality. The new addition was appropriately sized to maximize the interior space and work with an adjacent back patio.

The client requested an expansion of their kitchen and breakfast room but the addition’s size was constrained by an existing brick retaining wall. A steel beam and intermediate steel column were installed to open up the rear wall. The column was concealed within a new partition with a punched-opening that visually links the kitchen and dining areas.

Creative solutions include enclosing an existing screen porch as a mudroom with a service sink and cubbies. A bay window at the kitchen sink expands the depth of the counter top. Floor to ceiling windows at the breakfast area flood the room with natural light and are integrated with the custom banquette. Exterior stucco-like cladding gives the addition the appearance of a bay.

The four foot addition improves function and aesthetics. The homeowners feel the design achieved more than they had hoped for: breakfast room, kitchen with island, mud room, and improved rear facade. White painted cabinetry, glass cabinet doors, dark gray granite countertops, oak floors, and hip pendant light fixtures will remain functional and stylish for years to come.