Kitchen remodeling in Montgomery County

25%³ of the county's homes went up from 1950 through 1969. A kitchen from those years may have been sized for a smaller refrigerator and no dishwasher, so fitting today's appliances can mean borrowing space from a pantry or from the wall shared with the dining room.

For homes built before 1978, the EPA advises hiring contractors who use only lead-safe certified renovators.¹⁷ The EPA notes that painted window sashes and frames in homes built before 1978 may contain lead-based paint, which opening and closing the window can release as dust, and that a kitchen remodel may be a good time to replace old windows.¹⁷ In a postwar house, ask how the crew will keep dust contained if the window over the sink is coming out.

Another 19%³ of homes were built during the 1980s. Those kitchens are due for a first full replacement, and the question there is less about old pipes than about whether the electrical panel can carry an induction range or a second wall oven.

In the county's historic districts, the outside of the house is reviewed and the inside is not. In Montgomery County, substantive exterior changes to a historic site, such as replacing windows or doors, need a Historic Area Work Permit, while interior work does not; the permit doesn't replace a county building permit.¹⁸

Maryland's Building Performance Standards, in COMAR 09.12.51, incorporate the 2021 International Residential Code by reference.¹⁹ The 2021 International Residential Code says a kitchen range exhaust must discharge outdoors through its own airtight duct with a backdraft damper, never into an attic, crawl space or other indoor area; listed ductless hoods are the exception.²⁰ Montgomery County requires a mechanical permit to install, alter or replace a heating, ventilating or air-conditioning system regulated by the mechanical, fuel-gas or residential codes, and names range hoods among the equipment covered.¹⁴ Ask the company to show the duct route through the wall or roof before the hood is ordered.

The 2021 International Residential Code calls for at least two 20-ampere branch circuits for kitchen and dining-area receptacle outlets, and allows an outlet for a specific appliance to have its own circuit.²¹ The same code requires ground-fault (GFCI) protection on receptacles that serve kitchen countertop surfaces.²² In Montgomery County an electrical permit is applied for online by a master electrician licensed by the Maryland State Board of Electricians and is issued once the parent building permit has been; homeowners who qualify can instead pass a county exam to get a permit for limited work on their own home.¹⁵

WSSC Water says the plumbing and fuel gas code for Montgomery and Prince George's counties does not allow homeowners to install gas appliances; a WSSC Water-licensed plumber gets the permit, and an approved installation gets a green APPROVED sticker.²³ If a gas range is staying, check that the sticker is on it once the new one is in place.

Moving the sink is a WSSC Water question too. WSSC Water's code needs no plumbing permit to replace a fixture or appliance of the same kind in the same place without altering the rough-in piping, but requires a short form permit to install one for the first time on existing piping and a long form permit to modify, extend or relocate plumbing.⁵ WSSC Water's code lists residential dishwashers, refrigerator ice makers and pot fillers among the uses of an air gap for backflow protection, and requires appliances that connect to the water supply for cooling or storing ice or food to be protected against backflow.⁵

More than one in four adults 65 and older fall each year.²⁴ The National Institute on Aging suggests keeping frequently used pots, pans and utensils where they are easy to reach, and preparing food while seated to prevent fatigue or loss of balance.²⁵ A 1980s house with the kitchen and family room on the main floor often has space for a lower stretch of counter and a wall oven set at waist height.

NAHB's Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) credential trains remodelers in home modifications for aging in place.²⁶ If you expect to stay in the house for many years, ask on the call whether the company has planned kitchens around that, and what it changed in the layout.

The number on this page rings through, on a recorded line, to one independent company that handles kitchen remodels in the Montgomery County area. Cabinets, appliances, timing and price are between you and that company.

That company pays us for the connection; you pay us nothing. We won't phone or text you afterward. How we make money

Look the company up on your own before a deposit changes hands. Maryland's Home Improvement Commission licenses home improvement contractors and salespersons, and its License Search shows whether a license is current.²⁷ Check a Maryland license

Then ask who will hold each permit. Homeowners may apply for an alteration permit in their own name, but when a contractor does the work the county strongly suggests listing the contractor as the responsible party, and a contractor must hold a Maryland Home Improvement Commission license to obtain a permit.¹²