Upgrading the Resident Experience

South Shore Harbor is a cozy creekside community in Germantown, Maryland. With its idyllic location, it offers residents a peaceful place to call home. To ensure the property delivered on its promise to best serve their residents, the time had come to make some much-needed upgrades. The original scope called for replacing the siding in the breezeways. Over time, the old breezeways in the community had become old and tattered, with flashing that was in dire need of replacement. The hangers on the stairs had grown corroded and needed to be replaced. In addition, the community wanted to begin the transition from vinyl to James Hardie siding, knowing that it would be a sound long-term investment.

The project was going to require more than simply construction and renovation expertise. With an active community who would be staying on site during the project, coordination and communication were also going to be vital. The good news: Exterior Medics is well-versed in handling large-scale projects and unexpected twists.

The Details

We began the project by placing communication front and center. We made sure residents would be notified of our work and progress in multiple ways. We set up multiple chains of communication—we posted notices on doors, sent out emails, and set up a special website for the latest on what was happening.

We knew we were facing corroded hangers on the stairs and rotted wood in the breezeways. As we tore down the vinyl siding and exposed the underlayment, we began to see deeper issues with the rotted wood that was causing unsafe structural deficiencies. Remedying this situation was key before structural failure set in.

To ensure this wouldn’t happen, we redid the framing within the units, which led to replacing the siding within the breezeways with beautiful, durable James Hardie siding. Additionally, for the buildings in the community that had crawl spaces underneath the units, we went in and repaired any deficiencies so that those areas would also be structurally sound.

The most critical aspect of this project was to ensure that every component was structurally safe to guarantee the well-being of everyone in the community. If these issues had been left unaddressed, it could have cost millions more and left residents in temporary housing.

The Results

After a few months of hard work, the project was complete. The residents of South Shore Harbor now have a safe and beautiful place to call home, with James Hardie siding that looks as good as it functions.

The property management team couldn’t have been happier with the journey and the results. Some of the many things they said they appreciated were that we were always there on time, when we said we would be. They loved the constant communication. Above all else, they were thrilled with the quality of the work, which also pleased their residents. What shined was our ability to adjust to shifting circumstances on the fly, addressing any immediate concerns.

Now, our relationship with the community and property management company is only just beginning. By exceeding expectations, we’ve now been trusted with completing all the siding and crawl space work for which two other contractors failed to meet the expectations.

It all comes down to the pride we take in the work we do.