Myers Constructs Inc

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Welcome to Myers Constructs, Inc.! We are a women-owned design/build general contractor located in Philadelphia, PA. We have decades of experience, and are members of the U.S. Green Building Council. You can learn more about us and how we work, and see images of work we’ve done, by choosing a link in the right-hand column. You’re welcome to comment on posts below.

Older homes tend to get a bad rap for being energy inefficient. The truth is, many older homes have built-in energy-efficient systems that a homeowner should learn to use and, if possible, enhance. Here are some examples of what I mean:
A stone or brick home with thick walls will retain heat in the winter and cool in the summer by way of its mass. Often, the older home will also have small windows on the third floor or attic. These are meant not only to allow light into the house, but also to allow hot air out in summer. Opening these small windows creates negative pressure inside the house, which then draws cool air from the basement. This is natural cooling at work. Thats because a basements mean temperature is between 60 and 70 degrees in summer. Utilizing this cooling air convection, combined with the thermal mass of the brick or stone home, means many of these homes can go several days at a time during a heat wave and not require any artificial air conditioning or cooling.
Since it’s heating season, we should also focus on some “passive” methods for making and keeping an older home warm.
Sash locks — These are the small closures on your double-hung windows you turn to lock them shut. You probably think they are for security, but they are really there to push the two sashes tightly into the sash frame and also to pull the sashes tightly together. This small piece of hardware makes your older wooden windows much more efficient by creating a tighter seal. Many older double-hung windows have not been properly maintained over the decades. The top sash might be stuck with paint, or the sash frame may be “out of square.” Other common problems are weights and chains that have failed. All of these problems can be fixed with some TLC and good carpentry. Happy to help; just give us a call.

Tags: Chestnut Hill, doors, energy efficiency, how to, Main Line, Mt. Airy, Older homes, Philadelphia, windows
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When our company begins any new home renovation project with a client, I ask the homeowners what kind of remodeling experience they want to have. They always look at me blankly in response. Whether theyre planning major home overhauls or making minor improvements, they seem to think their renovation experience is out of their hands. They couldn’t be more wrong. So many factors that are within the customers’ direct control go into shaping what their project will look and feel like to them. They include:
Which design build contractor will plan and manage your project carefully? Who is listening to you?
Which one will get started and finished as efficiently as possible?
Who do you want to talk to when a problem comes up or when you are stressed out? (Remodeling, even a small project, is stressful!)
Who or what do you want your kids exposed to for the many weeks your project may take?
Who would you like to have in your house from 7AM until sometimes 7PM, and possibly on weekends, for many weeks?
Who do you trust to move your personal belongings? Who do you trust with your privacy?
When you don’t take the time to answer these questions and take control of your renovation experience, you can almost guarantee that you’ll be disappointed with the process and/or the results. Typical complaints we hear from dissatisfied buyers of other contracting professionals include:
Homeowners don’t know who their advocate is at those companies, during the complicated and stressful sales/pricing/construction phases. They ask “who am I supposed to talk to there?”
Slow response times. Make sure the contractor you choose to work with is timely and returns your calls within a reasonable time frame.
Homeowners don’t get the needed attention or support during the design phase or product selection.
The cost of design exceeded the budget. This is a very common complaint homeowners have about designers and architects who typically don’t know what a project will cost, and some design build companies that are so large that their in-house communication systems break down.
Too much turnover. In an effort to be the biggest, some contracting companies practice seasonal hiring where personnel changes happen over the economic cycles of the year. This may impact field crews, office staff and subcontractors. Those companies then send people they don’t have long-term relationships with into your home.
The process took too long. With designers, architects and larger design build remodeling companies that might do a little of everything, the design process will take a long time. This may equate to 6 months or more for a kitchen design or 8-12 months or more for a whole house.
When you take the time to seek out the qualities that are most important to you in a design build firm, you will ensure yourself you’re getting the results for your home that you envision and deserve.

Tags: Architect, architecture, Baths, Chestnut Hill, design, design build, design to build, home renovations, kitchen, Main Line, Mount Airy, Philadelphia
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I snapped these lovely examples of wooden siding in the Finger Lakes of NY this summer. You can’t get these beautiful shadowlines in vinyl siding. Even in simple white paint schemes, these home exteriors are very attractive and a delight on the eyes.
The siding you see here is well over 100 years old, still looking beautiful!

Tags: exterior details, Finger Lakes, New York, sustainable renovations, vinyl siding, wooden siding
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When we come to work on your home, we will need a lot of space to stage materials and tools. Here are a couple of photos to show you what I mean;

This is just the set up for the electricians who are in the basement installing a new electrical panel and service in this 1200 sf city home.
On the second floor, our carpenter has a luxe master bathroom underway. So he has most of the 2nd floor for set up and under construction. Staging a project in a small urban house with no garage is very hard. Here is a short list how he needs to stage this project ;
Tile materials and bathroom fixtures are waiting in the dining room.
Drywall waited in the 2nd floor hallway.
The jetted tub was delivered and installed the same day so it would not take up space.
The bathroom vanity, toilets and sinks are also delivered at the last minute before installation.
While the tile was being set, the carpenter had to vacate the 2nd floor to work on the living room fireplace, so the tile setter could set up on the 2nd floor.
The home owners have only their 3rd floor to themselves.
To install this bathroom, we have to take up about 1/2 of the house. Ideally these home owners would pack most of their things and put them into storage while we work, but thats not always possible. If we had the space though, the project might have been less expensive.
Making room is something to consider when you are planning a renovation project, even a small one.

Tags: design build, Philadelphia, project management, small home renovations, urban remodeling
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This is a very nice efficient house we just renovated. Great financing is available for qualified buyers. It has all new plumbing, roof, heating and electrical systems, a new kitchen and a new bathroom. There is a large deck, off street garage parking and a laundry room. Everything is painted and ready for you or someone you know to move in.

Tags: East Mount Airy, For Sale, Home Ownership, homes, NSP, Oak Lane, Philadelphia, RDA, row home
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Tamara Myers will make a return appearance on the radio program MyFixItUpLife to discuss the topic of lead. Tune in to 1520 am at 12:30 pm on Saturday, 11/6. You can also listen live online by visiting MyFixitUpLife.

Tags: certified lead safe remodeler, design build, design to build, EPA, lead, News, Philadelphia, radio, RRP, Tamara Myers
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We recently did a project for a couple with two young children who were looking to downsize from their old, Victorian Chestnut Hill home. They wanted to move to a home that was located in a great public school system and had lower maintenance costs than their old house. But they knew they would miss many of the comforts of their large, old home. So they called our designers in to help come up with a plan that would bring more comfort and style to their serviceable but not very stylish 1960s new ranch home.
At the top of the agenda for this couple was a proper master bedroom suite. The existing master bathroom had a small bathroom with a shower, but not much style. The bedroom was not very private from the rest of the bedrooms on the floor, and there was a serious shortage of closet space. In general, the old finishes were very plain and worn out.
Our team claimed the small neighboring room, which was probably originally a nursery or study, to be part of the new, larger master suite space. By putting the new bathroom here, we were able to use the old bathroom space and part of the hall as a walk-in, his-and-hers closet space.
This left the couple a nicely sized bedroom space with room for some family heirloom furnishings, a king-sized bed with night stands, and a spare off-season storage closet.
Overall, their new master bedroom suite now has a light, open feeling, even though the footprint is not especially large. This is because our design team planned for the use of each square foot of these rooms, so the spaces fit and are very logical.

Tags: 1960's, master bedroom suite, Philadelphia, rancher, retrofitting the suburbs, sustainable, walk in closet, Whitemarsh
Posted in About Building, About Design, Company News, sustainability | No Comments »

Winter is right around the corner … now is the time to think windows! In addition to energy tax credits that are currently in place, you can save up to $550 with a mail-in Live Smart Rebate when you replace your old windows or patio doors with select Weather Shield products with Zo-e-shield glazing before 12/31/10. And, when you purchase a window-replacement project worth at least $10,000 from Myers Constructs (choose from select brands available), you’ll receive a complimentary home BPI energy-efficiency audit (value: $500). This test will identify areas within your home that may be causing you to spend more than you need to on your monthly utility bills.
Call us at 215.438.6696 for details on how to qualify for these exciting offers.

Tags: doors, Energy Audit, energy efficiency, green, Special Deals, Style. Design, sustainable, windows
Posted in About Building, Company News, Myers Constructs Applauds, green, sustainability | 2 Comments »

On every one of our renovation projects, we make sure to factor in lots of logical storage. Typically, people don’t pay attention to closets and storage areas unless they’re done exceptionally poorly or extraordinarily well. Here are some of results of well designed, logical storage:
guests arrive and know where their coats go
kids know where to put their toys, shoes and backpacks
your keys and briefcase have a place to be so you can find them in the mornings
your bathrooms and bedrooms are no longer cluttered with clothing and personal products
you can always find the dog’s leash
you have a dedicated area for storing party supplies, such as paper products, cutlery, and beverage glasses and bottles
items like cookbooks and audio equipment are neatly organized and ready for use
sports equipment and bicycles do not clutter your entryway
Because it makes sense in the room, because it fits properly, our logical storage disappears. Here are some examples of the kind of simple, logical storage we build into every one of our projects…

Tags: bicycles, coat closets, design, dog, find stuff, homes, organization, storage, toys, value
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Folks here is a link to an upcoming housing fair. Lots of nice programs featured at the housing fair make becoming a home owner very easy right now. Many of these city city homes are close to public transit and have garages! (perfect for motorcycle parking!)
house bust tour Sorry but they did not have a very good shareable link to The Housing Conference.
We have a home we recently updated and renovated on the Housing Conference Bus Tour. It’s a 3 bedroom 1 bath house with a large garage with garage door opener, in a nice neighborhood/E Mt Airy. Here is a link to the house we renovated, being featured on the bus tour; Myers NSP House #1
Because of these government sponsored programs and great low interest loans, home ownership costs less than rent. If you have been thinking about owning a home check out these events. If you want to see our flip house, we can put you in touch with our realtor and lenders who work with this program.

Tags: Dwight Evans, Home loans, Home Ownership, Housing Conference, NSP, parking, Philadelphia, RDA
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