Categories Blog, Recent Work

Modern 3-Story House Remodel

This remodeled home is almost unrecognizable!  Our team did some serious demo on this small two-story home, turning it into a unique and expansive three-story home! You won’t believe the before and after of this beautiful home remodel.

Home Details:

  • 3,000 square feet!
  • 4-bathroom and 4-bedroom home with a huge finished attic.
  • The main level offers a stunning modern style kitchen with everything you need: high-end appliances, a large center island, 2 sinks, and a 6 burner stove
  • On the second floor is the master bedroom, with a private bath and huge closet, 2 additional bedrooms with walk-in closets, laundry, and family bath.
  • Level 3 has a large bonus room w/ tree top views, full bath and bedroom w/ double closet. The backyard is perfect: large & level, semi-private with stone patio.
  • All full baths have lovely tiled showers.

Check out the before, during and after photos/video of this wonderful new home!

Before:

During Construction: 

 

After – Click on photos:

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Categories Blog, Recent Work

Rue Magazine Feature

We’re excited to share that our work has been featured in Rue Magazine.  The talented team of designers at Lawless Design wanted to update this classic Victorian home, located in Newton Centre, MA, without compromising on the character. The homeowners and designer agreed to create a home that was “Scandinavian, with a twist.”  Our team stepped in to bring their vision to life.

Great work to the entire team – this is a stunner. Click here to read the full article.

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Categories Blog, Tips

Preventing Ice Dams

Although New England winters bring many opportunities for fun, they also can create challenging and costly situations… especially for homeowners. One winter struggle that we deal with quite frequently here at Mcdonald Contracting is ice dams.

What are ice dams? Ice dams form on a roof when heat escapes and melts the snow; when the melted snow refreezes, it creates a blockage at the end of the roof that interferes with draining. This causes the water to leak under the roofing, which leads to costly interior damage.

So how can you protect and prevent your home from ice dams? The first thing that you need to know is that ice dams are not roofing problems but air-sealing problems.

Here are 5 tips to help solve and prevent ice dam issues –

 

1. Seal any air leaks: Grab some canned spray foam or sealant and fill any gap, crack, or hole. Look for gaps around lights, ceiling-mounted electrical boxes, and vent pipes.
2. Install heated cables: These are a great option if you use them before a storm or a spout of bad weather. To install, you clip the cables in a zig-zag pattern along the roofline. The heated cables melt the snow at the edge of the roof before the dams have the chance to form.
3. Keep your roof clean: Investing in a roof rake (which resembles a long-handled shovel) is a great solution to preventing ice dams. You simply pull off the snow with the rake to avoid the buildup of snow and ice.
4. Add insulation: As we know, ice dams are caused by air-sealing issues; adding more insulation to areas that the leakage occurs in will keep the heat where it belongs!
5. Cap the hatch: If you have an unsealed attic hatch, this can create a huge opening for heat to leak out. To prevent any heat from coming out, cover the hatch with weatherstripped caps.

 
If you are dealing with ice dams this winter or worried about them in the future, we can help! If you haven’t had to deal with them yet, you may want to consider taking the correct measures to prevent any future damage.

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