Remodeling Ramblers Makes Cents

Look around Arlington and you’ll see neighborhoods filled with ramblers or ranch houses; single-story homes built mostly in the 1950s and 1960s.  During the height of the McMasion boom in the 1990s, many people purchased ramblers, tore them down and replaced them with newly-constructed homes.

What a waste of money and resources, says Jason Hampel, president of Moss Building and Design.  Hampel believes for a fraction of the cost most ramblers can be transformed into beautiful two-story homes.     

Awarded Contractor of Year for Creativity and Craftsmanship from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, Moss Building and Design specializes in large-scale remodeling jobs. 

“Those are slam dunk projects for us,” said Hampel.  He believes these projects work because they can expand the square footage of a home and enhance the livability without clashing with the architecture and landscape of the neighborhood.

Often homeowners love their neighborhoods but grow out of the limited space offered by ramblers.   They also want garages, open floor plans and other architectural features that gained popularity after the 1980s.  When they think about the cost associated with large-scale remodels, sometimes they think it's easier to just start over; build new. 

But Hampel counters that homeowners can save thousdands by doing a large-scale remodel instead of buying new.   He said you can build a typical rambler conversion project for about $200,000.  He added that if the owners had sold their home and opted for new construction they would have spent more than $600,000 for the same amount of space and luxury.   

“I’m a big believer in large scale remodels versus new construction,” said Hampel, adding the key is to start with good design and construction.  “Some companies just throw a big box on top of the lower level with erector set construction,” Hampel said.  

After Moss remodeled a home near where Glebe Road meets Washington Boulevard, some neighbors liked it so much they hired Moss to do their remodel.  

The second home was a standard brick rambler of about 1300 square feet.  Moss added a second floor on top of the existing rambler, doubling the size of the home.  They moved all the bedrooms upstairs and opened the floor plan downstairs to add a living room and dining room.  The additional space gave the homeowners four large bedrooms, including a master suite with luxury master bath.